Note 41 — Part II History of the Industry

From what Mr. Noël Deerr, the sugar technologist at the Honolulu experiment station, writes on the subject, it would appear that Yellow Caledonia cane is identical with White Tanna. The three varieties of Tanna cane, the Striped, the White and the Black, are called after the island of that name, one of the Loyalty group, of which the most important is New Caledonia. All of the Tanna canes are cultivated extensively in Australia, and the White Tanna or Yellow Caledonia was brought to Hawaii from Queensland.

Mr. W. P. Naquin, agriculturist of the H. S. P. A. experiment station, Honolulu, says: “Yellow Caledonia cane was first grown in the Kau district by manager George C. Hewitt of the Hutchinson Sugar company. The cane first came into prominence in the early nineties when Rose Bamboo, which had replaced Lahaina cane, began to show signs of deterioration. Yellow Caledonia, being a hardier cane than any of the varieties then grown, and therefore less susceptible to attack of leaf-hoppers and to prevalent diseases, soon gained favor in Kau, from which district it spread to Olaa and the Honokaa district. The introduction of Yellow Caledonia cane was, no doubt, a great help, if not the salvation of the Onomea Sugar company and the rest of the plantations in the island of Hawaii, which suffered so severely from leaf-hoppers and the deterioration of the Lahaina cane.”