FROM ANOTHER ANGLE.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 46, 23 February 1929, Page 10

FROM ANOTHER ANGLE.

PROSPECTS IN SAMOA. FUTURE FOR CULTIVATION. AN EXPERT REVIEWS CONDITIONS. So much has been said and written about Samoa from a political viewpoint that it is refreshing to have painted a different picture of the islands which have caused New Zealand such concern since she undertook the mandate for their control. Mr. IJ. P. Ritchie. Director of Agriculture at Samoa, has been spending'a furlough in New Zealand, and from his account of conditions in the tropical isles one views them in another perspective, visioning what they are and what they may soon become. It is a refreshing change to hear of our fosterchild as a paradise of fiuitfulness instead of as a realm of discontent. Of the political situation Mr. .Ritchie, as a Government servant, naturally declined to say anything, but of Samoa as a tropical possession which will produce almost anything of the vegetation of the torrid regions, he waxes enthusiastic. And this aspect, he contends, has almost been lost to sight in public concern over other affairs.

The products of tropical lands, and particularly of the i South Sea Islands, are daily looming larger in the world's markets, and for them the future is even more rosy than it is for such rivals in the supplies of foodstuffs as New Zealand and the Argentine. The temperate countries are limited in the variety of their output. Samoa, small though it is, is a land of unlimited possibilities in the range of its products of the soil. Already it lias a name for its cocoa that stand almost supreme. The bean gathered chiefly upon Upolu has peculiar qualities that create an assured demand for it in the blending of what produces the finest chocolate or beverage. There are magnificent chances for the development of cocoa production, yet at the present time there is no marked increase in output. This may be accounted for by the lack of scope for and encouragement of private enterprise. The main plantations are owned by the Government, some, however, being leased to private planters. Cocoa Growing. We have not been accustomed to regard Samoa as a place where the New Zealander may settle, for it is already

known that the average white man cannot stand up to continual manual labour in isles where ilic average temperature is at least "S degrees, and where the humidity, continually, is such as is seldom experienced here. But there is, in ilr. Ritchie's opinion, a good opening for cocoa planters to do well in the islands if they are prepared to risk a capital of at least ,£l~>oo, and to take up virgin land which can be leased from the natives. No freehold of such land is obtainable without the approval of the Administration, but there are thousands of acres which can be secured on lease. To the New Zealand farmer such land, on inspection, would not have the slightest appeal. Most of it is bushcovered scoria—a mass of rocky surface, where 110 plough could be used.. Yet. with tropical heat and a rainfall of II) feet a year, this scoria disintegrates quickly, and the growth upon so uninviting a surface is phenomenal. Appearance quite-belies productivity.

Asked tn indicate the area of land suitable for a person intent upon cocoa plantation, and some figures concerning costs, .Mr. Ritchie went rapidly into details. With the capital which he had mentioned it would lie possible for an intending settler to take up about ISO acres of virgin land. In the first year he would open up only about 2."> acres, at a cost approximately £10 an acre. Bv interplanting bananas with the young cocoa trees this area would be at ouee revenue producing, and the prospects are that in the following year a further 50 acres could be brought under cultivation. It would be 4J years, though, ere there would be a solid return from cocoa. Chinese labour, indentured for six years, is obtainable at a cost of £5 per month, this sum including cost of indenture and repatriation. One coolie to about 14 acres of cocoa is a suitable labour supply, so that with a 150-acre plantation in full bearing, a staff of 12 coolies would suffice for all necesary work. The white - man's job would be purely supervision and administration. As it is described the prospect sounds inviting, though it has it? drawbacks. The climate is quite healthy for Europeans, and children thrive excellently up to the age of seven years. After that there is the advisability, if not the necessity, of separation "fern their parents, that the youngsters may <n<&v to adults in temperate climes..

Though the cultivation of the cocoa] bean offers the greatest attraction to the white planter, the gathering of copra is the staple industry of the group, and in this enterprise Europeans and Polynesians participate on about a- fiftyfifty basis. Here, too, lies opportunity for' outside enterprise and. outside capi-

tal. If such would tackle the question of the extraction of the oil from the copra upon t'.ie islands themselves there would be profit in the process and a higher return to the copra gatherers The erection of the necessary plant would be costly, but in .Mr. Ritchie's view it would be well worth while under private enterprise. Copra production has been increasing steadily for years, though the political agitation of the past months has been all in favour of that Samoan pest, the rhinoceros beetle, which has nourished as a destructive agent while grievances real or imagined were being aired. Still, in 101(5 the beetle pest was completely out of hand, yet in two years its ravages were reduced to a minimum. What has been done can be done again, and with the return of native goodwill, and a drastic campaign, the menace c:n be conquered. Enterprising Planters. Of the white planteis on the islands Mr. Ritchie has the highest opinion. They are not of the lotus eating type, but are enterprising and up-to-date, and their efforts are tending to the progress of Samoa to a degree which will be more and more marked as years go on. To the administration they are absolutely loyal. The banana growing industry is of but recent growth, but in Samoa it has a great future. Already.

were it called upon to do so, it could supply the whole requirements of the South Island, and, should the necessity arise and shipping facilities be available, the whole of the Dominion's requirements. The Samoan banana is quite equal to the Fijian and has good keeping qualities. Though cultivation is yet in its infancy, and the natives, who supply at least half of the export quantity, have still much to learn, they are tackling the new proposition quite keenly and lindimr it profitable.

Of minor products of their soil there are plenty. Sufferers from indigestio". probably do not realir that most of the medicinal cures for this complaint contain papain, and that this is

obtained from the papaya, paw-paw or mummy-apple, to give it its varying names. Vanilla, nutmegs, pineapples, kapok and cotton—all these do well "under Samoan skies. So despite the atmosphere of pessimism regarding Samoa which exists in the minds of many New Zealanders. there is 'i silver lining apparent, and indicationare that a wave of prosperity approaches lor Samoa as does for Xew Zealand, and the group, which has been a financial burden to us in the past. will, with initiative, the encouragement of private enterprise, and the Fertility of ils own soil soon become self-supporting, if not an asset.