CHEMISTRY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 66, 17 March 1916, Page 7

CHEMISTRY.

(To the Editor.) in thif * that intcrcat « taken in tins important matter. As far as the , tie 'S Of , che - ™ I tile high ea j aria ," are perh ' ,i to ar ginncnt, but the neeeiity if in <CI trial rfjemistry, as jt by raj(e f aot. Hie remarkable development of L i a " d eom ™rce during the I I past thirty yean has been an ouJLL" • in? feature of the economics of the • world, and the chemist hog been one of - the principal factors j n that development 1 In chemical dyes, in glaeewaro used in ; connection with jras and electricity J bulbs, globes, etc., to mention only a few jof the articles in universal demand tierimany has had practically a monopoly, and yet it may safely be said that all lor nearly all, of the mineral and vegetable products required are to 'be found in British Empire, and moreover, | that New Zealand is almost incompar- ; ably wealthy in that respect. A prin- ; cipal want was pig-iron, and this seane , I now at last to be supplied from Tarainaki ironsand. , There are many able chemists in the , country, and if we are to exploit comJmercially our natural assets, they must be placed in the van of industrial pro- [ gress. But we shall not go very far if .we look to the Government not "only to f; hatch onr industries, but to epoon-'feed • i them. Our capt-aine of industry must ■ realise the value of the chemist, and ( ! exploit him for all he is wortn. The ! j assets arc here, and of incalculable value, I but how long are they to be '.eft withiout development? The people at j I;must take such matters in hand, and I ■ show by their energy and enterprise that New Zealand can make use of riches I hitherto neglocted. There is little one ' i can borrow from America with advanI 1 but some nf the Yankee ''liu«tlp," | ' j combined with the modern methods of! '. industrial Germany, should, if applied in j '! the riijht directions, reduce our imports i ' to. a very satisfactory extent. A ca?e in ; [ point is the immense value of kauri peat, j as mentioned in a previous letter. Cer- I many and Hip United States have ■ already realised this, and it would be j •both shame and loss if we do not follow I the lead already given by them. The I j mere thought of motor spirit being proIdueed in New Zealand, and all it would mean to the people, is a joy.—l am, etc., _ J, STEELE,