POTASH FOR THE FARM.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVII, Issue 244, 12 October 1916, Page 9

POTASH FOR THE FARM.

I PRODUCED FROM SAWDUST. ASSOCIATION IN .m_E " i^ ; _EPO-tS NOT FAVOURABLE. \ V-So- much has been heard of the huge I fortunes reaped by smart Americans found a profitable use,rfor ypste iwo-w-'at big manufacturing houses : that the Auckland Industrial Association was disposed to lend an ..attentive -air to a scheme recently propounded by -„ H. M- Lev—.ge, of Buawai, Northern Wairoa, for extracting potash from sawdust The doctor's suggestion was that the thousands of tons of sawdust that was disposed of with difficulty at the mills throughout the province might be -utilised to produce potash, and thus cheat the Germans of some of the trade |h which, they had a monopoly before the "* ar - ... — The Industrial. Association sought ''other -expert advice, and reports -were Emitted at the meeting held - ,ter_y afternoon. Mr. S. J. Harbu.c pre_ed,j and there were - present also „s_V, athan, B. Buttle, H. Deai3lv, «T.- W. Wiseman, G. C- Garlicfc-an-_T _icCoi_"~ :T?yx' '.-li* In _n exhaustive st_tement Professor F. P. Wo—eyi of the Auckland.Univer- , iiity College dealt fully with the whole matter. • He-stated that, by "-.-r "the largest proportion of potash produced w-J.used as a fertiliser. For years almost the whole supply hia bee-* obtained from the Stassfurt beds, in Germany. Silicious rocks were relatively rich in potash, there being large quantities of the rock in New Zealand, conr taming'fil_ three to four per rent. -," Potash had alio -been pro—leedvprofit- , ably on the coast of Scotland and Ireland by horning seaweed, and more Te- . eently a similar industry had sprung up on the Pacific Coast of .North America. ■ :_t Japan seaweed was burnt for the sake •erthe potash, and the iodine. Abo ut "50 per cent of the iodine ifeed" in" the " United States was said to come from -Japan. " '[ In regard to wood ashes, the-professor said that he considered that ash from .-sawmiUs would produce from two to ten f per. cent of potash. Experiments car- .- ried out in New Zealand under some~.what difficult conditions had shown a return from the principal na£ise.Jss*oQds of from -0 to 20.73----'Tn conclusion," said Professor Wor'ley, "it would not, in my opinion, be profitable to extract; potash as Dr. Levinge t ■ .suggests." In adding reasons for his Vcocelusions, Dr." Worley stated that a better use for sawmill ashes 'was to I \ apply them directly to the land. "* "Mr.- F- S. _"ope, secretary to' the Department of Agriculture, wrote that'the was one fori private enterprise. 4f.lf the product could he handled -profit- "' ably no doubt many manure merchants r "would."be willing to deal with the pro- -" position- * ■ -. Mr. J. W. Ellis, timber-mill [i, of Hamilton, wrote stating that if they i had seen in it they would -riave been glad to try it out long ago. y\ Mr. Harbutt expressed the opinion f that, in view of the nature of the reimports they could only draw the conclusion that the scheme was nardly a prac- ■;; tieabler- one.