FLAX INDUSTRY
RAVAGES OF BLIGHT.
There are about 14,000 acres in the Makerua Swamp, on the Manawatulihe, and reaching towards Foxton. It is, or was, the largest single flax-producing .area in New ■ Zealand; but more than half of the acreage is now. affected by the flax blight, and. the bushes thereon are rather less than half their usual height. No definitely agreed-upon cause for -i.'ie- blight is.given; but there we ■any number of theories. :. The fact that concerns owners ■of the flax lands and millers is that the production is being seriously curtailed by the blight.: The total bales of hemp and tow and. stripper slips graded for the 12 months ended 31st December last was 108,808 bales, a.s compared with 120,667 bales for last year. The actual production of hemp alone for the 12 months was 88,220 bales, a decrease of 11,427 bales.' Not all of this decrease is due to blight, but it was a; factor. , ' .-.".; The market for flax to-day is dull, and production is accordingly restricted. No orders are coming to hand from London. Export prices here would be approximately £53 10s per ton. for good fair, £32 for high fair, and £30 for low. ■.-
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Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CI, Issue 18, 21 January 1921, Page 8
Word Count
199FLAX INDUSTRY Evening Post, Volume CI, Issue 18, 21 January 1921, Page 8
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