NORTH ISLAND LAND.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 15 August 1928, Page 7

NORTH ISLAND LAND.

DETER 10RATIN'G RAPIDLY

A MEMBER’S COMPLAINT,

Be TH^tfrapli —Urtißi* Ass-ociation.#

WELLINGTON, Aug. 14. ,A terr largo portion of the land in the North Us land was deteriorating rapidly, declared Mr. J. CL Eliott (Oroua) in the House of {Representatives to-night. This was due largely, be said, to the methods of farming employed by their predecessors, who had exhausted the virginal fertility of the land. The task of remedying former errors fell ujMin the present generation. This was to be done by the liberal application of fertilisers pliosphatic in character. These were to be obtained from Nauru and Ocean Islands. Between the years 1921 and 1927 2,500,000 tons of pliosphatic rock were shipped from Nauru and Ocean Islands. Of this Australia secured 2,000,030 tons, while New Zealand obtained only 495,000 tons. The maximum New Zealand could obtain under the present agreement would be a million tons, which would be about half our requirements in a few years if the increased demand of recent years continued. Mr. Eliott urged that every effort should be mad© to secure an increased share of the Nauru and Ocean Islands products ; not merely that, but no effort should be spared to secure new supplies of our own. He hoped the Minister of Agriculture would during the debate make a statement on the subject which would gne the farmers every assurance that adequate supplies of phosphates would be available to them.