The Chronicle LEVIN. SATURDAY, SEPTERMBER 1, 1917. SALT.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 1 September 1917, Page 2

The Chronicle LEVIN. SATURDAY, SEPTERMBER 1, 1917. SALT.

A rise of fifty per cont in the retail price of salt moved a Chronicle correspondent to enquire, Last montlh, if viie small-bird nuisance was responsible' tor the increased demand and post/; lie scouted the idea that the war was responsible. Yet he was- in error. The extra, consumption of salt occasioned by the war its a negligible footer in regard t 0 cost, but the extra! ireights occasioned by .the disturbed conditions of commerce are responsible in a great measure. A iLovini shopkeeper who was wont to land: saTifc 111 Levin at a total cost of £3 per ton, before the war, now has to pay £6 per ton in freight plus the cost j of the commodity in the old country. 7n the light of this fact, the increase of 50 per cent in retail oost seems rory moderate. The case of Australia is lis bad ais iNFew Zealand's, for tlie local supplies available there thi3. year are much less than normal. A Sydney Sun message states tliiat supplies of salt are almost unobtainable to-day, and 1 one prominent wholesale merchant stated in Sydney the other | day that, his firm had been unable. to | secure one-jt-enth of its usual supplies. He explained that Australia's j sale was secured from the great salt hikes in South Australia, where the huuie swamps dried up in the summer. This year the rainfall had been phenomena] and the evaporation had not ; been sufficient to dry the lakes, and consequently no salt deposits were i available, and not one merchant was • able to quote a priee.