BINDER TWINE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXII, Issue 7386, 31 October 1884, Page 3

BINDER TWINE.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,— Kindly allow mo space to reply to ft letter signed "T. A.,” appearing in your paper of Wednesday. Your corresitondent states therein that tho price to farmers last season of twine manufactured by the Auckland Fibre Company was 8d per pound. I don’t know in what part of New Zealand "T. A," lives, but I can tell him that I Have an invoice before mo of twine made by tho said Company in which the pried to us (to soil again) is 10id nett; this moans Is to tho farmer, not Bd. Tho twine was procured from tho agents here of tho Auckland Fibre Company in the beginning of tho current year.—l am, &c., L. C. WILLIAMS, Secretary N.Z. Farmers’ Co-operative Asssociation of Canterbury, Limited. TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —I quite agree with the remark made by ” T. A.” in his letter that appeared in your issue of Wednesday last, “ that facts are stubborn things.” Pacts are stubborn, but those of your correspondent are very wide of the mark of the actual state of tho case. I fully accept his assurance that he has ‘‘ no interest, directly or indirectly, in the manufacture or sale of twine,” because, if ho had, "T. A.” would not have exhibited such an nnacquaintanco with what he writes about. The Auckland Fibre Company manufacture three descriptions of binder twine, one of which only finds a ready sale. These are No. 1 pure Manilla, No. 2 half Manilla and half flax. No. 3 all New Zealand flax. If a farmer can get pure Manilla, he will not look at either of the other two kinds. The bulk of tho Auckland twine sold in Canterbury last season was pure Manilla, and the price charged by the Company to merchants and storekeepers was XOJd per lb nett cash, cases extra. This twine was retailed to farmers at lid to Is, the same as the imported. If it would be of any practical benefit I could inform you of the price at which the Company are making contracts with the distributors for the ensuing harvest ; but as the corporation in question would doubtless object to have its business discussed I will be silent upon the point. I may, however, inform your correspondent that the price to the farmers the Auckland and other kindred manufacturers are seeking to establish for next season is lid per lb. " T.A.” is totally oblivious of the fact, or he does not know it, that the merchants and storekeepers only charged 8d for the flax twine made by the Auckland Company, but the Canterbury farmer is far too ’cute an individual to take flax twine if pure Manilla is at all obtainable. It is absurd to draw a comparison between the cost of flax twine, an article scarcely used, and Manilla. Auckland Manilla, made and imported, were both sold at the same, and will be during the ensuing season. To say that Provincial jealousy has anything to do with the question is a farce, seeing that Auckland has one factory, and Dunedin the other, and when Mr Hale starts in Christchurch the Middle Island will be in the proportion of two to one.

I have a great number of farmer friends, but cannot find any who paid Is 2d for their twine. The price was lid to Is for Manilla. Personally, I would he as well pleased as “T.A.” to see nothing but locally-made binder twine - used, but I am afraid, in his anxiety to forward Colonial industries, your correspondent has allowed his immagination to run —I am, &c. REAPER AND BINDER.