NEW ZEALAND FLAX.

Marlborough Express, Volume V, Issue 223, 26 March 1870, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND FLAX.

The Otago Daily Times of March 8 contains the following:— In the export of flax Auckland is considerably in advance of the other Provinces of New Zealand. As the subject is one of great importance, we give in a tabular form the quantity and value of the flax exported from the various ports of the Colony during the last quarter, together with its average value per lon :

6744 £16,470 £24 8 6 It will be seen from this statement that Otago is very far behind Auckland in this matter, in regard both to the quantity and quality of the fibre exported, and behind Canterbury also in the formers respect. As we have already said, however, a quarter’s returns cannot be said to convey a fair impression so far as the quantity of any particular item of export is concerned. The season being earlier both in Auckland and Canterbury than in Otago accounts in a great measure for this disparity. This will be seen from the fact that, while during the last quarter Otago only exported 16f tons of flax, it has during the current quarter exported to England alone 122 tons in addition to any shipments that may have been made to the Australian colonies. In the second and more important respect, however, that of quality, it is evidenfthat our locally dressed flax is greatly inferior to that of 'Auckland. It may be some slight consolation that,.So far as a comparison can be instituted by means of the figures before us, it is fully equal to that dressed in Wellington, Nelson, and Canterbury, but the fact still remains that there is great room for improvement in our mode of dressing the fibre. The result is no doubt due in some measure to the superiority of the Auckland flax. The fact ought to incite our own

farmers to devote their attention to its cultivation ; but we are inclined to think that the result is due still more to the greater care and skill of the Auckland manufacturers. The mattter is one of great importance, as, if the Otago dressed fibre should at the outset obtain a character for inferiority, much time and money as well as trouble will be expended before it will be able to retrieve its reputation, and the consequences in the meantime may be disastrous to our manufacturers.

Tons. Total Value. Average value per ton, £ £ s. d. Auckland 312 9039 28 19 6 Lyttelton 300 6078 20 5 2 Wellington ... 29 592 20 8 3 -Wanganui ... 144 361 24 18 0 Dunedin 16| 348 21 1 2 Kelson 2 42 21 0 0