QUALITY OF HEMP.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVII, Issue 205, 30 August 1913, Page 2

QUALITY OF HEMP.

FALLING-OFF LAST MONTH

AN EVIL OF THE CONTRACT

SYSTEM

Unfortunately for the hemp industry, a high percentage of the hemp graded last month was of a. distinctly unsatisfactory character, owing to the large amount of diseased leaf bein? worked, states Mr W...H. Ferris, Government Hemp Grader, in \ the Journal of Agriculture. This, however, applies principally to the ManaJwatu district. Very little fault can bj found, with the work of milling, except in regard to scutching, where

carelessness resulted in many lines containing an undue proportion of "tow-balls" and "taily" ends. This trouble can only be regarded as one of the evils of the contract system. In the rush to get through a large | amount of material the quality of ,the j work is. ignored. It is to be regreti ted that many millers do not realise the importance of keeping really badly diseased leaf separate from the better quality. Theifj,overlook the fact | that the value of "tnfe line must be de- ] termined by the most inferior portion, j That is the principle on which the j trade buys its raw material, and it j is the principle which must- be largeI ly observed in the work of grading, j In many cases the large percentage of 1 really diseased and practically weak j hemp included in parcels has resulted j in the exportation of hemp which can I only bring discredit on phormiumj fibre on oversea markets. It is | questionable if it really pays to mill ! some of the badly diseased hemp at i present being utilised1. In a few , | cases which came under my notice dur- j i ing the past month it would, certainly I j have paid the miller-to have discarded ja > good percentage of his leaf, as. the ' higher value of the remaining fibre I would have more than compensated ; him. IMPROVEMENT AT AUCKLAND PORT. Hemp received during the month at \ southern grading-stores was of a satis- ; factory standard, except in the case of , the Bluff, »where the quality 'on the

whole leaves much to be desired, especially as a good proportion of it is rather short in length. It is satisfactory to know, however, that a number of the district millers I have interviewed expressed their intention or aiming at a better standard next season. At the Auckland port, where 'so much unsatisfactory hemp has come forward for shipment this season, some improvement is noticeaDle. A shipment of 175 tons of decent goodfair hemp was shipped from Auckland for Canada last month. The millingwork of this province is of a rather in-and-out character, some mills doing good work and others very poor work. The inferior quality being milled is due entirely to poor work in the mill itself, as the bulk of the leaf being produced in Auckland is of a distinctly good quality—long, good, clean fibre-producing leaf. The payable prices being received and the decidedly good returns secured by those millers who are turning out a good marketable article have convinced many millers that it pays to do the work well, and I was assured by quite a number of them during a recent visit to the north that they intended to aim for good-fair quality next season. With this object in view they propose installing the latest labor-saving de-

vices. That the industry has taken a new lease of life in the north is proved by the fact, that several of the mills in that part of the Dominion are now thoroughly well equipped, and have the means at hand to turn out the very highest quality of fibre. WORTHLESS' TOW.

In Auckland, as in the majority of the other hemp-milling districts in the Dominion, the tow produced is most unsatisfactory, mij/lers failing _ altogether to appreciate the necessity of marketing this in decently clean condition* They seem to be under the impression that rubbish and dirt constitute tow, and that these have a marketable value. In the Manawatu the tow in some oases is almost worthless, owing to the badly diseased condition of the leaf from which it comes. It is to be feared that tow will rapidly go out of favor with the manufacturers abroad if improvement be not effected in the quality of the article exported.

No stripper-slips are coming forward. The decline in market value and the higher freight ruling are. no doubt, the contributing causes.