THE FLAX INDUSTRY IN THE AUCKLAND DISTRICT.

Manawatu Herald, 6 September 1889, Page 2

THE FLAX INDUSTRY IN THE AUCKLAND DISTRICT.

(By Johh R. RcsßSUi.) In, view of the fact that -fibre from •he Auckland district commauda a higher figure than that which is being turned out iv Mantwatu, I recently determined to visit the North m capita 1 , wth th» purpose of makit.g mysef per on illy acquainted wish the state of the industry in that.district, and at the request of some interested in the trait? I have written. » j«y \l- «» fttim tt tV« isak«tt dttflnjr

my visit v/hioh may be perused with, interest — and, perhaps, advantage — by the.hempmillers of this district. tt is muoh to be : regretted, I think:, that our local millers have not considered it advisable in their own interests to form an associati ri, as the time is fast approaching when quality, and not quantity will De vigorously in isted upou, and it is to the advantage of all that a good article should be the aim of those engaged in the trade. This by the way. On my arrival at Auckland I was struck by the strong anti- Wellington feeling shown by those interested in the trade there. Most undoubtedly they turn out, on the whole, better fibre than is manufactured in the Wellington district, and very emphatically do they let one know about it. However, apart from this perhaps pardonable little " blow," I was very kindly received, and when the object of vblo visit was made known, every facility was given me for obtaining the information I sought The first thing to attract my attention was the small compact little bales turned out. The average bale 'appeared to be about two and a half hundredweight. Of course the hanks are smaller in proportion. In one of these small ba'es there were eight rows of nine hanks at one end of the bale only -or 144 hanks to a two and a half bait*. When I mention that the average fonr hundredweight bale from Manawatu contains only about 96 hanks, the enormous difference will be at once apparent. And this hanking and baling business I found to be one of the prinoip jI features in which the Auckland article is preferable to our own clumsy, badly prosed bales. The hanks being no larger than can be compassed by the fingers an-1 thumb, enables the presser to more easily detect straws, to " turn " the hank midway between the tiutt and tails, and also to put a better " faoe " on the hank. Then the bale is more compact, and does not suffer in the handling to the extent larger bales do. Seeing the two kinds of bales side by side left me no room to doubt whioii was the better bale for all purposes of the two. Being desirous of seeing the treatment of the leaf at the Auoklaud mills, armed with au introduction, I went down by the Wiiikato train to Tuakau, some 85 miles from Auckland, where is situated with others, the mill of Mr J. Poland, whose flax commands £25 per ton at the Auckland Fibre Company's works, — which, may be taken as a proof of its quality — le s an allowance of ten shillings per ton for carriage. Unfortunately, Mr Poland wßs«bsent from the mill «t the .timeof my visit, butTEsl ioiT vi^: 'courted ously gave me all the information I sought. The raw material costs the Taukau millers about 18s per ton, and I noticed that no especial care ap eared to be taken in sorting the flax ; it was also cut nearer the butts than is tha rule in Manawatu, aud being brought to the mills in large quantities, stands nauoh. longer before being stripped than a local millowner would like. The leaf itself on the whole is finer than is used in Manawatu, and I noticed a much greater proportion of yellow flax — admittedly the best for milling purposes — than is obtainable here. The strippers are of the same principle as those in use here, but of a more ancient pattern. They only run about 1200 revolutions a minute, and not more than one leaf is fed at a time, so that a one-stripper mill will only put through two and a half tons of green stuff a day, whilst fifteen tons is considered a big week's work. The term " stripping " is unknown there — it is called " grinding " the flax, and they certainly " grind " the flax far more than we do. " Chopping " the fibre is not considered any detriment, so long as the necessary " grinding" is given. Consequently, with the superior soutching given, it is reck oned to take about nine tons of green flax to produce a ton of fibre. After the flax has been washed, it is tied together half a dozen hanks at a time and placed in large wooden boxes, into which a supply of clear water is constancy running, for an hour, or pc haps two, until all trace of stained matter in the water is removed, and the water runs out of the bottom plug hole quite clear, and to this steeping process — as it is termed — the Auokland millers attribute the fine white color their flax undoubtedly has. After being taken from the vats, it is allowed to drain, and is afterwards spread on fern bushes soma distance above the ground. This, it is claimed, saves any placing on wires, and also assists the oleacuing. After being well dried, it is taken to the scutching room, where greater attention is given to it than is usually the case here, in proof of which the price paid for scutching alone is 30s per ton, and at that it is well done, and not "scamped," all straws being carefully removed, and every oare being taken t > ensure only a first olass article being baled The press at Mr Poand'i mill measured eighteen inches m breadth by three feet two inches in length, and the bale would run a little over two hundredweight. Thus I found that to the matters of oolquv, scutching and baling:., the A.u.cfclanders pay more attention t an w« do, und until the local millers improve 'heir manu'ab-, tures in these respects they cannot tiqpf jto obtain, *tsoßnQe now paid for Di* Averaire AwaAwA ftttioV^

—about £28 or £24 a ton. I should mention the Auckland millers I saw each stated that without tie " steep, fog " prooess— bpf^, al||i4ed to— they could' not possjbjy get their , flax the colour they do^ and the system appears to be general in the autrict 1 visited. Tne mills in the Taukau district are yearly all driven By water power, and axe of course admirably situated in the matter: of water, the rats being "fed "• by a small pipe from the race conveying ' the water to the wheel. 'Jhe industry is carried on very quietly, there being not the slightest sign of hurry anywhere. The output being so small, the flax is easily carried by hand to the spreading ground, which is light alongside the mill, and not '; a horse is used, the cartage of the fibre to the railway line being dont by conract. Labour is much cheaper than here ; a boy who is quite content with ten shilling^ a week there would be" paid fiftetn shi lings here, and also receive Mbi ' " tucker," . costing say twelve 1 «M- n -* lings. The total number of hand* employed about a one-atripper xnfll driven by water power would not exceed seven, and. of course tut victualling is required. One mi let works a machine of his own make.' in which the feed rollers are placed vertically, being driven by cojaf underneath. He claimed that by this process the ordinary double leal being fed vertically,. was spread but over tho beating bar as if two single leaves were fed side by side, and ' would be stripped absolutely to the extreme end of the tip. la bis ; drying ground I saw dozens hanks, which had been stripped by this machine, in which no vegetation was left on the tip. But the maker would not guarantee; the machine to \ put more than two and a half tons o£ - green stuff through in the day. In the foregoing I haye 7 rough !y endeavoured to show where our Auckland, friends excel the local millers, in the hope that strenuous efforts will be , made by all engaged in the trade to turn out a first class article— on that alone the future success of the trade will depend. '■'■'„- ' Foxton, September 1, 1889. •' >