SCIENTISTS’ OUTING.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 245, 31 January 1921, Page 3

SCIENTISTS’ OUTING.

.visit to Minium- and.mang’aHao

A PLEASANT EXPERIENCE

Science, in its many forrits, was well j represented in the party which left Palmers- , ton North on Saturday morning to visit the j Miraimi flaxniills and th.c Mungajiao hydro- j electric power-works. A largo number of ■ears was placed at the disposal of the party, and. the day’s outing was a pleasant ending , to the Science Congress which had met during the week. The unpromising weather, did not prove :t deterrent, but rather an ' incentive on account of its coolness, to the pleasure of the trip. | THE FLAX MILLS. J After a brisk drive of about an hour and a.-half, the party arrived at the Miranui and Whka flaxniills and wore mot by ‘Mr A. Seifert, who conducted those desiring it over the plant, A considerable. number, A, however, preferred to visit the flax swamps and for this purpose every facility had been j placed at their disposal by an obliging man- j agclnont. In the. swamps the yellow-leaf disease is unfortunately’ apparent, but it is hoped that in the near with the hylp j of scientific treatment it will be possible j to eradicate the pest, which, if allowed to go on unchecked, will prove, at least, a , formidable menace to the industry. The I excursionists,. under, the guidance of Air; Seifert, wore first- taken through the power- ( house at Miranui mill. Here 500 horse-: j power is generated by both steam and sue-, lion gas, the latter being considered the most economical and efficacious for the purpose. The ) low or is used for driving the seven strippers of the mill. To those machines the flax is hauled from the stacks where it is deposited on being brought in fiom the swamps and is led in by hand, the'damaged and diseased blades being previously removed. The stripped .separate, the fibre from the green surrounding mat- j ter and automatically beat out the clinging j debris. The hanks ‘of free material are! next collected by hand and hung over groat beams which are passed under a scri|k of |)i|ies from which a continuous stream of fresh water flows. The fibre, after it is washed, is conveyed to a shed, which is sealed and is subjected to treatment from sulphur fumes. This causes a certain amount of bleaching, but all the colouring matter cannot be destroyed or separated from the fibre by artificial means and the material | is next carted out to the drying fields where sun and wind complete.-the remainder of the process. When satisfactorily dried, etc., the rough material is .taken to the scutching sheds where I lie fibre, which is the finest j product, and the tow, the coarser, are i separated. A Quantity of waste in atonal, . which is discarded as of no use, is also produced. A certain amount of the flax not properly dealt with by 'the strippers, called “stripper slips,” although subjected to the first portion of the process, is nol lakon 10 the scutching sheds, but sold in its rough state. ■•The Weka, a smaller mill, which 'is adjacent to the Miranui, is run on practically the same lines its those of the larger plant. To return to the scutching shod, the fibre and low are pressed into bales weighing approximately four cwt, and are thereupon ready for (he market. Iho diving areas of both mills cover an acreage o! close on 230, most of the land being in use during the winter. The dgily output of the plant is estimated at about 12 tons which necessitates the treatment of .some 100 tons of flax. Fibre now returns u price approximating £34 per ton, and the; tov and stripper slips are at present selling at £l2 10s' and £7 per ton respectively. (Amsidevablo expense,, however, is incurred in the running of the mills, and also in the . payment of the 170 men employed therein. I After a satisfying and well-served bincheon in one of the. hutments adjoining the. plant, the party set out for Mangalian. THE MA'nGAHAO SCHEME.

At the foot of the road loading to the; Mangalmo river whore the work of the , installation of the hydro-electric (riant is.) proceeding, the majority of those, present embarked in a large lorry, the remainder ( going on by car. , -■ On the .site of the power station a plajit has boeii partly installed for the purpose of supplying the necessary compressed air power to proceed with the boring ot the 170 chain tunnel which is to convey the water Worn the No. .3 dam to the surge 1 chamber from which it will 'bo brought in pipes down a drop of 900 foot ,to the .station. Within the last ycanAho.jm(hvigv loading to No, 1 and 3 dam3„hfts been vastly improved and now presents a less,; hostile appearance to the motorist who, on instruction or’ sight-seeing bent, wishes to traverse it in order to reach the sconce 1 of. operations amongst the hills.', Thocam’pon the site of the No. 3 dam at Aripiti presents quite a different appearance to a visitor who has not been there since last winter. Instead of a canvas township, a number of neat wooden huts—one might almost call some of them cottages—have been erected. The workmen, in many eases, have their wives residing at the settlement. In some instances attempts with what results one might readily imagine when considering that the soil is of (he best—have been made to establish the familiar kitchen garden. In all, most of the pioneer works in connection with, the establishment of the scheme have been completed. Work at the No. 1 reservoir (Mangalmo) is proceeding apace. The temporary plant for supplying the power necessary for commencing boring operations tor the runnel leading to the Aripiti dam has been completed and a suspension bridgo_ erected over the Mangalmo river. Extensive testings for both reservoirs have been carried out, under the supervision of Mr ’Miller, engineer in charge of the works. r lhe Aripiti tunnel has been commenced and at present the staff arc organising to commence work on the Mangalmo tunnel. THE SCHEME. \ The following .is a resume, of the scheme : It is proposed to build throe reservoirs (Nos. 1. 2 and 3). two being situated at Mangalmo and the third at Aripiti. The first of these reservoirs, No, 1, which is tobe . erected ou the Mangalmo river, will, contain 84,492,000 cubic loot or 500,000,000 gallons. The water will lie conducted from here through au 80 chain tunnel to No. 3 dam at Aripiti. - This reservoir will have a holding capacity of 46,014,000 cubic feet or 300,000,000 gallons. From here another tunnel, 107 chains in length, will convey the water to a surge chamber and it will thence he taken down some 900 ft in pipes to the power house (nearly 1000 ft fall from the No. 3 dam. The No. 2 dam, which will contain 106,143,000 cubic foot (650.000,000 gallons) will be used for storage-pur-poses only and will not be constructed until 1 the remainder of the-work has -been completed. It is estimated that the works 1 will produce 24,000 li.p. all the year round.