FLAX INDUSTRY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 243, 13 September 1932, Page 5

FLAX INDUSTRY.

EXPERIMENTS BEING MADE.

Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, Sept. 12. Although steps are being taken by the Government to investigate liax culture, it was stated to-day that no definite move had been made to give effect to the reported recommendation in the Imperial Economic Committee’s report on hemp that tho Dominion should consider the appointment of an engineer to deal with the machinery used in the industry. A cable message from Loudon said the committee considered that the possibility of further mechanising the industry .should be explored and a station established to conduct cultural experiments and demonstrate the results to mill owners. It was stated by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research .fiat experiments with various classes of seeds had been conducted m New Zealand lor about two or three years, but there were many difficulties to be overcome and it had proved impossible so far to take any deiunte move in tlie direction of mecuanising the industry to the extent necessary. it is considered by the department’s experts that if tile industry could he mechanised so that liax could be handled as an ordinary crop, as lar as reaping and treatment for extraction or tne hbre are concerned, it would be placed in a more favourable commercial position. The presold methods are considered too costly and manual handling gives little chance lor largo seal© efficiency.

Up to the present, however, any attempt to grow liax as a crop would not be satisfactory as it is extremely hard to grow plants so that they will be of even quality. This would be essential if they wero to be harvested in one operation as a crop. Until an even grade of fibre can be evolved the complete mechanisation of the industry is considered unworkable. The department recently investigated a patent machine for handling liax and treating it in bulk, but this did not prove entirely satisfactory, partly because the machine had been adapted for treating sisal. However, experiments are at present being carried out in New Zealand in an attempt to secure a machine that will perform efficient stripping. In the meantime attention is being given to the culture of suitable strains.