WAIKATO FERTILISER BUYERS, ASSOCIATION,

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11975, 26 May 1902, Page 7

WAIKATO FERTILISER BUYERS, ASSOCIATION,

The first annual meeting of the above association was held at Tamahere last week, Mr. J. D. P. Morgan (president) occupying the chair. Twenty-six new members were elected. The president's report disclosed a most satisfactory condition of affair.-;. As an outcome of a recommendation in the report, the following motion was adopted, with a recommendation that the assistance of the Waikato Farmers' Club be obtained to further the matter: "That this meeting of fertiliserusers urges on the Government the necessity of placing a sum on the Estimates for the erection of sterilising and bone-crushing works at Westfield." The acting-secretary declined to accent any remuneration for his services. The following officers were elected :—President and treasurer, Mr. J. D. P. Morgan (re-elected), of Pukeroro; vice-presi-dent, Mr. H. Irvine, of Tc Awamutu. The president pointed out that if members wished to secure full benefits from their combination they would require to purchase bonedust for next season's use at once, so that delivery could be taken from the ship's side, thus saving cost of storage. He submitted an offei for a line, which was considered satisfactory, and all members were requested to send in their orders before next meeting, to be held in about three weeks' time. The matter of purchasing supplies of fertilisers was left in the hands of the president. The president submitted the following report:—"To those who believe that fanners should better their position by practical combination more than by any other way the resuit of the past few months' working of the Waikato Fertiliser-buyers' Association should come as a pleasant confirmation of the soundness of their faith. Commencing operations in December last by calling for tenders for bonodust and an equal quantity of superphosphate and guano, the association has been able to save members no less a sum than nearly £150 on cho cost of their fertilisers, besides leaving the amount charged for commissions practically intact to go towards the formation of a reserve fund. Although the accounts show a small sum as being owing by members to the association, the business has been conducted on strictly cash-in-advance lines, and the small amount referred to represents excess weights on consignments, which will no doubt be paid on demand. It is by following positively safe lines only that sue! l associations can hope for success, and, though some of our members probably thought it rather hard that they should be called on to pay cash in advance for the first time in their lives, still all admit that to obtain largo concessions without liability to members there must be no risk of bad debts. A common mistake of farmers has been the idea that the merchant who canvassed them most diligently and offered the longest credit was the firm who gave the best value, but if we reflect that all such canvassers cost at least three times the remuneration for then time that farmers get for theirs, it will be seen how it is that merchants have to charge so high. Most farmers know their requirements, and by having an association through which they can buy their small lots as well as the larger merchants can buy their big ones, they can save the middleman's profits, provided they save his expenses by giving as little trouble as possible. The accounts show a sum of £5 Is 3d rebate, which is at the credit of 12 members, and this is the total liability of the association, there being no accounts owing. There is one matter which requires the urgent attention of all fertiliser-users, and that is the sterilising of all imported bones. At present bonedust is admitted on the certificate of the shipper that it has been steamed, but, no matter how careful the examination may be on the part of the inspectors, it is possible that some portion may not have been thoroughly sterilised. Besides, during transit bonedust is liable to ne contaminated by rats and in many other ways, and since users of it cannot help inhaling a portion of the dust it behoves farmers to see that they get a thoroughly sterilised article. The only safe way of doing this is by having a Government sterilising and crushing plant at Westfield, which, if erected on the automatic principle, should not add tt the cost of bonedust to the farmer. Bones 'ould then be imported from South Africa and all parts of the world with safety.