THE FLAX INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14132, 6 August 1909, Page 7

THE FLAX INDUSTRY.

MILLS RE-OPENING. In , conversation with . a gentleman who., -.- takes a keen interest in the flaxmilling in- . v dustry, ■ a representative of the Dominion ~' was told that the millers around Foxton, Palmerston North, and Shannon are at ■;« present busily engaged making preparations to open their ,mills again. • Two or three milk I have continued cutting right;;;; through the winter, but these .are: excep- ■:; tions amongst the many. It is stated that - : ' two, or perhaps three, mills will re-open within the next fortnight, and each mill: : will absorb some 22 or 23 of the unemployed. Several other mills will" start again during September, and a large new mill near Levin will be opened in October.*: Life has been infused into : the industry, „ owing to the fact that i the price of hemp has improved nearly £2 per ton since it • touched bottom some months ago, and **'$ there are several buyers in the market at ;•&•< thft advanced figure. _ _ "Necessity is the mother of invention" is a hackneyed old saying, but this necessity, induced by the low prices, has made many of the mill-owners turn their attention to improving their machinery. Several of .the mills have had better plant put ' in for the purpose of catching flax after ifc;t§ passes through the stripper, hanging ■ it'.' and washing it. / Two or three millers are also engaged in' trying to discover some ; improved method of dealing with the pre-'S-S sent wasteful scutching process, and, now that attention has been turned to cheaper . methods of production, the =cost of manufacture, which, with royalties has been £16 to £17 per ton, will, it is hoped, be '■ materially lessened during the present season. If the current prices of. flax are maintained, it is anticipated that every mill between Manakau, Foxton, and Palmerston North ■ will be in full swing by the end of September.