KAURI GUM INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19419, 30 August 1926, Page 7

KAURI GUM INDUSTRY.

POSITION IN THE NORTH. EXPLOITING CHEAPER GRADES. THE PROCESSES IN USE. The conditions prevailing on Die North Auckland gumfields, to which public attention was recently focussed, cannot bo dissociated from the nature and present stato of the industry. Since the first kauri gum was exported to England in 3844 the methods, of recovering the gum have altered but little and, unlike most other industries which obtain their products from the soil, the employment of machinery is only to a limited extent possible.

The- efforts of the gtml and the state of the* industry generally have always been handicapped through winter Conditions. When it. rains, practically all work on the gumfields Ceases, as the swamps become filled up and so are rendered unworkable. The best months for digging occur in mid-summer, particularly February, March and April. In spite of the frequent cessation of labour and the fact that the workers on the fields are very largely of the nomadic type, over £20,000,090 has been obtained from gum in North Auckland since the industry started., '* ' Recovering Cruder Varieties. The washing process,' which'permits the extraction of the*■smaller specimens -of gum from the soil, has very largely replaced the old . method of, the spade and spear. It has brought into the realm of practical development the inferior kinds of gum which, fifteen years ago, were completely ignored. The method is reminiscent- of the pan-washing process popular with the old goldminers and consists of throwing gum-bearing soil into a till) or pan containing water. The mixture is put; through a sieve, which carries away the fin© earth, leaving behind the small lamps of gum and debris, a cleaning process then separating the gum from tho rybbish. The small pieces of gum/so,'.rrfcleased -are called - by the diggers " chips."' and are used largely in tho manufacture of linoleum. « .

In fho : last., few '. years .a limited uso has been made'of thb oil-engpie to operate the wash-pans and sieves. Naturally, it could not be expected that a mechanical aid of this sort would bo purchased by individual diggers, who have suffered considerable privations in the past two years on account, of the falling prices for gum, but small companies and partnerships have sprung up in several instances and have proved that a division of labqur .is more successful than individual effort. An extension of the principle would appear to be highly desirable, not only for the benefit of the diggers, but. also.-to. aid the-industry .as a whole. The cleaning of gum has for long Been performed on fcho most elemental lines, but of -lato a more or' less scientific method has gained a certain vogue. It is based on the separation of the gum from the dross in a solution of sodium chlorido by. means of the difference between; their specific gravities,' !' ; ' Cortipdt'tlbffiol Substitutes. A gcod deal lias been saic! lately or thi' 1 dwindling market for kauri gum and reference has been mode to the* use of other gums and gum-substitutes in the preparation of varnishes and linoleums. In spite of what has been stated, however, the success of these cheaper gums has not as yet been definitly. demonstrated, and a chance remains that kauri gum wiUvi'oturu%into favour, -especially if owners-.. are prepared to take a lower price for the. product. Largo quantities estimated to he' worth £200,000, are still hold in Auckland because they were acquired when high prices wero ruling and tho owners refuse to dispose of them at a loss Linoleum is mad® of a specially-pre-pared composition rolled on to a canvas and seasoned in a drying room. Tho special mixture varies according to tho particular _trade secret followed, but it is ■ known -.to.,cpntain solid linseed oil, which has ! b'een l&idfsra" resin; "kauri <gum, and groand-cM:.. Thir; of ,tho kauri gum the mixture and give*."-it ' strjsng'fcßl.; . , ',.. Besides linoleum, kauri gum has for long-been highly YalUtti as an ingredient of high-grade varnish. The reason for this is . that it is readily solubEe in oil and is easily manipulated. .Various gums have lately been employed in competition with it, principally anima, copal and manila, while China wood-oil, which is not a gtim, but an extract from the tung tree, has found great favour in the past fifteen years. Significance of New Lacquers. At the same time as the American and English varnish manufacturers wero turning their 'attention to other ingredients for their products, American mptor-car makers began to use lacquers instead o? varnishes a» .Mornrpf lacquer,' according to a report, is a type of nitro-cellulose which is made much as .is,manufactured Erom six to eight, codings in all are said to bo necessary, air-guns being used for spraying on- the lacquer, and two first-clas* workmen can Finish iba enamelling of a sedan in 1 J 4 days, as compared with 15 to 20 days taken to-complete the varnishing of a car. It is not yet known to what extent these laoquers will supplant the use of varnishes, but it has been stated that a finishing coat of varnish is in all cases necessary to produce a desirable lustre.

Many suggestions have 'been made for the reorganisation of the industry to enable it to meet- the new forma of competition and withstand' the harmful effects produced by the ; fall in prices. Much is ej;pect«d of the Kauri Gum Industry Control Act, which was to havs come into,, operation in April}--but lias got ! no further because > of difficulties •which hav& arisen in connection'with the form of election ,of members to the board.

It is fully recognised by those engaged in the industry that the Held for exploitation 13 strictly limited. Most of the best fields have already been worked out and recourse has been made to the poorer areasywhich were despised but a few years ago. Like the coalmining industry, it-cannot last for ever, and at the present rate of consumption it is estimated that 100 or 200 years will see the last of the gum as a factor in the export trade of tho country. That the end has not been reached before i 3 due only to thfk introduction of'the washing process, which enlarged the source of supply.