FLAX REVIVAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21086, 21 January 1932, Page 10

FLAX REVIVAL.

TREATMENT OF THE FIBRE. MODERN METHODS ESSENTIAL. VALUA3LE MARKETS TO BE WON. The pnmiso of a revival of tho flax industry ir New Zealand as a result of the assistance which is to bo given by the Unemployment Board is not likely to carry thnse engaged in the growing and t.reatmen , of this valuable fibre plant very far unless attention is given to the cultivation oi the very best varieties, and to the improvement of the processes by which th 2 fibre is prepared for commercial uses. The flix industry has never been at a lower ebb in the history of New Zealand thfn it is at present, and it is recognised by those most closely associated with the work that only a departure fro n tho time-honoured but hopelessly inadequate methods can save the industry from extinction. The present position, which is. serious enough, has ben brought about by depressed prices in the world markets and competition from sisal hemp. Just low serious the position is may bo seen from the following figures. For the year ended March 31, 1930, tho f.o.b. value oi hemp, tow, stripper tow and stripper slips exported from New Zealand totalled £382,394, whereas the export value of these articles for tho following year —thit ended March 31, 1931—totalled £91,658. Steep Decline in Exports. This noant, a- loss to New Zealand of £290,736 in export values when the figures for the two years are compared. In addit on to this loss tho decline in the volume of exports has thrown many men formerly engaged in tho industry on to tho labtur market, with an estimated loss of ;2120.000 in wages. The declino in export over a period of years has been very great, i'or in 1914 tlie value of the flax exports was over £500,000. There is no doubt in the minds of experts that the best varieties of flax are superior for the making of hemp to anything grown in auy other part of the T»orld, and there seems little doubt that if more i satisfactory and economical methods of processing were adopted New Zealand could capture a large share of tho world's i:rade in this commodity. It has been estimated that tho world uses 450,000 ons of hard fibre annually. Tito raw material present growing in New Zealand is estimated to be capable of returning 15.000 tons of fibre, and this will be added to by the. output of a number of plantations that are now coming on. Reducing Milling Costs. " The flax industry has reached a critical i-.tage, and unless modern methods of treatment are adopted New Zealand flax cannot hope to compete with sisal and. Manila in the overseas markets," said Dr. E. Marsden, secretary to the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, when discussing the position of the .industry yesterday. "We know from ou:.' researches and those carried out under the flax research officer, Dr. J. S. Yeates, at the Massey Agricultural College, th;it, of tho many varieties of New Zealand flax, there are a few that will best repay cultivation. We can also indicate the soils and conditions under which i.hey will show the best result. The whole crux of the problem is trhot the costs of treatment are too high, and, while we know that these can bo reduced consideiably, the department has little or no fun< s with which to carry out tests and experiments." Dr. Marsden explained that New Zealand flax had several important advantages o\er its rivals, which should help it to co iimand a market at a competitive price, provided these advantages were not off si it bv unnecessarily high mill costs. The coft of growing sisal, for instance, represei ted 60 per cent, of the final cost as agai ist 16 per cent, in tho case of New Zealand flax. Another of the advantages etjoyed by flax was that it gave a 12 per cent, yield of fibre, while that from si ;al was only 3 per cent. It had been established that, even on land at £35 an acre with a yield of two tons to the acre, good varieties of flax could be grown ut £2 10s a ton of raw fibre, including interest and cultivation costs. Oiler of £IO,OOO lor Machine. Some tim>} ago the New Zealand Government, offered a subsidy of £IO,OOO for a machine that would produce 500 tons of high-class fibre at a morS economical figure than that at present obtaining. This offer holds good until May 31 of this year. Dr. Marsden said that he had great hopes of a machine being demonstrated thai, would effect a considerable saving. At present he knew of four that were claimed by their owners or inventors to be capable of stripping the flax to the satisfaction of the Government, but !io far no final pronouncement had been ms.de on any of them. Dr. Marsden mentioned one machine that hii had seen in England last year. This was designed for treating sisal hemp, a fibre as hard as flax as at present milled, but finished to a much whiter colour, which was being extensively used in Kenya Colcny and the West Indies. On his recommsndation the makers had sent a plant; to New Zealand and this was now being tried out at Foxton. This machinß stripped in the paddock and thus only one-eighth of the weight had to be transported to the mill. It had been necessary to adapt this machine for tlie successful stripping of flax and an expert who had been sent out from England was carrying out experiments with the New Zealand fibre. . Department's Lack of Finance. Dr. Marsden said that if they could get onci or other of these four strippers to do the work satisfactorily, they could go ahej-.d and develop the industry on an entirely new footing. Thus, if the stripping operation was put right, instead of the expensive paddocking as at present, the method would be to bleach and dry in the mill itsellf.. "I know that improved methods can be devised," added Dr. Marsden, "but we have not the money with which to carry cut' the necessary experiments. The department's finance for this purpose is based on a levy of 2d a bale of fibre exported, but as there is at present practically no flax being exported, we arc receiving no revenue from this source. There are now so many operations necessary in the treatment, such as cutting, stripping, carting and drying, that no progress i:s being made, and until we can cut out. some of these processes and. reduce the time and expense required for treating, we cannot go very far." Auckland exporters of flax are unaware of the form of 'the assistance which tho Unemployment Board is to give to tho flax-milling industry. "We would bo very pleased to havo an outline of tho proposals for a revival of the industry," said representative of one exporting firm, which is also interested in the growing and _ treatment' of flax. "It may be tho intention of the board to givo assistance in tho fonn of a bounty on flax produced, or, what is more likely, tho board may intend to subsidise the wages of the men engaged in the mills. In any cane, there does not seem much point :in increasing tho production unless it is possible to find a market at a price that "will enable us to export. Just now sisal hemp has command of tho field, and until the supply of that fibre falls off and prices rise, or we can bring down our co;its wo cannot hope to do very much Belling.". 3