PRODUCTION OF LINEN FLAX

Southland Times, Issue 24163, 27 June 1940, Page 9

PRODUCTION OF LINEN FLAX

deseeding MACHINE ON TRIAL INVENTION OF BLENHEIM FARMER (United Press Association) BLENHEIM, June 26. A linen flax de-seeding machine, the invention of a Blenheim farmer, Mr C. J. Lucas, of Dillon’s Point, is undergoing tests before its inspection this week by Mr R. B. Tennent, Director of Primary Production and other Government offleers who are to visit Blenheim in the course of the campaign to induce farmers to grow more linen flax. Since practically all foreign supplies of linen flax have been cut off as a result of the war, the part of the Dominion will have to play in its production has become of the greatest importance. Consequently, the success of this machine is linked closely with the future of young industry. The test operations are. proceeding at Marshlands, near Blenheim, where the whole 250 tons of linen flax from the 100 acres grown in Marlborough this year has been assembled for treatment. These crops produced magnificent samples both of fibre seed and seed for being saved to build up stocks for increased sowings in the coming season. The work of the Lucas machine is especially important. Imported machines which have been tested nave proved unsatisfactory, but the Blenheim invention appears to be entirely successful. It is capable of dealing with a ton of flax an hour, extracting one and a-half to two hundredweight ot seed and employing three men, compared with the Belgian machine, which handled only three tons daily and required five operators. . If the equipment passes the official trials it will be taken over by the Government. About 40 machines are to be built for linen flax factories m different parts of New Zealand. The processing of linen flax is also the subject of experimentation at Marshlands, where Mr L. C. Chaytor, who for many years advocated the establishment of the industry in the Dominion, is erecting a plant which promises to reduce the time factor matenally.