INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE

Southland Times, Issue 25748, 11 August 1945, Page 7

INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE

Modern Trends Discussed VALUE OF RESEARCH WORK The need for a scientific approach to the development and conduct of industry was emphasized by Dr E. Marsden, Director of Scientific and Industrial Research, in an address at the meeting of the Southland Regional Planning Council yester.day. Dr Marsden said that no matter what natural resources a country might have, scientific research was required to determine the best way' of developing these resources and also to determine, in certain cases, whether the-resources were economically worth developing. This, he said, was the rule in modern industry and he illustrated the point by giving details of the scientific work that was done before any type of military aeroplane was produced. The same applied to the coal industry. Coal was used to heat the homes of the people and it was not only a question of how’ to get more and cheaper coal for household use, but also how it could be most economically used. In old fashioned grates only about 16 per cent, of the heat was used effectively for heating the room. This percentage could be greatly increased by using a better type of grate, and the use of briquettes made from coal also gave better results than the coal itself. SERVICES LOST

Dr Marsden added that the efficiency of the coal industry in New Zealand could be greatly improved if greater use were made of the services of the young mining engineers trained in. this country. Under present conditions they did not seem to be encouraged and had to go abroad to get jobs. He considered that a big “shake-up” was wanted here. Large scale industry was no longer carried on on traditional lines. This was a new age and industry was now on a scientific and engineering basis, and young men who had been trained in certain scientific and engineering subjects should be given their opportunity in the development of industry. In his experience a lot of trouble could be avoided in industry if the men engaged in the industry were interested in, and proud of, the job they were doing. Young technical experts were' wanted in the industries of New Zealand, but in many cases they were not paid enough in this country and so they went overseas for jobs, and their services were lost to their own country. In his opinion these young experts should also be given a freer hand. They liked to take part in things and to have some responsibility. SOIL AND MINERAL SURVEYS The need for a soil survey and a geological survey of any part of New Zealand to determine its potential resources was also emphasized by Dr Marsden. Work along these lines had had good results in Hawke’s Bay. To date there had not been enough men to spare to carry out these surveys fully in Southland, though something had been done towards both a soil and a geological survey in the province. “We have been a little more thoughtful of Southland than we were a few years ago, but we want to do a lot more,” Dr Marsden said. “Early in December I want to go round to the western sounds area of Southland to determine what are the hydro-electric power and mineral resources of that region. We have gone ahead a certain distance with this survey, but to date we do not seem to have had enough men to do the job properly. We must tackle these problems scientifically, look well ahead and plan for sane and orderly development.” POSSIBLE NEW INDUSTRIES

Judge F. O. V. Acheson, who presided, said it was very indefinite as. to what powers the Regional Planning Council had. The council had to report to Wellington and apparently had no power to do things itself. They were afraid that there would be delays in Wellington. He would like to see some new industry started in Southland in the near future. This would give encouragement. He suggested that a plant, even though it was only a small one, might be established for making briquettes from lignite coal. It had also been suggested that the pottery, cement, wood chemical and brick and tile industries might be established or developed in Southland. However, before these industries could be established, scientific investigation would have to be carried out to ensure that their establishment was justified. -The question was: who was to pay for this investigation? There was no indication that the Organization for National Development would meet tire cost and he was wondering whether they should not form an incorporated society which could accept donations from individuals and local bodies for the purpose of scientific investigation. He would like to see an investigation started into one particular industry while the Organization for National Development was making up its mind what it wanted to do. He was afraid that time would be taken up in correspondence with Wellington and that nothing would be done. Dr Marsden said that experiments carried out some years ago showed that good briquettes could be made from lignite coals by reducing the water content. Briquettes from lignite were made in Australia and they had also been made in Germany, where investigations were now being carried out as to the methods used. What was wanted in Southland was a small briquette plant for carefully controlled experiments. This had got to be done before a start was made on a large scale. Another problem was to find a suitable man to put on the job. WORTH WHILE UNDERTAKING “We will have ago at it. Can you help us?” Dr Marsden asked. “The utilization of our lignite coal deposits is a worth while thing. Our known supplies of bituminous coal are running out, and we will have to face the problem of producing gas from lignite coals. In Germany and Britain very good gas for town use has been produced from lignite by a new process. The development of the lignite coal deposits in Canterbury, Otago and Southland is a good long range undertaking, though we do not want to spoil good agricultural land for the sake of obtaining this lignite.”

Referring to the suggestion for a pottery industry, Dr Marsden said that that was a very big question. It was not just a matter of taking clay out of a hillside and making pots out of it. The clay had got to be separated into its component parts for different uses in the industry. Pottery was now a highly scientific industry. He thought that the population of Southland was too small for a pottery industry, though Southland might become a producer of clay suitable for the industry. He thought there was room for development in the brick industry in Southland, and in this connection he had already been in touch with a brick manufacturer. As for the wood chemical industry, he thought that the best way to utilize waste timber would be to use it for making good hard boards which would not take up moisture and would not warp. This could be done, but experiments should be carried out in a small experimental plant before a bigger plant was installed. He thought it would be better to use the waste timber for hard boards rather than for chemicals which were threatened every day by cheaper chemicals made synthetically. He thought that investigations should also be made j

into the question of establishing the cement industry in Southland. The odds were that it would pay because with the decrease in the Dominion’s timber resources it was likely that cement would be used to a larger extent than previously in the building industry. Cement also had the advantage of offering a quick means of building. Judge Acheson asked if the council collected money for scientific investigation, would there be a subsidy forthcoming from Wellington? Dr Marsden: I would recommend it. Mr C. S. Wright, who has done some work on soil survey in Southland, gave details of the progress that has been made, and Mr R. W. Willett gave similar information regarding a geological survey to determine the mineral resources of the’province. He said that it was known that the sounds region on the west coast of Southland had minerals, but a survey was necessary to determine whether they were there in sufficient quantities to warrant exploitation.