BOON TO FARMERS

Taranaki Daily News, 20 February 1935, Page 14

BOON TO FARMERS

LIME AT 14/- TON. NO . FREIGHT TO PAY. Taranaki and the West Coast of the North Island have for some years been situated in an unfortunate geographical position insofar as obtaining agricultural lime is concerned, and the knowledge that a company has been formed to work a lime deposit in Waitotara which will give farmers in this province lime free of freight charges will be welcome news. When it is pointed out that the lime has been declared by an eminent geologist as the most soluble lime in New Zealand, the fact will be more appreciated. An independent sample taken from the deposit by a body of men prepared to invest capital in the company and sent to the Government analyst revealed 92.14 per cent, carbonate of lime, with only a trace of magnesia, which hardens all lime where it is present in any quantity. The field has been declared by the geologist for the investors to be almost inexhaustible. The saving of freight to the farmers of Taranaki on the present day rate of consumption will be not less than £5OOO a year, this amount being a conservative Lime will be brought down to 14s per ton, which will be cheap enough for every farmer in Taranaki to use. The lime will be delivered to every railway station in Taranaki at this price, which will be the first time that Taranaki farmers have ever had the opportunity to receive lime freight free. This concession is one which has been enjoyed by every other province in New Zealand. As well as having the opportunity to purchase cheap lime, the company provides a sound investment for farmers. The cost of production is low, owing to the fact that there is no rock to deal with and no explosives will be necessary. The lack of explosives obviates the need for boring holes and “knapping” the big boulders. The reason for this is that the whole of the deposit at Waitotara, covering hundreds of acres, is a huge deposit of flowing shell. This reaches the factory ready for drying and grinding at a very low cost, estimated at only a few pence per ton. The vendor company, being farmers themselves, impress on Taranaki farmers the need for obtaining a controlling interest in this, the only available deposit of lime between New Plymouth and Wellington. By doing this, they will be protecting their own interests, and ensuring an unlimited supply of lime at a cost far below what they are paying to-day. Farmers in the New Plymouth district who have up till now paid the maximum freight will feel the benefits of cheap lime more than all others. Lime at 14s a ton will enable all farmers to use greater quantities to the benefit of their land. The company has been registered under the amended Companies Act, and the investigators have left no stone unturned to prove the field to be all that, is claimed for it.—P.B.A.