NATIVE PRODUCTS AND NEW INDUSTRIES.

Westport Times, Volume IV, Issue 641, 5 April 1870, Page 2

NATIVE PRODUCTS AND NEW INDUSTRIES.

A correspondent of the Oamdru Times draws attention to certain native raw materials which he believes to be well suited for the manufacture of paper, viz., the koradi and raupo. The koradi requires to be collected when dry, then tied into bundles, or pressed into bales, and then would make admirable " broken stowage " for wool ships, at half or quarter freight. The raupo requires to be cut when ripe, then wind-dried and packed into bales. The flower of the raupo contains a very beautiful yellow powder, of a far more brilliant color than the yellow of the " Shumum," which is so largely used in the calico printing trade, and the powder, if collected and sent to the dry-salters of Europe, would therefore command a high price among color-makers and calico printers. A Wellington contemporary of a recent date says: —We have been shown some specimens of what it is hoped may prove a new and valuable fibre. It is a round blade, between two and three feet in length, and of uniform thickness—about that of an ordinary darning needle and of a bright green color outside, but white within. It is said to have been obtained in the Manawatu, and to be procurable there in considerable quantities. It is very strong, apparently as strong as flax, and will bear a knot without breaking. Whether as a material for a fibre or not, we are sure the plant, if obtainable in quantity, will prove valuable. King Thakombau, of Fiji, has sent by Mr Drew, in the Jeannie Duncan, recently arrived at Wellington, as a present to the G-overnor of New Zealand, two rolls of the native cloth made from the bark of the mulberry tree, known in the island as " tappa." They are of the choicest patterns and manufacture, and were prepared for two of the young chiefs to wear on the expected visit of the Duke of Edinburgh last year. Some fine roots of the " piper methisticum," of which the " yagona," or native grog of Viti, and " kava " of the other islands are made, accompany the " tappa." In Oamaru there is being exhibited a sample of flax, dressed by Booth's patent machine. In color it resembles pure white raw silk ; and the fibre is fully as fine as that of Riga flax. The quality is, in fact, equal to anything that can be expected, and is very superior. Mr Booth's process is based upon that followed by the Maoris in their treatment of the flax leaf, and differs entirely from that in general use. It has also the advantage of being able to act upon any number of leaves at the same time, instead of cleaning only one at once, as is done by the usual machinery: The discovery seems likely to be valuable, not only to the patentee, but to the country, and forms a new era in the history of flax manufacture. The color of the flax has not been obtained by any chemical process.