C—l2a

10

The above classification does riot imply any interference with the grades put up by the exporter, but only that the Government grader, in giving his certificate in accordance with the method outlined above, shall give it on the officially recognized classes. (6.) That it should be made unlawful to export kauri-gum having mixed with it any other gum, or any material not naturally associated with kauri-gum in the soil ; and that as soon as it is practicable ;i, regulation should Ik , brought into force making it compulsory that in the case of all gums which pass through a, sieve of \ in. mesh the proportion of dirt and foreign matter present shall be stated in the bill of lading. (7.) That the Government grader shall have authority to take samples from such gums as are referred to in the latter part of the preceding clause, for the purpose of ascertaining the proportion of foreign matter present. (8.) That as soon as it is deemed practicable a regulation should be made fixing the limits of dirt and foreign matter in gum which may be exported without a special permit. The exportation of gum associated with a, large proportion of dirt and foreign matter is seriously injuring the industry, and it is very desirable that measures should be taken io limit the amount of dirt and foreign matter which may be exported in any grade of gum. We are satisfied that with the appliances at present in existence on the gumfields it is not practicable to eliminate much more of the dirt and foreign matter than is separated from the gum at present. The only efficient method of doing this is that of the Maclaurin process, which, however, is not in general use. We are therefore reluctant to make any definite recommendation as to the fixing of a limit to the amount of dirt and foreign matter which should be permitted to be exported in any shipment of gum, but it is 'imperative that steps should be taken as soon as practicable to fix such a limit. Once such a limit has been fixed it should be made unlawful to export gum containing any higher proportion of dirt and foreign matter except under a special permit from the Minister. With regard to the question whether the State should control the entire export, we are of opinion that there should not be a State monopoly of the export of kauri-gum, but that there should be only the measure of control recommended above. (3.) The present methods of recovering kauri-gum from the gum-bearing soils, mid how they may be improved. In the early days of the industry the gum exported was practically all of large size, and was obtained by the use of the spade from places where the gum was on or near the surface of the ground, and easy to obtain. Later on, gum was dug from the deeper , ground and from swampy areas, after first being located by means of the gum-spear. This led to the system of " potholing,' , which has resulted in leaving the land in a, very unsatisfactory condition. A considerable amount of gum is still obtained in this way. In the course of time, as the prices of gum increased, it became profitable to recover the smaller gums which had previously been neglected, while at the present time the aim of the producer is to recover all the gum the land contains, down to the finest particles. A primitive apparatus for saving the smaller fragments of gum, consisting of a galvanized-iron tub with a perforated bottom and a paddle fixed to a central shaft worked, by hand, came into use about six years ago, and is still being made use of by some of the diggers. By this method gum-bearmg soil puddled with water is stirred in the tub, with the object of breaking up the soil and passing it through the perforated bottom of the machine. The material left in the vessel, consisting of gum particles, woody and fibrous material, saiu! and earthy matter which has not been broken up, is removed and dried in the open air. After being dried it is hand-winnowed by a primitive method whereby much of the woody and fibrous material is eliminated. A considerable proportion of the fine gum is lost n the- process, and a large amount of the foreign matter is retained.