GERMANY’S CONSUMPTION OF FIBRE.
The following report on the fibre position in Germany is furnished by H.M.- Ambassador at Berlin : • ■ None of the leading German industries are so thoroughly dependent upon foreign supplies for their raw materials as the textile industry in its various branches. Practically none of the raw materials needed are produced at home. Wool, flax, and hemp were originally home-grown, and to a certain degree this is still the case, but the quantities so produced have become insignificant, and official statistics so far as flax and hemp are concerned have been -discontinued altogether. Experiments are from time to time made to discover German-grown plants the fibre of which could be used by the textile industry. Among the more recent efforts in that direction figure nettle (Urtica), ■ broom (Genista), and certain barks of trees. These attempts have not, however, matured into practical importance. Only two fibre-plants are at present produced in Germanyviz., flax (Linum usitatissimum) and hemp (Cannabis saliva). The last official return concerning the cultivation of flax and hemp in Germany was published in 1902, and referred to the cultivation in 1900. The totals, compared with previous returns, are as follows :
z Flax. Hemp. Year. Hectares. ' Hectares. 1900.. .. .. .. .. 33,662-5 3,537-4 1893.. .. .. ... .. 60,956-0 7,921-3 1883.. .. .. .. .. 108,297-2 ' 15,255-1
(1 hectare = 2-42 acres.) This clearly shows the retrogression in the areas of cultivation, and it is generally believed that since the last return the cultivation of both plants has further and rapidly receded. The following figures show the imports and exports of flax into and from Germany in 1911 and 1910 :-
Imports.' ' Year. Flax. Hemp. 1911 .. .. .. .. .. 73,797-3 62.821-4 1910 . . ... .. .. ... 72,307-8 50,508-6 Exports. Year. ' Flax. Hemp. 1911 .. .. .. .. .. 26,371-2 11,638-1 1910 . . ... .. .. .. 27,677-7 9,369-8
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Bibliographic details
New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume VI, Issue 4, 15 April 1913, Page 454
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281GERMANY’S CONSUMPTION OF FIBRE. New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume VI, Issue 4, 15 April 1913, Page 454
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