SACKS

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 65, Issue 5, 16 November 1942, Page 274

SACKS

An Uugeht . Appeal to Every Farmer

By

I. L. ELLIOTT,

Supervisor of Fertiliser Supplies, Wellington.

LITTLE thought is necessary to bring home to everybody the important function of sacks and other jute goods in the economy of a country whose , interests are dominantly ; agricultural. All our seeds, fertilisers and lime coming on to the farm require sacks, while much of our produce before marketing has to be bagged. It may, however, come somewhat as a surprise to many when it is realised that the lime and fertiliser industries alone use between them approximately ten million bags annually. If the areas of wheat, potatoes, grass seed and all the other types of produce are also considered, some idea of the immense numbers of bags used will readily be gathered. It is a fair question to ask what happens to all these bags. The answer you already know. Tremendous numbers are wasted. That is the reason for this appeal. Wastage Though it may still be possible to import bags from Calcutta there is no justification for any -wasting of our present supply. Importation means ships and if sacks are imported the space involved cannot be used for other purposes. Prices, too, are high, and ultimately the farmer will have to pay in hard cash for ’ his failure to adopt a policy of “waste not, want not.” Any article which is not being employed to its fullest capacity is to some extent being wasted, thus, although a farmer may tie his sacks up carefully and leave them in a shed, during the time that they are performing no useful service, they , are being wasted.

Care of Sacks

Although the methods of conserving sacks are in general well known, an article of this nature would be incomplete without some reference to them. All goods received in sacks should be stored in a perfectly dry place. This will preserve the sack and the goods inside it. When the sack is being opened care should be taken to avoid

knife cuts in the material of the sack. After the contents have been emptied the sack should be well shaken, and if by chance, it has become wet it should be hung out to dry. The thoroughly dried sacks can then be tied neatly into bundles of, say, a dozen and returned promptly to a sack merchant, lime company, or other dealer in sacks. An Economic Loss The arch-enemies of sacks are dampness and pests such as mice. Farmers generally will fully apreciate this and

in most cases ; will be careful? to see that they don’t lose money through these causes. A farmer who buys 50 tons of lime may be charged £3l 5s for sacks if calculated at the rate of 12s 6d per ton. If he is credited with 10s per ton for all sacks returned in good order, he will receive £25 on their return. For all sacks rejected he pays 12s 6d per ton —a cost very nearly as high as the lime he has bought. What farmer who has bought 50 tons of lime would think of tipping a ton or two on to the road, and yet how many lose an equivalent amount of money through careless handling of bags. Apart from the actual physical means of saving sacks, much can be done by returning them to those places where the necessary plant and labour is available to carry out any reconditioning. After being returned to one of the sack merchants they are carefully sorted and can then be used for the. particular purpose to which they are best suited. A National Service In giving their closest' attention to this question farmers will not only benefit financially but will also be performing a service of great national importance. If anyone thinks it not worth while performing this service let him consider how he will continue his farming operations with .no, sacks. Farmers, the remedy is ■■■■ in : your hands. ♦ Either you do your part to preserve and conserve -the present supply of sacks or suffer the consequences of a drastic shortage in the • near future.