Phormium Tenax.

Progress, Volume IV, Issue 1, 2 November 1908, Page 7

Phormium Tenax.

Mr. Alderton's article, which we publish elsewhere in the present issue, is one of the most reassuring that could be desired by the many men who are still plodding away at the Flax industry, without much hope. But whatever encouragement there may be for them, in his article, can only apply to those who have flax of their own, or an agreement with their neighbour to purchase at a reasonable price. For he clearly establishes the fact that at present prices the layer of the golden eggs of the past is dead. He has shown by conclusive calculation that ss. per ton of green fibre is the limit of aspiration. This gives a margin at present prices of between £1 lls. and £9 11s. per ton of fibre, the first remaining out of £20 in London, after local cost of manufacture, £14 9s 6d, and freight, £-4, have been paid, the second being the balance left from £28 per ton. It is a large margin, and the fluctuations, which are large, require it all, especially as the swing to the good side seldom reaches the extreme of £28. In this connection one has to bear in mind the tendency of the rope and twine manufacture, which is farther away from Phormium than is at all pleasant, and likely, in the course of time, to get even farther off. The best hope of the Phormium, therefore, lies in finding a better use than rope

for a fibre which is fit for better things. Success in this direction depends on two things. These are: cultivation of the flax plant, and a better method of preparing the fibre for textile purposes. The first will multiply the supply and improve its quality, while the second will find outlets for the increased product. With that combination the plant ought to take its place in the agriculture of the Dominion as one of th n must important of our products. And there will be this difference, that whereas under present conditions the rich flaxmill is as scarce among the flaxmills of the Dominion as the Waihi type of mine is among mines, when the new state of things is established, every flax field will represent a steady, well-established industry. Here is a thing for Government attention. There are too many points for the adequate attention of private enterprise. The drainage of the land, the adaptability of various soils for growing the phormium, the methods of cultivation and cutting, together with the seasons for cutting and the frequency ; the different machines for working up the fibre, and finally the manufacture. All these can be studied by a public department with more chance of success than by private individuals. The first step should be a Royal Commission of Inquiry; the second probably a flax farm organised for instruction, as well as study; the third— well, if the business got through the first two steps, the remainder would suggest themselves. Above all things, let the Commission be appointed, and then one of the greatest of our resources will be started on the high road for its right place.

The Railway Age states that 5,730 mileß of new track was laid in the United States in 1907, being 8 per cent, less than in the previous year. The States in which largest mileage was laid were Louisiana, 422 miles; South Dakota, 385 miles; Florida, 341 miles; Texas, 314 miles; and Washington, 311 miles. * ±r < =* -: The staff of Greenwich Observatory announce that they have discovered an eighth satellite of Jupiter. During an examination of photographic plates of Jupiter, Mr. Melotte, one of the assistant astronomers, discovered a faint marking occupying slightly different positions on the different plates. The satellite has a retrograde motion. *** # # For penknives the steel is tempered at 470deg., for table knives at 530deg., for saws at 500deg. *** # * Another link with the romantic past was severed by a notice in the London "Gazette," which states that the doubloon will cease to be legal tender in any of the West Indian colonies after August 1.