LOCAL INDUSTRIES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 2, Issue 325, 22 April 1881, Page 2

LOCAL INDUSTRIES.

To the Editor. Sir, —On reading your leader of last evening, advocating so ably the establishment of a local industry, namely, the manufacture of crockery and potteryware, I began to reflect, amd continued doing so, until now I find myself, pen in hand, intent on the perpetration of a letter, for which I beg space in the columns of yoor widely-circulated paper. I wish to direct attention to the sun-flower, the growth of which and manufacture into oil, feed cake, and linen, would take, as an industry, ,a very important place. The seeds contain oil of a choice quality—equal to, if not better than, the finest lucca. When the oil is extracted the residue makes good oil cake, for feeding cattle, ,&c. Then the stalk is a mass of fibre, which, when prepared,, would give flax of first - late quality. The roots when burned would produce .kelp, to bleach the flax,' and “there's your product splendid. ” It seems to me that there should be no difficulty in growing sunflowers in Canterbury; ’that the procuring an oil mill, or a dozen oil mills for that matter, is within the bounds of possibility; that it would be most devoutly to be wished to have a linen manufactory springing up in our midst; but to persuade our farmers to grow sunflowers - ay, “there’s the rub.” This, however, I leave in the hands of the capitalists to do. I think it my duty to put the thing before my fellow townsmen, and I belieye f the time is not far distant when they trill thank me for so doing.—l am, &c., ■< J. Carsost.! ' [We publish Mr Carson’s letter with great pleasure, as we bejieye the Isunflower (helianthus) grows to perfection Jb Canterbury. In Germany, Russia, India, and other countries it is now grown on a large scale, and possesses great economic value.— Ed. (?.] . ■ ;V