NEW ZEALAND’S PRODUCTION

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22507, 15 September 1938, Page 9

NEW ZEALAND’S PRODUCTION

TO THE EDITOR OT 1M PRE 33. Sir,—The British Ministry for Agriculture asked Dr. Wallace, Deputy-Direc-tor of Long Aston, to prepare a bulletin on the value of manuring at Long Aston, East Mailing, and other centres, also in the United States. In his bulletin, Dr. Wallace discloses that dung is among the best; phosphate, potash, and nitrogen come next. The bulletin shows in photographs the stunting of bush plants, fruit trees, etc., through shortage of mineral salts. Apples suffer most from a shortage of potash; gooseberries and black currants suffer from the same cause. Plums suffer from the shortage of phosphates, strawberries from shortage of phosphates and sulphur. Most plants and gardens suffer from lack of nitrogen, as do all the plants mentioned. Scorch on raspberries, apples, and other trees and bush plants is a sure sign of want of potash. These are only a few extracts from the bulletin. I want to' show the people that if they allow the Government to take the money away in taxes then the idea of expansion of production is futile. It will be less as the soil grows depleted of the mineral salts. Even if it were possible to produce more there is no market for the extra products with our present population. To-day we have possibly 50,000 tons of potatoes which will never be sold. Both my neighbours have sold none yet. What is the use of £3 a'ton for export? One of my neighbours has 20 tons, for the digging of which he paid 2s a bag. and when they are sorted over there will be less than half good for, export. Then there are the bags, which cost 10s for every ton of potatoes, so the people would only receive £2 10s a ton instead of £3.

Recently I saw in “The Press” the difference between our exports to Australia, Canada, and the United States, and it showed that these three countries exported to us about £9,000,000 more. than we exported to them. I think we must be governed by simpletons instead of the very clever men they claim to be. Australia sold us over £6,000,000 worth —more than £4,000,000 worth than we sold to Australia, and it refuses to take our potatoes. That should not be. We have the money, they have the goods. We keep our money, let them keep their

goods. The same applies to the other countries. If we cut their exports down by half, the £4,500,000 would pay the unemployment tax. I see there is going to be trouble in finding the money for that purpose.—Yours, etc., GEORGE LEE. Templeton, September 13, 1938.