MORE MONEY IN SEAWEED THAN COWS
— Press Association
By Telec'raph-
WELLINGTON, Oct. s. Father Neptune 's whiskers are being trimmed along the New Zealand coast to good purpose. Most of this shortsline barbering is being done by the Maoris who find it profitable. -"Their searcli is for agar, a type of seaweed, 5001b. bales of which average a, greater value than the equivalent weight ol wool. During the past season 110 tons were eollected. Agar is a conipiex carbohydrate. It is an essential material for the study of diseases in man, his erops, his animals and his timbers. Japan was the pre-war source of supplv. Importations for meat canning then cost New Zealand £1500 yeany but even while it was being landed on the Auckland wharves, just a few feet underueath was growing the seaweeu from which it is produced and this produce has been found to have at leasi twice the quality of the pre-war imponations of Japanese agar, Agar weed takes more than a year to reach maturitv. It is not inexhaustibie in supplv and if pick'ed too closely nexi year's crop is spoiled. Up to 25 pe_r cent of agar is yielded by New Zealanu seaweed. Auckland is the collecting centre for the1 weed, 'bales of which are usually piled high in the Internal Marketing Division 's store. It comes from, north of Hokianga on the West Coasc and. from the Bay of Plentv and East Coast from Gisborne upward, principaily round Ruatoria. The water temperatures- appear to be particularly favourable for its grpwth in tlieseL localLties as its most southern fringes are along the northern shores of the South Islanu in the vic'inity of Kaikoura. There is plenty along the coast from North Taranaki to Kawhia but it is not being co)lected there. Collecting agar brings in more monev than milking cows and i» not more unpleasant. It is gathereu mainlv in autumn by the Maoris who receive 1/- a pound for the dried wecci delivered to the Marketing Division 's store. Monthly cheques of £260 havenot hqen unknown. i ■t . X ' -A
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHRONL19461009.2.5.6
Bibliographic details
Chronicle (Levin), 9 October 1946, Page 2
Word Count
347MORE MONEY IN SEAWEED THAN COWS Chronicle (Levin), 9 October 1946, Page 2
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