FLAX GRADING.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1267, 24 October 1911, Page 8

FLAX GRADING.

THE CHIEF GRADER'S VIEWS. In an address at the annual meeting of the X-r.v Zealand Flaxinillers' Association, the Chief Government Hemp Grader (Mr. W. 11. Ferris) said an pression was abroad that the sratjing standard had been raised in the Wellington district. Millers were naturally j anxious to know where they stood, 'ihe I standard, he snid, had not been rai-od. When -th'o position of Chief Grad-jr was created, an endoayour was made to brius about greater uniformity in the work oi grading throughout tho Dominion. T!io work at the port of Wellington was taken a.=i the standard, and it was therefore necessary ta brill? the grading aI. other ports into line with it. In several cases ife (Traders were classifying on a rather exacting basis, but they were now workia.L; on tho Wellington standard. This necessary uniformity was not brought about hurriedly or'without duo preparation on tho part of the officials in charge of the work. A ennfersnee was held' in Wellington, at which the different graders throughout the Dominion were given an opportunity to thoroughly grasp the conception of what constituted the various grades, to realise the ideal to be aimed at, see the best quality the Dominion is producing, and, in fact, to get down to a. common basis of action, instead of following individual opinions. I.i this process the work nt .vine grading parts had had necessarily to be amended. 1:', therefore, it has happened that the standard at any particular port v.as a little higher than it formerly was, it n-e-aat that the work at that port was no more in uniformity with that of o'her grading centres. It had merely beeu standardised. A mistake, and a bad one, being made by some millers was that of forwarding improperly stripped hemp—with a mass of vegetable "matter adhering to the fibres— and expecting to obtain a "s<-'Od fair" grade. This class of fibre was useless to the manufacturers except for the making of low-grade cordajre; for binder it was useless. Such millers are advued to visit the grading stores, and study for themselves tho hemp of other millers ■which reaches the standard they are aiming at.

As with other lines of produce, it was imperative, if the best returns were to be secured, that hemp should bo supplied

regularly to the oversea markets; and hemp probably suffered more than any other product of New Zealand by failure ' of the producer to realise this fact. ; With hemp, a spasmodic supply was suicidal. AVith other commodities a manufacturer could buy rival productions in tho intervals; but with them a buyer ■ 011C3 lost was probably lost altogether. If. machinery had to be altered or perhaps discarded, in order to suit another fibre, he was hardly likely to again risk the cast and delay entailed. It "should be the object of millers not to discourage, but to encourage, Homo manufacturers to usephorraiiiiu fibre, and tho b«t way to do this (given the desired quality and the proper uniformity) was to supply it as rcjulai'ly as. possible, maintaining the supply throughout the year. Even though this might mean holding back a portion of the summer output in order to maintain the supply in the- other months, it would be preferable to milling in the -winter, as in the rainy season it was not possible, to maintain the desired quality. Millers were , naturally concerned at the high proportion of diseased leaf they had to deal with of late, especially as to how it would affect the grading of their parcels. It might bo definitely stated tbat though diseased leaf might be present it was not impossible that parcels might get into "good fair" grade. It was necessary, however, if this standard is to bo reached with such leaf, that the stripping and scutching should be as effective as possible. Though the points for colour and strength would necessarily, by reison of the percentage of diseased ieaf, suffer, tho' fact of good stripping and good scutching would counterbalance this and enable the hemp to get into the prade— though not as a high-pointed parcel.