HEMP INDUSTRY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3194, 19 September 1917, Page 8

HEMP INDUSTRY

- CHIEF GRADER'S REPORT,

"The year just ended has.been one of ?? !?, ue d activity and prosperity," says the Chief Hemp Grader (Mr. W. H. Fer*i - k' s re P° l 't to the Seoretary of Agriculture, "for the hemp industry, both in production and export, the demand for our fibre, having been extremely keen throughout. The output graded exceeded last year's figures by 11,623 bales, and the prices resulting were a record for the Dominion. The ports of. Auckland and Bluff showed an increase of' 7140 and 8887 bales respectively, and the ports of Foxton and Picton a decrease of 2358 and 740 boles respectively. The increase at Auckland'and Bluff , was'due principally to the reopening of a large number of. small mills (which had been closed down for years) owiny to the highly remunerative prices ruling. The decrease at Foxton was due to floods and to certain of the larger mills having to close down some of tho strippers owing to Bhortoge of labour. During the winter months millers as a rulo close down in order to attend to "their swamps and to avoid the risk of exposing the flax bulbs to the effects of the frost; but this year was an exception, and practically every mill throughout the Dominion, where possible, worked during the whole of the season.

"The drought in the Manawatu district was responsible for the destruction by fire of about 800 acres of millable leaf. Loss b,v fire does not end with the destruction of the 'existing crop; the are so weakened that they take a considerable time recovering, and very often are destroyed outright. ■ "I regret to again have to state that during tho year there has been a further increase in the proportion of lower grades of fibre produced. One of tho principal causes of the production of lower grades was the very small difference in prices offering between- good fair (which should be our standard graffej and fair. At one period, during the year London quotations showed only a difference of 10s. per ton between these, gTades, and although the difference is now. iil .per ton it is still far less than warranted by actual quality. At the prices -ruling millers are content to aim at no higher grades than high fair and low fair, as a greater output can be odtained by them and at a less cost of protraction. The weather conditions on tile whole were fairly" good for milling, the chief exception being the Auckland district, where the continual wet weather interfered greatly in tho* production of a good grade of fibre. The greon leal throughout tho Dominion, especially in the Manawatu district, was in a decidedly better condition than the previous year, the fibre showing no signs of the blight or flax grub. This can. be attributed tq the very heavy floods which oc. curred just at the time when the grub began to attack the green leaf. Most °f tho projected" hemp -which comes into the grauing'stores during the season had been damaged by flood-water. Tho percentages of good fair graded at the various ports are—Auckland, i per cent.; Napier, 60 pei\ cent.; Wellington, 15 per oent.: Foxton, 24 per cent.; Picton and Blenheim, 76 per cent.; Bluff, 10 per cent. "The quality of tow still leaves room for improvement, the chiof and usual defects being lack of cleanliness, of freedom from du6t and rubbish, and it is to be -regretted that millers will tako more care with this by-produce. Tho first and 6econd grades of tow show a decroaso of 4 per cent, in each oa6e, as compared with the previous year, while tho percentages of third grado and condemned are correspondingly higher. Auckland and Bluff show up worst in quality of tow graded. Although tho output of hemp shows an increase of 11,623 bales, that of tow shows a decrease of 1360 bales. The decrease is accounted for by the larger" proportion of low frade fibre produced, for. which the hemp is scutched to a lesser extent than for. higher grades."