BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Hokitika Guardian, 23 February 1917, Page 3

BOARD OF AGRICULTURE.

Supply of Potash At a meeting of the Board of Agriculture at Wellington last week, a long conference with Mr Aston, agricultural chemist took plaoe in connection with some proposals that had been made to the board regarding ti e supply of potash. After the matter bad been fully discussed it was decided lo recommend that the Deparlment should make inquiries as to the practicability of ntiiit-ing the wood ashes from sawmills for manorial purposes ; also to ascertain whether aoything could be done to obtain potash, iodine, etc. from the seaweeds on the Now Zealand coast. A letter was received froth Mr E. Parry, chief electrical engineer, of the Public Works Department, stating that strenuous efforts are being made the world over at the present lime to discover new deposits of potash and economic processes for extracting potash from potash bearing rocks, owing to the cutting off of the supply of the natural deposit due to the war.

Mr Parry mentioned that a chemical process of treating feldspar was undergoing trial in the United States and also an electrolytic process for extracting potash out of aiuoite, and that recently a nsw elec* roly tio process for treating feldspar was patented in the United States As tie

For continns+inu of nows see fourth pans

ptoc 88 wns a firaple one and capable of demonstration on a small scale an exoeriment was carried out in the Dominion Laboratory, the resnlt of which, although nor. beiDg satisfaotf ry or promising, yet coaid not be sa d to bo conclusive, and it is hoped to lepeat the experiment on a larger fcale at Addington, and to oonduot other investigations of a similar character at, the first opportunity. Mr Parry further stated that several electro-chemical and eleciromttaliurgicel devH ipnuent-j requiring the aid of electricity for their sucaossfal pursuit were in view, some of which will no doubt evantiuto iu course of

rime, such wa the manu fact ora of nitric acid, caustic ..soda, hydrochloric Mid, grinding phosphate reck and limestone, and converting the rock,phosphate to a soluble form such as the preparation oi bicalcio pbojphate by tho Palmaer process, which depends for its success npon the production of oheap hydrochloric acid by electrolytic means- There shonld be no difficulty in getting any of these processes into operation now that a supply of electricity is available, provided it oan be proved that they are commercially and economically sound.

The question of requesting manure vendors to follow the terminology of the Fertilisers Act in all their statements referring to the compOutioD of artificial fertilisers, to which attention bad been diawn by the North Canterbury Executive of tbe N.Z. Farmers’ Union was fully discussed, as was also the question of amending the Fertilisers Act to safeguard the purchaser of fertilisers, and to give full credit to the vendor for the different forms in which phosphotio acid ooours in fertilisers in connection with which Mr W, D. Hunt, a member of the Board, had provided a detailed report. Both matters were fully gone iDto with Mr Brown, Direotor of the Fields Division of the Department of Agriculture, and with Mr Aston, Agricultural Chemist, and a committee of the Board was set up to confer with the Department in the matter.

The board also considered thejegulationa in regard to the carriage of lime for agricultural purposes on the railways, in respect of which a report had bean drawn np by Mr Hunt. After a lengthy discussion it was decided to write to the Taranaki Executive of tbe New Zealand Farmers’ Union, asking that body for information as to tbe cost of sea-borne lime to farmers in its district, so that farther representations coaid be made to the Railway Department on the subject of the concession granted by it in the carriage of agricultural lime. „