West Coast Farmers’ Lime Producing Co., Ltd.

Hokitika Guardian, 29 September 1925, Page 4

West Coast Farmers’ Lime Producing Co., Ltd.

~ KECUET ARYLS- REPORT. It will be two years on Uctubei; Ist, since 1 was induced to take over the .Secretarial duties of the above-named company. Some four years previously I had been asked to take over these duties hut being naturally shy i declined the honour. Eventually two ot the Directors placed the position ol tlm Company belore me and with the end in view of placing the linanees of the company on a hotter footing 1 decided to enter the arena. It was not long lielore I found that it was not a bed ol roses that I had entered especially when I had to request certain of the debtors of the company to iace the music. However the Directors came to the rescue and then appointed me legal mil, linger so that I could appear for them in Court, with the result that inside 3 months over L'1,999 was taken out of the hooks and paid into the Hank.

'I his enabled the ('oinpuny to pay all their small creditors in full and put in improvements at llie works which would ,-veiitioi tty mean 1 ' cost of production.” We are gradually making improvements, the principal one being the method at present employed in marketing carbonate of lime. The qtuirrv men in breaking the lime tone into suitable sizes say 2.'in. by .si ll . (for burning in the kiln) always hare a ouaniily oi -mailer pieces lelt. which, il put into the kiln, would block the draught and spoil the burning of the larger stone. This small rubble (hat is left is now dried, then it is put through the crusher and pulverizer, being the same quality of stone a.-, that in the kiln, it entiles out as lice ami white as llotir. Il (-;, a only be (list iuguislied Iron) burnt lime by the gritty leeiiug when placing vour hand in a sack. Prior io the building of the carbonate chamber , which utilizes the waste heat from the kiln) I hotisnlids ol toils of eni'bonate were wheeled on! ol llie quarry and tipped overboard, hut lately some oi oar tanner.' have wakened HU to llie value ol lime and have sent m ordeis up to .59 tons each lor spread delivery this season. Bor months past no carbonate has been wheeled overboard which is a great saving of time and money to the company, and is doing incalculable good to the tanners who are using it. Auv farir'T by sending us 90 sacks with his order for a (1 ton-truck of carbonate can get delivery (in rotation) at the nearest railway station lor L’, 1.55. Any shareholder holding from 19 lo oil shares can gel 19 per cent discount Oil his lime sales if paid ill 39 days. The company save the expense ol paying mi'll to wheel ibis carbon..le oveilioard and the fanners get the beitchi of a cheap lime which doe- good work in the soil for the next seven wars. During a reeeiiL lisit to ( anlerhnry and Otago I was informed at one of the works that 1-599 toils per week in carbonate alone was being turned out. Every rear West ( oast lands are being improved by the action of t! e sun on lands lint until recently were eovereT by standing hush, i.v drainage when necessary, by the liberal it-e of lime in releasing piant loo.! ah- ady in ihe ;oi ami lastly !y -t'llahe manures. \V ;•1 ( oust lands u do wit lion*. lime owing In having l» m denied i Ik• aei ion of tbe sun's ra\s tor so lou ;. and tpy consequent ie-idit\ sn llie soil. A n idias i lessor, can 1 e seen 111 every la i m ai T'.laia Kbit . v. i ere the majori; of the farmers have been convened 10 all ab-idllle I 1 1 c I 111 the ellieaey "!' 11 in". More lime was delivered at Toil; ra flat Station las! season lhat a any other two stations. Two veal- ago we could only tun out Pi 100- of burnt carbonate pci week Inn now we can add lons oi carbonate to liii- am! if orders increase »v can add to llm plant 1.0 cope with t belli. Hv im-reasing the demand for earI.on.lie ue do ||ol wi-ll to lose sight oi t’ne fact lhat lor cropping purposes the farmer tmi-i have burnt lime but we Ilia iola i n that for top-dressing old pa--lilies especially in dairying distiic!oi'i'i' llie dairyman knows the value ol earboual e I e will use n in larger quan lilies. The eoiiee-'ion of "free railage" oil lime lo bona tide farmers has again been granted to those who patroiii.'e the railways. This proviso i- only a

lair one a- in other part- oi New Zealand motor lurries are competing with the railway-. When in (lingo I'eiiiilly a lat'litel Was pointed out to me who -simply because he got. his produce hy lorry In market slightly cheaper than hy rail) s-'iit all hi- produce hy lorry and at Iho same time w.a , getting his lime carried fro-- hy rail. as mneh littii- a- they (alt alford,- for (lie day is coming wlten this eotieession will he withdrawn. It may he that at first the tariff will he low. hut eventually it will he increased. ! have often wondered why so few shareholders visit Ihe lame Works lo see lor themselves what they own. Many know that we 1 11 tit out agricultural. httihling and carbonate of lime but Imre no idea of the possibilities to which one could turn were the neecsary capital available lo ilistul suitable plant. During the last winter in Southland, considerable agitation existed to prevent the Rower Tails being hanm-sed for tin- production ol nitrates. Wiilt a high clean limestone and ciiO:t|> water power nitrates can be economic,nMv marketed. Wo are alongside u rail wa v station lltaf could supply nearly tin- whole --I the S-mtli Island so what is to stop ibis industry being started in a small way - nnh one thine. ('ajiital. We have recently discovered ibal ill our (Tlint'i'y there are indications of a marble of high quality which alien polisiied gives a tinisli surpassing the

marble supplied for the building of the Public Tru-t (lllii-- in Christchurch a" well a- the marble u-'d in building the I llridee of Remi-mleam-.' in .' a-!;,T St.. ( Itri-t ebtireh. Why should vo sen<| to Sydney and Tasmania for -tone when we have it in Xew Zealand Carl-id-- ( "Lii-i ai —i he mnnufnci tired, it retptires only high-grade lime-tone, and with hydro-electricity at hand leaves only capita! wanting. The manufacture of cement huts already hoen j placed before tile .Minister of Min.--and alter consulting hi- officers he reports that till the oeie.-arv ingredients for tiie manufacture of cement are at hand hat he thinks that the I amount of cement Used on the Coast would not warrant putting in tile nec-

essary plant. That remains to In- seen and with the opening oi the Otira Tunnel, it gives n- Canterbury for a market. In :i report by Mr .M- Taggati the Government Agriculturist, who was the prime mover in selecting the Ross -i;.., he said he had discovered evidences of a lir-t lias- manure in the form of phoxphntie to-!-:. He tested the material with promising results. If -ueh a d*.~ jiosit I- unearthed it will greatly enhance tlis- value ot the property. Shareholders will see that after all their shares n.-av be more valuable than they ant icipateti. At present we are hampered for want of capital for development purposes and all that 1 am going to ask farmers to do is to send in as many orders as possible for lime and induce

vour neighbours to do the same. By increasing the output w<; reduce overhead expellees in proportion and shareholders and non-shareholders will one day reap the benefit as this will enable the Directors of the Company to stiplpy “ cheap lime.” JOHN .M Cl'DlK H, Secretary. Bos.-. September ”Sth. lJlio.