THE FLAX INDUSTRY

Hokitika Guardian, 10 January 1930, Page 5

THE FLAX INDUSTRY

NEW ZEALAND VARIETIES.

USE TO IRISH SPINNER

DUNEDIN, January 7,

Viscount Graigavon (Prime Minister of Northern. Ireland) has lately interested himself in the flax industry as he has found it in this country, and in an interview published this week lie has suggested that the New

Zealand product... might he of use to the Irish cotton, spinner, and that the Irish species*of flax, \yhich suits the manufacturer' so well, might with profit be cultivated in this country.

A “Daily Times” reporter had a short interview with Mr Alexander Bathgate on this subject to-day, and as a result learnt that both the courses suggested by the noted visitor had already been experimented with, in this country, although to very little purpose. Mr Bathgate recalled the fact that at the Dunedin Exhibition of 1864 some organisation, either the Provincial or the General Government had made a display of linen and linen >

thread, which had been manufactured from the New Zealand flax, phormium tenax. Both of the articles exhibited were of excellent quality, and it was said at the time that great things could be expected of the flax industry in Nqw Zealand. In this direction, the matter was. given some consideration at that time, but the difficulty of ridding the fibre of the ‘heavy gum content of New Zealand flax had proved too much for the industry at the time.

It was stated then that this difficulty alone made New Zealand flax as a source of supply ifor the manufacture of linen a commercial nonentity at that time, said Air Bathgate. There were a lot of millers in the Otago, particularly in the vicinity of West Taieri, Kaikorai Valley, Blueskin, and parts of the Lawrence and Waitahuna districts. No doubt the possibility of using flax as the raw material for the manufacture of linen would have received keener attention had it not been for the gradual collapse of the industry in this province. Somehow tho bottom appeared to fall out of everything. Most of those engaged in milling lost a great deal' of money. The fact that stands were so quickly cut out, leaving as a result a long drag to the mills, had something to do with the slump, but MFBathgate stressed the fact that the cutting of everything else to the ground had had the effect of killing out many of the plants that would have borne jgain and again if cut in the right way A All these things possibly prevented: f- the complete exploitation of the of New Zealand fibre. He was uudgr ; the impression that a repsrt on the subject had been compiled about the time of the 1864 Exhibition in which the matter of using New Zealand fibre for linen manufacture was fully discussed.

As regards the second suggestion made by Lord Craigavon with respect to the domestication of the Irish flax in New Zealand, Mr Bathgate was not very optimistic. He stressed the fact that phormium and linum (Irish) varieties were totally different in -the majority of respects, *but in this connection Mr Bathgate recalled t the fact that in the early ’sixties the Genera 1 Government of New Zealand procured supplies of the linum flax seed, distributing it free among farmers for experimental purposes, the idea being to secure supplies of linseed oil from the seed of the flax. Fanners, however, were not very keen, and it was found that the oil content of the New Zealand-grown linum was not nearly as high as it was in the plant grown in the very much warmer climate 6. India. ;

The linseed oil was not forthcoming in payable qauntities, though the failure of that experiment was due to lowoil content. Mr Bathgate was of the opinion that it would not be feasible to grow the linum variety, with profit in New Zealand, owing' to the . low wages ruling in Ireland and the/even; lower rates existent in Russia under the Soviet. If the linum flax could jbr grown wild in New Zealand after th ' manner of the phormium out involving any great labour, il might he different, but .-it was not likely that that would be possible.

Both these matters, however, concluded Mr Bathgate, were worth in vestigation, and if Viscount Craigavor were prepared to interest himself ir them on his return to Ireland, New Zealand could with profit serious!} consider the whole subject of the development of its flax.