THE FLAX INDUSTRY.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5173, 2 September 1927, Page 4

THE FLAX INDUSTRY.

PROSPECTS ON THE. PLAINS.

REVIEW BY MR. RHODES.

During the course of his speech in the House recently, Mr T. W. Rhodes, member for Thames, said :—

“I would like to take this opportunity of saying something regarding an industry which, although quite apart from dairy-farming, can b© carried on very profitably in many places in conjunction with farming, and that is the flax industry. We know that flax grows well in many parts of New Zealand, while in some parts of Manawatu aid Wairarapa districts and elsewhere it has been cultivated and found to be a very profitable crop, and under altered conditions can be made still more profitable. There is undoubtedly room for a great expansion of the industry, as not only is it possible to appreciably increase the output, but also to improve the quality. Improved machinery would of course, play a part, as the use of electricity for motive power has already done. The value of our export of flax at the present time is in the vicinity ■of £500,000 per annum, and there is no reason whatever why, in a comparatively short time, that should not be appreciably increased. If t.hat were done I -feel certain there would be a better demand than there is at present, because it would then be. yorth the while of those engaged in manufacturing from pur fibre to specialise and use it not, only for cordage, but for textiles as,- well. It is recognised . generally that phormium is thei finest fibre plant in the world, and that it will produce more value, per acre than any other fibre known. I have here * the details of the production! from our New Zealand flax, and it is shown that phormium produces fibre to the value of £9l 16s per acre under decent conditions of cultivation and the proper selection of the plant. The question of tihe selection of the proper plant and cultivation is< very important. We know that phormium varies from 2.5 per cent, to as high as 22.5 per cent.; with the poorer class of leaf it requires forty tons to produce one ton of fibre. The present average is about 17 tons of green leaf per ton of fibre. It will therefore be seen that with! the high-grade leaf there would be a great, saving in the cost of transport, in the cost of cutting, and all other charges. Those reduced costs would result in the industry Being muclr more profitable, and at the same time enable high wages; to be paid to those engaged in flax production. That is what we want to aim at.

‘‘The Agricultural Department could do a great deal in that direction,” said Mr Rhodes, “but up to the present the department has not done as much as I would like to see it, do. In addition, a great deal could be done in the matter of research, because we are dependent on our scientists to direct us as to how we can obtain the best results. In the Hauraki Plains district, there .are over 30,000 acres of land belonging to the Government which will not for -many years be suitable for dairying; one-third or onehalf of that area should be immediately put under flax cultivation, there being legislation already existing enabling the Government to offer the land on fair and reasonable terms. “One very,important k matter in connection with flax is that if we could improve the Quality by one point the price per ton would be enhanced by £2, and as there are 15,000 tpns of flax produced in an average year, that would represent an increased profit of £30,000. In addition to that, if we could raise the quality of our flax we would render it available for more industries than utilise it at th© present time. I would suggest that the Government should act qpon the advice of the grader, and erect a mill for experimental purposes or make arrangements to utilise, a mill already in operation on the Hauraki Plains. This would undoubtedly result in the development of the industry. It, is interesting to know that experiments have already been made by a private individual, who has manufactured baggage, wpol packs, and sacks. Experiments have been made with theflaw waste by means of which it has been shown that? quite, a good article can be produced. If these commodities can be produced in a stmall way, it is ■only a matter of introducing sufficient machinery suitable for turning out the articles. When that is done we shall have another of our secondary industries established on a satisfactory footing. In. my opinion the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research could be well employed in further investigating the question of the manufacture of motor-spirit from flax waste, with? a view to ascertaining whether it is not practicable to utilise it profitably. As I have already pointed out, experiments which have been made prove that it is practicable to minke bags, etc., which are used in very .appreciable quantities in this. Dominion, and for which we ‘send thousands of: pounds out of this Dominion. annvially. If the Government will encourage experiments of that kind, then .such eixper.iments will lead to the establishment of an industry which, at present, is non-existent In the Dominion. The Government is directly concerned in view 1 of the fact that there are enormous areas of Crown land lying idle which could be utilised. If the Government will offer these areas under ■ reasonable conditions and at a fair rental I know, from correspondence I have received, that many people who command capital would be only too willing to take them up and utilise them for the purpose suggested. This would not only increase exports, but would give employment to a large number of men, and one of the things that we need to do at the present time is to stabilise emplyment. It may be urged by some that there can. be ove of flax, but in view of the fact that we have had a fairly steady demand for it of late years, and that if we produced it in increased Quantities' there are manufacturers in other parts of the world who would he prepared to erect suitable plants to> deal with it.’