THE HEMP POSITION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 936, 29 December 1910, Page 3

THE HEMP POSITION.

( From tlie New Zealand Times. ) The position of the hemp milling industry at the present lime is certainly a precarious one. “Good Fair, - ’ the grade which represents the bulk of the fibre exported, has fallen from / 22 > the highest point of the season, to £l7 5s at the present. Like all other primary producers the hemp miller can guard to a certain extent against meteorological and other adversities, but he is impotent to prevent market fluctuations. He has succeeded in the last lew seasons in greatly reducing the ccst of production, while at the same time improving the quality of his output by reason of labour-saving devices. Again the exorbitant royalties charged in some cases have been greatly reduced. For instance, the Motoa estate charged up to 22s 6d a ton, when hemp was up to a ton, but now the royalty is only 3s. These several factors have enabled millers to work successfully despite the big fall in values from chose of a few years back, but it is to be feared it is a matter of difficulty for many millers at the present time to make ends meet; in fact, if prices do not immediately improve, and there is little hope of this, a number of mills will have to be closed down with the New Year. On top of lower prices millers in a number of localities this season have suffered a serious setback owing to the graat prevalence of diseased leaf—the flax having been attacked by both blight and a slug—which not only renders the affected leaf quite useless, but cause considerable trouble and loss of time in the swamp, in addition to which millers, whn‘- e swamps have been badly affected, have been unable to obtain the higher grades, which here and there were necessary for the fulfilment of contracts. The disease which has caused so much trouble has been principally induced, no doubt, by the dry weather, intensified by the more effective drainage operations which have been carried out. The drainage certainly increased the production of leaf, bringing it to maturity in perhaps half the time it formerly took, but, on the other hand, the flax has been growing under more artificial conditions, and therefore, has been less able to withstand the attack of natural enemies. The present position is most regretablc. When decreased prices and increased cost of production, owing to higher wages and reduced hours of work for millhands, looked like snuffing out the industry a number of millers set to work to devise means to save the position, in no other undertaking have so many devices been invented within the same period as has been the case with flaxmilliug during the last few seasons of uncertainty. In several instances the endeavour to reduce cost by perfecting labour-saving devices has been successful, and, in fact, their existence has enabled millers to continue where under former methods they would have had to close down. Now, when it seemed as though the methods of production had been well-nigh perfected, the one thing which cannot be controlled, the market price, has upset all calculations, and brought about another crisis in the industry. It is pleasing to note that while the position of hemp is disastrous the price of tow is keeping up remarkably well, a circumstance which must be attributed to the introduction of grading and thereby bringing about the marketing of this residual product in a proper manner. At the present moment tow is worth nearly half as much as “good fair ” he mb. This, nowever, is but a drop in the bucket.