THE HEMP INDUSTRY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 2232, 29 January 1921, Page 2

THE HEMP INDUSTRY.

SCIENTISTS AND THE FLAX

BLIGHT.

The chief feature at the Science Congress at Paliherstoh on Thursday was the conference between scientists and flaxmillers and others interested in the industry on the subject of the besetting flax Professor Easterftcld presided, in opening the meeting asked Mr Alfred Seifert to address the gatli- v ering. Mr Seifert, said the professor,"had done more than any other man in New Zealand for the advancement of the flax industry. . Speaking from 30 years of experience, Mr Seifert said the yellow leaf disease was sapping the industry. Five thousand acres of leaf in the Mannw«l-u alone lmd been destroyed by this disease. He had noticed it eight or nine years ago at a place between Makerua and Shannon in a very wet place. Latei he had seen it in a particularly dry place for a (lax area. He could then form no idea of*the cause of it. Anyhow, it was very general, and Mr Akers had had 2,500 acres destroyed. In fact, one mill would probably- have to close down, and many millers had thought of the advisability of converting these sections into grass pastures. It had to lie remembered that the cult Ration of flax was a particularly payable business, and bad returned a much greater amount per acre in the past than any other industry—that was, of course, if the growth was healthy. Nine tons an acre was an average amount per annum from llax areas, and at £4 per ton a return of £36 per acre was the result. On the best dairying land the. return would not exceed £2O per acre. Yet farmers hesitated to turn pastures into flax areas before having an assurance that the yellow leaf disease could be eradicated. There was a big market abroad for hemp, and lie thought the Government would he well advised to make every effort to have the disease combated successfully. If 50,000 acres were planted in llax it would mean an enormous advance in New Zealand's industry, and there were two or three million acres of land in New Zealand that were suitable for flax growing and ■were not at present: hardly producing anything. Mr Seifert then explained some experiments that he had made by ; securing ten different mixtures of manure from an agricultural chemist, and had tried them on small plots. At the present "time superphosphates appeared to have proved the best. Sulphate of iron lmd checked the growth of the llax somewhat, and he left it to the scientists to discover the cause. Dr Mcllwraith was then called upon as an economist to speak ol |he commercial values of llax. In the ’nineties, he said, it was worth , £l4 per ton; between 1905 and 191** £27 to £2B, and during the last liveyears it had averaged £43 per ton. He mentioned the large swampy areas in New Zealand, and the gum lands of the north, as parts when 1 flax might be profitably planted. At Yj present these areas were producing nothing, and yet they might he turned into valuable land undgr flax cultivation. .

Mr Alfred Cockayne dealt with the disease from the v point of view of the scientist. It had been studied, lit said, for some considerable time, and was discovered to be not due to bacteria, but to a fungus attacking flic roots. This fungus then had the effect; of causing a complete cessation of water absorption in the roots, and the leaves became yellow and died. The appearance of yellow leaf was largely apparent, therefore, in very dry areas. Although it was disagreeable to have to sav so, lie was convinced that if some antidote to the disease was not quickly discovered, the whole of the flax area in Xew Zealand would be extinct in it very few years. In regard to what had been done in that direction be said that soil treatment had been found to be not; very effective over such large areas of ground as llax-cvvas gathered from. Crop rotation methods were impossible with flax as it was a perennial. The most effective scheme, he thought, would be to confine attention to the cultivation of disease resistant strains. In the Irish (lax growing industry of North Dakota such a crisis had once occurred, and the extinction of the crops predicted, but a scientist had confined himself to selecting from flax areas such -plants'as appeared to have resisted the disease. Ilis scheme was followed, and now the industry of 1 North Dakota flourishes with the plants selected by the scientist. A similar procedure in the use of immune plants had been adopted when a disease attacked the tobacco plantations of Kentucky. There was one difference, however, in the present instance from precedents, as where this procedure had .been adopted the plants were annuals. With a perennial, as flax is, there might be more difficulty, but the principle was the same. From hi* investigations lie would strongly advocate careful root examinations of all types of flax and the growth of such plants that appeared immune under experimental conditions in order to determine whether or not they were really so or not. If ini- * inline plants could be found, then the difficulty would lie overcome. In the meantime there were signs of an encouraging nature that immune plants could be found, but the time occupied in the investigations would lie slow. By the time they were consummated and the immunity had been definitely decided on there might—be no flax industry in New Zealand. Mr It. Waters, Biology Labora-

tory, Wellington, in dealing with investigations lie had made on the roots, was asked by the chairman if he had found that on healthy plants in infected areas there were no signs of attack by the fungus- —in fact, whether the fungus was present at all nr whether it had been found that the fungus was there and had no deleterious ettect. The speaker replied that he had found that on the healthy plants no fungi had been found on the roots, but that did not necessarily mean that the plant was an immune one. That was another matter, but he would say this: That on every root on which the fungi had been found the tissue was diseased. Dr. Cockayne said that flax grew anywhere. Wet, dry, sweet or sour gfound, or even sand dunes, suited it well. It was possible even that it might be grown on the sandy areas (hat people were desirous of turning into forest areas. He was inclined to think with his son that the raising of disease resistant strains was the only remedy, and he thought that it would be practicable. It might not lie possible to save the industry, but, nevertheless, it might be possible to star! a new one,- and then it would have to be considered what type of ground was (lie most suitable. Dr.. Tilyard asserted that there was also an entomological side of the trouble, and a chemical side also. If improvements in the health of the plant on all these sides were achieved he predicted 1000 per cent, dividends for the millers. He would, in any case, advise the millers to employ scientists themselves without waiting for Government help. Professor Easterfield observed that the progress of the disease itself would determine the resistant strains. That is to say, that if every plant died there would be no resistant strain, hut whatever strain remained would he the ones to cultivate. That, of course, would mean the death of the industry, hut nevertheless it would mean the commencement of a new one. This, lie said laughingly, lmt <|iutlilied his remarks by hoping that the disease would not have so serious an effect as Mr Cockayne had predicted. Turning to the chemical side, he would say that flaxmillers were great wasters. One hundred lbs. of leaf gave 53 per cent, of wet fibre, and 47 per cent, of waste, called by various names, such as vegetation or gum. This was merely the epidermis of the leaf. The 53 per cent, of wet fibre then meant 23 per cent, of dry fibre, or if it was washed 19.8 per cent., hut if washed a bleached 181 per ecut. By the time fibre was I ait through the scutcher only 15 per cent, remained, and in the final stage 12 per cent, left the mill. Turning then to the 47 per cent, of waste matter, it had been found that the water or juice squeezed from it contained six per cent, of sugar, which would yield three per cent, of alcohol. Americans found that it paid in extract the alcohol fioin a •juice that contained only .9 pci cent. Ho had estimated that 30,000 gallons of alcohol could he produced til the Miranui alul the A Veka mills per annum. The dry waste material that was left was rich in potash and nitrogen that would be obtained in the iisli alter burning the dry material in which it was contained, and the heat of doing this would distil the alcohol it not drive the mill. The waste liquid might then be drained into the crops as a fertiliser. When at Miranui he had persuaded Mr Seifert to drain a quantity over a small portion of the crop, and had found the crop greatIv benefited.

At the conclusion Air Seifert ex-i pressed his appreciation of the action of the delegates in considering Ihe millers’ problem, and thanked (hem very heartily for their trouble. Dr. Tilyard was emphatic that llic meeting should not bo allowed to dV'p at that point. He considered that a committee, formed partly of millets and partly of scientists, should he set up immediately to go into Ihe matter of forming a biological station to have Die yellow leaf disease investigated from all sides. It was a matter, lie urged trenchantly, that the millers should not spend their time in quibbling about. The Government possibly would bear a portion of the expense, but in any case the millers should not hesitate.. Thev would he repaid eventually, he felt sure.

Dr. Tilyard moved in the direction he had indicated, and Ihe suggestion being approved by Air Bell, the motion was carried. The scientists appointed were Dr. Tilyard. Air Alfred Cockayne, and Mr Waters, and the three millers Alessrs Ross, Seifert and Bell.

REPORT OF COMMITTEE, This committee, consisting of Prof.' T. H. Easterfield (chairman), Dr. R. J. Tillvard (lion, sec.), Messrs A. H. Cockayne, Waters, Seifert, Ross and Bell, met on Thursday afternoon, and unanimously passed the following resolutions:— 1. The first essential of the flax problem is to find out whether or not races of phormium exist which are resistant or itnnfhne to yellow leaf

disease. _ 2. For the carrying out ot this research it is recommended that a small ilax experiment station should be built and placed in charge of a skilled plant propagator, with one or more assistants, 3. The minimum-salary to he offered for the position of chief investigator should be £SOO per annum, with guarantee of employment for live years. 4. A levy of 2s per ton on flax should be collected through the Grading Department and devoted to payment of salaries, cost of building, equipment and upkeep of the

experiment station

5. The experiment station should be under the direction of a committee of the Flaxmillers' Association. The report of the committee was later submitted to a general meeting of delegates and adopted.