THE FLAX INDUSTRY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 2366, 10 December 1921, Page 3

THE FLAX INDUSTRY.

RAVAGES OF YELLOW LEAF,

INVESTIGATIONS AS TO CAUSE

OF DISEASE,

A proposal that the Government should assist financially in an effort to discover a remedy for the “yellow leaf”-disease.that is ruining the flax areas was placed before the Minister of Agriculture (Hon. W. Nosworthy) at Wellington yesterday by a deputation representing the, New Zealand Flaxmillers’ Association.

The deputation was accompanied by Messrs J. A. Nash, M.P., W. Eft Field, M.P., and E. Newman, M.P. Mr Nash, in introducing the deputation, said that the flax industry would be a thing of the past in a few years unless a remedy were found. The flaxmillers were ready to help themselves, and they had already done a great deal of work in the investigation of the disease. Probably three thousand people were engaged in the industry.

Dir R. T. Bell, president of the Flaxmillers' Association, said that in the past many thousands of acres of low-lying land in the Manawatu district had produced flax, but fully half of the area had been devastated already by the disease. Ihe flaxmillers, notably Mr Seifert, had made many investigations already, but they had not discovered a method of checking the disease. They wished now to employ a man capable of continuing the investigation on scientific lines, and for that purpose they were raising a land, which they asked the Government to subsidise on a pound for pound basis. The expert’s idea was to conduct experiments with the object of producing a plant immune from the disease. He would also study the different soils and the varieties of flax best suited to those soils. Mr A. Seiferl said that flic flaxmillers knew that, some flax plants resisted the disease. These plants were to be found flourishing in the devastated areas. Many experiments had failed to discover any remedy for the disease, Iml il might lie possible to develop Ihe diseaseresisting stocks. The Minister: Are the diseaseresisting plants of good quality?

Mr Seiferl said that was a point to he decided. The experiments that were to be undertaken would benefit the Dominion generally. The flaxmillers were desirous of co-operat-ing with the scientific men on the stuff of the Department of Agriculture.

Mr Field said that if anything was to be done for (lie industry if must lie done quickly. Many farmers were considering the advisability of rooting Ihe flax out of their swamp lands. He had noticed that flax grew well on the sandhills neat the sea coast in his own district, and that this flax did not suffer from blight.

Mr Newman pointed out that a very large industry was at stake. The Minister said that he understood Ihe position and realised that very important interests were affected by the spread of yellow leaf. He would place the request of the deputation before the Minister of Finance, and see if a small subsidy, perhaps £2OO a year, could be paid to the Flaxmillers’ Association. He would be glad if this subsidy could be made available. If Ihe Mmistei of Finance refused it Would he because the money was not available. Many schemes that be would like to take in hand were held up at present owing to the financial stringency, and if the Government assisted in this ease it would be only in a small way. The Government could not make substantial additions to expenditure under present conditions. -—Dominion.