THE Manawatu Times. WEDNESDAY. SEPT. 29, 1880. A DESIRABLE INDUSTRY.

Manawatu Times, Volume IV, Issue 75, 29 September 1880, Page 2

THE Manawatu Times.

WEDNESDAY. SEPT. 29, 1880. A DESIRABLE INDUSTRY.

" WercU »rs ShißSs, au«* a drop ef ink falling like dctv upon & thought, produces ilv«.t which ic-kes thou.tiuJs, perhs.pa miliums think."

It has often been a matter for wonder to us how our settlers bare persistently ignored the very accessible means at their command for the profitable manufacture of potash. With an almost inexhaustible supply of material lyin<>; at their very doors, and the simDlicity of the process of manufacture involving a mere nothing m outlay, it is certainly singular that up to the present no one has taken the initiative, particularly as we have been assured by a competent authority that the . lahor will yield wages at the rate of not less than ono shilling an hour. To those who would go m for the manufacture of the raw material, the appliances and apparatus would not cost more than a £5 note ; while a capital oi £100 would be quite sufficient ior the erection of a furnace for calcining purposes, so as to render the article — which m that advanced state is worth £20 per ton—ready for market. To manufacture the raw potash all that is necessary is to have a large barrel with a perforated division and a tap at the bottom. The ashes from burnt timber is shovelled m, and water added thereto. After being allowed to remain m soak, the water will find its way through the perforations to the bottom of tlie barrel, from theiiGe it is run off into a second and third receiver, and after being allowed to rest for some lime it assumes a matter of the consistence of damp sand. This is the raw potash, and as may be seen, can be manufactured with little trouble and less expense. To follow up tho manufacture, however, and make the article equal to the Americal pearl potash, it is necessary that it should be calcined, and that can be only done by the erection of a furnace for that purpose and built m a peculiar manner. In a country like Mana watu, abounding m timber, which it is not only to the interest of the settler to clear, but a, considerable expense to. do so, anything which would lessen that expenditure should not be lost sight of. We have been assured by a gentleman who has ha 1 great experience on the Continent of Europe, and is thoroughly conversant with the vrlioU procedure of manufacture, even to the calcined article, that it is an industry which,^ if followed up, will well repay the laborer for his time and trouble. In Canada, America, Russia, and those countries which abound m forests, when the torch supersedes the axe and the saw m dißDosing of. the timber, the burnt ashes become a profitable aid to the owner of the soil. But perh.ips it may bo said that even if the commodity were successfully niaii**-faotui©d, it -vould become a drug upon the hands of the producers, inasmuch as a market for its sale could not exist. This is a mistake, for we learn that a well-known settler has, vith a view to the ultimate manufacture of the commodity, been m correspondence with a large English firm, and received the very pleasing intelligence that they were, willing to receive any quantity, and give £20 per ton for it. In these dull times, when labor is 50 scarce, jind settles are not over*" burdened with work, we would recommend those who have nothing better to do to give tho procesi a fair and honest trial.