BETTER TIMES COMING?

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 302, 16 August 1932, Page 6

BETTER TIMES COMING?

TUNG OIL NUT.

To the Editor Sir, — Will you allow me a little space in your valuable paper, as one hears so much about hard times, etc., and this ten acre scheme. But if one can believe what the various salesmen of certain companies tell us, this question of nnemployment can be solved almost immediately and one of the roads to prosperity is Tung Oil growing. Salesmen for these companies will sell you 5 or 10 acre grovss for £60 per acre, they will cultivate plants, and maintain the groves for you for a period of 4 or 5 years and hand over this little grove to you to go and retire on for evermore. They state that one acre of Tung Oil trees will produce from £60 to £80 worth of oil annually. They state that it has been proved to grow successfully in the North Auckland distriet and that there are only two other countries in the world where it will grow — China and Florida — and that no matter how much you grow, the supply will never be able to cope with the demand, therefore ensuring investors a high price always for their oil. Now if this scheme is as good as it is represented to be, why not put men on the land in the North; this land whieh they elaim is suitable for growing Tung Oil can be procured on an average at 10/- per acre, and if each man was aliotted 10 aeres and worked on a community system with the aid of the relief board, it would mean that in 4 years his ten acre holding would be worth approximately £600 and would then start to produce from £500 to £800 annually for him. Really it seems .o wonderful to be true, hut if a hig ompany can do it why not the small nan also; even if it were half as good as represented to be it would be a very payable proposition and would be putting thousands of aeres of land, which is now barren, under cultivadon. 4t would also bring in capital vhich is badly needed at the present oime. Those that do not like Tung Dil could go in for passion fruit. It is supposed to be an even greater ••evenue producer pir acre than Tung Oil. It is being grown on a large ^cale in the north. The object of the B'owers is to export the passion fruit )ulp overseas, where there is an undmited demand for ic (may be). — I am, etc..

Rotorua, 15/8/32.