THE FLAX INDUSTRY.

Shannon News, 9 March 1923, Page 3

THE FLAX INDUSTRY.

IMPROVED METHODS OF CUTTING.

EXPERIMENTS AT, MIRANUI.

‘ The value of the investigations into flax cultivation at Miranui, undertaken by the Seifert Company, cannot be over-estimated, and give point to the. claim that it is only fair that the State should now; assist in preserving what is the most highly productive of the Dominion’s primary industries. For many years, while the mechanical processes of dressing fibre underwent notable improvements, no attention Whatever has been paid' to the actual ciiltivation of the raw material. Yet it cannot be denied that here, there, is room for almost revolutionary changes! in methods, and correspondingly i greater results. Take the selection of varieties of the flax plant, for instance. There are certain varieties that give only two per cent of dresseditilbre to the green leaf milled. There hre others that yield as high as 20 per cent of the. finished article. No, doubt much patient investigation, analysis and selection would be necessary to reach a 20 per cent standard, but the possibilities about research work of that nature are. wide and far-reach-ing. Meanwhile investigation in other directions has already yielded definite results as to the best methods of flax-cutting, and has revealed that hitherto operations haveTjeen carried on under a system that has been wasteful and uneconomical. At Miranui on Wednesday, a Shannon News representative was showh by Mr H. Seifert the result of some of, the experiments made. Under the old system it is contended that the cutting has been too low on the stalk, with the result that the plant has received much injury, interfering with the throwing out of the young blades and giving’tit a general set-back. To test this theory experiments have been made: (1) by cutting the old way; (2) the diamond cut (that is, at the lowest visible point of the young shoot); and’-(3) the side cut, by which the centre blades are left. The. result ig quite noticeable to the most casual observer. treated by tbe .first method have a very stunted and ‘weak appearance, while those in the second category, have, a much healthier appearance and the growth is more vigorous. Number three, in which the leaves were left in the centre of the plant, easily proved the best, the growth all round being stfohg and free and the. leaves of greater length than any of the others. This proves conclusively that a; great deal is to be expected from scientific cutting. It is considered that the cutting should not be below the “fan” (the junction of the . leaves i m each bunch), so that protection can be afforded the-younffahoOts. In iegard to No. % experiment, (the. diamond cut) some Plants'.were shown that were cut on October 10 aind 11 • and at present they are •’looking iemarkably well, one having a 6ft sin blade, which could would be a millable leaf. Mr Spierie, who has been in charge- ofi: the investigations j.does not approve .of thi£ system of cutting, however, as hg contends that over a period; of yeprs it would Weaken the plant considerably and that the leaf could not .he cut under two years. Alongside this bush is another that was cut for the first time five months ago under the cut system.” The leaf is now se\en feet in length, while other plams cut under this method six months ago were 9ft high, with no ; l ®f s r sev |S fan plants and seven baby P|anti. So it can be seen that this method has a lot to recommend it above ‘he ether two, and it is contended that, under it the crops could be harvested every ten months instead of atTqur-year intervals as at present. This is a big factor, and worthy of the consideration of every miller, as jt will _ also give a better quality of flax. an mcreased production, render the flax less liable to fires and will also help to keen the swamp clean. It is anticipated that cutting under the new system can be carried on right through the year, wl^re ~Lthc the old method two to three months was lost every year, which is a Dig loss to both employer and employee. From the cutters’ point of view the work is much more tedious, but tne men are working *in harmony with the company in the effort to revive the industry, which is of the, greatest importance to the Dominion, and especially this district. . . During the visit • our representative was shown some flax plants that were sown just on twelve months ago, which) now have ;up to five blades and the fan wings showing out well. These are the results from one plant sown in each hole, whereas it has always . been the custom to put in three plants. It is anticipated that these plants will be ready for cutting in three years. , Millers, generally, hold that the month of June is the best time to sow, but from experiments made at Miranui it has been found that the best results have come from plants sown in March.