FARMERS, PLEASE NOTE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 49, 15 July 1914, Page 6

FARMERS, PLEASE NOTE.

I (To the Kditor.) : Sir,—A short while bark Mr.(i. Wilin an address to the. Fanimrs' Inion delegates, advocnted that the farmers should seriously consider the for- . mation of a company to manufacture their linn superpospjiate, and, by the . way, advanced figure* riling the in - iost and demand. His pru- : posal showM that the fanning community I could well consider the SL-Jtenic with payj able results, but f would like to know ■ why the manufacture of basic slag was not, included in the proposal. \Ye have /in Taraiiabi iron ore rich in phosphoric 'jiiantity and the tremendous supply at ! Parapani lying idle. The late Air. K, M. Smith continually advanced the vnl.ie ! of smelting t'iic iron, and at one time j contended that it would pay to smelt ; the ore, if only for nianurial purposes. : lle was. of course, ridiculed. Time has shown the value of the contention, and will still further demonstrate that the Taritnaki public (of Aew Zealand for 1 the matter of that) were sadly backward. The fanning community should throughout the whole Dominion unite iu one solid body and urge the State to at once inaugurate State iron works because of the value of the bye-pro-duct "slag." If it would pay tlu: farming community (per Mr. Wilson) to manufacture superphosphate, then I maintain it .is more important that the State, in the interests of the men on

the land, should take in hand the manufacture of iron. We have the one, anil therefore should be able to produce the article now proved of extreme value to the farmers at a much less figure than the imported. I should like to know whv not, at all events?—l am, etc. FARMER. —