New Zealand Institute Science Congress. 511 



the Americans were very anxious to learn all they could about all the 

 scales on New Zealand flax. Specimens shall be collected and sent to 

 America for determination. It had been shown that the work on flax 

 demanded expert mycologists, entomologists, chemists, agriculturists, 

 horticulturists, &c, and this was only possible in a central station. He 

 described briefly what had been done for the sugar industry in Hawaii 

 by the sugar-planters' experimental station, and advocated the formation 

 of a similar station by the flax-planters. 



Dr. J. A. Thomson, in supporting Dr. Tillyard 's recommendations, 

 expressed disappointment with what he had heard so far. Mr. Seifert had 

 stated that the control of the disease was not the flax-millers' business. 

 Knowing Mr. Seifert's activities in this direction, he thought that it would 

 be unfortunate if this statement were allowed to stand. Three years ago 

 Dr. Cockayne had suggested the selection of disease-resisting strains, but 

 nothing seemed to have been done, and he had not heard any mention 

 that it was proposed now to be done by any one in particular. Was it to 

 be left solely to the Government ? 



Mr. Seifert, in explanation, stated that he had meant that the actual 

 investigations were not the business of the millers, but of the scientists. 

 As the industry was likely to expand greatly by the planting of flax on a 

 large scale, it was not fair to saddle the present small areas with the whole 

 cost. The question to be decided was how much the present areas should 

 stand, and how much the Government, representing the whole people, 

 should contribute. 



Professor Easterfield then dealt with the chemical aspects of the 

 industry, and traced the history of the leaf from the swamp to the finished 

 fibre, showing the amount of loss of weight at each stage. He stated that 

 in reality the machinery was much more efficient than was generally 

 supposed. It was foolish to think of turning stripper-waste into paper, 

 and this fact must have been known to those who made paper from flax 

 as far back as 1830. A number of other possible uses of flax-waste were 

 mentioned, and a scheme outlined for the extraction of alcohol, the manu- 

 facture of fertilizer, and the provision of boiler-fuel from this material, of 

 which one mill in the Manawatu provides over 30 tons daily. 



Mr. Bell deprecated comparison of the flax industry with the sugar 

 industry in the Hawaiian Islands, on the ground that in the latter place 

 the land was only fit for growing sugar, whereas in New Zealand the 

 flax swamps could easily be converted into dairying-land. Consequently, 

 if it was desired to retain the flax exports, it was a matter not for the 

 millers but for the Government, and not for a flax-millers' experimental 

 station. 



Dr. Tillyard, in reply, pointed out that quite a considerable area of 

 good land in the Hawaiian Islands was being put under pineapples instead 

 of sugar, and this was an exact parallel to the position here, where it was 

 suggested that dairying should replace flax-growing. 



After some further discussion, in which flax-millers and representatives 

 of the Department of Agriculture took part, it was resolved, on the motion 

 of Dr. Tillyard, That a committee of flax-millers and members of the 

 Congress be set up to go into the matter of forming a biological station 

 to have the yellow-leaf disease investigated from all sides. The following 

 were appointed members of the committee : Messrs. Ross, Seifert, and 

 Bell, representing the flax-millers ; and Professor Easterfield, Dr. Tillyard, 

 Messrs. A. Cockayne, and P. Waters, representing the Congress. 



