Vol. IVII. No. 432. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



j6r 



NEW ZEALAND HEMP- 



I'Diier the above heading, An interesting Article occurs in 

 'I'lu Times Trade Siipplimoit, October 1918- It would 

 appear that this fibre might possibly succeed in other 

 .countries on swampy lands. The plant belongs to the 

 )>iliaceae, lo which family the common aloes of the West 

 Indies also belongs. The followirig is taken from the article 

 referred to: — 



British cordage raanufactiU'-rs and American and 

 Australian makers of binder twine for harvesters are fully 

 conversant with New Zealand hemp (Pknnn/itm rniax), or 

 riax, as it is called in this country. It i.s made fiom the 

 fibrous structure or 'skeleton' of the leaf of the Phormiuni 

 by a process of scraping the- green pulpy coating of the 

 • leaf, and washing the remaining fibre in water, dcying it in 

 the open air. scutching and polishing it when it is fairly 

 bleached, and then packing it in hanks, which are done up 

 intn bales, which usually go -7 bales to the ton. 



The Phormium teno.x is distributed throughout New- 

 Zealand from north to south, bat it is most abundant in 

 swamps in the Manawatu district, at the extreme .south of 

 . the North Island, and here it is worked and attended to 

 "more as a crop. The swamps are all drained, and rbaded tor 

 light tramways. Although the tla.v nominally grows wild, 

 the swamps nevertheless are carefully looked after, and 

 especially so for fires, and a very large sum of money in the 

 aggregate is spent annually on their draining. This cultiva- 

 tion, if the terra be permitted, has resulted in the production 

 of 2(J to -10 tons of green leaf per acre from swamps several 

 feet under water all the year round, and considered worthless. 



The leaves art- from -5 to 8 feet long. They are 

 sword shaped, and grow in clumps. The clump .n- bush is 

 cut down, i ut grows to full height four years after- 



The Phormium 'ciiax does not appear to suffer greatly 

 from frosts. It is grown in England as an ornamental plant, 

 and is being grown in St. Helena as a commercial under- 

 taking', with what it is hoped will b- satisfactory results- to ■ 

 the people nf that island. 



The use of Hax for rope, string, and twine by the Maoris 

 was general from the time they arrived in New Zealand, and 

 it was probably used for the same purposes by the people 

 whom they "lisplaced, and of whom but very few traces 

 remain. Flax-weaving was brought to a fine art by the 

 11 .• Maoris, who made ceremonial garments of the woven fibre, 

 and sometimes introduced feathers into the fabric for orna- 

 mental eti'ect. These cloaks are to day worn on great 

 occasions, and are held in great respect by their owners, to 

 whom they have come as heirlooms. 



The modern use of the flax fibre is for making up into 

 binder twine for harvesters, and for this purpose it is .shipped 

 to the United States (before the war through J^ondou). It 

 is made into binder twine also in Australia and in New 

 Zealand, and for this purpose is said to be superior to every 

 other fibre. 



The manufacture of the fibre is quite simple, and the 

 principle is much the same as the Maori women observed. 

 •The green leaf is cut well down to the butt. Wiirk in the 

 swamps is hard in hot weather, but the ground is then quite 

 dry under foot. There is no malapja, and thert- are no 

 noxious insects or other pests. The leaves are bundled up, 

 and carried by tramway to the mill. Here leaf Vjy leaf it is 

 fed into the stripper, which is a .solid steel drum shaped wheel 

 of about 12 inches in diameter, with zigzag ridges on ,it.s 

 perijjhery. As this wheel revolves with great rapidity, it 

 scrapes the fla.\ leaf or blade againSt a .steel bar, and so 

 , firfs it of its gummy green coating. The fibre is then 



drawn away .md washed, and thence conveyed to drying 

 paddocks, which are u.sed for no other purpose. The fibre 

 is hung along wires or allowed to bleach on the grass. 

 These paddocks amount in the aggregate t'l au enormo'is 

 acreage. When dry, and sufBciently bleached, the fibre is 

 conveyed back to the milt for scutching and baling. It is 

 afterwards graded by Government oflficers, and is sold on its 

 grade note. 



WEST INDIAN PRODUCTS. 



DRUGS AND SPICES ON THE LOl^pON 



MARKET. ^' 



Mr. .J. K. Jackson, A.L. -' . has forwarded the fol- 

 lowing report on the L6nd"i. drug and spice infirkeli 

 for the month of September, 19IS: — -; 



The general condition of trade in the l.onijon produce 

 market during the nicnth of September showed :Very little 

 change from that contained iiL.our report for the previous 

 months, either in the bulk of produce brought forward -pr 

 disposed of, or in the matter of prices paid or demanded; 

 though the general tendency continues in ah upward ""direc- 

 tion, and is likely to do so as long as the war continues. 

 The following are the chief items aflfecting West. Indian 

 products: — . ,.,_ 



• :lS<iKR .4Nt) Pl.MKXTl). ' ' ■' 



Ginger has been in very quiet demand throughout the 

 month. At auction on the l-'nh, fair washed Cochin was 

 quoted at 175.f. and Japan at liO.v. At the first- spice 

 auction on the -5th of the month. Pimento was qnoled ai 

 from 6|'/- to lii—i price that was continued to the end of 

 the month. 



S.*lis.\l'AKILL.\. ■ 



■ V ■ tL ' 



This drug was in full supply at aliclion on the '26th 



of the month, being represented by 19 bales of grey 



•lamaica, 80 of native .laraaica, 26 of Liraa-Tamaica, 



and 3 of Honduras. The grey .Jamaica was all disposed 



at from o.w id. to ^s. Id. per lb. for- fair and pan 



liiouldy; 40 bales out of the 80 offered of native Jamaica. 



were disposed of at the following rates: for yellow 



to dull red 3.v. per lb., and dull red to fair red 3.f. S./. 



to ;J.\-. 6(/. There were no buyers for either the Lima-Jamaica 



or the Honduras. 



KOLA, OASSIA KI.STUl,.*., CITRIC ACID, A*«"t) T.4M.\R1M>S. 



Kola was fully represented at the auction on the 26th"-- f 

 the month by 5f) packages; 2 cjnly, ' however, found 

 buyers, 8(/. per lb. being paid for ordinary mouldy frova 

 Antigua; the remainder — good bright West African quar- 

 ters — were all bought in at l.v. .3(/. per lb. Cassia Fistula was 

 reported it auction on the 19th of the month as bein^ scarce 

 in consequence of the non-arrival of any consignment, which it. 

 was stated would probably fetch l.aO.v, per cwt. when they djd 

 arrive. Citric acid has been the subject of some interest, 

 during the month in con.sequence, itwa^s reported, of a con- 

 siderable rise in the raw material due to ics demand for 

 export. Prices which at the early part of the month rdngerl 

 from o.v. 'd. to .3.\-. 8(/. per fti. had advanced at the close to 

 .3.f.l 1</ , and in some cases, it was said, as mich as -Ji. •Ji-/. Ijad 

 been paid. There has been but little demand for tamarinijs. 

 The price asked at the l>eginning of tl-,. • -j-h was l40t, 

 per cwt., in bonrl, , 1 . . ■ ■< 



