MINUTES OF EVIDENCE. 



16 Se^ember, 1919.] 



ME. R. J. THOMPSON, O.B.E. 



[Cm/tinned. 



9086. That applies equally to the imported grass 

 seeds, does it not? It is due to the shortage of 

 clovers mainly which are imported largely from 

 abroad, and to the high price of rye grass seed in 

 this country. 



9087. I was going to ask. is rye grass seed not now 

 selling at very high prices;' Very high indeed. 



9088. Much in advance of Jast spring's prices: 1 

 There is very little of the new crop coining on to the 

 market yet. 



9089. It is being sold now ? It is in advance of last 

 year. I think. 



9090. So that there will be a very considerable 

 increase in the cost of hay production next year in 

 the way of seeds;- My figures ill Table IV., in the 

 case of ryo grass, show a very considerable increase 

 up to last year, but the estimate is that for the current 

 year there will be a fall. It is a small fall. I may 

 say these figures have been obtained from very reliable 

 seed firms." 



9091. Is it not the case that the new crop is already 

 selling at a price above that which you estimate? 

 This estimate was made before the new crop came 

 on the market. Since then, has not some of it been 

 sold at an advance on that price? I think that is 

 very likely. 



9092. Mr. Kdc : What is your opinion of the future 

 of sulphate of ammonia prices? Do you think they 

 are likely to fall or to rise? The price of sulphate of 

 ammonia up to 31st May next lias been agreed by the 

 Board with the makers of sulphate of ammonia, and 

 shows an increase us compared with last year of a 

 very substantial amount. 



9093. That is practically a fixed price. I saw that. 

 But suppose a large amount of nitrate of soda came 

 into the market, would not that have a tendency to 

 cause sulphate of ammonia to fall below those fixed 

 prices, do you think? Yes, undoubtedly it would. 



9094. Or is the demand sufficient to keep them up 

 in rase there is an increase <if nitrate? The position 

 iti regard to sulphate of ammonia has changed so very 



rkably. Before the war the quantity of sulphate 

 "f ammonia used for agricultural purposes was aliout 

 m.(XH) tons per annum. l,:ist year the quantity used 

 -.0.001 1 tons, or 260.000 tons. Of course that was 

 ou ing to the absence of nitrate cif soda; but n bother 

 the fanners, \vho have m> ^ot accustomed to sulphate 

 of ammonia, will go back to nitrate of soda is not 

 i i-i tain. 



!H I!*.'). I .suppose the increase in sulphate of ammonia 

 would more than counterbalance the decrease in 

 nitrate <,f soda ? That is so. 



!H)fi. Tin-re has been a larger quantity ? Yc.s. We 

 estimate the quantity of nitrate of MX la used before 

 the war at about 10O.OOD tolls, which with fiO.OOO tons 

 of sulphate of ammonia makes IliO.OOO ton.s, as com- 

 pared with this figure of 250.000, or 2WMXX), that I 

 1 |:1V *' J" st ..... ntioneil. ton, of sulphate of ammonia; 

 so that there has been a larger use of nitrogenous 

 manures during tin- pas: I,.,, yo-ir.s than tli.-re was 

 before the war. 



9097. Naturally ian-ed by the increased growth of 

 cereals? Yes. 



H. Do yon estimate that the total supply of 

 nitrogenous manures will bo sufficient fur the demands 

 this year? Yes, I think there can hardly be any 

 (lonlit on that .subject, taking the demand' at some 

 lignro approximate to what it was last \ 



K)09. Then \\hat is the | MIS it ion with regard to slag? 



j is <i material that it is not really pr.ssihle 



to increase l.i any extent. During the war great 



.liorts uere made to K iin.| extra quantities, and the 



total rose to about "MO.OOO tons last year; but sine.' 



the close <>f tin- last, fertiliser ,ea-on. several works 



I d-.vi n o ing to a tiro in one pla'-o, and 



to an entire alteialion of the work.-, in another very 



So that I do not. estimate the- output 



this * more than 5oo.(HX> tons as com, 



with .VjfMXX) last year. 



lilO). W.is not the output of high grade slag inter- 

 u-ili by munition.,, or something ,,f that sort? 

 The proportion of high grade slag produced 

 ic. iv much less than it as before the war. 



9101. Would there not be a return of production 

 of high grade now? There is no prospect of any re- 

 turn at the moment; in fact the tendency, manufac- 

 turers tell mo, is quite the other way." They are 

 grinding really lower grades. 



9102. Getting a bigger extent of steel, or some- 

 thing? Yes. It is due to one of the methods of 

 obtaining the steel. 



9103. It pays the manufacturers better to produce 

 a lower grade ; is that it ? Yes. They do not produce 

 the basic slag expressly; it is truly a by-product. 

 There is a demand for a certain type of steel which 

 is made from a certain kind of ore which produces a 

 slag. They do not do very much to control that part 

 of it. 



9104. Then I suppose that is rather guided by the 

 machinery adopted? Have they altered their 

 machinery during the war to lower the grade of slag? 

 I believe there have hepn alterations in the process 

 in the steel furnaces which tend to give a lower grade 

 of slag ; but I am not an expert on this subject. 



9105. Yon mean we cannot look to an increased 

 supply; is that your opinion? I think that is quite 

 certain. 



9106. I think you said the supply of linseed was 

 short and was likely to be short. Do you know what 

 the prospects are for soya, and cakes of that descrip- 

 tion? Soya is so much affected by the very long 

 voyage. It all comes from Vladivostok and Man- 

 churia; and at the present time the freight is very 

 much against it. In addition, ships even at a high 

 freight, do not care about going such a long voyage; 

 so that I do not anticipate there will bo any imports 

 of soya beans comparable with the large imports that 

 took place before the war, or in the early days of tin- 

 war. 



9107. Then that points to an increased cost in the 

 production of farmyard manure the shortage and 

 dearness of foeding stuffs? Yes. The aggregate 

 quantity of feeding stuffs of all kinds will undoubtedly 

 be lees than it was before the Avar, taking a pre-war 

 level. 



9108. And. in your opinion, there is no chance of 

 prices falling in the more or less immediate future? 

 I think there is a good chance of prices falling 

 from the level they are at now, that is the level which 

 was agreed by the Ministry of Food in August last. 

 I think there is every indication that pricos will fall 

 from that level during the next two or three mouths. 



9109. Not to a sufficient extent to relieve the 

 position for this season; I moan to say for the manu- 

 facture of farmyard manure for next spring crops? 



No. Probably tho fall will not be so great. It 

 will only affect costs ; it will not affect the total 

 quantity used in any way. 



9110. Then with regard to grass and clover seeds, 

 do you th'ink they will lie dearer for next season? 



1 do not sec any reason why thov should bo 

 dearer, and. on the other hand, I cannot see any 

 reason why they should fall. Tho supply is still likely 

 to be short. Rye grass, of course, has risen to a 

 most extraordinary extent; but I am informed that 

 before the war it was at an unremunerative level, and 

 that about 18s. 6d.. which I think tho figure was, was 

 quite an unfair price. 



0111. Of course prices prevailing now are not likolv 

 to fall by next spring when tho seed will be wanted 

 for use? -No. The rye grass crop, is, I believe, a good 

 average crop, but it is not so abundant as to be 

 likolv to affect pricos materially. 



0112. Do you know anything about the production 

 of wild white clover seed? Not directly. I h-ive 

 road about it. 



9113. I mean, how the supply of next spring is 

 likely to bo? The quantity of wild white clover is 

 increasing rapidly, owing to the very remunerative 

 prices that arc being obtained. 



9114. Increasing? -Yes; that is. more people have 

 sown white clover and saved tho s 1. 



Oil.'). Of course, it is very much dependent on tho 

 weather. For instance, last year there wan a lot 

 grown, but very little of (he sc-c>.l was usable. Do yon 

 think it will be better in that respect this year? I 

 inn afraid that is a point on which I have not got, 

 much information; but I see here a seed firm gives the 



