Edible Products. 



118 



[August, 1911. 



and straight, and forms the outside 

 covering of the brooin. To give a nice 

 finished appearance, only prime hurl 

 can be used. 



About Ik lb. of brush are required to 

 make an ordinary broom, and the three 

 grades are used in about equal pro- 

 portions. 



The soil, climate and methods of 

 cultivation determine largely the qual- 

 ity of the brush, but in an average 

 season there would be sufficient of each 

 produced to satisfy the requirements of 

 the trade. "When grown under excep- 

 tionally favourable conditions, a larger 

 proportion of long brush is produced. 

 It may be used as covers, but owing to 

 its length a certain amount has to be 

 cut off, so that its use for this purpose 

 causes unnecessary waste. On the other 

 hand, a dry season will have the effect 

 of stunting the growth producing a 

 large percentage of " inside " millet, 

 which can only be worked in the inside 

 of brooms. Manufacturers have conse- 

 quently to purchase elsewhere to satisfy 

 their requirements. 



It is not intended to go into detail con- 

 cerning the manufacture of brooms, as 

 this does not exactly concern the 

 grower. Manufacturers require certain 

 classes, and the farmer should aim at 

 producing those classes which invari- 

 ably give profitable returns. 



Condition of our Sdpply. 

 At the present time there is a great 

 deal of dissatisfaction amongst pur- 

 chasers concerning the manner in which 

 locally-grown millet is placed upon the 

 market, so much so that the export trade 

 has been injured, and the attention of 

 the Federal Authorities has been drawn 

 to certain dishonest practices with the 

 view of bringing broom millet under the 

 provisions of the Commerce Act. Whilst 

 a large number of producers grade and 

 bale their millet in a manner that com- 

 pares favourably with the imported 

 article, it is to be regretted that a certain 

 section pay very little attention to these 

 details. The chief faults may be divided 

 into two classes — 1st, those the result of 

 ignorance and carelessness; and, 2nd, 

 those which are brought about by un- 

 scrupulous individuals with the sole 

 object of obtaining an unfair and undue 

 advantage over the producer. Those of 

 the former class may be summarised as 

 follows :— 



1, The millet is not graded. All 

 classes are packed indiscriminately 

 in a bale, 



2. The seed is not removed, or only 

 partially so. 



3. Broken, bent, or coarse brush is 

 mixed with the good. 



4. The cut is not uniform. Some are 

 cut close to the brush, others have 

 10 or 12 in. of stalk. 



5. The colour is not uniform. 



6. Bales badly packed and pressed. 

 Many are irregular in size and 

 shape, are not bound with a suffi- 

 cient number of wires to stand 

 ordinary handling. 



7. Brush destroyed by being packed 

 before it is properly dried, causing 

 it to develop moulds of various 

 descriptions. 



8. Absence of distinguishing numbers 

 of marks signifying the quality 

 and weight. 



A few of the latter class may be 

 mentioned : — 



1. The use of heavy billets of timber 

 in bales. 



2. Watering the interior of bales 

 when packing with millet that has 

 been properly dried. 



3. Placing in the bales bundles of 

 stems and leaves, useless brush, 

 bagging, scrap-iron, sweepings of 

 floors, quantities of unripe seed, &c. 



4. Dressing the outside of bales with 

 prime hurl and the middle with 

 inferior material with the seed 

 left on. 



It is unnecessary to enlarge upon some 

 of these dishonest practices, as their 

 effect upon any market must be in- 

 jurious. Owing to the bales being 

 tightly pressed, and from 4 to 5 cwt. in 

 weight, it is not always easy to detect 

 these faults till they are opeued in the 

 factory. However, buyers are naturally 

 becoming very alert, and they are com- 

 pelled to give lower prices on account 

 of the risk they run. Many manu- 

 facturers prefer to leave the local 

 product alone, and import their supplies, 

 finding it cheaper to purchase Italian 

 millet at £40 per ton than use local 

 materia) at £20. The size, shape, and 

 general appearance of bales is fairly 

 constant with individual growers, so 

 that buyers very soon become familiar 

 with them. These dishonesc practices 

 have already severely affected the New 

 Zealand trade, and our millet is being 

 replaced by Italian and Californian 

 samples. As a consequence, every 

 honest grower has to suffer through the 

 evil reputation that his trade has 

 acquired, and receive cosiderably lower 

 prices for a first-class article, because of 

 the fear that the agents will have to - 

 make some allowance to the buyers on 



