3

0.—12.

Production during the Year. The kauri-gum received at Auckland from the gumfields for the past seven years is shown, month ,by month, in the following table : — Kauri-gum received in Auckland. 1920-21. 1921-22. 1922-23. 1923-24. 1924-25. 1925-26. 1928-27. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. April .. .. 612 191 543 480 439 483 338 May .. .. 532 331 514 613 501 330 332 June .. .. 370 358 654 459 344 395 362 July .. .. 434 404 548 352 363 399 401 August .. 376 368 689 522 407 326 392 September .. 577 508 781 450 373 403 287 October .. 447 420 610 490 471 299 229 November . . 371 482 601 612 427 486 341 December . . 339 285 667 576 591 410 325 Januarv .. 289 331 590 506 525 365 265 February .. 301 466 658 475 492 396 198 March " . . 359 608 700 537 520 541 441 5,007 4,752 7,546 6,072 5,453 4,833 3,911 For the first two months of the new year the arrivals at Auckland were —April, 317 tons, and May> 277 tons. The exports for these two months were—April, 471 tons, and May, 386 tons. Production on a Large Scale. The chief difficulty in the way of production on a large scale has been the inability to obtain laboursaving machinery, especially in the direction of enabling the companies to deliver gum-bearing material into the washing-machines at a cheaper rate than could be done by small parties of diggers working on their own account and in competition with these larger concerns. This was largely accounted for by the presence of considerable deposits of buried timber in most gum swamps. During the past year one company operating at Sweetwater, near Awanui, has made what appears to be the best attempt so far at large-scale production. Those connected with the operations have been carrying on investigations in regard to the digging and handling of gum-bearing soil for some considerable time, and a good deal of capital has been expended in bringing the company's plant to its present stage of efficiency. The process is a continuous one, the soil being carried on tram-lines to the plant, where it is dumped into hoppers, and from that point gravity is applied and the material is washed, freed from impurities, dried, and graded as it passes through the various stages. Shrinkage in Weight on Chalk: Grades. In the report for the year ended the 31st March, 1924, particulars were given of a test which is being made to illustrate the shrinkage of chalk gradings as a result of the almost continuous evaporation of moisture. The " chalk " selected for the test was a typical lot which had been purchased in the ordinary way, and which had been worked over a sieve at the store in Auckland, the chips and dust having been taken out as well as any woody pieces and any " hearty " chalk present. The gum was considered dry when first purchased, and had remained in the sack awaiting grading for some weeks. From a commercial point of view it was quite dry when graded. The trial sack was stored in a warm, sunny room with a good draught passing through. It is doubtful if any further loss will result while the gum remains sacked, since there has been no loss since April, 1926 ; but if the gum were crushed and air-dried it is very probable that a further appreciable shrinkage would take place as a result of the evaporation of moisture still contained within the larger pieces. A number of experiments made with what the trade regards as " dry chalk " showed shrinkages up to 35 per cent, when crushed and air-dried, and the shrinkage of the gum in this test when crushed and air-dried later on, will probably approximate that figure. The weighings to date, with percentages of shrinkages since the first weighing, are as follows : —

Date of Weighing. Weight, I losTto j Date of Weighing. ' Weight. | P^^° f Cwt. qr. lb. : Cwt. qr. lb. 1922—Feb. 1 .. 1 1 14 .. 1923—Feb. 1 .. 10 11 20-13 Mar. 1 .. 1 1 5 5-84 Mar. 1 .. 1 0 9 21-43 April 1 .. 1 1 0 9-09 April 4 .. 10 7 i 22-73 May 1 .. 1 0 25 11-04 May 1 . . 1 0 6 23-38 June 1 .. 1 0 23 12-33 June 1 .. 1 0 6 23-38 July 1 .. 1 0 21 13-63 Aug. 1 .. 1 0 5 24-03 Aug. 10 .. 1 0 19 14-93 1924—Feb. 1 .. 10 0 ! 27-27 Sept. 1 .. 1 0 19 14-93 July 1 .. 0 3 24 29-87 Oct. 6 .. 1 0 17 16-23 1925—Jan. 15 .. 0 3 24 29-87 Nov. 1 .. 1 0 16 16-88 1926—April 26 .. 0 3 20 i 32-47 Dec. 1 . . 1 0 14 18-18 Nov. 26 . . 0 3 20 1 32-47 1923—Jan. 3 .. 1 0 12 19-48 1927—June 13 .. 0 3 20 32-47 H. J. Lowe, Kauri-gum Superintendent.