Ramie, Rhea, China Grass or Nettle fibre

RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS
or NETTLE FIBRE.

By THOMAS BARRACLOUGH,

20, BUCKLERSBURY,
LONDON, E.C

n

i

i

MANCHESTER :

MAR3DEN & CO., LTD., MERCURY WORKS,
CARR STREET, BLACKFRIARS.

RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS
or NETTLE FIBRE.

A Reprint of four A rticlcs which appeared in " The Textile Mercury "
of 26th May, and 2nd, 9th, and 16th June, 1900.

By THOMAS BARRACLOUGH.

\ ," •'

MANCHESTER

MARSDEN & CO., LTD.. MERCURY WORKS
CARR STREET, BLACKFRIARS.

Utin Lib",

RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS, OR
NETTLE FIBRE/

I have been deeply interested in the above
fibre for many years. It has had a fascination
for me. Long acquaintance with its many re-
markable qualities, coupled with regret that it
has for so long been the victim of unfortunate
circumstances and influences, has not dimin-
ished either my interest in it or my faith in its
ultimate triumph. In March, 1897, by request,
I read a paper on " Ramie " at the Imperial
Institute, London, under the auspices of the
Society of Arts. Some extracts from the paper
will be found in the appendix marked " A."
They relate mainly to matters which, are not
included in these notes or are onlv incidentally
referred to. They may be of value to some
readers interested in the cultivation of ramie,
and therefore I have thought it desirable to re-
produce them.

By the kindness of the two leading spinnerV
and manufacturers of ramie, I was enabled to
place before the audience a large and very
varied assortment of samples of the fibre in
various stages of manufacture — in its degi/mmed
state, as filasse ; in slivers, before and after
combing ; in the form of top (long fibre) and in
the form of noils (short fibre) ; also in ' slub-
bings, rovings, and yarns of many qualities,
from coarse to extremely fine counts. Finally,
there were samples of a great variety of goods —
woven, netted, knitted, made into lace, thread,
etc., etc. The samples created very general
interest, and being the most complete and
representative collection ever placed before the
public, an opportunity was given of realising
practically the value and beauty of the fibre and
its adaptability for being manufactured into a
very wide and diversified assortment of goods.
The time at my disposal compelling me to keep
the paper within narrow limits, I dwelt princi-
pally on the cultivation of the plant and the
decortication of the stems, as the cheapest and
best mode of producing the raw fibre seemed
to me at the time to be the most important
part of the subject. I dealt but shortly with
the manufacturing processes and the general
position of ramie in the manufacturing world.

Since the date of my paper considerable pro-
gress has been made in the treatment of the
fibre and in the manufacture of ramie yarns and
goods. Therefore I venture to think that the
time is opportune for placing before those who
are interested in the fibre some additional in-
formation respecting its present position and
prospects in the textile world and the progress
that has been made in its manufacture. In
preparing these notes I have felt it my duty to
take cognisance of the following questions fre-
quently asked, especially in England, the Uni-
ted States, Germany, and France : — Why has
ramie hitherto failed to come to the front and
become one of the leading fibres in the textile
manufacturing world? Why is it still viewed
with disfavour in certain circles, more especi-
ally in financial circles ? Why do people shrug
their shoulders when ramie is mentioned and
attribute to it defects of which it is entirely in-
nocent 2 Here is a grand fibre under a cloud ;
there must be some causes for it. Can these
causes be explained and removed ; if so, by what
means ? The answer is decidedly in the affirma-
tive, and these notes are intended to show that
ramie, with all its valuable qualities, can be
manufactured into a great variety of goods with
very substantial profit, providing that manufac-
turers have a full technical knowledge of the
fibre, combined with the possession of
machinery specially adapted to its treatment.

Before proceeding to give proof of so import-
ant a matter, it will be advantageous to first
mention some of the reasons for the present pre-
judices against so valuable a fibre. To detail
and explain them is, in my opinion, the best
means of refuting them, because they are due
to causes and influences mostly outside the fibre
and for which the fibre cannot be held respon-
sible. It is only by looking the facts and in-
fluences fairly in the face and dispassionately
examining the causesof past failures that one can
arrive at an impartial estimate of what ought
to be the position and the value of ramie in the
textile manufacturing world. By carefully
pointing out and accurately defining these

ved.

causes, a foundation is laid for building up a
proper appreciation of the remarkable qualities
and the immense value of ramie. Textile manu-
facturers must of necessity be constantly on the
look out for something new. A trade which
ministers in so large a degree, not only to the
necessities but also to the luxuries and fashions
of the world, must undoubtedly be ever pre-
pared to take advantage of new materials, new
modes and pro( e>M>^ of manufacture, new de-
signs, new colours and dyes, and new styles of
finish. Therefore, it would have been strange
if the textile manufacturing world had not
been moved by the advent of ramie many years
ago. It was to them a new fibre ; its remark-
able qualities were soon ascertained, and many
very extravagant hopes and expectations were
formed concerning the adaptability of it for an
immense variety of manufacturing purposes,
both alone and also in combination with other
textiles, vegetable and animal.

Paradoxical as it may seem, the exceptionally
good qualities of ramie may be said to have
been in a small degree the cause of its compara-
tive failure to take its proper place in the tex-
tile industry. I enumerate some of these quali-
ties It has —

(A) A strength very much greater than that
of any other fibre — a quality much appreciated
in many branches of textile manufacturing,
especially where strength of yarn is of the ut-
most importance.

(B) A lustre almost equal to that of silk —
in fact, superior to the lustre of the lower
qualities of silk ; thus enabling it to be used
in conjunction with silk and even to compete
with it.

(c) An extraordinary length of filament,
amounting to 14 and even to 16 inches, thus
enabling it to be spun into very fine yarns with
the minimum of twist, so as to preserve its
lustre to the fullest extent.

(D) A remarkable facility for taking colours
freely and retaining them, thus fitting it ad-
mirably for being dyed and printed in all man-
ner of goods.

(E) A non-liability to rot when immersed in
water. For this reason it is especially adapted
for the manufacture of sailcloth, ropes, cords,
fishing lines, etc., etc,

Dealing now with the causes of its failure in
pa-t years, I enumerate five principal one
follows : —

(1) The general absence of knowledge con-
< ernini: the nature and peculiarities of the fibre.

^ CHINA GRASS, OR NETTLE FIBRE.

(2) The difficulties experienced in dealing
1 effectively with these peculiarities.

(3) The fact that several of the manufac-
turing and other operations are interdependent
one on the other, and therefore seriously in-
fluence each other.

(4) The impossibility of obtaining in past
years large and regular supplies of the fibre.

(5) Financial causes.

Dealing first with the general absence of
knowledge that formerly prevailed, I would re-
mark that many manufacturers took up the new
fibre with avidity and made it the basis of
manufacturing experiments and even speculative
enterprises, but the results in nearly all cases
were failure, loss of money, and disappointment.
They had gone to work very energetically but
without discretion, not realising that this fibre,
like all others, has its peculiarities, which must
be carefully studied and taken into considera-
tion if success is to attend the efforts to manu-
facture it. An absolutely new fibre naturally
needs a new system of treatment and special
machinery and plant. Many manufacturers
tried to work ramie en their existing machinery,
which was designed for flax, cotton, silk, or
worsted, etc., all these textiles having qualities
differing in many important respects from
ramie. Failure and disappointment were the

i result, because impossibilities were expected.
The preparation and manufacture of cotton,

I wool, flax, jute, silk, etc., now arrived at so
great a state of perfection, are the results of
the inventive talent and the practical work
of large numbers of men extending over many
years. The peculiarities of each textile had
to be discovered and studied and the special
means (mechanical and otherwise) necessary
to deal with it had during many years to be
invented, tested, and by degrees brought to
relative perfection. The consequence is that
the machinery and plant of to-day are thor-
oughly well adapted to all the various pecu-
liarities of each fibre and the requirements of
each trade and class of goods. There existed
among the manufacturers interested in these
fibres an earnest desire to obtain the best
possible machines for manufacturing them ;
consequently the study of their special quali-
ties, the series of experiments carried out at
great cost, the inventive talent applied to tho
processes, and the determination to succeed,
caused the difficulties to disappear, and year
after year valuable improvements were made
in the machinery with the view of enabling it
to produce larger quantities of better and more

RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS, OR NETTLE FIBRE*

varied classes of goods in a given time, at the
same time employing the least possible manual
labour by making the machines as automatic
as possible.

It will be evident that the same principle
applied to the machinery and apparata for
working ramie must of necessity produce like
results, and the time has now arrived when
one is justified in saying that the ignorance
of the past is rapidly disappearing and that a
full knowledge of ramie is taking its place.
During the last ten or twelve years practical
men of experience have been carefully study-
ing ramie both from a scientific and a practical
point of view, and by means of experiments,
in some cases quietly and unobtrusively car-
ried out, have gained such a knowledge of the
fibre and the means of treating it through the
various stages of its manufacture that the
whole process may now be regarded as being
placed on a thoroughly practical footing.
There can be no royal road to any manufac-
turing success. In the case of ramie, by care-
fully studying the peculiar qualities of the
fibre and overcoming the chemical difficulties
of the degumming and softening processes, and
by studying the mechanical requirements
necessary to treat it successfully in all the
various stages from the raw material to the
finished goods, success has been attained. In
the remarks which follow I have endeavoured,
speaking generally, to point out difficulties
overcome and processes and machinery adap-
ted for the particular purposes in view, and
I believe that the successful manufacture of
ramie is now an assured fact. Ramie has
entered into a new phase and the time is at
hand when it may be expected to become
a very important and leading fibre in the
textile world.

Referring to the second cause, I desire to
point out that ramie fibre presented several
serious difficulties in the way of its successful
treatment. One of these difficulties is the fact
that the separate filaments of ramie are, by
reason of their form and construction, not
congenial to each other : they partake largely
of the nature of hairs. The consequence is
that the filaments have no natural affinity or
tendency to adhere or cling together. Their
tendency is rather to go each its own way,
hence the serious difficulties experienced in
forming the slivers, the roving.s, and the yarn.
This tendency is liable to be increased by the
treatment received during the degumming pro-
cess, which, if unskilfully carried out, imparts

to the fibre a harshness more or less developed.
The use of chemicals in the treatment of fibres
has generally a tendency to produce brittleness
and harshness. This tendency had to be overcome
by using with great discretion the very mini-
mum of chemical treatment in degumming and
by softening the fibre afterwards. The same
remark applies in the case of wool, which,
after washing with chemicals, needs the appli-
cation of oil previous to passing through the
machines, in order to soften it and enable it to
pass freely and quickly through the various
mechanical processes. Another difficulty arose
from the fact that ramie fibre is composed of
filaments of serious diversities of length — say,
from 1^ inch up to 14 and even 16 inches. To
pass simultaneously fibres of such varying
lengths through the machinery in a practical
manner was not possible ; therefore means had
to be invented for successfully overcoming this
difficulty.

The third cause of failure was also serious.
For some years I have been endeavouring to
lessen the evil effects of it by getting the
growers of the fibre, who have also to decorti-
cate it, to meet in conference the manufac-
turers of ramie, so that each class can point
out to the other how to overcome the difficul-
ties experienced (see Appendix B). I have
dealt at some length with this matter in de-
scribing the manufacturing processes, and
therefore I summarise here this cause of fail-
ure in past years as due to the isolated and
independent action of the persons actively in-
terested in ramie and the absence of combined
knowledge and co-operation. Thus the fibre
grower failed to realise that he seriously in-
creased the difficulties of the chemist through
imperfect decortication, by sending to the
market fibre bruised and full of skin, wood,
etc., thus rendering the degumming a slow and
difficult process and necessitating undue
strength of chemicals, in addition to many
complicated and expensive operations. Fur-
thermore, the grower entirely ignored the fact
that his fibre would have to pass through the
combing process, and that if its decortication
was defective, the combing machine would in-
j evitably prove it. Properly decorticated
| ramie — for instance, china grass which has
been decorticated fey hand labour — ought to
give, after combing, about 70 per cent, of long
I fibre and about 30 per cent, of short fibre
I (noils) ; but if the fibre has been bruised and
damaged by decorticating machines of imper-
fect construction, the result is only from 30

RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS, OR NETTLE FIBRE.

per cent, to 50 per cent, of long fibre and 70
per cent, to 50 per cent, of short fibre (noils).

The chemist responsible for the degumming
process in like manner ignored the after pro-
cesses and paid little or no regard to what the
fibre had to undergo when it left his hands. If
the degummed fibre became harsh and brittle
through his defective treatment, it would not
pass freely through the preparing and drawing
machinery at even one-third of its proper
speed ; the amount of waste produced was
enormous and the combing operation showed
only a small percentage of long fibre and an ab-
normally large percentage of short fibre. De-
Active degumming has also in many cases led to
heavy losses through (A) the use of improper
chemicals, or of suitable chemicals, but in un-
suitable strength ; and (B) the imperfect wash-
ing of the fibre and freeing from acid, thereby
causing the yarns and goods in a short time to
lose their colour and strength and frequently
to become rotten and worthless. Imagine the
feelings of a merchant who, having bought one
hundred pieces of ramie cloth and put them
into stock or shipped them to a foreign custo-
mer, learned to his dismay in two or three
months' time that the goods were discoloured or
rotten and valueless. Can anyone be sur-
prised that in past years ramie had many ene-
mies? Imperfect combing has also been the
cause of many serious difficulties in the roving
and spinning processes.

With regard to the fourth cause of failure, it
is obvious that an ample supply of raw
materials at all times available is an absolute
necessity for all branches of successful manu-
facture. Unfortunately this has not been the
case with ramie. China grass has been avail-
able, but the supply has been irregular and
intermittent and the prices have been, as a
rule, much too high and subject to great and
irregular variations. Growers of ramie lost
heart and gave up the cultivation, partly be-
cause of the small demand and partly because
they did not send it into the market in a con-
dition to ensure remunerative prices. On the
other hand, spinners and manufacturers inter-
ested in ramie were not encouraged to make
large outlays on new machinery because of the
uncertainty of obtaining a sufficient and regu-
lar supply of the fibre at a moderate price.
This difficulty has required time and publicity
for its removal.

The fifth cause of failure, and by no means
the least important, must be justly attributed
to financial reasons. A large number of

capitalists and others have unfortunately sus-
tained serious losses by embarking in erratic
schemes prepared by persons imperfectly
acquainted with, and often quite ignorant of
the nature of the fibre — its peculiarities and
good qualities. Many of these persons have
been mainly, if not solely, animated by the de-
sire to sell at enormous prices patents, pro-
cesses, machines, etc., to capitalists and com-
panies. The fair reputation of ramie has also
often been injuriously affected by well-mean-
ing persons who, having failed to thoroughly
study all its characteristics and peculiarities,
have invented processes or machines for dealing
with isolated portions only of the treatment,
irrespective of the remainder. Thus the in-
ventor or owner of a patent for a ramie decor-
ticating machine has entirely ignored the fact
that the ramie must, after decortication, be
degummed, softened, combed, etc. In like
manner the inventor or owner of a patented
degumming process has introduced his patent,
entirely failing or not being willing to see that
the combing, manufacturing, and dyeing pro-
cesses stand in intimate relationship to the de-
gumming process, and are in a measure de-
pendent on its efficacy for success.

Ramie has indeed been the victim of enemies
who were rarely heard of in the days when
machines were being invented for manufac-
turing flax, cotton, jute, etc. These enemies
are the speculative inventor, the professional
director, the company promoter, and their
allies, whose action in forming companies and
asking the public to subscribe large sums in
order to carry out what in most cases can
justly be termed ignorant visionary schemes
involving immense losses, has undoubtedly
been one of the main causes of. the public
viewing with disfavour ramie manufacturing
enterprises.

Having thus described the leading causes of
failure and some of the remedies already
applied and being applied, I now pass on to
the manufacturing operations, but before doing
so I will devote a few lines to the ramie plant
and the decorticating process. I do not pro-
pose to describe the plant botanically or to
dwell on its cultivation, but desire to draw
attention to the relative qualities of the two
leading ramie fibre producing species — Boeh-
meria tenacissima and Boehmeria nivea. These
two descriptions of ramie are frequently dis-
tinguished by the terms " green " and " white."
The fibre is known under four designations—
namely, rhea, ramie, china grass, and nettle

RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS, OR NETTLE FIBRE.

fibre, the latter principally in the United
States. Rhea is generally considered to be the
green-leaved member of the Boehmeria family
and ramie the white-leaved description. China
grass was formerly supposed to consist only of
the white-leaved description, but a more inti-
mate knowledge of the growth of the plant in
China has proved that both Boehmeria tenacis-
sima (green-leaved ramie) and Boehmeria nivea
(white-leaved ramie) grow in China, and the
fibre extracted from them is indiscriminately
known as China grass.

The fibre of Boehmeria tenacissima is, gener-
ally speaking, not quite as fine as that of
Boehmeria nivea ; it is, however, somewhat
stronger. It spins well into yarn, but, as the
filaments are not so fine, the yarns cannot be
spun quite as fine as those of the white
variety. On the other hand, the Boehmeria
nivea (or white description) although not quite
so strong as the Boehmeria tenacissima, has
the advantage of being able to be spun into
somewhat finer yarn, necessitating a little
more careful treating in the manufacturing
operations. It is generally considered to have
a better colour than Boehmeria tenacissima.
The difference in the relative filament length
of the two descriptions is not great, and it
may truly be said of both that no fibre can
compare with them in strength. Both fibres
have the same degree of lustre. Some manu-
facturers prefer the one, some the other de-
scription, partly from choice and partly from
habit, this arising from the fact that they
have become more familiar with and perhaps
more successful in the treatment of the one
than the other.

DECORTICATING .

The first process which the green stems
undergo when cut down is decortication, and
although this does not strictly belong to the
manufacturing branch, it being in reality an
agricultural operation, it needs mention here
because of its intimate connection with and
influence on the subsequent manufacturing
operations. A large number of decorticating
machines have been invented and tried, some
of them with very disappointing results,
arising from the fact that most of the inven-
tors, either from ignorance or disregard of
the facts, have treated decortication as an in-
dependent process, whereas it has a very inti-
mate relation to and influence on the subse-
quent degumming and combing processes. A
really practical ramie decorticating machine
ought —

(A) To decorticate the green stems and pro-
duce from them fibre fully equal to that pro-
duced by the best hand labour in China. The
fibre must be free from shieve or woody parts :
the outer skin of the stem must be entirely
removed and the minimum of gum left in the
fibre. China grass (ramie decorticated by
hand in China) usually contains gum equal to
about 30 per cent, of its weight, but a good
decorticating machine ought not to leave more
than about 20 per cent, of gum in the fibre.
This freeing from the shieve or wood and the
skin and the reduction in the percentage of
gum are of the utmost importance, because
the subsequent degumming operations are

"thereby greatly facilitated, shortened, and
cheapened.

(B) To avoid bruising the fibre. China
grass, as already stated, produces, with a
really good combing machine, 70 per cent, of
long fibre (top) and 30 per cent, of short
fibre (noils), but in many cases the fibre, re-
sulting from treatment by unpractical and im-
perfect decorticating machines, has shown after
the combing process only about from 30 to 50
per cent, of long fibre and about from 50 to
70 per cent, of short fibre — a sure test of the
lamentable results of being bruised, broken,
and shortened by bad decortication.

It will thus be seen how intimate ought to
be the relations between the decorticating, de-
gumming, and combing processes, and how im-
possible it is to judge of the efficiency or
otherwise of any decorticating machine solely
by the appearance of the fibre it produces.
Not until the decorticated fibre has passed
through the degumming and combing processes
can an accurate and reliable opinion be formed
concerning the efficiency of the decorticating
machine that has been used. This is a matter
of primary importance, and yet it has too
frequently been ignored by inventors and in-
troducers of ramie decorticating machines.

MANUFACTURE.

I now pass on to manufacturing operations,
commencing with the fibre in the condition in
which it is generally sent to market under
the name of " China grass " and " ramie," as
produced by the best decorticating machines,
free from skin, wood, and extraneous matters.
DEGUMMING.

After the bales of ramie or China grass are
opened, the filasse is carefully sorted, gener-
ally by female labour, into batches, according
to the various qualities of length, colour, and
freedom from extraneous matters. The batches

RAMIE, RHEA,

GRASS, OR NETTLE FIBRE.

of like quality are then placed in the degum-
ining kiers or vats, in which the filasse is
treated by steam, water, and chemicals in such
a way that the gum is dissolved and removed,
leaving the fibre free from gum, skin, dirt,
chemicals, .etc. The essentials for a successful
degumming operation are : — Plenty of pure
water and steam and a set of machines and
apparata constructed so as to enable the masse
to be thoroughly treated in the most
economical manner,. and with the least possible
handling. Under no circumstances must the
fibre be seriously affected by the treatment.
Its enormous strength, its splendid lustre and
softness, must remain the same after the de-
gumming process as before it ; consequently
the chemicals used must be of such a nature
and of so slight a degree of strength as to
accomplish the removal of the gum without
deterioration of the filasse in any respect. The
process, when properly understood, is neither
complicated nor difficult, and needs principally
care and a practical mode of treatment. The
machinery used, in addition to the kiers or
vats, comprises washing machines, hydro-ex-
tractors, squeezers, pumps, etc. These need
not be of very special construction.

The main art of successfully degumming
ramie lies in the use of suitable chemicals in
very weak solution and in the thorough wash-
ing of the filasse in the last stage of the de-
gumming process. The filasse then usually
undergoes bleaching, for which no special plant
is required : it may be bleached in the same
way as cotton or flax. There is a diversity of
opinion as to the degree of chemical bleaching
to be applied to ramie and the stage at which
it is best carried out. Some manufacturers
prefer to complete the process immediately the
filasse is degummed ; others prefer to half
bleach the filasse and to complete the bleach-
ing on the grass in the same way as linen
goods are bleached. Others again prefer to
leave the bleaching process to a later stage —
say, when the filasse has been spun into yarn
and made up into goods. For a great variety
of purposes no bleaching whatever is required,
because some goods are generally sold and used
in the grey state : for instance, many kinds
of linings, canvas, sailcloths, etc., also ropes,
cords, lines, twine, etc.

One very important matter to be observed
in connection with the bleaching of ramie
filasse, yarn, and goods is to free them ab-
solutely from chemicals by efficient neutralising
and by copious washings, etc. A very large

number of processes for degumming ramie have
been invented and patented, and the names of
the chemicals suggested are legion. Many of
these processes have proved to be failures,
being mainly the result of laboratory experi-
ments.

In degumming ramie the following import-
ant conditions must of necessity be observed :

(A) The process must not attack the
strength of the fibre.

(B) The fibre has naturally a beautiful
lustre, almost if not quite equal to silk ; this
lustre must be retained, and nothing in the
process which the filasse undergoes must affect
its lustre or render it harsh and difficult to
pass through the machinery.

(c) Ramie, when properly degummed, takes
dyes freely (notably all the finer dyes) and
lends itself freely to the absorption of the
brightest colours quite on an equality with silk,
retaining at the same time its beautiful lustre ;
consequently this quality of receiving and re-
taining colours must not be affected by the
degumming process.

(D) The degumming process must not only
be of a nature to cause the fibre to retain
its strength, lustre, and colour at the time
of manufacture, but also for years afterwards.

An immense amount of unfounded pre-
judice has been created against ramie
and ramie goods through imperfect treat-
ment and defective degumming. Spinners
and manufacturers have experienced heavy
losses through ramie yarns and goods
having, after a few months' time, lost their
strength, lustre, and colour and become rotten
and worthless. These disastrous results have
been in many cases ignorantly attributed to
some natural defects of ramie fibre ; they were,
however, due solely to defective degumming
and bleaching. Ramie goods are as lasting as
any textile goods, as has been fully proved.
For instance, the Chinese have used the fibre
for many centuries, and their many hundred
years old fabrics exhibit marvellous lasting
qualities, quite equal to the flax mummy
cloths.

(E) Finally, and this is of great importance,
the degumming and bleaching processes used
must be capable of being carried out easily,
quickly, and in an economical manner, so as
to be a commercial success. Some of the
patented degumming processes, -even if success-
ful in practice, are prohibitive by reason of
their enormous cost and complicated treatment.

RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS, OR NETTLE FIBRE.

9

PREPARING AND SOFTENING.

Before passing the filasse on to further pro-
cesses it is very desirable, in fact almost
necessary, to thoroughly impregnate it with a
substance called in the trade "prepare," by
means of which it is rendered more elastic and
more capable of passing easily through all the
various machines hereinafter referred to. This
process has another important object — namely,
to prepare the filasse in such a manner that
all the machines can be run at their maximum
speed, with the view of obtaining the utmost
possible production, and at the same time with
the minimum of waste. The preparing process
has a tendency to slightly stiffen the fibres ;
consequently the filasse is passed through a
special softening machine, the operation of
which results in the fibres becoming thoroughly
soft, free, and ductile. This is an important
stage of the preparation, because, when carried
out efficiently by a really good lubricating pre-
pare, it very greatly facilitates the passage of
the fibre at full speed through all the subse-
quent machines, and thereby reduces the
amount of waste produced to the very mini-
mum.

Too much importance cannot be attached to
a thoroughly practical treatment of the filasse
in the initial stage, because when the treat-
ment is well adapted to the nature and pecu-
liarities of the fibre, all following processes are
so facilitated as to make the spinning of ramie
a commercial success. If, on the other hand,
through lack of practical knowledge of the
peculiarities of the fibre, this initial preparing
process is ignored or not carefully carried out,
all the following operations must of necessity
be adversely affected. It may truly be said
that this softening operation and the combing
operation, concerning which more later on, are
the two most important operations in the
manufacture of ramie.

After leaving the softening department, the
filasse, still in stricks, is fed by hand into a
gill-spreading machine of special construction,
the object of which is to transform it into
slivers, which are then passed through a series
of other special gill machines arranged
in a set, whereby the slivers, during
their passage through the various machines
in their proper sequence, are opened
out, simultaneously levelled, combined,
and made of equal thickness and loftiness, in
order to render them capable of being
efficiently treated by the combing machines
with the least possible waste.

COMBING.

These slivers are then fed automatically into the
combing machines, the fibres are automatically
combed, separated into their various qualities,
and delivered by the machines into cans in the-
form of slivers, which then undergo the fur-
ther processes of doubling, drawing, and'
equalising. As already stated, the combing
process is of vital importance, because it in-
fluences the working of all the following
machines both as regards quality and quantity
of the yarn produced a'nd economy of produc-
tion.

The reputation of ramie has unfortunately
suffered severely through the employment of
defective combing machines, some of which
leave a considerable amount of short fibre
(noil) and extraneous matter in the finished
sliver of long fibre (top), thereby preventing
the spinning machines from producing good,
clean, and level yarn. Other combing machines
damage the fibre during the combing process
by breaking and shortening it, thereby re-
| ducing its quality and value and increasing the
amount of waste. There are also some comb-
ing machines to which the previous criticism
applies only in a minor degree — their chief de-
fect is the smallness of their production and
the costly nature of the attendant labour,
rendering them almost prohibitive from a com-
mercial point of view in a ramie mill. A
really practical, well designed, and well con-
structed ramie combing machine ought to pos-
sess the following good qualities : —

It must comb and sort the fibres into their
various qualities and deliver each quality
separate.

It must not break or shorten the fibre during
! the combing.

It must thoroughly clean and free it from
dirt and short fibre (noil).

It must give a large production — about 300'
Ib. a day.

It must be capable of producing from pro-
perly prepared filasse about 70 per cent, of
good quality long spinning fibre (top) and 30
per cent, of short fibre (noil).

It must be so designed and constructed that
it does not need skilled labour to attend it.

It must not be liable to break down or get

out of order ; the stoppage of combing

machines for repairs involves not only very

I expensive mechanical labour, but also a great

I lessening of the production of the mill.

Before passing on to the next process a few
words may be desirable respecting the noils or

IO

RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS, OR NETTLE FIBRE.

short fibre separated from the rest of the fibre
by the combing machine ; these are now ex-
ceedingly useful for many purposes, and there
is a large demand for them. They can be spun
into an excellent serviceable yarn on ordinary
tow machinery, and as such their leading quali-
ties are strength and regularity. They are also
mixed with other textiles, such as wool, cotton,
etc. These mixtures are very advantageous to
the manufacturer, as ramie noils impart not
only great strength to the yarns and to the
fabrics, but they improve the appearance of
the goods through their lustre and through
the excellent and lasting colours which they
take in the dyeing process. In most cases they
reduce the cost of the goods, for ramie noils
now find a ready sale at about 4d. to 5d. per
lb., according to the state of the market. It
cannot be called a case of adulteration by
bringing into the mixture something that is
of inferior quality, but it is rather the effect-
ing of a distinct improvement in the goods by
adding a material of excellent value. Noils
are also being spun satisfactorily on cotton
machinery. They are likewise used in a variety
of other trades, such as the manufacture of
celluloids, etc.

DRAWING.

This is effected by passing the combed sli-
vers through a series of gill-drawing machines
of special design, running at very high speeds,
in order to give the greatest possible produc-
tion. The drawing processes require to be
carried out with considerable care and judg-
ment. For instance, the relative sizes of the
slivers and the relative number of them fed
into and combined in each of the drawing
machines, must be duly proportioned in such a
manner as to cause each machine to deliver a
-sliver or tape as level as possible for the suc-
ceeding machine ; this applies to every machine
in the set of drawing frames. Want of care
at this stage cannot fail to be detrimental to
the after stages, because irregular tape of
necessity produces irregular rovings, and tltese
in their turn produce irregular yarns of dimin-
ished value.

Some descriptions of ramie have a slight
natural defect — namely, what are called in the
trade "hard ends," these being in some cases
fibres which have not developed to their full
length, but have grown somewhat thick and
short; in other cases two or three fibres that
have grown together. In the ordinary process
of good combing, these hard ends are to a
large extent removed from the slivers, but
experience has shown that it is very desirable

in the highest qualities of ramie yarn that
these hard ends should be entirely removed ;
otherwise they are liable to form inequalities
in the yarns, and the woven and other goods
produced from such yarns are liable to show a
speckled appearance after dyeing : the hard
ends absorb more colour than the rest and are
non-lustrous.

In order to do away with this defect, the
slivers intended for the very best quality yarns
pass through a second combing operation and
then through a set of special drawing or re-
gilling machines, so as to free them from all
the hard ends and make them suitable for
spinning into the finest yarns for the highest
classes of expensive fancy goods, such as
brocades, union silks, imitation silk goods, etc.

ROVING AND SPINNING.

On leaving the drawing frames, the ramie
slivers or tapes are transferred to roving
frames of special construction, which convert
them into rovings. These are then spun into
yarns by the spinning frames. The roving and
spinning frames for ramie differ in some essen-
tial features from the ordinary machines used
for cotton, flax, worsted, or silk waste. In
their construction are embodied some of the
most improved motions of the machines used
for the above-mentioned textiles — for instance,
quick-running spindles, etc., to ensure a large
production of good work. There have been
introduced into their design and construction —
the result of ten years' experiments — a num-
ber of special mechanical improvem jnts, in
order to adapt them for the treatment of the
peculiar qualities of the fibre, and designed to
overcome the difficulties formerly experienced
in roving and spinning ramie.

In describing the combing operations I made
special mention of the system of sorting or
separating the fibre during the combing opera-
tion into its various qualities. Experience has
shown that the most improved method of
dealing with the assorted slivers after comb-
ing is for each quality of fibre to be treated
by passing it separately through a set of draw-
ing, roving, and spinning machines designed
and constructed for that special quality. The
result is that ramie is now being spun very
economically into the very best yarns of which
each quality of fibre is capable, consideration
being paid to strength, lustre, uniformity of
size, twist, speed of production, etc.

This is a new departure in the manufacture
of ramie and has added immensely to its value
as a textile, because it has materially enlarged

RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS, OR NETTLE FIBRE.

ii

the field for its employment and goods are now
being manufactured from it which a short time
ago were thought impossible or unsuitable. It
enables the spinning machines to produce a wide
range of counts of yarn in various qualities of
fibre, and thus allows of the same being manu-
factured into a great variety of goods, for
instance : —

(A) The highest quality of fibre is spun into
yarns usegl in the manufacture of brocades,
damasks, fine tapestries, etc., plushes, velvets,
lace curtains, ladies' dress goods, silk and
ramie mixtures — goods to supersede the highest
qualities of linens, etc.

(B) The medium quality of fibre is spun
into yarns used in the manufacture of scarves,
turbans, pongees, pocket handkerchiefs, vel-
veteens, medium linens, hosiery, wool and
ramie mixtures, sewing and other threads, fish-
ing lines, fire engine hose, belting, girths, and
many other goods.

(c) The third quality of fibre is spun into
yarns used in the manufacture of ordinary
woven goods of many descriptions, such as
canvas, sailcloth, towelling, and also for cords,
lines, and a great variety of other goods.

Ramie can be spun into exceedingly fine
yarn — say, No. 168's, having 50,400 yards to
the Ib. Fine yarns of this description used
for the manufacture of the highest qualities of
goods rival silk yarns and are largely used to
supplant silk goods or to mix with silk yarns
as, for instance, a ramie warp with silk weft
or a silk warp with ramie weft. In order to
retain the full natural lustre of the fibre these
yarns are spun with the very minimum of
twist.

TWISTING, ETC.

A considerable proportion of ramie yarns are
used in the doubled state ; the twisting is
generally effected on flyer and ring twisting
frames, but with some modifications and
additions to ensure good work and great pro-
duction. The same remark applies to the
machines for winding, gassing, reeling, and
foundling.

WEAVING.

The weaving of ramie and of goods made
of ramie mixed with silk, flax, wool, worsted,
•etc., is proving a great success. This branch
of the manufacture has not presented the same
amount of difficulty as the preparing and spin-
ning branches, nor is the divergence of ramie
looms from the ordinary construction of looms
very great. Minor but necessary modifications
to adapt them for weaving ramie under favour-
able circumstances have been ' introduced.

It has also been found that sundry
modifications in the ordinary warping,
winding, sizing, beaming, etc., machinery are
! necessary.

DYEING AND FINISHING.

The processes of dyeing, printing, and finish-
j ing ramie goods are very diversified, according
] to the various classes and qualities of goods,
i Ramie goods take colour very freely, and con-
! sequently are eminently adapted for dyeing
j and printing. When woven into damasks,
; house linens, and similar goods, heretofore made
' of linen, they are finished in a manner similar
j to that applied to linen goods. When woven
into brocades, pongees, dress goods, and simi-
lar goods, heretofore made of silk, or when
woven with a mixture of silk — for instance,
silk warp and ramie weft or silk weft and
! ramie warp — the goods are finished in
much the same manner as silk goods. Between
I the above two branches many varieties of goods
| are made of ramie and wool, worsted, flax, and
cotton, and they are treated in the finishing
process in a manner similar to that employed
I for the goods they compete with. The manu-
1 facture of ramie into hosiery, curtains, sewing
and crochet threads, cords of all kinds, fishing
and other lines, twines, ropes, and similar
goods calls for no special remark, because the
i ordinary modern machinery for making these
goods is well adapted for making them of
ramie.

COUNTS OF YARN.

Various modes of describing the fineness of
yarns are in vogue. Some ramie spinners have
used the worsted scale, others the silk scale,
and others again the cotton scale. The fibre
: bears a closer resemblance and has a nearer
relation in its character to flax than to any
other fibre. It has therefore been found de-
I sirable, in order to avoid confusion and facili-
tate business, to adopt the flax scale in de-
scribing the counts or sizes of ramie yarns.
This scale has the additional advantage of
being simple and easily understood by non-
technical persons. Ramie yarns are therefore
divided into leas or hanks, each containing
300 yards, and the number of hanks per Ib.
indicates the size of the yarn. Thus No. 60
ramie yarn contains 60 hanks each of 300
I yards -18, 000 yards to the Ib.

Speaking generally, the preparing, spinning,
and weaving machinery for ramie is of such a
character that female labour can be very
largely employed in most of the manufacturing
operations. The manufacture of ramie has in
I the past been burdened with difficulties arising

12

RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS, OR NETTLE FIBRE.

from the fact that the mills have not been self-
contained — that is to say, the manufacturer
has not been in a position to carry out on his
own premises the whole of the operations re-
quired from the raw ramie to the finished
goods ready for the consumer. Some firms
have degummed and combed the fibre and
offered it to the trade in the form of sliver.
Others have carried their operations a* little
further and have sold it in the form of rovings.
Others have offered their yarns for sale to the
weavers. In many cases remunerative prices
were not obtainable because the buyers were
unable or unwilling to purchase really high-
class machinery specially adapted for carrying
out the further processes required. In all
cases the ramie goods have been dyed, printed,
and finished by outside firms.

I would therefore strongly advise that, in
starting mills for the manufacture of ramie,
they should, wherever possible, be self-con-
tained— in other words, that the manufac-
turing operations should include everything
from the raw material to the finished article
ready for sale to the consumer. In this way
the manufacturer has full control over all the
operations, even the seemingly least important,
and is not exposed to failure through the ig-
norance or incapacity of outsiders.

In conclusion, I may add that the signs of
progress are unmistakeable. In Yorkshire
there is at present a very large demand for
ramie yarns of all classes. On the Continent
ramie manufacturers are having a very good
time and their number is increasing. The

Americans are quite alive to the value of
ramie. Buyers, especially in England, are to
the fore, some because ramie yarns are so
exceedingly strong and valuable for special pur-
poses, other because of the beautiful lustre of
the yarns, so necessary in many descriptions of
fancy goods, and others again because ramie

! is able to satisfy requirements which no other
fibre can. Ramie mills are now being started
even in Eastern countries — Japan and China.
Prejudice is rapidly giving way to earnest, in-
telligent desire to give ramie a fair trial and
to appreciate it according to its real value.
I may instance the case of one manufacturer in
this country who informed me a few days ago
that he had been for some years on the look

| out for a special yarn possessed of strength not
previously obtainable. Having bought a quan-
tity of ramie roving he had spun it into yarn
and found it exactly suited to his purpose. He
has just bought ten tons of ramie rovings and
purposes spinning ramie yarns on a large
scale.

Manufacturers are now in a position to ob-
tain the best ramie machinery as easily
as they can obtain cotton or woollen
machinery, and to produce ramie goods with

I the minimum of risk and the maximum of
profit. The days of ignorance are gone by, and
ramie seems at last to be taking a position in
the textile world worthy of its goqd qualities.

I have been induced to write these notes as
a contribution, however slight, to the know-
ledge and progress of the manufacture of ramie.
I earnestly hope they will be found useful and
encouraging to the friends of this grand fibre.

RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS, OR NETTLE FIBRE.

APPENDIX A.

The following are extracts from a paper on the "Cultivation and Manufacture

of Rhea Fibre," read by me: —

The growth, production, and quality of ramie
vary very much, according to climate, soil,
mode of cultivation, and treatment of the fibre.
There are, therefore, many elements of uncer-
tainty— such, for instance, as the cost and the
weight of the crop grown per acre, the number
of crops that can be obtained annually, and
the percentage of fibre contained in the stems.
My figures must be taken as representing a
general average, liable to modifications, accord-
ing to circumstances.

Ramie, called in India " rhea," and when
grown and prepared in China known as " China
grass," belongs to the family of nettles
(Urtica), and to the sub-division Boehmeria.
There are many varieties of the plant, but the
two which have been proved to be the best
fibre-bearing species are B. Tenacissima, often
called the green-leaved ramie, and B. Nivea,
often called the white-leaved ramie, on account
of the silvery appearance of the under side of
its leaves. The Nivea species is mostly culti-
vated in China and Formosa, and the Tenacis-
sima in Jav£, Sumatra, Borneo, Malacca, In-
dia, Mexico, and other tropical countries.
Many attempts have been made to successfully
cultivate ramie in temperate zones, and at
one time great expectations were raised as to
the possibility of successfully growing the fibre
in France, Holland, and other countries en-
joying a similar climate, but these expecta-
tions have not been realised, as the plants are
not able to resist winter cold, unless protected
to such a degree and at such an expense as to
cause their cultivation to be too costly. At
one time it was expected that the cultivation
of rhea in India would prove of immense bene-
fit, but careful study and experience have
shown that something more than a merely
tropical climate is required.

Warm moisture is the first requisite to the
soil for cultivation, but anything approaching
stagnation of water on the land, even
for a short period, is the ruin of an estate.
Plenty of water always in the soil and yet
ready absorption of all that falls are true essen-
tials in ramie land. This implies friability of
surface soil to soak in the moisture and
porosity of the subsoil to absorb the excess
of water or heavy rains. The land must be

sufficiently elevated to run no risk from floods.
Moisture and warmth in the land depend
largely upon moisture and warmth in the
atmosphere. Therefore, a plentiful rainfall is
indispensable, coupled with a high and even
temperature. The rainfall must not only be
plentiful but it must be well distributed
throughout the year. The greatest enemy of
ramie after stagnant water is drought. Dry
heat burns it up ; drought kills it outright.
What ramie requires is a naturally rich deep
soil, plenty of rain, and no extremes of tem-
perature.

It was at one time generally supposed that
the whole of India is suitable for growing rhea.
Such, however, is not the case. Districts in
India, the climate and soil of which are in
accordance with the above requirements, can
produce any quantity of rhea, and if the
authorities will foster and protect the culti-
vation, India will doubtless become one of the
most important producers of rhea fibre. It is
a perennial, giving from two to five crops an-
nually, and when well established on the land
yields its crops for a succession of years. The
roots became stronger and stronger each year
as they spread through the soil, and the plant
becomes more and more productive. It yields
a crop the first year, if grown from seed. If
planted from root-cuttings it can give two
crops in the first year. Owing to the quantity
of tannin in the bark it is singularly free from
insect pests and fungoid diseases. An estate
of 500 acres of ramie under good cultivation
and favourable circumstances ought to produce
yearly from 7,000 to 9,000 tons of green stems,
calculating four crops per year, of which about
5 per cent, is fibre.

The leading qualities of ramie fibre may be
summarised thus : —

(a) It is the strongest fibre known. The
comparative tensile strength of some of the
leading fibres may be known as follows : —
Assuming the strength of ramie to be 100, the
strength of hemp is 36 ; flax, 25 ; silk, 13 ;
and cotton, 12.

(6) It is the longest of all textile fibres. Its
filaments range in length from 2^ in. up to
18 in. The filaments of flax vary in length
from % in. to 2^ in.

RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS, OR NETTLE FIBRE*

(c) Ramie fibre has a brilliancy or lustre
superior to that of all other textile fibres.' In
this respect it may be compared with silk,
which it almost equals. In certain classes of
goods only an expert can distinguish between
silk and ramie. When properly degummed,
prepared, spun, and woven, this lustre is not
affected by the processes, but shines forth as
brightly in the woven piece as in the fibre.

(d) Ramie resists atmospheric influences
better than any other fibre. Air and water
have little influence on it, however long a time
exposed. This has been amply proved in the
case of fishing nets made of ramie, which have
lasted far beyond any other material that has
ever been used for the purpose.

(e) It mixes easily and freely with silk,
wool, cotton, and flax, and the combinations
thus obtained are very valuable in point of
colour, durability, and economy.

(f) It takes colours freely in dyeing, and
the very best effects of colour are obtained
without affecting the lustre.

One of the difficulties that has impeded the
spread of the cultivation of ramie has been
the planting. It has been assumed for many
years that the best way to propagate ramie was
by means of stem or root cuttings. In order
to obtain these cuttings, plants have been pro-
cured with great difficulty and risk, and at
great expense. Many people have been dis-
couraged by the difficulties and the expense,
and in many cases it has not been possible to
obtain plants. Sowing has been tried in a few
cases, but has resulted mostly in failure ; hence
the idea that ramie is best propagated by cut-
tings.

From a friend of large experience in the
East, I have quite recently obtained special
information, which points to the fact that pro-
pagation by sowing has been rejected through
ignorance of the proper method of sowing. I
cannot do better than make known the result
of his practical knowledge and experience : —

" It is commonly said that an ounce of practice
is worth pounds of theory, and it may not be
amiss to give here the results of my own ex-
perience in ramie propagation by seed.

"It requires great care, but if the seed be
good, the results obtained are an ample reward
for the trouble taken. My first attempt ended in
failure. One month later I sowed some seed
on a bed made of fine sifted earth with 'a slight
admixture of well rotted cow dung : the bed
was well sheltered by a lallang roofing, and, in
fine, every precaution was taken to ensure
success. The result was far from satisfactory ;

little patches of green here and there showed
that germination had partially taken place, but
the sowing was practically a failure. I then
referred to the precepts given by ' The Im-
perial Treatise of Chinese Agriculture ' on -the
subject of the rearing of the plant. This work
says : —

" ' For the purpose of sowing, a light sandy
soil is preferred. The seeds are sown in a gar-
den near a river or well. The ground is dug
once or twice, then beds are made, and after
that the earth is again dug. The ground is
then pressed down with the back of a spade.
When it is a little firm it is slightly raked, the
beds are watered, and again loosened with a fine
rake, and finally levelled. After that a ching
(a measure) of moist earth and a ho (a meas-
ure) of seeds are taken and well mixed to-
gether. After having sown the seed it should
not be covered with earth ; indeed, earth on
the top prevents germination. Cover with a
slanting roof of matting. Before the seed be-
gins to germinate, or when the young leaves
first appear, the beds must not be watered.
By means of a broom dipped in water the roof
of matting is wetted so as to keep the ground
underneath moist. When the plants are about
two inches high the roof may be laid aside. If
the earth is dry it must be slightly moistened
to a depth of about 3 inches. A stiff er soil is
now chosen and formed into beds, to which the
young plants are to be transferred.'

" I followed the Chinese method in all its
minuteness, with the most gratifying results.
I have, therefore, no hesitation in stating that
of the three modes of propagation open to the
ramie planter — seed, stem, or root cuttings —
the first appears to me to be the most prac-
tical, the cheapest, and probably the quickest
in the case of a large estate."

Although one cannot go far wrong in ad-
hering closely to the Chinese text, I think,
for the sake of conciseness, the following may
be substituted for it : — Germinate the ramie
seed in open boxes in a roofed house. Fill the
boxes with earth ; for top soil take a light loam,
and pulverise it thoroughly by passing it
through a \ in. sieve ; a slight admixture of
burnt earth or dung will keep it moist without
its being necessary to water it for some days.
Mix a small quantity of the seed with one
basketful of the prepared soil. Sprinkle this
soil over the earth in the boxes. Do not water
until after five or six days (sometimes ten
days), when the seminal leaves begin to appear.
When watering, use a very fine rose. When the
young seedlings are from 2 in. to 2^ in. high,

RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS, OR NETTLE FIBRE.

transfer them to the nursery in specially-pre-
pared beds, planting them 3 in. apart. If
taken out with a ball of earth round their
roots they bear transplanting well, and from
that time need only the usual amount of atten-
tion and care which all young plants require —
shading, watering, and weeding.

Propagation by stem or root cuttings is gen-
erally assumed to be the most expeditious,
producing a crop more quickly than by sowing.
It may be so in the case of a small acreage —
say, 500 acres. If 10,000 cuttings are procured
for purposes of propagation, one may, after six
months (it is not advisable to do so before)
obtain a supply of root and stem cuttings —
say, twenty from each original stool — which will
bring the number of cuttings up to 200,000,
capable of planting sixteen acres. Six
months later, 4,000,000 cuttings imv be ob-
tained, capable of stocking, under favourable
circumstances, about 315 acres. It will be
fully eighteen months before the full acreage
of 500 acres will be supplied. During that
time there will have been but few, if any, stems
available for crop, as they will have been cut
up for purposes of propagation.

It is well known that propagation by cut-
tings is apt to bring degeneration, and it is
necessary from time to time to revert to seed
to obtain a healthy stock of plants ; plants
grown from seed possess the tap root, and are
not so liable to spread their roots laterally to
an undue degree. This is shown by the prac-
tice followed by the Chinese themselves in the
cultivation of ramie : they reserve some of the
best stems for seeding purposes. Notwith-
standing the widespread opinion to the con-
trary, it appears that planting from seed is
the right method, and that every effort should
be made to follow it. In the few cases where
good seed is not procurable, but only cuttings,
it will undoubtedly be advantageous to reserve
some of the best plants thus raised exclusively
for seeding. When propagating from seed, a
small crop of fibre may be available for sale
the first year, the planting will be more sys-
tematic, and the growth of the stems more
uniform, a great desideratum in view of ob-
taining fibre of one standard and one quality.
The work of uprooting the stock plants grown
from cuttings is a laborious one, which is dis-
pensed with in the case of propagation by seed.

Plantations raised from seed are longer lived
than those raised from cuttings. The Ram Ragh
estate, planted in 1878, is still giving crop,
notwithstanding the abandonment of cultiva-
tion consequent on the death of its owner in

1880. Of this I have most precise and con-
clusive evidence recently given me by the pre-
sent occupier of the estate. Mr. C. Riviere,
director of Hamma Garden, Algiers, says : —
" Our trial to raise ramie from seed proved
successful ; 250,000 fine plants were obtained,
remarkable mostly for their vigour, the size of
the foliage, the height of the stems, and the
fine development of their roots."

Experience has shown that former ideas re-
specting the space required for plants need
modification. These were planted too far
apart, and as a consequence the stems freely
threw out branches. Each branch breaks the
continuity of the fibres, and causes a larger
proportion of short fibres. Too much space
between the plants also favours growth of
weeds.

Many enterprising men have put forth great
endeavours to grow this fibre, and to bring it
into practical use, and their experience has
added materially to the general knowledge ;
but the growth of practical knowledge has
been slow and the resulting failures many. One
of the principal causes of this has been that
each man in his department has been working
with limited ideas, ignoring the fact that there
must be a combined working together in order
to ensure success. The planter has in many
cases planted ramie without understanding its
nature and requirements. The climate and the
soil have been unsuitable, the treatment of
the plants mistaken, the means of turning the
proceeds of the crop into a marketable article
have been wanting ; hence failure and disas-
ter.

For many years there existed a strong
opinion — especially in France — that the most
practical way to treat ramie stems was to dry
them, and afterwards to decorticate them. The
idea was good so far as it went, because, as in
the ease of flax and hemp, there are many ad-
vantages to be gained by cutting the crop,
letting it dry, storing it, and extracting the
fibre later on, when the labour of the farm is
not otherwise occupied. It allows also of the
possibility of sending the dried stems in quan-
tities to central works to be treated on a large
and economical scale. In tropical countries the
drying process was a failure, because the stems
fermented instead of drying in the humid
climate, and artificial drying was too expensive
to be adopted. This opinion undoubtedly re-
tarded seriously the manufacture of ramie for
many years, because it was based on two
serious mistakes that have needed years to
expose and overcome. Each stem of ramie is

i6

RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS, OR NETTLE FIBRE*

surrounded with a skin or pellicle. This skin,
if allowed to dry on the stem, assumes a [
brown colour, clings to the fibre with remark-
able tenacity, and has been the cause of the I
major portion of the degumming patents that j
have been taken out. The chemists only par- j
tially succeeded in their treatment, because in
removing the brown skin they too often
attacked the strength of the fibre, destroyed
its lustre, made it harsh and brittle, affected
its character for receiving dyes, and matted
it, causing great loss in combing.

The problem, commercially considered, has
been to obtain a decorticating machine which
can carry out economically the following pro-
cesses without damaging the fibre : — (a) Re-
move all the woody parts from the green
stems ; (6) remove the outer skin or cuticle
which has so long baffled all mechanical efforts
to remove it ; and (c) extract as much as pos-
sible of the juice of the stems so as to sim-
plify and cheapen the degumming process. The
two former processes are effectively carried out
by hand-labour in China, where women and
children scrape every stem and remove the skin
and the wood, but leave most of the juice in
the fibre.

All inventors of ramie decorticators have con-
centrated their efforts on machines to produce
ribbons. Needless to say, the object aimed at
fell far short of the real necessities of the
case ; hence some of the long delays and
numerous disappointments with which this fibre
is associated. Ramie ribbons or strips must
always be considered unsatisfactory, and will,
no doubt, in time .disappear. The buyer has
no means of readily testing their value, the
quality and percentage of the fibre, and
whether it has been damaged or not by the
decorticating machine ; hence his objection to
an unknown article, in addition to which they
cannot be highly compressed and packed into
proper bales as other fibres are, because the
large quantity of pieces of wood in them cut
the fibre. They also contain a very large per-
centage of useless material on which freight
has to be paid.

It has been reserved for a Frenchman, M.
Faure, to construct a machine capable of pro- |
ducing, not ribbons, but fibre in one operation, j
free from woody matter and skin, and with ;
the least possible amount of juice in it. The ;
product is equivalent to China grass. A skilled \
engineer and machine maker, with every j
facility at his own works and ample means for |
carrying out his ideas, he had the benefit j
of another important advantage — namely, the j

growing of ramie on his own estate — which en-
abled him to practically test his ideas by
actual experiments on the raw material — a
combination of advantages probably not en-
joyed by any other inventor of decorticators.
Patiently and scientifically he has, step by
step, worked out the problem, and the machine
represents the result of his several years'
labour. It is simple, inexpensive, and does its
work admirably. It is fed by the insertion of
lots of about ten stems. The stems are used
in the same condition as cut, with the leaves
on. The operation of feeding is as follows: —
The stems are passed in twice. They enter the
machine butt ends first, and having been trea-
ted about six inches of their length, they are
withdrawn (an operation easily carried out) and
fed in a second time, the leaf ends first, so as
to complete the operation. It frees the stems
from all woody matter and from the outer skin
or cuticle, and extracts a large portion of the
juice, thus producing fibre retaining all its
valuable qualities.

The machine, which weighs 11 cwt., is very
strong and not liable to get out of order. It
consists mainly of the framework and driving
gear, the decorticating drum carrying beaters
and the feed bed. This latter is the import-
ant feature of the machine, by reason of its
special contour, which varies at different parts
to suit the various descriptions of work which
the machine has to perform. The first part of
the bed is curved outwards, the second is
straight, and the third is curved inwards. The
ramie stems are fed into the machine over the
first part of the bed, where the woody portion
becomes immediately broken and partly re-
moved ; the strip passes on to the second part,
and as the speed of the beaters is considerably
greater than that at which the stems are fed
into the machine, a scraping effect is produced
on the strips, seeing that the distance between
the beaters and the surface of the bed is less
than the thickness of the strip. This scraping
action effects a double purpose : it attacks the
outer skin and also all matters extraneous to the
fibre. The strips or stricks of filaments then
pass down vertically into the machine, and the
separated matters — namely, most of the woody
parts, the skin, and gummy substances — are
thrown out to a distance by the centrifugal
force of the beator drum. When the stems
liav<> entered to within a short distance of
their end, the return movement is effected and
they are withdrawn. During the withdrawal
the following action takes place: — At the in-
ward curve, or third part of the bed, the fila-

RAMIEt RHEA, CHINA GRASS, OR NETTLE FIBRE.

ments are slightly and gradually grazed by
the beater blades, which throw out the
coarser of the debris still adhering. The opera-
tion is performed with great delicacy ; the
fibres assume the position of the chord of the
curve, and are constantly agitated by the
beaters. When the fibres arrive at the second
part of the bed, as the space between it and
the beaters is infinitely reduced, the entire
removal of matters still adhering to the fibres
is effected, and these latter leave the machine
white, parallel, and free from woody matter,
from skin, and from the major portion of the
juice. The concave bed or breast is mounted
in such a way that its position to the action
of the beaters is easily regulated. The
brackets which carry the bed are supported by
spiral spring cushions and flexible legs, the
object being to obtain a rubbing action between
the beaters and the fibre, having for its special
object the loosening and removal of the skin
or outer cuticle. The elastic bed gives way or
vibrates an enormous number of times per
minute, and this produces the described rub-
bing or " knuckle-joint " action between the
beaters and the fibres on the bed. The shape
of the feed bed causes it to remain clean and
free from extraneous matter through the action
of the beaters. Choking is thus rendered im-
possible. All abnormal strains are avoided,
and the machine can be kept at work from
morning till night without stoppages for
cleaning. The refuse falls underneath the
machine, and is removed from time to time.
In the case of a number of machines working
together, an endless band or conveyor, passing
under the machines, removes the refuse con-
tinually, and so keeps the neighbourhood of
the machines perfectly free from it.

The machine is capable of being easily
worked by native labour in the ramie planta-
tions, or in works connected therewith.
Although simple, it needs to be constructed
with the greatest accuracy in order to ensure
effective working. The cylinder, carrying the
steel beaters, is perfectly balanced and accu-
rate in its action ; it runs at 250 revolutions
per minute ; the surface of the beaters is per-
fectly parallel with the setting of the feed-bed,
and capable of working close up to it, say
within a distance equal to the thickness of a
piece of writing paper. The feed bed, the
varying profile of which is of such enormous
importance in the efficacy of the machine, is
made with the greatest of accuracy by special
machinery.

With regard to the production, practical ex-
perience shows that one machine, worked by
two men, can treat 360 Ib. of fresh green stems
per hour, or about 32 cwt. per day of ten
hours. The amount of dry fibre produced de-
pends largely on the nature of the stems ;
the percentage of fibre contained in green
stems varies very much according to circum-
stances. On a 5 per cent, basis the net pro-
duction of dry fibre of each machine per day
of ten hours is 180 Ib. When the stems are
specially good, 200 Ib. of dry fibre have been
produced per machine in ten hours. Under
ordinary circumstances, a production varying
from 160 to 200 Ib. of dry fibre in ten hours
per machine may be expected. Each machine
requires about 1 indicated horse-power to drive
it. When a number of machines are working
together less power will suffice ; thus, 8 horse-
power will drive ten machines. The machines
produce a fibre which ranks in the market
with China grass, by reason of its regularity
in condition and quality. The buyer can easily
see and test what he is buying. He is there-
fore able to give it its proper classification and
pay its full market value ; in addition to
which, by reason of the bales being well pressed
and containing little else than ramie fibre, the
freight and expenses per ton are reduced to a
minimum.

Green stems grown in a tropical or sub-
tropical climate give the best results. The
growth being quick, the stems carry plenty of
fresh green juice, which assists the decortica-
tion very much by leaving the fibre freely and
carrying with it in its downward course from
the beating point of the machine large quan-
tities of extraneous matter. The condition of
the stems at the time of treatment also plays
an important part. In order to ensure the best
possible fibre, the stems should be treated
within a few hours of being cut. They should
not be over-ripe, as the fibre deteriorates after
the stems have arrived at maturity. The best
plan is to cut them either just at full maturity
or slightly before. The fibre thus obtained ex-
cels in whiteness and ductility, retains its full
lustre, and shows to the best advantage during
subsequent manufacturing operations, such as
preparing, combing, spinning, dyeing, etc.

The machine has worked during all the sea-
sons since 1894 in the presence of experts and
fibre growers. In each season it has treated
two crops, and the fibre obtained has proved,
after degumming and combing, to be equal to
the best China grass. It is claimed for this

i8

RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS, OR NETTLE FIBRE*

machine that it has solved the question which
has heretofore been one of the chief difficulties
in connection with ramie.

The grower can now produce ramie fibre
from his stems in such a condition that it needs
only drying, packing, and sending to mar-
ket in order to turn it into money, and as the
margin of profit is large, there can be no doubt
that the cultivation of ramie will henceforth
increase each season. The position of the
manufacturer is entirely changed. His raw
material will come into the market in regular
quantities in a condition in which he can easily
utilise it, so as to enable him to be sure of
an ample supply. The cost of extracting the
fibre from the green stems, drying, and pack-
ing it into bales, amounts to about 3s. 9d. per
ton of stems treated, or £3 15s. per ton of dry
fibre obtained — when working with ten
machines and native labour at Is. per day —
including motive power, stores, etc. If the
labour is calculated at 2s. per day, the cost will
be 5s. l^d. per ton of green stems, or £5 2s.
Gd. per ton of dry fibre obtained, assuming
that the stems give 5 per cent, of fibre. The
cost of extraction is, of course, liable to be
much affected by the price of labour, the cost
of motive power, and by various local circum-
stances.

The way is now clear and open for great
progress in this industry, but it must not be
too readily assumed that there is going to be an
immediate boom in ramie ; the very nature of
the circumstances attending its cultivation pre-
vent such an occurrence. Everything points
to a certain but gradual development. I do
not anticipate that the cultivator will proceed
otherwise than cautiously in planting and pro-
ducing fibre. As soon as he has thorouhgly
realised that there is a ready sale for his fibre

at good and profitable prices, he will doubtless
increase his production methodically and ener-
getically. The progress will be steady, and in
the proportion in which the increased supplies
of the fibre come into the market will be the,
enlargement of existing mills, the starting of
new mills, and the increased use of the fibre
in all manner of goods for which it is adapted.

The trade is now on a sound and practical
basis as far as immediate requirements are
concerned. The supplies of China grass, though
at times irregular in quantity and quality, and
subject to considerable fluctuations in price,
have enabled spinners to attain their present
position in the market and to show to the
manufacturing world what can be accomplished
with the fibre. There can be no doubt that
the present situation warrants and justifies the
encouragement and immediate development of
ramie cultivation in all the countries the cli-
mate and soil of which are favourable to the
growth of the plant. This will ensure regular,
ample, and cheap supplies of the fibre from a
variety of sources, and free the spinner from
dependence upon one channel of supply
only — namely, China. Visionary schemes have
been swept away by hard experience ; our
knowledge of the splendid qualities of this fibre
and the mode of treating it has grown enor-
mously, and we may, therefore, look forward to
its manufacture being rapidly increased and
freed from speculation and costly experiments.

In av recent letter received from a large spin-
ner of ramie, I was much struck with an ex-
pression he used in relation to this fibre —
namely, that it is the " noblest " of all fibres.
I thoroughly agree with him. It is a true de-
scription, and I have endeavoured to show that
it is indeed superior in so many respects as to
justify its being placed at the head of all tex-
tile fibres.

RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS, OR

19

APPENDIX B.

The following is an extract from an article in the " British Trade Journal

of May 1st, 1898 :—

IMPORTANT PROGRESS WITH RAMIE FIBRE : IT
ENTERS A PRACTICAL PHASE.

In a paper read by Mr. Thos. Barraclough at
the Imperial Institute, London, W., under the
auspices of the Society of Arts, on the culti-
vation and manufacture of the above fibre,
which is printed in the "Journal" of ihe
Society of Arts for April 2nd, 1897, he laid
stress on the fact that one of the principal
reasons why this fibre has not yet taken its
proper place in the textile market is, that in
its various stages, beginning with the cultiva-
tion of the fibre and ending with its manufac-
ture into textile goods,' there has been an
entire absence of sympathy and co-operation
between the various parties whose interests are
involved — the grower, the merchant, the spin-
ner, the manufacturer, and others.

When the 1897 crop of ramie grown on M.
Faure's estate in France (first cutting) was
almost ready for decortication, Mr. Barra-
clough invited a number of gentlemen inter-
ested in the cultivation of ramie to meet to-
gether at Limoges in order to personally in-
spect the Faure decorticating machines at work
extracting the fibre from the green stems, and
to carefully test the fibre produced. These
gentlemen represented firms and planters of
ramie in the Straits Settlements, South India,
Southern Russia, and other countries. With
the view of securing the personal sympathy and
the active co-operation of ramie spinners and
manufacturers with ramie growers, and of
bringing about an interchange of ideas so as
to ensure a community of interests, Mr. Barra-
clough also specially invited some ramie spin-
ners to be present during the trials, to test
the Faure machine and the fibre it produces,
so as to assure themselves that the fibre is
thoroughly well adapted for their manufactur-
ing requirements. The invitations were cordi-
ally accepted, and the presence of the invited
guests at Limoges during the tests was a signal
proof of the importance they attached to a full
consideration by both the growers and manu-
facturers of ramie of the many questions in-
volved in its production and utilisation. One
of the gentlemen present, who had personally
worked the Faure decorticating machine in
Sumatra, was pleased to inform the other
visitors that the Faure machine had been tes-
ted on a plantation in Sumatra, owned by a
company of which he is managing director, and
the results obtained were thoroughly satisfac-
tory ; that he was then in Europe with the

view of completing arrangements to enter
largely into the cultivation of ramie and of
purchasing a considerable number of Faure
machines.

The crop of ramie stems at Limoges was cut,
the fibre extracted by the Faure machines in
the presence of all the gentlemen who had
accepted the invitation, and on July 27th,
1897, an important conference and discussion
was held at Limoges, in which every one of the
visitors took part. The discussion referred
mainly to three points : — (1) Are the visitors

"^satisfied with the construction and working of
the Faure machines? (2) Is the fibre produced
by the machines equal to ramie fibre decortica-
ted by hand, as in China, and known in the
trade as China grass? (3) Is the mechanical
decortication of ramie a success?

After full discussion of the various points, a
resolution in French was proposed, of which
the following is a literal translation, unani-
mously adopted and signed : — " Limoges, July
27th, 1897. The undersigned, present at the
trials made by M. Faure with his new machine
for decorticating ramie, are pleased to declare
that the results obtained have completely satis-

1 fied them. Their opinion is that the decortica-
tion of ramie by the Faure machine is quite

' equal to that done by hand. They express
their opinion that the problem of mechanical
decortication is now solved under conditions
absolutely satisfactory."

This testimonial, emanating as it did from
men practical in the cultivation, preparation,

! and spinning of the fibre, cannot fail to be re-
garded as a distinct step forward in the direc-
tion of success for ramie. China grass, being
ramie prepared by female labour in China at
a mere nominal cost, is virtually the only ramie
fibre that is at present on the market [1897]

1 and the few important spinners of the fibre in
France and Germany have been practically
limited to China grass as their raw material.
The supply of this fibre is variable, and the
price is generally considered mu*ch too high
for an extensive use from the manufacturer's
point of view. The result of the conference
has a very important bearing on the trade,
because it asserts that ramie decorticated by
Faure's machines. is equal to China grass, and
it necessarily follows that the supply of the
fibre will be virtually unlimited, seeing that
any quantity of decorticating machines can
-be set to work,

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