868 



/THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[May i, 1885. 



« 



To the Editor oj the " Ceylon Observer. " 



THE FIBRE ENTERPRIZE IN SOUTHERN 

 INDIA : 



PRACTICAL RESULTS WITH DEATH & 



ELLWOOD'S MACHINES ON DIFFERENT 



FIBRES: CULTIVATION OF RHEA ON 



A GREAT SCALE. 



The Glenrock Company, Limited, Pandalur, 



S.E. Wynaad, 5th April 1885. 



Dear Sir, — As requested I give you such inform- 

 ation as I am as yet able to afford as to fibre cultiv- 

 ation and the working of Death & Ellwood's machines. 

 The Glenrock Company erected eight of Death & 

 Ellwood's Machines here drawn by a turbine last 

 monsoon. It was proposed, while laud was being 

 brought under cultivation with rbea, aloes and other 

 fibrous plants, that an effort should be made to utilize 

 the indigenous fibres of the district. Trials have 

 accordingly been made with the Conoceplialua niveus, 

 a jungle plant of the nettle tribe, Urena, a kind of 

 wild jute, and the wild plantain which is found on the 

 forest slopes. 



We soon learnt that the quantity of indigenous fibre 

 available within easy reach was not enough for any 

 regular work, and the cost of collection and carriage 

 from any distance was prohibitive, considering the 

 quality of the fibre obtained from wild plants of 

 different size and growth, evenness in length and 

 staple being an important element in value. 



The coiiocephalus grows into a small tree, and it was 

 impossible to utilize and cleam the bark from the larger 

 stems. By pollarding, and layering under the soil the 

 larger stems, good clumps of young shoots have been 

 obtained, aud fibre from these has been favourably 

 reported on, but the quantity as yet grown is but 

 small. The urena fibre growing in small patches here 

 and there in the lighter sholas could not be collected 

 at a price to pay, considering its small value as jute, 

 say £12 to £15 per ton. 



Wild plantain has been successfully treated, and in 

 course of time a large enough quantity may be obtainable. 

 A small parcel has been sent to England for report. 

 A small trial has also been made with the Manila hemp 

 plantain. These trials have enabled us to form some 

 idea of the capabilities of the machines, and the cost 

 of cleaning and preparing the fibre for market, as well 

 as the percentage of fibre that can be got from the 

 green stems. 



The following are actual statistics of outturn and cost 

 of a parcsl of Manila hemp plantains. The cost 

 of treatment of material, giving 1£ per cent of market- 

 able fibre to the ton of green stems treated, is at 

 the rate of £5 per ton of fibre produced. 



Outturn of Manila Hemp Plantain from Mr. Guard. 



January 28th, 1885.— Stems, 179 ; weight, 10,973; machines 

 worked, 0; time occupied, 5 hours 25 minutes. Good fibre, 

 14(H ; discoloured, 4£ ; waste or beating, 14| : total 159J lb. 

 Result 1-49 per cent marketable fibre, say 1 machine in 

 32§ hours, 337 lb. green stuff per hour, 4-9 lb. fibre per 

 hour. Labour (8 men machine, 1 boy carrying, 6 women 

 drying and sorting, 2 men beating &c.) cost R4-3-0 or 

 RG3-8-0 per ton of fibre for treatment in machine and 

 preparation drying. 



(Signed) C. J. Large. 



(Initialed) J. AV.M. 



Reduction Works, 31st Jan. 1885. 



It may be urged that 3 ewt. of green stuff or five 

 pounds weight of fibre per machine per hour is a small 

 quantity, but the bulk of the material passed through 

 must be considered, and the question is rather one 

 pf cost than the output from one machine. Three 



shifts of men working day and "night will^treble the daily 

 output of the machine, and the number of machines 

 must be increased according to the delivery of raw 

 material. Each machine requires 1 lb. of the motor to 

 work it. 



The following calculations of the cost of treatment, 

 according to tho percentage of fibre to the ton of 

 green stems, have been made from actual working. 

 With coarser fibre, such as plantain and aloes, the 

 machine can be fed with larger quantities at a time. 

 With rhea and more delicate fibre greater care is 

 necessary. 



Cost of treating Plantain and Rhea Fibre in Death & 

 Ellwood's machines — allowing one hundred tons of 

 green plantain stems to produce one ton of fibre, and 

 thirty-four tons of rhea green stems per ton of fibre, 

 taking two tons of green plantain stems and one ton 

 of green rhea stems per machine for 8 hours' work. 

 100 Tons of Plantain Stems. 



At machines 100 men at 5 annas 



Currying and beating 50 men at 5 annas 



DryiDg and sorting 75 women at 2/6 ... 



Baling S men at .5 annas 



Maistries' commission at 10 per cent ... 



34 Tons of Rhea Stems. 

 At machines 68 men at 5 annas 

 Currying and beating 34 men at 5 annas 

 Drying and sorting 51 women at 2-6 

 Baling S men at 5 annas 

 Maistries' commission at 10 per cent ... 



R46 9 4 

 (Signed) C. J. Large. 

 (Initialed) J. W. M. 

 The great cost of fibre treatment lies in the carriage 

 of the raw material to the mills, seeing that from 

 30 to 100 fold the amount of ultimate produce has to bo 

 handled. 



The percentage of fibre in tho material treated, and 

 the comparative value of the same, and facility in 

 delivering the green stuff at the mill, are the main 

 points to be considered. 



It is very doubtful whether Europeans with machin- 

 ery can compete with the native retting process, on 

 the cheaper varieties of fibre. 



The Glenrock Company have decided on the cultiv- 

 ation of the rhea nettle as the fibre which commands 

 the best price. 



It is not generally supposed possible to obtain stems 

 for treatment in the first year after planting rhea. 



It has been our object to propagate plants for a con- 

 siderablelicreage, aud so far we have been most suc- 

 cessful in this, and hope to have enough plants for 

 nearly 250 acres of land this monsoon, which will be 

 about twelve months from tho commencement of 

 operations. Arrangements were made to obtain stock 

 plants from Algiers, the Kangra Valley, Saharanpore, 

 Calcutta and Bangalore, and extensive seed nurseries 

 have also been laid down. 



From plants put out during the monsoon of 1884 we 

 hope to be able to obtain a cutting of stems fit for 

 treatment during the current months of April and 

 May, although until lately all the shoots and stems 

 have been used for propagation, as' cuttings and layers. 

 About four strong succulent stems are now growing 

 from all the established roots : these are now about four 

 feet long, and will be from five to six feet, by the 

 time they have hardened ready for cutting, the growth 

 being at the rate of about one inch per day. 



It appears necessary to irrigate during the hot months. 

 Some portion of the planting was left without water 

 for the purpose of comparison, and Bince the beginning 



