290 



"The large quantity of mineral matters contained in the ramie 

 stems explains the importance attached by the Chinese to the 

 careful manuring of the plant. This is a point which ought not 

 to be neglected ; and even if it should be difficult to provide suffi- 

 cient quantities of manure, the dry sticks after the separation of 

 the fibre, and all the refuse during its preparation, should be care- 

 fully collected, burnt, and the ashes returned to the soil. If this 

 is systematically done, there need be no fear that ramie as a crop 

 should prove very exhaustive to the soil, as the proportion of 

 valuable materal constituents taken away in the fibre itself is quite 

 small." 



HARVESTING. 



Cutting the Stems. — The stems should be cut before they turn 

 brown, and before they flower. Dr. Forbes Watson states in a 

 lecture before the Society of Arts : — 



" One of my objects, in the experiments which I carried out in 

 Paris was to determine, as far as I could, the height to which the 

 plants should be grown in order to give the largest yield of fibre. 

 Some people say that the plant should be grown to the height of 

 6 feet ; some say they should not be more than 3 feet ; but the 

 results of my experiments, point to the fact that 3i to 4 feet is 

 about the right height to grow them. If the length is not more 

 than 2 feet, the fibre is very fine, but the chances are you get 

 waste, and not such a good per centage of fibre. In the long stems 

 the fibre is not so fine as in the medium ones ; in short, the medium 

 stems from 3 ft. to 4 ft. are about the right length to cut. This 

 has an important bearing upon the question of the number of 

 crops which can be obtained. It is clear that if you allow the 

 plant to grow 6 or 8 ft. high, you cannot expect to get as many 

 crops as when only 4 ft. Moreover, there is this characteristic ; 

 all these stalks which you see here are from the same plant, 

 that is to say, the shoots have come from the same root. Having 

 determined the proper length, the stems should be gathered 

 accordingly, only those being cut which have attained the right 

 height ; in this way a continuous crop may possibly be secured. 



" We find that with China grass there is a great variety in 

 quality. These variations in quality give rise to the complaints 

 which are frequently made. If you grow it, however, a certain 

 standard length, it will be likely to produce it of a definite quality 

 and that is what is wanted for commercial purposes." 



The following paragraphs are taken from a Report on Formosa 

 by Mr. Alex. Hosie, acting Consul at Tamsui, submitted in March, 



1893 :— 



"The workman seizes each stem 9 inches above ground between 

 the thumb and fingers of the right hand, snaps it over to the right 

 causing a fracture, lays hold of the stem below the fracture with 

 his left hand, pushes down and sideways the upper part of the 

 stem on the fracture to complete the division of the wood, inserts 

 the forefinger of the right hand in the fracture, which is now com- 



