78 



JBt it reaolced, That the Committee of Ways and Means be directed to inquire into the 

 exptnliency of reporting, at the earliest practicable moment, a joint resolution declara- 

 tory of the true intent and meaning of the said act in the particular above referred to 

 or if, in their judgment, such a course be deemed necessary or desirable, then to re- 

 port a bill amending the act in question, so a« to remove the grounds for the interpre- 

 tation put upon the act by the Acting Commissiouec 



WHAT IS KAMIE? 



The following letter from that eminent botanical authority, Joseph 

 D. Hooker, of the famous Kew Gardens, England, who has examined 

 the China grass fibers of the East under their various synonyms, cor- 

 roborating our repeated statements that there is no essential diflference 

 between the specimens from different localities bearing local names. It 

 shows that " ramie " is identical with the Chinese fiber, and that the 

 proper name is Bcehneria nivea, while B. tenaeissima is the same as B. 

 Candicans^ (which has also be«n distributed by this department,) and 

 that this is only a sub-variety of B. nivia, and not essentially different. 

 Besides, specimens from the South, Europe, and elsewhere have been 

 grown together in the experimental gardens, and no difference has as yet 

 been discovered : 



De.vr Sir : I have to acknowledge, with very many thanks, the parcel with ninety- 

 five species of seeds, collected by Ravenel, together with certain living plants, which 

 arrived in admirable order, and are very valuable additions to onr stock. 



I have been making inquiries about the grass-cloth nettle, which is widely culti- 

 vated from India, through the Archipelago, to China. It is the Bcehmeiia nivea, Hook, 

 and Arn. 



B. Tenaeissima, Gand. ( Urtioa ienacissima, R X 6) is a mere conoolorous variety of the 

 same, (B. nivea B. Candicans, Wedd.) Chuma (or tchouma) and ramie, or caloi and 

 " China grass," are all the same. It is also the " Dom Eheea" of Major Hanna's fibers, 

 (fide spec, in Hv.) 



I send herewith directions with regard to its cultivation, which may be useful to 

 you, together with some seeds of the Chryptomeria Jaj)onica, just received from India, 

 and another set of the Cinchonas, from Dr. Anderson. 

 Very faithfullv, yours, 



JOS. D. HOOKER. 



The laborious mode of preparation of the fiber practiced in China, as 

 communicated by Dr. D. J. Macgowan to the Journal of the Agri-Hor- 

 ticultural Society of India, is as. follows : 



Pl-VXTixg the Sekds. — In China this takes place in May. Great care is first taken 

 in the selection of seeds and in the preparation of the soil. The seed should be gath- 

 ered on the appearance of frost ; those produced from a recent root. After being dried, 

 they are stowed away in a basket or jar, mixed with sand or dry earth — others say, 

 moist earth. The jar is then covered with straw to protect the seeiLs from the cold, 

 as, if exposed to its influence, they yield an imperfect plant. Before jilanting, the 

 seeds are tested by immersion in water ; those which float are to be rejected; those at 

 the bottom, planted. A loose, dry soil is to be selected; if near a canal or river, it is 

 preferable. The ground Ls to be well plowed, or broken finely, manured, and then di- 

 vided into beds about eight yards long and one wide ; the beds are to be laked, and 

 afterward niatle compact with a hoe. After this, it is watered, and left for a night. 

 On the following day raking up and preying down is repeated. The beds being 

 . smooth, two or three tablespoonfuLs of seed are mixed with a bowl of earth, and 

 sown liroadiiast over hidf a dozen beds ; then they are swept with a broom to cover 

 the seeds. In some places the seeds are first made to sprout, and then planted in drills, 

 which are carefully filled up. Just before the blaxles appear, a framework is to be con- 

 Btrncted over the beds, on which mats should be spread to protect them from the 

 heat of June and July. The matting must be kejtt moist by day, and removed at 

 night that the blades may receive the dew of heaven. The betls are to l>e constantly 

 weeded. When the plant is about two inches high, the framework and matting may 

 be removed. When three inches high, it should be transplanted, having been woU 

 watered the night before ; the blades should be taken up separat-ely, with a i>ortion of 



