596 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE. • 



The inventor of the yucca machine thus writes : 



I cnHivated it [ramie] about tliree years and found no difficulty in its cultivation, 

 and in separating the woody matter and pulp from the hark, with the yucca machine, 

 but could not extract the glutinous matter from the bark without the use of chemic- 

 als, which made the fiber unprofitable. 



As the cultivation and preparation of the fiber are t^'i^o distinct things, 

 it is suggested that the industry be divided into producing and manu- 

 facturing. Capital should furnish the cleaning mills at convenient points, 

 estabbtfihing a fair rate of remuneration for the raw product in bulk, as 

 is practiced in Louisiana by the sugar-cane factories, and the farmer 

 should be encouraged to grow the plants. 



This leads to a further consideration of the subject, the question of 

 machinery for extracting and cleaning the fiber to fit it for the manu- 

 facturer. As has been shown, ramie can be produced in any quantity, 

 the only drawback to its becoming an iini^ortant industry having been 

 the lack of an economical means of separating the fiber after it has been 

 grown. This same drawback exists in India, where the government 

 has encouraged the cultivation of the plant, and in 1869 offered prizes 

 amounting to $35,000 for cleaning-machinery that should come up to 

 certain requirements. There is no record that such machinery has not 

 been invented, although much has been done in this direction that may 

 ultimately lead to success even in our own country. 



The description of a machine invented by Mr. Lefranc will be found 

 in the annual report of this department for 1873. That this piece of 

 mechanism did not fulfill the requirements of a perfect ramie machine 

 is evident from the fact that the invention has practically been aban- 

 doned, and the inventor's efforts turned in another direction, and I am 

 given to understand with good success, as may be gleaned from the fol- 

 lowing extract from a letter recently received from ]Mr. Lefranc : 



I have a mechanical and chemical apparatus transforming it [ramie] satisfactorily 

 into a commercial product, and am ready to buy the plant at $10 per ton in the stalk 

 to start a central factory. It is in view of opening a sure market for the product that 

 I am so anxious to have it spun here. Exports would not pay 8uf6ciently, and out of 

 this country there is no inducing outlet. Covering the plant saved it well enough 

 last year, and as it gives three crops of over four feet there is almost as much chance 

 of profit here as in the South with four crops. The machine and process I use for ex- 

 tracting the fiber were intended for the India competition prize, but we found that 

 such an undertaking would cost too much. Besides this objectionable point, he 

 abandonment of the invention to the Indian countries makes it almost a pabUc prop- 

 erty. This is the reason why the process is not made public. 



As we have made reference to a new ramie machine, it may be well to 

 state here that it is the invention of Mr. A. Angell, of Newark, N". J., and 

 that it is considered successful. The machine is fully described in another 

 portion of this report, under the heading of " Fiber machinery." A 

 number of other ramie machines are mentioned in the list of patents 

 given in the appendix, though nothing can be said of their merits or 

 demerits, as I have failed to learn anything concerning them, though 

 making the effort so to do. 



Eamie manufactui-e in this country is one of the problems that only 

 time and persistent effort of the friends of ramie culture can assist in 

 solving. There are most beautiful examples of poplins, mozambiques, 

 and other dress goods in the museum of this department, manufactured 

 in Bradford, England, that for several years attracted attention and 

 were popular ; but fashion dictated a change, and it is now stated that 

 the use of the fiber is restricted to upholstery goods, though there is a 

 doubt if it is not usurping the place of a more expensive fiber, for which 

 it is a profitable substitute. It bears a close resemblance to silk, and, 



