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 



