RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS, OR NETTLE FIBRE. 



per cent, to 50 per cent, of long fibre and 70 

 per cent, to 50 per cent, of short fibre (noils). 



The chemist responsible for the degumming 

 process in like manner ignored the after pro- 

 cesses and paid little or no regard to what the 

 fibre had to undergo when it left his hands. If 

 the degummed fibre became harsh and brittle 

 through his defective treatment, it would not 

 pass freely through the preparing and drawing 

 machinery at even one-third of its proper 

 speed ; the amount of waste produced was 

 enormous and the combing operation showed 

 only a small percentage of long fibre and an ab- 

 normally large percentage of short fibre. De- 

 Active degumming has also in many cases led to 

 heavy losses through (A) the use of improper 

 chemicals, or of suitable chemicals, but in un- 

 suitable strength ; and (B) the imperfect wash- 

 ing of the fibre and freeing from acid, thereby 

 causing the yarns and goods in a short time to 

 lose their colour and strength and frequently 

 to become rotten and worthless. Imagine the 

 feelings of a merchant who, having bought one 

 hundred pieces of ramie cloth and put them 

 into stock or shipped them to a foreign custo- 

 mer, learned to his dismay in two or three 

 months' time that the goods were discoloured or 

 rotten and valueless. Can anyone be sur- 

 prised that in past years ramie had many ene- 

 mies? Imperfect combing has also been the 

 cause of many serious difficulties in the roving 

 and spinning processes. 



With regard to the fourth cause of failure, it 

 is obvious that an ample supply of raw 

 materials at all times available is an absolute 

 necessity for all branches of successful manu- 

 facture. Unfortunately this has not been the 

 case with ramie. China grass has been avail- 

 able, but the supply has been irregular and 

 intermittent and the prices have been, as a 

 rule, much too high and subject to great and 

 irregular variations. Growers of ramie lost 

 heart and gave up the cultivation, partly be- 

 cause of the small demand and partly because 

 they did not send it into the market in a con- 

 dition to ensure remunerative prices. On the 

 other hand, spinners and manufacturers inter- 

 ested in ramie were not encouraged to make 

 large outlays on new machinery because of the 

 uncertainty of obtaining a sufficient and regu- 

 lar supply of the fibre at a moderate price. 

 This difficulty has required time and publicity 

 for its removal. 



The fifth cause of failure, and by no means 

 the least important, must be justly attributed 

 to financial reasons. A large number of 



capitalists and others have unfortunately sus- 

 tained serious losses by embarking in erratic 

 schemes prepared by persons imperfectly 

 acquainted with, and often quite ignorant of 

 the nature of the fibre its peculiarities and 

 good qualities. Many of these persons have 

 been mainly, if not solely, animated by the de- 

 sire to sell at enormous prices patents, pro- 

 cesses, machines, etc., to capitalists and com- 

 panies. The fair reputation of ramie has also 

 often been injuriously affected by well-mean- 

 ing persons who, having failed to thoroughly 

 study all its characteristics and peculiarities, 

 have invented processes or machines for dealing 

 with isolated portions only of the treatment, 

 irrespective of the remainder. Thus the in- 

 ventor or owner of a patent for a ramie decor- 

 ticating machine has entirely ignored the fact 

 that the ramie must, after decortication, be 

 degummed, softened, combed, etc. In like 

 manner the inventor or owner of a patented 

 degumming process has introduced his patent, 

 entirely failing or not being willing to see that 

 the combing, manufacturing, and dyeing pro- 

 cesses stand in intimate relationship to the de- 

 gumming process, and are in a measure de- 

 pendent on its efficacy for success. 



Ramie has indeed been the victim of enemies 

 who were rarely heard of in the days when 

 machines were being invented for manufac- 

 turing flax, cotton, jute, etc. These enemies 

 are the speculative inventor, the professional 

 director, the company promoter, and their 

 allies, whose action in forming companies and 

 asking the public to subscribe large sums in 

 order to carry out what in most cases can 

 justly be termed ignorant visionary schemes 

 involving immense losses, has undoubtedly 

 been one of the main causes of. the public 

 viewing with disfavour ramie manufacturing 

 enterprises. 



Having thus described the leading causes of 

 failure and some of the remedies already 

 applied and being applied, I now pass on to 

 the manufacturing operations, but before doing 

 so I will devote a few lines to the ramie plant 

 and the decorticating process. I do not pro- 

 pose to describe the plant botanically or to 

 dwell on its cultivation, but desire to draw 

 attention to the relative qualities of the two 

 leading ramie fibre producing species Boeh- 

 meria tenacissima and Boehmeria nivea. These 

 two descriptions of ramie are frequently dis- 

 tinguished by the terms " green " and " white." 

 The fibre is known under four designations 

 namely, rhea, ramie, china grass, and nettle 



