RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS, OR NETTLE FIBRE. 



ii 



the field for its employment and goods are now 

 being manufactured from it which a short time 

 ago were thought impossible or unsuitable. It 

 enables the spinning machines to produce a wide 

 range of counts of yarn in various qualities of 

 fibre, and thus allows of the same being manu- 

 factured into a great variety of goods, for 

 instance : 



(A) The highest quality of fibre is spun into 

 yarns usegl in the manufacture of brocades, 

 damasks, fine tapestries, etc., plushes, velvets, 

 lace curtains, ladies' dress goods, silk and 

 ramie mixtures goods to supersede the highest 

 qualities of linens, etc. 



(B) The medium quality of fibre is spun 

 into yarns used in the manufacture of scarves, 

 turbans, pongees, pocket handkerchiefs, vel- 

 veteens, medium linens, hosiery, wool and 

 ramie mixtures, sewing and other threads, fish- 

 ing lines, fire engine hose, belting, girths, and 

 many other goods. 



(c) The third quality of fibre is spun into 

 yarns used in the manufacture of ordinary 

 woven goods of many descriptions, such as 

 canvas, sailcloth, towelling, and also for cords, 

 lines, and a great variety of other goods. 



Ramie can be spun into exceedingly fine 

 yarn say, No. 168's, having 50,400 yards to 

 the Ib. Fine yarns of this description used 

 for the manufacture of the highest qualities of 

 goods rival silk yarns and are largely used to 

 supplant silk goods or to mix with silk yarns 

 as, for instance, a ramie warp with silk weft 

 or a silk warp with ramie weft. In order to 

 retain the full natural lustre of the fibre these 

 yarns are spun with the very minimum of 

 twist. 



TWISTING, ETC. 



A considerable proportion of ramie yarns are 

 used in the doubled state ; the twisting is 

 generally effected on flyer and ring twisting 

 frames, but with some modifications and 

 additions to ensure good work and great pro- 

 duction. The same remark applies to the 

 machines for winding, gassing, reeling, and 

 foundling. 



WEAVING. 



The weaving of ramie and of goods made 

 of ramie mixed with silk, flax, wool, worsted, 

 etc., is proving a great success. This branch 

 of the manufacture has not presented the same 

 amount of difficulty as the preparing and spin- 

 ning branches, nor is the divergence of ramie 

 looms from the ordinary construction of looms 

 very great. Minor but necessary modifications 

 to adapt them for weaving ramie under favour- 

 able circumstances have been ' introduced. 



It has also been found that sundry 

 modifications in the ordinary warping, 

 winding, sizing, beaming, etc., machinery are 

 ! necessary. 



DYEING AND FINISHING. 



The processes of dyeing, printing, and finish- 

 j ing ramie goods are very diversified, according 

 ] to the various classes and qualities of goods, 

 i Ramie goods take colour very freely, and con- 

 ! sequently are eminently adapted for dyeing 

 j and printing. When woven into damasks, 

 ; house linens, and similar goods, heretofore made 

 ' of linen, they are finished in a manner similar 

 j to that applied to linen goods. When woven 

 into brocades, pongees, dress goods, and simi- 

 lar goods, heretofore made of silk, or when 

 woven with a mixture of silk for instance, 

 silk warp and ramie weft or silk weft and 

 ! ramie warp the goods are finished in 

 much the same manner as silk goods. Between 

 I the above two branches many varieties of goods 

 | are made of ramie and wool, worsted, flax, and 

 cotton, and they are treated in the finishing 

 process in a manner similar to that employed 

 I for the goods they compete with. The manu- 

 1 facture of ramie into hosiery, curtains, sewing 

 and crochet threads, cords of all kinds, fishing 

 and other lines, twines, ropes, and similar 

 goods calls for no special remark, because the 

 i ordinary modern machinery for making these 

 goods is well adapted for making them of 

 ramie. 



COUNTS OF YARN. 



Various modes of describing the fineness of 

 yarns are in vogue. Some ramie spinners have 

 used the worsted scale, others the silk scale, 

 and others again the cotton scale. The fibre 

 : bears a closer resemblance and has a nearer 

 relation in its character to flax than to any 

 other fibre. It has therefore been found de- 

 I sirable, in order to avoid confusion and facili- 

 tate business, to adopt the flax scale in de- 

 scribing the counts or sizes of ramie yarns. 

 This scale has the additional advantage of 

 being simple and easily understood by non- 

 technical persons. Ramie yarns are therefore 

 divided into leas or hanks, each containing 

 300 yards, and the number of hanks per Ib. 

 indicates the size of the yarn. Thus No. 60 

 ramie yarn contains 60 hanks each of 300 

 I yards -18, 000 yards to the Ib. 



Speaking generally, the preparing, spinning, 

 and weaving machinery for ramie is of such a 

 character that female labour can be very 

 largely employed in most of the manufacturing 

 operations. The manufacture of ramie has in 

 I the past been burdened with difficulties arising 



