ei D 



52 



plants is legion, that the number of plants yielding 

 fibre of commercial value is small. 



21. The following, then, are the conditions upon 



which paper-makers require to be satisfied, 

 before they will be induced to become 

 purchasers of a new material, and importers should 

 bear these conditions in mind when estimating the 

 value of their produce. (1) * The fibre must be 

 superior, or equal, to that already in the market, and 

 the price at which it can be sold must be sufficiently 

 low to leave a margin for profit to the buyer and 

 manufacturers. (2) A constant and uniform supply, 

 not liable to any sudden or great fluctuation in price, 

 must be guaranteed. 



22. The next point of importance is the prepara- 

 The preparation tioD of the fibre, and on this great care 



of the fibre. Im- 



JhSS^ c l " must be bestowed. Mechanical aid will 

 ensure economy, and no time should be lost in secur- 

 ing the best appliances. Greed of gain often leads to 

 quality being disregarded for quantity, and thus it 

 happens that, for want of care in the manufacture of 

 the article, its price falls in the home market, and 

 the province whence it is imported gets a bad name, 

 although the only fault is carelessness in the 

 manipulation of the raw material.! As a further 

 proof of this, let us contrast the result of our experi- 



* Vide Appendix. 



t As an example of this, Mr. P. S. Simmons in " British Manufactur- 

 ing Industries" tells us, that " the unskilfully prepared Bombay hemp 

 is found to be much less enduring than that from Madras and Bengal, and 

 on this account rope made from it is carefully avoided by all first-class 

 ship-chandlers." Here we have a striking instance, if not of absolute 

 ignorance, certainly of neglect ; and there is little doubt that the absence 

 of skilled labour 'in dealing with our raw produce has in many cases 

 detracted from its market value. 



