116 AGRICULTURE IN THE TROPICS [PT. II 



being strong, long, and very silky. For many years attempts 

 have been made to introduce this fibre upon the markets, and 

 Ramie mills have been started in many places. The difficulty, 

 however, is practically always the same. The mills cannot work 

 without a large supply at a very low rate ; the planter can only 

 grow it to profit at a comparatively high rate. Consequently the 

 few planters who have grown it have lost money, and the mills 

 have never been able to get enough to work with. There can 

 be very little doubt that sooner or later Ramie will be an 

 established fibre with its own special class of uses, but the time 

 is not yet. 



