RAMIE 127 



consequence, numerous decorticating machines have 

 been produced, but many of them have given very 

 disappointing results. A gradual improvement, how- 

 ever, has taken place, and, at the present time, the 

 difficulty of decorticating ramie stems by machinery 

 may be regarded as solved. 



Ramie machines are of two kinds, namely, those 

 that merely strip the bark in ribbons from the stems, 

 and those that not only do this but further make 

 some attempt to remove the outer layer from the 

 ribbons. Machines of the first kind usually consist 

 of rollers which crush the stems, and beaters which 

 separate the woody portion from the bark. Those of 

 the second class possess also some mechanism by 

 which a scraping effect is produced on the strips of 

 bark, and the material prepared in this way resembles 

 hand-cleaned China grass. 



The fibre having been separated from the stems in 

 the form of strips or ribbons, the next stage in its 

 preparation is the process of degumming. The object 

 of this operation is to dissolve and wash out the gummy 

 substances without attacking the cellulose ; the 

 epidermis becomes detached in the process, and may 

 be removed from the fibre by washing. Many 

 methods have been invented for degumming ramie 

 fibre, and satisfactory processes have now been 

 obtained, but, as a rule, the details are not published 

 or patented, but are jealously guarded by the manu- 

 facturers. The following description will serve as 

 an indication of the kind of treatment to which the 

 material is subjected. The ribbons are boiled in 

 dilute soda, are then exposed to the action of solution 

 of bleaching powder, and are afterwards immersed in 

 a bath of dilute acid, the two latter processes being 

 repeated until the whole of the gum has been extracted. 

 The result of this treatment is the production of a 

 white, lustrous fibre known as the " filasse." 



On account of the liability of injury to the fibre 

 by the use of too severe treatment in degumming, 

 ramie spinners usually prefer to buy the fibre in the 

 form of ribbons, particularly of the hand-cleaned 

 China grass, and degum it by their own process. 



