130 ' RAMIE 



OTHER NETTLE FIBRES 



There are several other plants of the nettle family 

 which yield fibres somewhat resembling that of ramie, 

 and reference may be made to two Indian plants, 

 Villebrunea integrifolia and Girardinia heterophylla . 



The former plant, known as " ban rhea " (wild 

 rhea), is a stingless nettle which grows wild on waste 

 land, and yields a silky fibre, two or more inches long. 

 It is stated that the bark contains less gummy matter 

 than that of Boehmeria nivea, and that for this reason 

 the fibre can be more easily extracted. 



Girardinia heterophylla, the " Nilgiri nettle," is a 

 tall plant provided with stinging hairs. It yields 

 a soft, silky fibre, resembling ramie fibre in general 

 character, but coarser and less lustrous. The ultimate 

 fibres possess the remarkable length of from 6 to 20 

 inches. 



Before the introduction of cotton into Europe, the 

 fibre of the common stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) 

 was used, especially in Germany and Picardy, for the 

 production of yarns which were woven into the so- 

 called " nesseltuch " (or nettle-cloth), which was 

 capable of being bleached as white as linen. A few 

 years ago, a method was devised for extracting this 

 fibre on a commercial scale with a view to its utilisa- 

 tion for the manufacture of textiles. During the 

 European war, renewed attention has been given to 

 nettle fibre in Germany in order to compensate for 

 the lack of cotton. 



