580 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



spun on various forms of textile machinery, and also used in connec- 

 tion with cotton, wool, and silk, and it can be employed as a substi- 

 tute in certain forms of manufacture, where elasticity is not essen- 

 tial, for all of these textiles, and for flax also. It likewise produces 

 superior paper, and can be utilized in the manufacture of celluloid. 

 In short, the uses to which it may be put are almost endless, and 

 when the economical extraction of the fiber by machinery is suc- 

 cessfully accomplished, it will become one of the most valuable com- 

 mercial products of the vegetable kingdom. 



Ramie is a plant of easy cultivation. It has been grown as far 

 north as Pennsylvania and New Jersey, though for the production 

 of fiber its culture succeeds best in the Southern States, and particu- 

 larly those bordering the Gulf of Mexico. It also thrives well on the 

 Pacific coast, having been grown with success experimentally in Cal- 

 ifornia for several years. 



The plant is propagated by seeds, by cuttings or by layers, and 

 by division of the roots. When produced from seed the greatest 

 care is taken with the planting, as the seed is very small. For this 

 reason open air planting can hardly be relied upon, plants started in 

 the hotbed giving the best results. After planting, the seeds are cov- 

 ered thinly with sifted earth and kept shaded from the sun until 

 the young plants are 2 or 3 inches high, when sunlight is gradually 

 admitted to them. In five or six weeks they will be strong enough 

 to transplant to the field. 



By far the most practical method and the one which will give 

 the best results in this country, is the propagation by a division of 

 the roots of old or fully matured plants. The old plants are better 

 than young ones for the purpose as the root-mass is larger, the tuber- 

 ous portions showing a greater number of eyes and therefore giving 

 stronger plants after division. The practice varies as to distance 

 apart that these are planted. In India 4 feet apart each way is con- 

 sidered the proper distance, though in France some favor 2 feet apart 

 each way. 



The plants are given cultivation at first, being hilled like corn 

 or potatoes, all weeds being kept down, though after getting a good 

 start, from the rankness of their growth and the density of the 

 foliage, weeds will have little chance to grow. These brief directions 

 are sufficient to enable any one to make a beginning ; experience and 

 a familiarity with the plant and its manner of growth will suggest 

 subsequent treatment and assist the farmer in establishing the par- 

 ticular practice that it will be best for him to follow. Southern cul- 

 tivators choose a deep, rich, light, and moist soil. 



A rich loam suits the plants best, but they will grow in any 

 kind of soil, provided a full supply of moisture be available, com- 

 bined with thorough drainage. 



If sufficient moisture cannot be assured it should be supplied by 

 irrigation, a positive essential in many localities where ramie is 

 grown. It must be remembered, however, that ramie will not thrive 

 in a wet soil. The ground must be well prepared by plowing to 

 tile depth of ten inches, and well pulverized, and if the land is poor 



