Fibres 



319 



K 



of two distinct but closely related plants are described under the three trade names given 

 above. " China grass " is obtained from the stems of Boehmeria nivea, and " rhea," or 

 " ramie," from the stems of a variety of this plant, B. nivea, var. tenacissima. Both plants, 

 which belong to the stinging-nettle family, Urticaceae, have somewhat the habit of a gigantic 

 nettle, but B. nivea flourishes in temperate countries, and is characterised by the white under- 

 surface of its leaves, while, on the other hand, B. nivea, var. tenacissima, requires a more or 

 less tropical climate for its best development, and has the under-surface of its leaves green. 

 The term " ramie," however, is applied in commerce to the product of both plants. 



The true China grass is prepared in China entirely by hand. The first process is. the 

 stripping off from the stem of the outer skin containing the bast. V The long strips are known 

 technically as " ribbons," which are then deprived of the external epidermis by scraping and 

 washing, and in the resulting product the fibres are embedded in a more or less gummy substance 

 which it is by no means easy to remove satisfactorily. The scraped ribbons are then subjected 

 to the " de-gumming " process, but if the fibre is intended for export this process is not carried 

 out in China, since the merchants of Europe and America prefer to de-gum the fibre in their 

 own mills. The hand-preparation of the fibre, however, is slow and expensive, and con- 

 sequently numerous attempts have been made to invent suitable machinery to do the work. 

 Large rewards have been offered from time to time, notably by the Indian Government and 

 the Commissioners of the Paris Exhibition of 1889 for suitable mechanical processes, and at 

 the present day the diificulty of decorticating ramie stems by machinery may be regarded 

 as solved. There are two 

 kinds of ramie machines, 

 namely, those which merely 

 strip the bark in ribbons from 

 the stems, and those which 

 not only decorticate the 

 stems, but also remove more 

 or less completely the epider- 

 mis from the ribbons, and 

 afford a material resembling 

 hand-cleaned China grass. 



The next stage is the 

 de-gumming process, but al- 

 though many methods have 

 been devised to this end, 

 they are all more or less 

 jealously guarded as trade 

 secrets, and it is difficult to 

 state the actual details of the 

 process. Essentially, how- 

 ever, the various methods 

 consist in boiling the ribbons 

 in dilute soda, and then ex- 

 posing them to the action 

 of bleaching powder and 

 subsequently to that of a 

 dilute solution of acid, until 

 the whole of the gum has 

 been removed. 



1 tie reSUlt 01 tniS treat- From Stereograph Copyright, Underwood & Underwood, London and New V 



ment is the production of a load of Manila hemp at cubA 



