E 315 ] 



spinning, at a cost of only 1,000, exclusive of the motive 

 power but inclusive of the installation of electric light. The 

 supply of crude fibre comes to him from China. Mr. Dear 

 claims that his decorticating machine will extract any kind 

 of fibre and that the cost of the machinery is so moderate that 

 the chief obstacle in the way of the ramie manufacturing 

 industry is removed. We have as yet no further information 

 regarding this interesting invention, though Messrs. Burn & 

 Co. of Howrah, are in possession of the plant and they may 

 be consulted on the subject. 



455. Faure's New Patent Ramie Fibre Decorticator is 

 also highly spoken of. Messrs. Jules > Karpeles & Co, of 

 No. i, Pollock Street, Calcutta, who are the agents for this 

 machine, have demonstrated from time to time the use of one 

 of the hand-machines at their office, and we can speak : of its 

 usefulness with more confidence. The following account of it 

 appeared in the Planter of the 25th March 1899 : 



" Two men working this machine can treat 360 Ibs. of fresh 

 green stems per hour or 32 cwts. per day of 10 hours. The" 

 amount of dry fibre produced varies with the quality, of the' 

 stems but on a basis of 5// comes to about 180 Ibs. per 

 day of 10 hours. The machine produces fibre, not ribbons. 

 Eac l .i machine requires about i H. P. to drive it; 8 H. P. will 

 drive ten machines working simultaneously. The fibre as it 

 comes from the machine is steeped in boiling water, with the 

 addition of i/ of carbonate of soda for about half an hour and 

 squeezed thoroughly before drying. The machine weighs 11 

 cwts. It is fed by two men, working alternately, each holding 

 in his hand about 10 stems. The stems are used with leaf and 

 all the leaf end is put in first, and when two thirds of the 

 length of the stems have gone in, they are withdrawn and 

 the feeding is done a second time, the thick-end first, soi as to 

 complete the operation. This double operation frees the stem 

 from all woody matter and from the outer skin or cuticle and 

 extracts a large portion of the juice also/' As far as our 



