106 RAMIE CULTIVATION IN PERAK. 



stated " The owners of the ' Gomess ' process, who are repre- 

 sented in England by the Foreign and Colonial Rhea Fibre 

 Treatment Syndicate, Limited, 17, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, 

 W., and in this country (India) by the Indian Rhea Fibre 

 Parent Company, Limited, Bombay, are prepared to contract 

 for the purchase of large quantities of dried ribbons of bark ; 

 and in regard to this the London Syndicate report: — 



(a). "That they require the raw material in the shape of 

 ribbons, that is the whole ])ark hand stri])ped from the stems, 

 thoroughly dried and ]>acked in liales. 



(h). "That they prefer the species Boehmeria ■nivea, but 

 that they can also use the Boehmeria tenacisshna and Ban- 

 rhea. 



(c). " That the quantities required by the London Syndicate 

 would be continuous, and veiw large ; that it would be difficult 

 to give exact figures, but that they could do with 10,000 tons to 

 commence with. 



((?). "That they are at present prepared to contract, at 

 prices equivalent to from d810 to <£11 per ton delivered in 

 London, or £7 11 ton at port of shipment in India." 



These prices are equal in dollars, at an exchange of 2s. Id., 

 to $96 to $105.60 per ton in London, and §67.20 per ton, or $4 

 per pikul, at port of shipment in India or, presumably, in the 

 Straits. 



Dr. D. Morris, the Assistant Director of the Royal G-ardens, 

 Kew, in a lecture delivered on the 30th November, 1896, gives 

 the price of ribbon as ,^8 per ton in London. 



It does not appear that more than £7 ($67.20) per ton 

 could be reckoned on for the ribbon, and as by the above esti- 

 mate it would cost to grow and prepare 391.97 per ton, it would 

 appear that there is a loss of 124.77 per ton, or $18.30 for each 

 acre of cultivation. 



Dr. Morris, in the Kew Bulletin, says — "It is imj^ortant 

 therefore for ramie planters to aim at the production of ribbons 

 at a cost not exceeding about d£4 to d£5 at the port of shij»ment. 

 Important elements in such production woidd be to plant ramie 

 only in places where the soil and climate will allow of three or 

 four crops to be reaped per annum ; where labour is very cheaj) 

 and abundant, and where good facilities exist for transport and 

 shipment." It is just in the one matter of labour that Perak 

 does not come up to the requirements of the case. Labour 

 here is very dear and scarce. If it was to be had for $4.50 



