112 RAMIE CULTIVATION IN PERAK. 



recently received from Mr. Bai'raclough, Textile Engineer, 20 Bucklers- 

 bury, London. 



'"Many of the leading spinners and people who desire to become 

 spinners of i-amie, are personally well known to me; some of tliem 

 intimately, and it will not be a difficult matter for me to make contracts 

 for large quantities af? soon as you and your friends are in a position to 

 fulfil them. One of mj^ fi'iends, who ranks amongst the largest spinners 

 of flax and hemp in the world, has several times told me recently that he is 

 prepared to buy the fillasse produced by Faure's machine in its de-gumraed 

 state, not bleached, to the extent of thousands of tons per year, and is 

 ready with his signature to a contract as soon as he finds good practical 

 people to fulfil it. In the meantime, I venture to say that you would be 

 rendering a good service to the cultivators of ramie if you were to free 

 the grouud from fear of difficulties in relation to de-gumming, and to 

 let every cultivator of ramie know that he can be absolutely independent 

 of all de-gumming patents. The process is a very simple one, and the 

 question of chemicals is almost eliminated," etc., etc. Follows an estimate 

 of a plant, machinery and process, to de-gum one ton a day. 



Now, Sir, I think I can conclude — 



First. — We can produce China -grass by purely mechanical means at a 

 labour cost (which docs not include cost of power emiDloyed) of half a cent 

 per pound. 



Second. — The de-gumming, which may offer certain difBculties (much 

 exaggerated by patent holders) in Europe, because the gum is hard, is, to 

 us, dealing, as we do, with freshly cut stems, a mere bugbear, and it need 

 not cost 1^ cents a pound to do it, but on the condition that the steeping 

 takes place immediately after decortication. Boiling at simply boiling 

 point will be sufficient for young, juicy stems, but on the very mature 

 stems, when the gum is thick, boiling under pressure (about 45 pounds to 

 the square inch) will perhaps be necessary, and the addition of 2 to 3 per 

 cent of washing soda will be useful, but that is all included in the cost of 

 1^ cents given above. By means of pressure it will be easy to obtain a 

 complete ungumming, and it may be to the advantage of the planter to lay 

 out a complete ungumming plant with autoclave kiers, for, of course, the 

 purer the fibre, the freer from gum, the higher its value, which would then 

 reach £40 to £42 per ton. 



Third. — We can send our fibre straight to the spinners' door; and the 

 moment this is done the demand will spring up to unforeseen figures. I 

 beg to state, for fear of being misunderstood, that I am not pecuniarily 

 interested for one cent in the " Faure " machine, and that should I hear of 

 a better machine coming forrt'ard 1 would certainly recognise it, as my 

 ambition lies not in selling machines but in starting ramie cultivation in 

 these countries, whenever I am able to do so. 



And I shall now conclude. Eamie is sure of a brilliant success in 

 Malaya, under suitable conditions, if put in the hands of men who have 

 thoroughly mastered the question in all its bearings; otherwise it will 

 bring nothing bat disaster. 



I remain. Dear Sir, 



Yours faithfully, 



{Siijned) E. Mathieu. 



1\S. — I am quite agreeable to your publishing this letter if you think 

 it desirable. 



