7b 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. Xlli. No. 313 



ng white ramie ; and Bohmeria iitilis s. tenacissima, yielding green 

 ramie. The fibre, which is also called " rhea " and " China grass," 

 has been imported in considerable quantities into Europe, and ex- 

 tensive experiments have been carried on in regard to its utility. 



Ramie is a perennial plant, the bark of which gives a textile 

 fibre superior in tenacity and resistance to that of flax and hemp, 

 while at the same time its length, fineness, clear white tint, and 

 lustrous brilliancy, give it a great resemblance to silk. The 

 amount of textile material obtained from a certain quantity of this 

 plant is considerably larger than that obtained from an equal quan- 

 tity of either flax or hemp. 



Although in some respects inferior to silk, it can be used as an 

 imitation of it ; while it will undoubtedly supersede hemp, flax, and 

 harl. Like cotton, it will have its centres of manufacture, and the 

 peoples of the. earth will be interested in the progress made in its 

 use. The beauty of its products, the fineness and durability of 

 tissue, more especially its clear tint, make it suitable to take 

 the place of linen goods ; and its easy manufacture will insure its 

 rapidly gaining supremacy over other textile products. 



The cultivation of ramie was introduced into Mexico by Mr. 

 Benito Roezl de Santo Comspan ; into the United States, by Mr. 

 J. Bruckner of New Orleans ; and into Belgium, by the Josephites 

 of Melle, near Ghent. In Germany and Bohemia the first experi- 

 ments were made with white ramie, as it was thought to be more 

 advantageous, owing to its readier acclimatization to countries less 

 warm than China or Japan, from which it had before been im- 

 ported ; but so far its cultivation, for reasons which will be shown 

 later, has made but little progress. Recently machinery has been 

 invented which makes its manufacture more successful; and since 

 that time this industry has made rapid progress. Governments of 

 several European nations are taking an active interest in the culti- 

 vation of this plant. 



The utilization of ramie fibres is of great antiquity. Their vir- 

 tues are recorded in the poems of Ramagana and of Kalidasa, who 

 sing the praises of the stuffs made from ramie, which seems to have 

 been grown at that time in the Himalaya Mountains. Pallas con- 

 tends that the Chinese frequently deceived the Russians by selling 

 them stuffs manufactured from ramie-thread (the woof alone being 

 of real silk) as real Damask silk. We find in the annals of Nestor, 

 of the year 904, that the sails of the Volga vessels were nearly all 

 manufactured from ramie fibre. 



Various kinds of nettles, or ramie, were cultivated in Russia, 

 Siberia, Kamtchatka, and Japan. Dr. Boyle says that in 1810 the 

 first tests of Sumatra ramie were made in India. In 1851 experi- 

 ments were made in the spinneries of Leeds, which proved very 

 encouraging. In 1868 the price of the raw fibre was Ip-O per ton 

 at Calcutta, and £\o at London. 



Although the cultivation and industry of ramie are still princi- 

 pally limited to the countries to which its growth is indigenous, the 

 attention of every agricultural country, and of every textile manufac- 

 turer, should be drawn to its value with a view of determining as 

 to the benefits to be derived from its introduction. 



No country is better adapted for the introduction and cultivation 

 of ramie than the United States, which, owing to its extensive ter- 

 ritory, affords all possible conditions for cultivation as regards 

 either soil or climate, and where the power of capital conduces so 

 favorably to the development of enterprises. 



It is not difficult to imagine the importance which this new in- 

 dustry may gain in the United States, when we consider that in 

 1887 the total importation of textile material (flax, hemp, jute, and 

 other vegetable substances) from foreign countries into the United 

 States amounted to about one hundred and twenty-three thousand 

 tons, representing a money value of fourteen million dollars. 



The exportation of vegetable fibres of every kind to the United 

 States from the consular district of Brussels (Belgium) amounted, 

 in 1880, to $54,411.88; in 1881, §58,307.68; in 1882, $34,065.78; 

 in 1883, $41,989.20; in 1884, $37,041.14; in 18S5, $51,004.56; in 

 1886, $62,587.30; in 1887, $39,245.92. The falling-off in the ex- 

 portation of last year is due to the probable change in the tariff. 



It has been inferred above, that, as a result of experiments made 

 towards acclimatizing ramie in foreign countries, there has not been 

 any extraordinary industrial success, although remarkable progress 

 regarding our knowledge of the plant, and the best methods of 



treating it, has been made. Even in the utilization of the fibre for 

 spinning purposes, many difficulties were encountered until lately. 

 The obstacles in the way of the cultivation of ramie arose princi- 

 pally from the fact that the plant itself, and the practical utiUty of 

 it, were unknown ; that statements regarding its use had been, 

 found erroneous, exaggerated, and untrustworthy. 



No knowledge whatever of the soil suitable for its growth and' 

 cultivation, nor of the proper climate, was possessed. The culture- 

 of an inferior kind of ramie was introduced into northern countries,, 

 and its merits were so highly exaggerated that its partial failure 

 prejudiced many of its warmest adherents. This species, the white- 

 ramie, is not nearly as good as the green. 



Among the different kinds of ramie experimented upon with a: 

 view to their introduction into Europe and America, only these two- 

 species are accepted as being useful and suitable for acclimatiza- 

 tion. The Bohmeria nivea (the white ramie), of Chinese origin,, 

 belongs to the temperate zone. The under part of its leaves is of a 

 nacreous white color, with green veins, the leaves and stalks being 

 very vigorous. The ripe stalk is of a red-brown blood color. Its- 

 fibre is greatly inferior to that of the green ramie, it is rougher 

 to the touch, is not so full, and bears less resistance to tension. 

 The stalks do not grow so high, and they have less tendency to- 

 run to seed. The plant also resists the cold belter ;. for, while one 

 has to be protected in severe weather, the other has not, and can 

 be left in winter in a meagre soil. The Bohmeria tenacissima 

 (green ramie) comes originally from an equatorial district, Java. 

 Its fibres are very strong, and the plant is more hardy, and more 

 prolific in fibrous textile, than the other. 



The average height of the stalk of the greer» ramie is about five 

 feet and a half to six feet, while that of the white ramie is of con- 

 siderably less height, being about four feet and a half. In addition- 

 to this, the latter plant grows numerous side branches, which ren- 

 ders pruning more difficult. Accordingly, the product of the green- 

 ramie is shown to be superior to that of the white ramie. 



It would seem, therefore, that it is a mere question of climate,, 

 which favors white ramie, though a recent cultivation of green 

 ramie in Italy, in the province of Padua, shows it to have withstood 

 a temperature of —9° Cor 16° F. In Algeria green ramie has been- 

 cultivated exclusively for some time. 



Ramie can be raised from seed, fro-m suckers, or from layers or 

 pieces of roots. That reproduced by seed-plots requires too mucb 

 care, and has a greater tendency to run wild. Suckers have various- 

 disadvantages : ten per cent die, and the others cannot withstand 

 the cold. The simplest, surest, and most productive mode of repro- 

 duction is by pieces of roots, or cuttings of stalks stuck into the 

 ground. This kind is more productive, fuller, is neater and more 

 easily grown, and reaches maturity at an earlier period. 



A comparison of the cultivation of the two- species in Italy gives 

 the following result as a fair sample of its produce. Ten thousand 

 mother plants on one hectare gave for two cuttings, — 



The soil in which ramie should be planted should be light, sandy, 

 well manured and cultured, naturally cool and moist. A good un- 

 derground is indispensable, as the plant throws out its roots to a 

 depth of from twelve to fourteen inches. It may be said, however,, 

 that it accommodates itself readily to almost any kind of soil, but 

 the one indicated gives far superior results. If the soil be too rich, 

 the plant thereby acquires a deleterious amount of ligneous ma- 

 terial, which lessens the strength of the plant's fibres. The stalk 

 becomes sappy, more difficult to prune, and hence inferior in 

 quality. A too damp or marshy soil is injurious ; although it has 

 been experienced in different districts where it is grown, that a 

 thick coat of mud of a sandy nature, the result of an inundation, 

 has proved rather favorable instead of prejudicial in its effect. A 



