86 



USEFUL FIBER PLANTS OF THE WORLD. 



so long cultivated by the Chinese under the name of Tchou Ma. There are two 

 forms of this plant. One is the China grass mentioned above, Boehmeria nivea, a tem- 

 perate, and the other, ramie or rhea, a tropical, plant, known as /•'. nivea, var. tenacis- 

 sinia. It would be well to preserve these distinctions in 

 regard to the fiber also. The term ramie, or rhea, should 

 only be applied to the variety tenacissima. This differs from 

 the type by its more robust habit and larger leaves, 'which 

 are green on both sides. This character easily distinguishes 

 it from China grass, which has leaves white-felted beneath. 

 The distinction here suggested is an important one. Ramie 

 or rhea is a native of Assam and the Malay Islands. It 

 thrives only in tropical countries, and it is useless to culti- 

 vate it elsewhere. At Kew it has been found that while 

 ramie or rhea (/>'. nirea var. tenacissima) cannot be grown in 

 the open air, the China grass (J>. nirea) remains in the 

 ground all the winter, and furnishes a crop of shoots, but 

 only once in the year. The value of the ramie or rhea liber, 

 as compared with China grass, has not been carefully and 

 fully investigated. Ramie from India has, however, not 

 proved so valuable, so far, as the China grass. In the large 

 mass of literature on China grass there is considerable con- 

 fusion between it and ramie or rhea, and the results in 

 consequence lose their value. (Dr. D. Morris.) 



Bast Fiber. — The fiber of China grass is strong and dur- 

 able, is of all fibers least affected by moisture, and from 

 these characteristics must take first rank in value as a textile 

 substance. It has three times the strength of Russian hemp, 

 while its filaments can be separated almost to the fineness 

 of silk. In manufacture it has been spun on various forms 

 of textile machinery, also used in connection with cotton, 

 wool, and silk, and can be employed as a substitute in cer- 

 tain forms of manufacture for all of these textiles, and for 

 llax also, where elasticity is not essential. It likewise pro- 

 duces superior paper, the fineness and close texture of its 

 pulp making it a most valuable bank-note paper. The fiber 

 can be dyed in all desirable shades or colors, some examples 

 having the luster and brilliancy of silk. In China and Japan 

 it is extracted by hand labor; it is not only manufactured 

 into cordage, fish lines, nets, and similar coarse manufac- 

 tures, but woven into the finest and most beautiful of fabrics. 

 The specific gravity of ramie ' yarn is less than that of linen 

 yarn in the ratio of 6 to 10, so that 1. kilogram linen yarn 

 No. 10 measures 6,000 meters, while the same weight of ramie 

 yarn measures 10,000 meters. This peculiarity lessens the 

 apparent difference in the price of the two yarns. On the 

 other hand, ramie yarn is heavier than cotton in the ratio of 

 6 to 5. Ramie yarn is easily distinguished from other yarns 

 by its high luster and silky appearance, in which it excels 

 linen and cotton. Ramie fibers are distinguished from all 

 other libers by their great length, usually from 10 to 1.") centi- 

 meters (often 25 to l<> centimeters or more), by a certain 

 etraightness and stiffness, and by the considerable breadth 



Fig. 32. — A properly grow a 

 stalk of ramie. 



■The term ramie, used in this statement, :i> well as in those which follow, refers to 

 the fiber from either species of Boehmeria, Ramie proper being />'. nivea var. tenacissima, 



while China grass is II. nirea. 



