12 CIRCULAR 585, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



coarse China grass into a bleached white, more or less finely divided, 

 flexible fiber that lends itself more readily to spinning. There are 

 many ways that the ramie mill may accomplish degumming, but care 

 is necessary in the selection of the proper degumming procedure to 

 insure that the fiber is not injured by the treatment during the 

 removal of the gums. 



After degumming the fiber is ready for spinning. Although the 

 steps in spinning are in general similar to those used with other soft 

 fibers, there are some special processes and certain machinery that 

 have been developed for spinning the degummed fiber. This fiber 

 is sometimes referred to as filasse. 



In recent years mixtures of textile fibers have been popular, and 

 ramie filasse has often been suggested for use with other fibers. In 

 the United States it has apparently been prepared satisfactorily 

 with wool and cotton, but little or no commercial use has been made 

 of such experimentally prepared fabrics. These articles may have 

 future potential values but may require a liighly organized sales 

 force to become established^ 



In the past some ramie has been prepared in mills in the United 

 States. However, table 1 indicates the comparatively small quantities 

 that have been imported in recent years. The yarns that were pro- 

 duced in this country during the early part of the twentieth century 

 were used chiefly in the manufacture of incandescent gas mantles. 

 The occasional importation made since 1920 has been mainly an 

 importation of a ton or more of China grass to test a new method of 

 preparation. The large quantity imported in 1938 was reported 

 partially reexported. 



The raw material, China grass, is obtained at rather a low price. 

 However, the cost of degumming with the loss of approximately 

 one-third of the weight in this process increases the cost of the de- 

 gummed fiber. The degummed fiber is more expensive than cotton, 

 which holds first place among the textile fibers used by man. Unless 

 ramie can be produced cheaply enough to compete to some extent 

 with cotton it will probably be confined to specialized articles with 

 a limited usage. 



In China the fiber is used for various fabrics, which compete with 

 our linens. These fabrics are designated as Chinese linen, Canton 

 linen, grass linen, or grass cloth, and may be used in embroidered 

 doilies, drawn work, or table covers. The Swatow grass cloth is 

 probably better known in America than any other ramie fabric made 

 in China. Tablecloths, napkins, plushes, covering for upholstered 

 furniture, curtains, dress goods, and knit goods have been made of 

 ramie fiber. 



The high yields of ramie under favorable conditions have attracted 

 attention to it as a possible source of cellulose and for use in making 

 high-grade papers. Very satisfactory cellulose yields have been 

 obtained, and paper with excellent qualities has been prepared. In 

 this field the fiber would have to be prepared much cheaper than for 

 a textile fiber to compete with other sources of cheap raw material. 

 Under existing economic conditions in the United States it may not be 

 advisable to grow the crop for cellulose. 



