1 66 

 RAMIE 



Under the title "China Grass", its past, present and future, Mr 

 FRANK BlRDWOOD read a paper on Ramie at the Indian section of 

 the Society of Arts (March loth, 1 904) which was published in No. 

 2679 of vol. 1(1 of the Journal of the Society of Arts. The paper 

 contains a good deal of interesting matter. In dealing with the past 

 history of the fibre he shows it was an article of tribute in China in 

 B. C. 2205. lie describes the manufacture of the plant by hand in 

 China, and alleges that the cost of production there does not exceed 

 £12 a ton. With regard to supply he says, In Kurope a considerable 

 quantity is used every year but England only takes a small percen- 

 tage of the whole. Japan is the principal purchaser. China to-day 

 has a virtual monopoly and it is Ins opinion having regard to the 

 market conditions which during the- past few years have proved a 

 very pointed lesson to manufacturers it would be mere madness 

 to start an English business on large lines, that is a factory turning 

 out many tons a day. floated with the intention of competing all 

 along the line with other fibres in general use and at the same time 

 dependent for its supply on the celestial merchant. Cnless through 

 some arrangement with the local Mandarins it had been able to 

 contract ahead for its raw material. A small company working special 

 lines competing with particular articles and treating a thousand tens- 

 or so of raw material every year could complete its juncture with- 

 out materially affecting prices and there are good profits to be so 

 earned. But if anyone is thinking of investing capital let him see that 

 the output of the business is sufficiently small to remove all fear of 

 enhanced price of raw material and sufficiently large: to meet a 

 swamping dump from other rivals. It is essential that some other 

 source of supply should be found so that by competition market 

 prices should be regulated." 



1 he difficulties of degumming, spinning, dyeing and bleaching he 

 considers are things of the past, and " commercial success is un- 

 doubtedly within the grasp of the China grass manufacturer. He 

 has had to wade through mud to grasp it. The cultivator was the 

 first cause of failure, he saw that the price of fibre was high, the 

 market was declared to be certain and he rushed into produce. 

 Failure was a foregone conclusion for Chinese methods and Chinese 

 labour were neglected elements ol success." This is hardly a 

 satisfactory explanation of the failure on the part of the cultivator, 

 who could not possibly use Chinese labour in India or the Straits at 

 the cost of Chinese labour in China, nor would he make ''good 

 profits" at £12 the ton, with a maximum out turn of 10 lbs. a day 

 per man. 



It is hard also to see the special \alue ol Chinese methods when 

 the China grass of commerce contains as he says only three-fourths 

 ol libre and one-fourth of gum. 



The action of the manufacturer is also condemned, "what the 

 Chinaman could do he could do and so sans process, sans experience, 

 sans machinery and sans market, he uoured out his wealth by the 



