420 



rod liquid tipped with a w hite porcelain neck <uid stopper. They 

 were erect on the leaf 19 in a cluster. They hatched out into 

 yellow bugs too young to identify. They might be either carni- 

 vorous or plant sucking bugs. 



In a later Letter, Mr. BURGESS states that more beetles have at- 

 tacked the young plants, and that when they bite the shoots they 

 are caught by the outflowing latex and soon perish. He suggests 

 that this action of the latex shows at least one use of it to the 

 plant inasmuch as it destroys any would be depredators, and so 

 protects the seedlings. — Editor . 



RAMIE. 



To the Editor of the Agricultural Bulletin. 



Sir, — Through the courtesy of a friend, who has been many years 

 in the Straits Settlements, who is at present on a visit here, 1 was 

 favoured with a perusal of your interesting journal in which I see a 

 correspondence between Mr. BAXENDALE and Mr. RADCLYFFE on 

 Ramie growing and treatment. The one professes to grow it suc- 

 cessfully and the other professes to be able to treat it. Here then 

 is a combination that ought to solve the Ramie problem which is 

 not the simple affair that Mr. RADCLYFFE thinks in so far as the 

 supply of cheap labour is concerned as what can be done in China 

 by hand could not be accomplished in any other country where the 

 plant could be grown. From all that I have seen, read and been 

 able to do with Ramie I have arrived at the conclusion that the 

 fibre has been kept in the back ground by the ignorant interference 

 of people who have had no training in the working of any known 

 textile. Owing to this they have employed expensive methods and 

 machines where none have been needed in the preparation of the fibre, 

 which has been so prepared that this had to be followed up by 

 machinery specially designed to prepare and spin the fibre into 

 yarns. 



These conditions create a deadlock to the expansion of Ramie 

 culture as the grower requires to be assured of a market and a good 

 one at that for his produce, while the manufacturer will not incur 

 the enormous expense of specially designed machinery unless he is 

 certain that abundant and ample supplies can be had. My own 

 idea to get over this difficulty is to prepare the fibre to suit existing 

 conditions so that ordinary flax and tow machinery could work it 

 up without the slightest alteration. That this can be done and has 

 been done I have proved by results admitted to be very satisfactory. 

 This then gives Ramie a footing in the textile industries, as it will 

 not matter whether the manufacturer gets a ton to buy or a thou- 

 sand. He is at no expense or disadvantage in using the fibre so 

 prepared. 



In doing this there is no question as to the relative cost of 

 Ramie precluding it from successfully competing with even the 

 finest of flax as good brown ribbon such as Mr. BAXENDALE grows 



