295 



RAMIE, EHEA, CHINA GRASS. 



The cultivation of Ramie is a subject that has from time to time 

 for many years past been more or less before the planters of this 

 region, and there is little doubt that if the difficulties of manipula- 

 tion can be overcome there are few places in which it could be 

 grown to greater advantage. That it can be profitably grown in 

 any kind of soil is an error. It requires as good soil and systema- 

 tic cultivation as sugar cane. There are two well defined forms 

 generally recognized, one known as China Grass (Boehmeria niveci) 

 the underside of the leaves of which are white and which has proved 

 hardy enough to stand an English winter, and the other Ramie or 

 Rhea [Boehmeria tenacissima), the leaves of which are green un- 

 derneath and which requires a tropical climate. These are pro- 

 bably only geographical varieties of one species. In addition to 

 these we have had in cultivation here two other well defined forms, 

 one of them having a soft and hollow stem. No sufficiently com- 

 prehensive trial in order to determine the most profitable variety 

 to grow in this climate has, so far as I am aware, been carried out. 

 Judging from the size of the stems and rapidity of growth the 

 typical Ramie [Boehmeria tenacissima), which is said to be a native 

 of Malaya, though I have never come across it in a wild state, is 

 the most promising, but whether the fibre is as good as that of 

 China Grass (Boehmeria nivea) has not been definitely settled. 

 Practically all that was known about Ramie and China Grass, both 

 as regards planting and preparation, was summed up in the Kew 

 Bulletin for September 1 898. As regards planting an extract from Mr. 

 Fawcett's report on ex*periments made in the West Indies states 

 that "the best distance to plant is twelve inches apart with eighteen 

 inches between the rows on fair land, but on strong land 18-24 

 inches would be quite close enough. If planted 9 inches apart they 

 have to be hand weeded when young which is very expensive, 

 whereas at 18 inches they can be hoed through. If the land is fairly 

 rich and they are kept clean while they are young they will grow 

 so thickly even at two feet that little weeding is required except 

 perhaps after cutting." In reference to yield the following is a 

 summary : " From a small patch of China Grass (Boehmeria nivea) 

 five years old growing in the open air at Kew it has been found 

 that 4 square yards yield 100 stems. The weight of these without 

 leaves was 24 lbs. This gives a yield at the rate of 29,000 lbs. (say 

 13 tons) per acre. In Algeria, Hardy found that an acre yielded 

 27,000 lbs. of similar stems without leaves. De Mas, at Padua, 

 found that Ramie (Boehmeria tenacissima) yielded in the second 

 year stems, without leaves, at the rate of 26,300 lbs. per acre ; in the 

 third year two crops yielded at the rate of 32,360 lbs. per acre. 

 The weight of raw fibre (ribbons?) per acre obtained by De Mas 

 from 32,000 lbs. of green stalks without leaves 1.280 lbs. or exactly 

 four per cent. FAVIER gives somewhat similar results. His actual 

 yield was 1,285 lbs. per acre. In California, HiLYARD gives it at 

 1,935 lbs. per acre. It is probable that the yield of clean ribbons 

 per acre on a large area, with two or three cuttings, will average 



