The Bapts and Hunet process consists in' treating the bark with 

 caustic soda at the strength of i/io or more at a temperature of 

 130 to 140° C. under 2.5 kilogrammes of pressure, when the solvent 

 has desintegrated the tissues the pasty mass is passed under per- 

 forated cylinders. 



The process of the Ganguellas Negros is worth attention. They 

 extract the rubber from roots (of what plant is not stated) they 

 wash and dry them and make them into faggots then they are car- 

 ried to the villages, where they beat them into pulp with mallets 

 afterwards they boil them with water. 



THE CULTIVATION AND TREATMENT 

 OP RAMIE, 



{To the Editor of the 11 Pinang Gazette. ") 



Sir, — I have had the pleasure of reading an article from the pen 

 of Mr. CURTIS in your interesting paper,* on Ramie. Rhea or China 

 Grass. From extensive experiments made in the different grades 

 of this very fine fibre I have arrived at different conclusions than 

 the authorities he quotes, and am quite confident that, although the 

 ribbon could be delivered at the degumming factories at £j gs. a 

 ton instead of £12 in comparison with other fibres it would pay 

 handsomely and be largely used, although £26 a ton was paid for 

 it. At that price the finished article would no cost more than ^d. 

 per tfe, in a condition similar to the enclosed sample. Contrary to 

 the recognised theory I have conclusively proved to my own satis- 

 faction that it is one of the least difficult of fibres to prepare for 

 manufacturing purposes, and that the returns from dry stems grown 

 in suitable localities such as the Straits Settlements far surpass 

 those obtained from flax or hemp, with both of which I am intimate- 

 ly familiar, were Ramie put to the same ordinary uses as flax. The 

 waste after being degummed would scarcely be a half of that in 

 flax. I notice that there is a difficulty in connection with the cut- 

 ting of the ribbon from the stems and that a machine that will ac- 

 complish this at the rate of half a ton a day is needed. There are 

 such machines in use, now employed for other purposes, through 

 which I have passed stems grown in the Botanic Gardens of Glasgow 

 with far more wood than fibre on them and nearly as solid as a 

 walking cane. These came out without a particle of wood adhering 

 to the ribbon. The machine that I used I am sure would deliver 

 not less than a ton of clean ribbon a day. In conclusion, allow me 

 to say that no patent machine is needed for the preparation of the 

 fibre, and that the process ol degumming it cannot be protected. 

 It might be kept a secret, but that is all, as I know of half-a-dozen 

 ways of doing this, all of which are equally cheap and effective. 

 Then the so called expeit, whose ignorance of fibre and its treat- 

 ment is amply demonstrated by the absurd and costly methods he 

 employs, disappears and the mechanical efforts of the patentee are 



* Bulletin 8. 295. 



