2o8 
Mr.  Tarte  should  have  the  tree  photographed  at  once,  so  as  to 
show  the  several  clusters  of  young  nuts  of  different  stages.  It 
would  be  interesting  to  know  the  length  and  girth  of  one  of  these 
extraordinary  spathes.  Mr.  Tarte  says  he  has  often  seen  i,ooo  to 
1,200  nuts  on  a tree.  It  will  be  of  much  interest  if  he  will  give  the 
average  yield  of,  say,  i,ooo  trees  in  full  bearing  on  his  plantation.” 
— Ed.  Tropical  Agriculturist.  [Tropical  Agriculturist,  Vol.  XXII., 
p.  707.] 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
Cultivation  and  Production  of  Ramie. 
The  Editor, 
The  Agricultural  Bulletin. 
Dear  Sir, 
On  page  61  of  your  February  number  you  publish  Mr. 
Anderson’s  criticism  of  my  little  article  which  appeared  in  last 
October’s  Bulletin.  Mr.  Anderson  finds  that  T have  been  growing 
the  wrong  kind  of  ramie  and  urges  planters  to  give  up  the  “ Black 
Ribbon  ” in  favour  of  the  “ China  Grass  ” variety. 
I have  never  lacked  advice  from  my  spinning  friends  on  the 
agricultural  side  of  the  question  but  it  is  the  first  time  I have  met 
an  authority  who  recognised  the  botanical  distinction  between  the 
two  forms  of  product. 
It  is  as  if  one  should  say  to  Towkay  Lore  Yew  or  any  other  of 
our  mining  magnates — “ Give  up  delving  for  the  ‘ watering  can  ’ 
variety  of  tin,  let  us  have  nothing  but  the  photograph  frame  kind  in 
future.” 
“ Ribbons  ” is  the  name  I have  always  heard  applied  to  the  fibre 
as  it  is  taken  off  the  stem,  all  the  bark  and  gum  being  shipped  with 
the  fibre.  If  it  has  taken  long  to  dry  it  is  called  “ Black  Ribbons  ” 
because  it  looks  black.  If  the  drying  has  been  more  rapid  it  will 
be  called  “ Brown  Ribbons  ” because  it  looks  brown. 
“ China  Grass  ” which  may  be  produced  either  by  hand  or  by 
mechanical  means,  is  a more  ambitious  product.  The  bark  and 
most  of  the  gum  is  removed,  and  when  this  product  reaches  the 
spinner  it  is  straw-colored.  It  is  possible  to  extract  either  product 
from  either  variety  of  Boehmeria  Nivea — I say  it  is  possible, 
because  I have  done  it. 
The  two  varieties  of  the  plant  which  I allude  to  are  cultivated 
in  the  Singapore  Botanical  Gardens,  and  a few  plants  of  each  on 
many  estates  and  native  holdings  all  over  the  Peninsula. 
I gather  from  Mr.  Curtis’s  covering  letter  that  the  large  kind  is 
the  variety  which  Mr.  Anderson  condemns.  However,  my  own 
coolies,  who  have  cultivated  it  in  China,  point  to  this  as  the  kind 
from  which  “ China  Grass  ” is  produced  in  their  districts. 
Mr.  Anderson  misquotes  my  results.  I obtained  2J  per  cent, 
of  Faure  fibre  (produce  similar  to  China  Grass,  not  “ Ribbons,”) 
