357 
enquiry.  Inadequate  preliminary  investigation  has  been  the  cause 
of  failure  of  various  experimental  efforts  in  the  past  and  these  have 
resulted  in  widespread  scepticism  as  to  possibility  of  profitable 
cultivation.  The  planter  should  master  the  facts  as  to  the  climatic 
conditions  and  soil  best  suited  to  ramie-growing,  and  as  to  the  best 
methods  of  cultivation,  given  in  the  Agricultural  Ledger,  No.  15 
by  Sir  GEORGE  Watt.  He  should  make  sure,  by  sending  home 
samples,  that  the  fibre  he  can  produce  is  of  the  right  class ; and  in 
preparing  the  raw  material  for  export  to  the  mills  he  must  be 
abreast  of  the  times. 
Many  planters  are  fully  aware  of  the  needs  of  careful  study  and 
well  thought-out  methods  on  the  lines  indicated,  but  they  are  doubt- 
ful of  the  capacity  of  the  market  to  take  large  additional  supplies 
of  the  fibre.  The  sceptic  should  visit  the  Romford  factory  where 
he  would  see  the  beginnings  of  a great  industry,  steadily  feeling 
its  way  to  the  expansion  that  lies  before  it.  In  any  case  rapid 
advance  in  the  first  instance  would  have  been  impossible  owing  to 
the  uncertainly  of  supply  of  raw  material  and  the  great  fluctuations 
in  price  consequent  on  manufacturers  being  mainly  dependent  upon 
the  Chinese  grower.  Last  year  the  pi  ice  of  the  fibre  was  about 
£2\  per  ton  ; this  year,  owing  to  drought  and  the  increasing  de- 
mand in  Europe  £40  per  ton  has  been  paid.  In  some  respects  this 
dependence  upon  a country  so  politically  unstable  as  China,  whose 
cultivators  and  dealers  are  not  the  most  trustworthy  of  men,  has 
not  been  disadvantageous,  for  it  has  deterred  the  Syndicate  from 
experimenting  on  a large  scale.  While  output  has  been  restricted 
for  want  of  raw  material,  the  concern  has  felt  its  way,  and,  under 
the  skilled  advice  of  a most  capable  and  experienced  manager,  a 
cool-headed  Yorkshire  man,  it  has  now  arrived  at  a stage  where 
the  expansion  all  along  kept  in  view  can  safely  be  undertaken.  Its 
manufactures  have  gained  a footing  in  the  English  markets  from 
which  wealthy  spinning  combinations  have  tried  in  vain  to  dislodge 
them.  This  attempt  has  been  especially  pronounced  in  respect  to 
the  large  trade  in  boot  thread  that  has  been  built  up  by  the  Syndi- 
cate. A well-known  combine  tried  the  cutting  game  until  it  was 
selling  below  cost  but  the  Ramie  Company  was  able  to  go  one 
better  right  through  without  loss.  For  it  is  to  be  remembered  that, 
although  the  supply  of  raw  material  is  so  scant  and  fluctuating  that 
prices  are  comparatively  high,  ramie  threads  are  not  only  much 
stronger  than  linen,  but  can  also  be  produced  much  more  cheaply 
even  on  the  present  comparatively  limited  scale  of  manufacture. 
When  larger  quantities  of  the  fibre  are  available  and  the  outturn  is 
correspondingly  increased  the  ratio  of  the  cost  of  production  will  be 
lessened.  The  boot  and  saddlery  thread  were,  in  the  first  instance, 
only  introduced  into  the  London  market,  but  a demand  is  now 
growing  up  in  Leicestershire  and  Northamptonshire,  the  centres  of 
the  boot  trade,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  combination  of 
strength  and  cheapness  will  ensure  the  growth  ard  stability  of  this 
trade  against  the  competition  of  the  most  powerful  combines  manu- 
facturing linen  thread. 
