In  pursuance  of*this  wise  j)olicy,  in  the  initial  stages  of  a new 
industry,  of  festina  lente,  the  Syndicate  have  not  as  yet  undertaken 
their  own  spinning.  The  processes  I saw  at  the  mills  were  those 
of  degumming,  cleaning,  drying,  separating,  equalising  lengths, 
weaving  and  dyeing  and  thread  manufacture.  The  machinery  is  of 
the  most  modern  type,  and  so  far  as  a casual  visitor  could  judge, 
the  methods  of  working  no  less  than  the 'general  supervision,  most 
efficient.  I had  previously  been  shown  at  the  offices  of  the  Syndi- 
cate, samples  of  the  spun  goods  manufactured  from  the  woven 
fibre  turned  out  at  Romford  by  the  Bunbeg  Mills  Company.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  ramie-made  cloths  and  other  goods  are  not 
only  far  superior  to  linen  but  will,  ere  long  compete  with  silk,  by 
reason  of  their  being  very  much  cheaper,  and  with  cotton  by  reason 
of  their  greater  strength  and  durability.  I'here  are  very  few 
articles,  if  any,  among  manufactured  textiles  wiili  which  ramie- 
made  goods  cannot  and  will  not  enter  into  c'ompetition,  from  khaki 
and  sail  cloth  to  daintv  dresses  and  tapestries  and  curtadns.  The 
principal  demand  thus  far  has  been  for  vestings  and  underclothing, 
but  other  departments  of  manufacture  are  opening  out  as  merchants 
come  to  recognise  that  among  the  advantages  of  ramie  goods  are 
that  they  arc  rot-proof,  that  they  bleach  a pure  lustrous  white  and 
that  they  are  unshrinkable.  If  the  claim  that  ramie  “ even  survives 
the  attention  of  the  Oriental  dhohy,  no  matter  ho\v  much  it  is 
beaten  on  stone”  can  be  substantiated  (and  it  can  soon  be  put  to 
the  test)  we  may  anticipate  that  this,  with  other  advantages  men- 
tioned, will,  in  course  of  time  lead  to  great  demand  in  India.  Al- 
ready  there  has  been  some  manufacture  of  white  washing  poplins 
for  the  Tropics.  Sportsmen  in  the  East  should  note  that  the  manu- 
facturer include  extremely  durable  unions  for  riding  and  hard 
wear"  while  the  general  public  may  bear  in  mind  the  claim,  and 
put  it  to  the  test,  that  ramie  goods  are  ‘‘  lustrous  as  silk,  more 
durable  than  linen,  inexpensive  and  handsome”.  My  tour  of  the 
Romford  factory  convinced  me  that  there  is  a great  future  for  this 
industry,  and  that  Mr.  BiRDWOOD  had  solid  grounds  to  rest  upon 
in  expressing  the  conviction  that  the  Indian  planter  need  not  be 
apprehensive  of  flooding  the  market  with  ra\v  material,  inasmuch 
as  the  demand  is  bound  to  keep  alreast  with  the  supply.  “ When 
they  know  that  they  may  look  beyond  China  for  their  supplies  ’’ 
wTote  Mr.  BiRDWOOD  in  the  February  Anglo-Indian  Review, 
“manufacturers  will  be  prepared  to  increase  their  out-turn  very 
considerably.  It  would  therefore  appear  that  the  Indian  planter, 
if  he  will  attack  the  problem  soberly  and  with  sufficient  capital, 
could  not  only  capture  the  market  hitherto  dominated  by  China, 
but  could  find  fresh  outlets  for  his  production.  One  thing  how^ever 
he  must  clearly  bear  in  mind  : the  manufacturer  knows  what  be 
wants  and  can  get  what  he  wants  from  existing  sources.  . . . He 
will  run  no  risks  in  his  raw  material.  Indian  planters  must  not 
imagine  that  knowledge  wall  leap  fully  armed  from  their  heads  or  that 
fortune  will  stop  with  them  at  the  holding  up  of  a little  finger.” 
The  question  whether  India  is  or  is  not  to  participate  as  a pro- 
ducer of  the  raw  material  in  this  nascent  industry  has  a wider 
