if  further  information  is  required  how  to  procure  seed,  plants 
and  cultivate  and  prepare  the  fibre  lor  the  market,  and  how  to 
dispose  of  the  produce,  also  advice  as  to  the  installation  of  de* 
oumming  and  filassing  stations,  manufactories,  &c.,  in  short,  any 
assistance  I can  give  to  encourage  th.e  world-wide  cultivation  of 
this  fine  fibre,  you  have  but  to  “apply  to 
I).  Kdwards-Radcliffe, 
jj.  Birchington  Road, 
W’est  Hampstead, 
f.ONDON. 
o 
JUGRA  Estate,  Selangor, 
September  30th,  igoj. 
Ramie  Cultivation. 
SW, — 1 have  the  honour  to  acknowledge  the  receipt,  through  the 
Chairman  of  the  United  Planters  Association,  of  your  letter  of 
Sept.  8th,  No.  6489/03,  covering  a letter  from  Mr.  D.  EdwardS- 
Radcliffe.  The  Chairman  requests  me  to  reply  direct  to  you. 
1.  Land. — In  1898  we  took  up  1,000  acres  under  grant  how 
known  as  Jugra  Estate,  and  2,000  acres  as  a reserve,  on  special 
terms,  for  the  cultivation  of  Ramie. 
2.  Varieties. — Although  very  different  in  appearance,  I cannot 
learn  of  any  Botanical  distinction  between  the  two  varieties  of 
plant  we  cultivated.  1 took  plants  of  each  kind  to  Kew  and  Sir 
'I'hISELTON  Dyer  simply  classified  them  both  as  Boehmeria  7tivea. 
M.  BlunTSCHLI  of  Sumatra  sent  us  several  plants  which  showed 
some  slight  variations  and  some  seed  was  sent  from  India.  With 
the  stock  raised  from  this  seed  I planted  up  about  half  an  acre. 
This  differed  slightly  from  the  smaller  of  the  two  kinds  we  have 
here,  and  which  we  have  found  unsatisfactory.  It  grows  readily 
from  seed  and  crops  fairly  wcdl  once  or  twice  then  rapidly  deterio- 
rates. d'he  most  satisfactory  way  of  cultivating  the  other  is  from 
stem  or  root  cuttings.  This  plant  surpasses  in  luxuriance  of  growth 
every  form  of  cultivated  product  with  which  I am  acquainted.  It 
vielcls  six  crops  yearly,  arriving  at  maturity  regularly  every  two 
months.  Dry  weather  reduces  the  length  of  the  stem  and  conse- 
quently the  output  of  the  fibre,  but  it  makes  little  or  no  difference 
to  the  maturing  o{  the  fibre. 
3.  Area  cultivated — Early  in  1900,  we  had  planted  up  eighteen 
blocks  of  25  acres  each,  testing  different  distances  and  systems 
of  cultivation,  the  result  of  each  block  being  separately  recorded. 
We  then  had  30  acres  of  the  large  and  1 5 acres  of  the  small 
variety,  in  all  about  400,000  plants. 
4.  Retting. — W’e  tried  several  rt  Iting  expei  imenls  carefullv 
following  the  systems  of  treating  llax  as  wajrked  in  Ireland  and 
