and  the  Secretary  all  expressed  satisfaction  at  the  result  and  in  my 
presence  the  expert  advised  the  Managing  Director  to  make  a con- 
tract with  us. 
d'he  Managing  Director  after  telling  me  that  he  was  confident 
that  he  could  buy  a fibre  equal  to  the  finest  ‘‘  China  Grass  ” in  the 
market  for  £\$  a ton  (the  price  I asked  him  for  our  Eke  pro- 
duce) agreed  to  take  the  latter  for  a year  and  he  would  send  us  out 
a decorticator  which  they  were  then  constructing. 
We  sent  them  a further  consignment  and  after  a lengthy  delay 
we  asked  them  if  they  would  take  a few  more  bales  then  stored  at 
Liverpool,  as  a present.  To  this  they  replied  We  are  sorry  to 
say  that  the  ramie  ribbons  are  useless  to  us.  ” We  have  heard  no 
more  of  their  decorticator.  These  are  only  examples  of  the  num- 
erous difficulties  I have  encountered  in  trying  to  hnd  a market  for 
our  produce. 
7.  Mr,  I).  Edwards-Radchffe, — This  gentleman  called  on  me 
in  London.  I had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  him  again  and  we  dis- 
cussed every  branch  of  the  ramie  industry.  He  was  interested  in 
the  Spinning  Company  just  referred  to,  but  was,  I believe  in  no 
way  responsible  for  its  extraordinary  management. 
Without  pretending  to  be  an  authority  on  the  manufacturing 
side  of  the  question,  1 have  seen  sufficient  of  i!s  treatment  and  the 
numerous  uses  to  which  it  can  be  put,  to  have,  like  Mr.  Radcliffe, 
a strong  belief  in  the  future  of  ramie  but  I think  that  Mr. 
Radcliffe  has  set  to  work  at  the  wrong  end  of  the  line.  It  is  the 
spinning  industry  which  seems  to  need  conviction,  not  so  much  the 
planting. 
It  would  seem  to  me  that  there  is  reason  for  supposing  that  in 
Mr.  EdwardS-Radcliffe’s  letter  a fair  example  occurs  of  how 
even  the  smallest  demand  for  ramie  is  believed  by  many  of  those 
who  wish  to  encourage  its  increased  cultivation,  to  be  an  indication 
of  the  existence  of  an  unlimited  market  for  this  product.  It  is 
stated  by  Mr.  Edwards-Radcliffe  that  “ enormous  quantities 
of  ramie  fibre  will  be  required  for  making  incandescent  gas  man- 
tles. I may  be  mistaken,  but  I would  suggest  that  not  more  than 
one  ton  of  fibre  is  consumed  in  the  manufacture  of  100, OOO  man- 
tles. 
Sufficient  China  Grass  reaches  Europe  for  experimental  purposes. 
For  several  decades  the  Spinner  has  had  opportunities  for  thorough- 
ly testing  the  possibilities  of  the  fibre.  Although  we  are  the  only 
people  who  have  shipped  ramie  in  bulk  from  the  Federated  Malay 
States,  trial  shipments  have  been  made  from  many  other  parts  of 
the  Empire  with  apparently  similar  results.  Sir  GeORGE  Watts, 
Adviser  on  Economic  Products  to  the  Government  of  India,  pub- 
lished a whole  volume  concerning  similar  failures.  We  are  told 
that  spinners  are  eagerly  demanding  our  produce  but  when  we 
have, any  produce  to  sell  we  find  that  there  are  only  a few  small 
ramie  factories  in  the  United  Kingdom  and  those  to" which  I have 
gone  are  only  willing  to  buy  fibre  produced  by  a decorticating  pro- 
