79 



No. 4. It would not pay to handle. 



No. 5. I should like to see a large sample. The fibre seems very 

 •much weakened. 



Now as to machine the description will give full particulars. If yoa 

 are going in for the treatment of Ramie my advice is to take the pro- 

 cess up to filasse. 



1st, ribbons are not likely to command much of a price, £12. £15 

 now obtained cannot possibly be maintained as the decorticator will 

 produce a much superior article more resembling China Grass of Chinese, 

 this fetches £23 and is cheaper than Ramie at £15, as the results are 

 so much better. Filasse would fetch a higher price than China Grass. 

 The samples enclosed in your letter are too small to test but they ap- 

 pear to be very rotten. 



The causes regulating price of China Grass so much in advance of 

 Rhea Ribbons are several, 1st the Chinese Grass is well cultivated, is of 

 superior variety and being treated in a green state is so much easier to 

 treat, with less waste, and produces a much superior fibre. I send you 

 seed of Urtica nivea and tenacissima. Take care in sowing as seed may 

 not germinate freely : treat part to gentle forcing. 



Now as to starting an Industry in Ramie Cultivation, why not obtain 

 a monopoly and treat with us for sole right for Jamaica. If you are 

 able to influence capital, why not form a syndicate. If you think it 

 would lead to business, I would run over to Jamaica and I think we 

 could arrange terms acceptable to both sides. 



Awaiting your reply, 



Yours faithfully, 



D. Edwards Radclyffe. 



Description of Decorticator for Ramie. 



Hitherto planters have found it difficult to compete with the Chinese 

 in producing Rhea Ribbons ani China Grass, the price of labour lias 

 hitherto proved a stumbling block to profitable cultivation. The 

 Chinese method is to strip the stems by hand, and with a ring of 

 bamboo on the finger they clean the strips of bark so effectively that it 

 at the same time removes the greater portion of the gum. Our ma- 

 chine is designed to imitate this operation and so enable the planter 

 to put Rhea Ribbons on the market at a price considerably lower than the 

 Chinese, even at their low priced labour. One machine would turn out 

 as much as fifty men could do by hand labour. The machine, as will be 

 seen in the illustration, is portable, and can be worked by water, steam, 

 horse or bullock power. A great advantage is that it can be used on 

 the field. It requires no skilled labour, a couple of boys can run it. 

 It simply requires feeding, the stems are passed into the machine and 

 returned as fibre, requiring only to be taken off and deposited on the 

 drying racks. When properly dried there only remains to bale it up 

 and ship it. We are prepared to negotiate with planters for regular 

 supply or to act as agents for the sale of Ramie (Rhea) ribbons here. 

 Price of Machine, packed and delivered f.o.b., £100. 



Planters who have means to put up an apparatus for treating the 

 ribbons in a green state, which is a great advantage, as the gum is 

 more easily eliminated before it has had time to dry, will find it 



