151 



the Fibre in Jamaica. This sample is marked Patterson's Fibre because 

 it comes from the east and has been imported by a firm called Patterson 

 & Co. It does not require an expert to see the difference between these 

 two Fibres, and yet it ought to cost just as little money and as little 

 trouble to produce the fine one as it has cost Mr. Moxsy to produce the 

 tangled mass that he has sent home. 



We will be pleased to supply you with further information as *soon 

 as we can. 



We remain, 



Yours faithfully. 



Dunlop Brothers & Co. 



RAMIE IN THE UNITED STATES. 



In the Bulletin for March and April, 1894, information was published 

 on Ramie. During the past year a valuable Report was published on 

 this subject by Mr. C. R. Dodge, the Special Agent in charge of Fibre 

 Investigation for the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The following 

 extracts from this Report enlarge on parts of the notes in the Bulletin, 

 and will be useful to those who are about to experiment in the cultiva- 

 tion in Jamaica : — 



SOIL AND CLIMATE. 



In general terms it may be said that the ramie plant requires a hot, 

 moist climate, with no extremes of temperature, and a naturally rich, 

 damp, but never a wet, soil, the necessary moisture to be supplied by 

 frequent rains or by irrigation ; in other words, such a climate and soil 

 that when the growing season has commenced, the growth will be rapid 

 and continuous. In the United States the best localities, so far as ex- 

 periment has determined, are portions of Florida, Mississippi, Loui- 

 siana, and Texas, on the Gulf, and central California, on the Pacific 

 Coast. The other Gulf States, doubtless, will prove equally favorable 

 to this culture when more extensive experiments have been undertaken 

 than are now recorded. Regarding the northern limit of commercial 

 culture it is difficult to make positive statements, The plant thrives in 

 South Carolina, and it is fair to suppose that two annual crops are pos- 

 sible, though the quality and yield of the fibre can only be ascertained 

 to a certainty by careful tests of the product of both crops. 



In the Gulf States Ramie has been grown experimentally in a great 

 variety of soils, from the light sandy uplands to the rich black lands of 

 the Louisiana bottoms, though light, sandy, alluvial soils have always 

 given the best results. In California deep alluvial, sandy or loamy 

 lands which, when well prepared, will hold their moisture through the 

 growing season, or that can be irrigated, are most commonly selected. 

 Any good soil that will produce other crops is recommended, particu- 

 larly if well prepared, or that holds its moisture through the growing 

 season, or which can be irrigated. . . . 



ENRICHING THE SOIL. 



In all countries where Ramie has been grown commercially or experi- 

 mentally the necessity for heavily enriching the soil by the application 

 of the farm manures or chemical fertilizers is emphasized, for successful 

 ramie culture is an impossibility on impoverished land. . . . 



In Mr. Favier's admirable treatise on Ramie, a great deal is said upon 



