JAMAICA. 



BULLETIN 



OF THE 



BOTANICAL DEPARTMENT. 



New Series.] MARCH & APRIL, 1894. 



RAMIE, RHEA, CHINA GRASS. 



BcEHMERIA NIVEA, Hook. & Am. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Introductory — 



Description . 33 



Varieties . 33 



Introduction into Jamaica . 34 



Cultivation — 



Climate . 34 



Soil . 34 



Preparation of Ground . 34 



Propagation and Planting . 34 



Manure . 35 



Harvesting — 



Cutting the Stems . 36 



Yield . 38 



Properties of Ramie Fibre . 38 



Page. 



Uses of Ramie Fibre — 



Ramie with Cotton . 38 



" " Wool . 39 



" « Silk . 40 

 " compared with Flax and 



Hemp . 40 



" as Paper Material . 41 

 Conclusions with regard to its 

 Future Prospects— 



Dr. Forbes Watson . 41 



Kew Bulletin . 46 

 Machinery for separation of the 



Fibre . 49 

 Report of the Jamaica Commit- 

 tee . 52 



Description. — This plant belongs to the Nettle Family (Urticacece). 

 It grows to a height of from 4 to 8 feet. The leaves are alternate, 

 toothed, 3-nerved, broadly ovate, rough above, snow-white on the un- 

 der surface in one variety, greenish in another. The flowers are 

 very small in clusters along a branched stalk, and both male and fe- 

 male flowers occur on the same plant. 



Varieties — Ramie is the Malay name for the variety native in the 

 Malay Archipelago, which is greenish on both sides of the leaf. It 

 has been cultivated in Assam for long periods, and is there known as 

 Rhea. This variety is distinguished by the name tenacissima. The 

 variety with the whitish under-side of the leaves (nivea) is a native of 

 China and has been conveniently designated the Chinese White 



