36 



The ash consists of — 

 Potash 

 Soda 

 Lime 

 Magnesia 

 Peroxide of iron 

 Chloride of sodium 

 Phosphoric acid 

 Sulphuric acid 

 Carbonic acid 

 Silicic acid (with a little 

 charcoal and sand) 



" It will be noticed that the alkalies contribute almost one-half, and 

 the phosphoric acid about one-tenth of the ash. If the weight of dry- 

 stems obtained at one crop be taken at only 1,000 lbs. per acre, this 

 gives, with three crops in the year, a yield of about 3,0001bs of dry stems 

 per acre per annum. The quantity of ash in that quantity will amount, 

 according to the foregoing analysis, to 124 lbs., and the quantity of 

 alkalies subtracted from one acre in the course of the year will be about 

 60 lbs., and of phosphoric acid about 12 lbs. In England, a crop of 

 wheat is usually assumed to subtract from the soil about 30 lbs. of al- 

 kalies, and 28 lbs. of phosphoric acid ; and a crop of flax, about 50 lbs. 

 of alkalies, and 24 lbs. of phosphoric acid. In comparison with these 

 numbers, it seems that ramie requires a very large amount of alkalies, 

 especially of potash, more than either flax or wheat, whilst the quantity 

 of phosphoric acid is only one-half of that contained in a crop of flax, 

 owing to the large quantities of phosphoric acid contained in the linseed. 



" The large quantity of mineral matters contained in the ramie stems 

 explains the importance attached by the Chinese to the careful manur- 

 ing of the plant. This is a point which ought not to be neglected ; and 

 even if it should be difficult to provide sufficient quantities of manure, 

 the dry sticks, after the separation of the fibre, and all the refuse dur- 

 ing its preparation, should be carefully collected, burnt, and the ashes 

 returned to the soil. If this is systematically done, there need be no 

 fear that ramie as a crop should prove very exhaustive to the soil, as 

 the proportion of valuable mineral constituents taken away in the fibre 

 itself is quite small/' {Forbes Watson.) 



Harvesting. 



Catting the Stems. — The stems should be cut before they turn brown, 

 and before they flower. Dr. Forbes Watson states in a lecture before 

 the Society of Arts : — 



" One of my objects, in the experiments which I carried out in Paris, 

 was to determine, as far as I could, the height to which the plants 

 should be grown in order to give the largest yield of fibre. Some people 

 say that the plant should be grown to the height of 6 feet ; some say 

 they should not be more than 3 feet ; but the results of my experi- 

 ments, point to the fact that 3j to 4 feet is about the right height to 

 grow them. If the length is not more than 2 feet, the fibre is very 

 fine, but the chances are you get more waste, and not such a good per- 



32*37 per cent. ) 48*76 per cent. 



J of alkalies. 



16*39 

 8*40 

 5*39 



9*13 

 9*61 

 3*11 

 8*90 



6*60 



99*90 



