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various experiments carried out during the year 1864 by the Rouen 

 Chamber of Commerce. In the present state of the cotton trade it is 

 not very likely that ramie will ever be used for such a purpose, as. 

 apart from considerations of price, cottonised ramie hardly permits ad- 

 vantage to be taken of the peculiar and prominent qualities of the 

 fibre, — its length, strength, smoothness, and lustre. Nevertheless, the 

 Rouen experiments are interesting, as throwing some light on its 

 manufacturing qualities. Under Messrs. Bertel and Cordier, of Rouen, 

 the cottonised ramie was spun, and the yarn woven into different 

 fabrics, and dyed and printed ; in the first experiment it was mixed 

 with an equal weight of Egyptian cotton, and in the second and larger 

 one (on 220 lbs of cottonised ramie) with an equal proportion of In- 

 dian cotton. The fabrics, as compared with those of pure cotton, are 

 reported to have gained in strength, and to have acquired a certain 

 amount of gloss, rendering them more similar to linen fabrics. Neither 

 the spinning nor the dyeing gave rise to any difficulties. The mixed 

 fabrics are reported to have dyed as well as those of Egyptian or Ame- 

 rican cotton, and better than fabrics of Indian cotton. Only with a 

 few colours was it necessary to modify the mordant or the strength of 

 the dyeing bath, in order to obtain the same shade of colour as with 

 unmixed cotton. 



Ramie icith Wool. — The application of ramie which has hitherto at- 

 tracted most attention, and which for a time achieved the greatest 

 share of success, is its use as a substitute for long-stapled wools. Both 

 the nature of the fibre and the higher prices of the materials for which 

 it acted as a substitute, have hitherto favoured experiments in this di- 

 rection. The hairy nature of the fibre has been noticed. The cells of 

 which the fibre consists are from three to eighteen inches long. Under 

 chemical treatment, these cells are separated from each other, and the 

 long fibre falls naturally into lengths of from four to nine inches, and 

 in that state bears a striking similarity, when not too closely viewed, 

 to some long-stapled hairs and wools. Combing produces long fibre 

 and tow, or noils, in about equal proportions. The average yield from 

 rough China grass may be taken as one-third combed fibre, one- 

 third noils, and one-third loss by chemical treatment, dust, &c. But 

 good qualities of China grass yield about 40 per cent., and sometimes 

 even 44 per cent, of combed fibre. 



The prepared ramie, or China grass, cut up into suitable lengths, 

 has, in fact, been found capable of being spun on worsted machinery, 

 and then used, like mohair or other long-stapled wools, for the manu- 

 facture of certain kinds of fabrics which depend for their effect on the 

 gloss of the material. These fabrics were made, as a rule, with cotton 

 warps, ramie yarn of comparatively- little twist being used as weft. 

 The use was mainly for ladies' dresses and at first it seemed as if the 

 success was complete. But after a certain time the inferiority of the 

 new fabrics for ladies' dresses became manifest. Although everything 

 that could be desired as regarded appearance and finish, there was the 

 fatal objection that in wear they became easily creased, as the vege- 

 table ramie fibre is wanting in the great elasticity possessed by wool. 

 In view of such an inferiority, the prices then ruling for ramie made 

 its use for this purpose no longer remunerative. The new trade col- 

 lapsed as rapidly as it had sprung up, and since 1872 the matter is again 



