50 



England, and declared suitable for cordage only. Under these circum- 

 stances the full amount of the prize was not awarded, but in considera- 

 tion of the fact that the machine was a bona fide and meritorious attempt 

 to meet the requirements of the case, a donation of £1,500 was given to 

 the inventor. 



Meanwhile the demand for rhea fibre in Europe seemed to continue. 

 Having reconsidered the matter the Government of India, in a Resolu- 

 tion dated August, 1877, renewed the offer of rewards. The terms now 

 offered were that a reward of 50,000 rupees would be given to the inventor 

 of the best machine or process which would separate the bark and fibre 

 from the stem, and the fibre from the bark of the Boehmeria nivea, and a 

 further reward of 10,000 rupees to the inventor of the next best machine 

 or process, provided it was adjudged to possess merit, and to be capable of 

 adaptation to practical uses The machine or process required was to be 

 "capable of producing by animal, water or steam power, a ton of dressed 

 fibre of a quality which shall average in value not less than £45 per ton in 

 the English market, at a total cost, including all processes of preparation 

 and needful allowance for wear and tear, and not more than £15 per ton 

 laid down at any shipment port in India, and £30 in England after pay- 

 ment of all charges usual in trade bef ore goods reach the hands of the 

 manufacturer." The machinery was to be simple, strong, durable and in- 

 expensive, and suited for erection in plantations where rhea was grown. 



The trials were fixed to commence on the 15th September, 1879, 

 and a Committee of Judges was appointed to conduct them. Twenty- 

 four applications for permission to compete were received, but only ten 

 competitors ultimately arrived at Saharanpur, and of these, three with- 

 drew from the competition. The trials were held in September and 

 October, 1879. 



The fibre turned out by each of the competing machines was care- 

 fully packed and despatched to the Secretary of State, with a view to its 

 being tested and reported on by experts in the trade in England. The 

 reports received from the Secretary of State (August, 188U) stated that 

 the samples were far inferior to the fibre imported into England from 

 China, the value of which, at that period, was £50 a ton. As no com- 

 petitor had produced a fibre of a value even approaching the amount 

 fixed in the Resolution of August, 1877, the Committee did not recom- 

 mend the grant of either of the prizes to any of the competitors. They 

 were, however, of opinion, that some of the machines possessed sufficient 

 merit to warrant the grant of a reward to the owners, and the gentle- 

 men mentioned by them as deserving of remuneration were Messrs. 

 Nagoua, Vander Ploeg and Cameron. The fibre turned out by Mr. 

 Vander Ploeg was valued less highly than that produced by Messrs. 

 Nagoua and Cameron, but the Committee attributed this to the fact that 

 he aimed at producing the fibre in a finished state, fit for the spinner, (a 

 condition in which it was understood that the English dealer did not require 

 it), and not to the inability of his machine to yield as good fibre as those 

 of Messrs Nagoua and Cameron. The Committee remarked also that 

 there was little novelty in Mr. Cameron's process, and that it was only 

 an improvement on a method by which fibre was actually extracted from 

 various plants by the natives of India. The same method was also applied 

 in many of the Indian Jails for the extraction of aloe fibre. The process 

 was simple enough, and might be employed by the natives without spe- 



