THE 



TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 



AND 



MAGAZINE OF THE 



CEYLON AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Vol. XXVIII. COLOMBO, MARCH 15th, 1907. No. 3. 



Rhea or Ramie. 



Once again the periodic boom in this fibre is upon us, and enquiries are 

 coming in about it. The position may be summed up briefly thus. The actual 

 fibre of the Rhea, Ramie, or China grass plant is about the best, longest, and 

 strongest fibre known, and could it be easily and cheaply produced, would of 

 necessity supersede cotton in many fabrics. Unfortunately, there is a kind of gum 

 in the stem which is very difficult to get rid of, and which much enhances the cost 

 of preparation. The result is, of course, that people buy the cheaper articles of 

 cotton or mercerised cotton, though they may know well enough that the rhea 

 goods will last so much longer that they will more than repay the extra cost. 



In the second place the plant, though it grows freely in Ceylon or Malaya 

 needs a great deal of manure it it is to continue to grow tall and not become short 

 and almost useless. This adds a gcod deal to the cost of growing it. Again, the 

 mills for spinning it are few and far between and too poor to give really remuner- 

 ative prices, and take large quantities, while the planter will not grow the fibre 

 unless he can see a good market. 



In actual fact all who have tried ramie in the tropics so far have lost 

 money over it. It is one of the most difficult things to do, to introduce a new 

 fibre. No one will buy it on the market unless it is as good and cheap as 

 one of the already existing standard fibres and unless it can be put there in 

 guaranteed large quantities regularly ; while no one will grow it unless 

 he can easily dispose of it in small quantities at a remunerative figure. 



The price recently offered by the ramie mills and largely advertised as 

 being a wonderful price, calculated to make the planter rich beyond the dreams 

 of avarice, was about £5 a ton below the price at which it begins to be remun- 

 erative, and at that price anyone growing the fibre would lose money. 



