Fibres. 



274 



[May 190?. 



" At the outset there was considerable difficulty in procuring the necessary 

 quantity of plants to establish the plantations. Some small lots of stocks (rooted 

 plants) were certainly obtained from various localities, notably from Assam, and 

 from sundry Indian botanical gardens, but these supplies were insufficient in 

 quantity, and often of bad quality ; it therefore became necessary to establish on 

 each farm a nursery for the multiplication of rhizomes. 



" The plantations suffered much from the attacks of white ants, which rapidly 

 destroyed the young roots, and especially the cuttings. The planting of cuttings, 

 however, during the rainy season obviated to some extent this inconvenience, but 

 still the best method of reproduction is the division of the rooted plants. Portions 

 of the rhizomes may be taken from one to two-year-old plants without injuring them. 



" It was evident from the commencement that successful plantations could 

 only be established on light, porous soils : saltpetre and alkali soils are not conducive 

 to the production of Ramie. On well-cultivated lands, where noxious weeds had 

 been carefully eradicated, every root produced annually 15 to 30 stalks, about 5 feet 

 in length, whilst in a field left as an experiment without cultivation produced only 

 from two to five stems per plant ; the plot in the same field, called the ' control plot,' 

 which had been weeded and cleaned, gave 10 to 15 stems. It will thus be seen that 

 a Ramie field must be well cultivated, in spite of the increased expense, the field 

 having to be cleaned by hand labour to avoid damage to the roots and young shoots. 



" In the three-year-old well-cultivated fields, no sign of soil exhaustion has 

 yet been observed, although the upper part of the root has a tendency to become 

 woody, to the detriment of the development of new stems. To overcome this, it is 

 intended to remove the lignified portion every year, in order to rejuvenate the 

 plants. Experience alone will decide if this is a good idea. 



" Ramie is a very exhaustive crop, and, therefore, the question of manure* 

 must be carefully studied, for unmanured plants yield a very poor crop. Good 

 results were obtained by the use of indigo refuse. It is said that the refuse of 

 Ramie itself, such as the leaves, bark, and Avood, constitutes a perfect manure, 

 sufficient to restore to the soil the constituents taken out of it by the crop, But, up 

 to the present, no experiments in this direction have been possible, as no where has 

 the decortication of the stems been carried on in a systematic manner. However, 

 at Dalsing Serai, a manure consisting of decomposed Ramie refuse was applied to 

 the experimental plots with excellent results. It has not yet been determined what 

 quantity of such manure is needed. At Dalsing Serai and Mooktapore, where 

 respectively 60 and 40 acres are in full bearing, there is a sufficiency of fermented 

 material which will be utilised for manure. The leaves, separated from the stems 

 when the latter are cut, are left on the ground, and these form a good mulch for 

 the roots, at the same time supplying a manure. 



" Ramie requires a good deal of moisture to properly develop, but water must 

 not be allowed to remain too long on the ground, as the rotting of the roots would 

 probably be thus caused. This was the unfortunate experience on plantations 

 established on the low, flat country, where, last September (1905), many hundreds of 

 acres were destroyed in consequence of the heavy rains. Ramie requires at least 

 45 inches of rain per annum. Two plantations had to be abandoned in a district 

 where the annual rainfall did not exceed 35 inches. Consequently, cultivation was 

 only carried on on seven plantations, representing an aggregate area of 3,100 acres, 

 of which 1,950 acres were planted up to February, 1906. The remaining 1,150 acres 

 will, we are told, be planted during the next rainy season. 



" It is very important to cut the stems at the proper time. If they are cut 

 too soon, they yield a very fine fibre, but in small quantity ; if cut too late, the 

 decortication becomes more difficult, and the fibre is brittle. The best time to cut 



