110 



RAMIE. 



The Committee appointed by the Jamaica Agricultural Society to 

 report upon the McDonald-Boyle machine and process for treating ramie 

 stems presented the following report on the 17th July : — 



Gentlemen. — At your last meeting you appointed a committee, con- 

 sisting of Mr. T. H. Sharp and the Director of Public Gardens to wit- 

 ness a trial of the McDonald-Boyle machine and process for treating 

 ramie stems. We attended a trial on 17th June, which lasted from 11 30 

 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. 



Mr. Bernstein, the representative of the McDonald-Boyle Company 

 was present and gave us the fullest information and every assistance in 

 our task. 



The machine is of very simple construction, consisting essentially of 

 a revolving drum, armed outwards with transverse flanges, which strike 

 the ramie stems against the lip of the feeding plate. A boy feeds three 

 or four stems into the machine to about two-thirds of their length, and 

 then reverses. The back action is required to finish the cleaning. 



The power required to drive the machine is not great, and the inven- 

 tors state that a six-horse power engine is all that is necessary for 40 of 

 these machines. It worked as well with diy stalks as with green, and 

 even when the stalks of different lengths and sizes were put through, 

 the work Avas perfectly performed, though more slowly. There was no 

 ■wood left on the ribbons, there was no fibre wasted, and the epidermis 

 was so broken that it was completely cleaned off in the degumming 

 process. 



One boy fed the machine from a table where the ramie stems were 

 placed and hung the ribbons on a rail on the other side. The fibre came 

 out untangled and unbruised. 



The following were the tests made: (1) 38|lbs. of stems. These 

 were ripe stalks which had been cut between 3 and 5 p.m. by Mr. 

 Moxsy, near Chapelton, on the 15th inst., so that they were dry. 

 The bundle was said to have weighed 501bs. when freshly cut. The 

 stems were run through in 22 minutes and the wet ribbons weighed 

 8Jlbe. 15 ozs. of the wet ribbo- s were then taken and submitted to 

 the degumming process. They were boiled in a chemical solution 

 for an hour and a quarter, and for the next half hour were passed 

 successfully through three baths of different chemicals, yielding 4£ 

 ozs. of wet filasse. It was in a condition ready for combing and spin- 

 ning and there was no loss in lustre or strength. 



(2.) 41bs. of mixed stems were put through the machine, 21bs. being 

 six weeks old, and 21bs. 3 months old. They were supplied from 

 Hope Gardens, and passed through in 2 minutes 50 seconds. The 

 object of this test was to see how the machine would act if stems 

 of different lengths and various ages were used mixed together. The 

 work done was satisfactory, but it was evident that the best work 

 is obtained if stems of the same age and thickness are used at the 

 same time, especially as the machine c;m be adjusted to suit vari- 

 ous thicknesses. Such adjustment would rarely in practice have to 

 be made, and when necessary can quickly and easily be effected. 



