January i, 1890.] THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. 
THE FIBRE INDUSTRY. 
EAMIE OK EHEA. 
(Boehmeria nivea, Hk. & Arn. Boehneria nivea, 
var. tenacissima, Gaud.) 
Headers of the Kew Bulletin will have Doticed that 
Considerable atte tion has been devoted in its pages 
o the subject of the present note. The previous 
history of Ramie or Rhea, and of the various efforts 
that have been made in recent years to render its 
valuable fibre available for commercial enterprise, have 
been already fully summarised (Kev> Bulletin, 1888, pp. 
145-149; pp. 273-280; and pp. 297-298). During the pre_ 
sent year interest in Ramie appears to have become more 
and more general, and judging by the correspondence 
addressed to this establishment the subject is followed 
with keen interest at home as well as in India and 
the Colonies. 
In connexion with the Paris Exposition Universelle, 
1889, a special series of trials was held of maohines 
and processes for decorticating Ramie (Exposition 
Universelle: Essais speciaux de machines et appareils 
pour a decortication de la Ramie), and at the request 
of the India Office, and in continuation of similar 
action taken last year, Mr. D. Morris, f.l.s., the 
Assistant Director, was appointed to represent this 
country and to prepare a report of the results. This 
report, with the permission of the Secretary of State 
for India, is reproduced below : — 
Royal Gardens, Kew, October 26, 1889. 
A series of interesting trials of machines and pro- 
cesses designed for the decortication of Ramie was 
held by the French Minister of Agriculture at Paris 
in 1888, and a report on the subject, which I had the 
honour to prepare for the information of the Secret- 
ary of State for India in Council, was published 
in the Kew Bulletin, 1888, pp. 273-280. 
These trials were resumed this year as an integral 
part of the Concours speciaux des instruments agricoles 
of the Exposition Universelle, and opened on the 23rd 
September last. The jury consisted for the most part 
of the members of the Commission of 1888. The 
attendance of foreign representatives was considerably 
larger than in 1888, and the greatest interest was 
manifested in the proceedings by a large concourse 
of visitors. 
The machines and processes this year were confined 
to those which had been shown as a regular part of 
the general exhibition. As will be seen later, all the 
competitors were French, and this in spite of the fact 
that more than a dozen machines and processes have 
lately been designed in this country, which are now 
in course of being carefully tested. 
In my previous report it was pointed out that 
amongst the French there was attached an importance 
beyond tite r value to machines for cleaning Ramie 
in the dry st»te. I ventured to express the opinion 
(p. 278), that as regards India and our own Colonies 
it was essential that Ramie machines and processes 
ehould be competent to deal successfully with the 
green stems and not the dry; and that until this end was 
gained Ramie fibre would, I feared, continue to remain 
unavailable for commercial enterprise. At the recent 
trials this was all changed. It was a noticeable 
feature throughout the proceedings this year that no 
importance whatever was attached to the decortication 
of dry Ramie stems. The trials were entirely con- 
fined to results obtainable with green stems, and in 
order to o ake them still more applicable to field 
operations some of the stems were supplied freshly 
cut with leaves and some without leaves. 
The following six machines and one process were 
submitted to the jury: — 
1. E. Airoand — Paul Barbier, 40, Boulevard Richard- 
Lenoir, Paris. 
2. P. A. Favier — Soci6t<5 la Ramie Franchise — 14, Rue 
Saint-Fiacre, Paris [for treatment of dry Kamie stems]. 
3. P. A. Favier — Socioto la ] ' i nie Franchise — 14, 
Rue Saint-Fiacre, Paris [for treatment of green 
Ramie stems]. 
64 
4. Norbert de Laudtsheer 3 2, Place des Batignolles, 
Paris [large machine]. 
5. Norbert de Landtsheer, 2, Place des Batignolles, 
Paris [small machine]. 
6. Felicien Michotte, 43, Rue de Saintonge, Paris. 
7. Oh. Crozat de Fleury et A. Morioeau, Villiers- 
le-Bel, Seine-et-Oise [process for the treatment of 
green Ramie stems in the field], 
Babbier Machine. 
The machine of M. E. Armaud, constructed by 
Barbier, and more generally known as the Barbier 
machine, was in every respect the same as that tried 
in 1888, and described in my previous report. It is 
constructed to be worked by hand or by steam power. 
It weighs 625 kilos , and the price is 48Z. The con= 
struction of the machine is comparatively simple, and 
consists of a number of cylinders and beaters with 
a reverse action attached. This latter allows the 
stalks to be withdrawn when about five-seventha 
cleaned, and of the other ends being put in to com- 
plete the operation. The disadvantage of this method, 
as regards time and output of ribbons, is more fully 
discussed under the De Landtsheer (small) machine. 
During the trials this machine caused a considerable 
loss of fibre, carried away with the pith and wood. 
In the first trials 10 kilos, of green stems without 
leaves were passed through the machine in six minutes. 
The result was 1'300 kilos, of wet ribbons of fair 
quality. This would be at the rate of 130 kilos of wet 
ribbons per day of 10 hours; or of 96 pounds (avoir.) 
of dry ribbons for the same period. 
In the second trials 24 kilos, of stems with leaves were 
put through the machine in 10J minutes. The result 
was 1'200 kilos, of wet ribbons of moderate quality. 
This would be at the rate of 68'500 kilos, of wet 
ribbons per day of 10 hours; or of 50 pounds (avoir.) 
of dry ribbons for the same period. 
Taking into consideration the cost of this machine 
and the power necessary to drive it, the outturn of 
ribbons is much too small to prove remunerative, and 
the machine in its present form is useless. Better 
results than these have been obtained by decorticating 
Ramie by hand. 
Favier Machine. 
Two machines were shown by M. P. A. Favier 
whose name is well known in connexion with the 
Ramie industry. Machine No. 1 was designed for the 
decortication of green Ramie stems, while Machine 
No. 3 was designed for the treatment of dry stems. 
In this report the remarks apply only to Machine 
No. 1. This machine was 2 m. long, 80 cm. broad, 
and weighed 800 kilos. The price was not stated. It 
required three-quarter horse power to drive it, and 
two persons to feed and receive the ribbons. The 
machine is adapted to be worked by four persons, but 
at the trials, owing to want of space, it was worked 
with only two persons. M. Favier stated that it was 
designed to produce ribbons entirely free from wood 
and pith, ready to be converted by a chemical process, 
also by the same inventor, into the finest filasse ready 
for weaving. In outward appearance the machine was 
a long narrow iron box furnished with numerous small 
cylindrical crushers and beaters. These were entirely 
covered by a number of movable iron sheets, which 
both pro'ected the intricate system of cylinders and 
prevented the escape of dust and debris. The feeding 
apparatus consisted of a long narrow trough, in which 
the stems were arranged in lots of four to six and 
fed to the machine at two apertures leading to the 
rollers. The first pair of rollers was furnished with 
fine corrugations to grasp the stems and pass them 
on to a somewhat complicated system of crushers 
and beaters. The ribbons passed continuously through 
the machine, and were ultimately delivered into the 
hands of°a workman at the other and perfectly free 
from Wi od and pith. In the first series of trials 10 
kilos, of green stems without leaves were passed 
through the machine in 4^ minutes. Ouce or twice 
some of the ribbons were caught in the rollers and 
the machine had to be stopped. The time occupied 
in these stoppages was not counted. The wet ribbons 
yielded by 10 kilos, of stems weighed 2-820 kilos. 
