August i, i88i.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
169 
aggregate the leaves together. These leaves are then 
forced down into many wooden forms by means of 
a crow-bar and press attached to each form, or to 
which each full form is submitted. After a little 
while the brick is taken out of the form and allowed 
to dry under eome shelter. The same process con- 
tinues as long as there are leaves or prunings to be 
When perfectly dried, each brick of tea is entirely 
wrapped into doublo or treble sheots of oiled paper. 
At last these bricks are packed four by four, iuto 
mats of split bamboos. They are ready for exporta- 
tion to the market of Ta-tsieu-loo. * * * 
RHEA FIBRE : 
Prizes for the best machine or process fok the 
preparation ok the rliea fibre. 
(Prom the Indian Daily News.) 
Extract from the Proceed. ngs of tho Government of 
India, Fort William, the 19th March, 1881 :— 
Read papers on the subject of tho renewal of the offer 
of a prize for the best machine or j>roccss for the pre- 
paration of the fibre of the Bhomeria nivea, popularly 
known under the names ol llhea, Ramie, and China 
grass. 
Observations.— With a view to the development 
of regular industry in the fibre of the rhea plant, 
the Government of India offered in 1870-71 a prize 
of £5,000 to the inventor of the best machine or 
process for its preparation. It was believed, from the 
information before the Government of India at the 
time, that the only real obstacle to tho utilization 
of this staple was the want of suitable machinery 
for the preparation of the fibre. Only one machine was, 
however, presented for trial ; and as it was found to 
lie imperfect in some important respects after having 
been carefully tested in the autumn of 1872, the 
Government decided that the inventor should not be 
adjudged the full reward. 
2. As the need for a good machine appeared still 
to exist, and no inventor had in the meantime come 
forward, the Government of India decided in 1S77 
to renew the offer of a prize. Accordingly, Notifica- 
tion No. 45 of the 31st August of that year was issued 
and widely published i.i India, Europe, and America. 
Briefly, its terms were that a reward of R50.000 
would be given to the inventor of the best machine 
or proce-s which would separate the bark and iibre 
from the stem, and the fibre from the bark of the 
Bohmeria nivea, and a reward of R10.000 to the 
inventor of the next best machine or process, provided 
it was adjudged to possess merit, and to be capable 
of adaptation to pradical uses without difficulty. 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 mark- 
et, at a total cost, including all processes of pre- 
paration and all needful allowance for wear and tear, 
of not more that £15 per ton laid down at any port 
of shipment in India, and £30 in England after pay- 
mint id' all the charges u-ual in trade before goods 
reacli the hands of tho manufacturer. " Tho machinery 
was to be simple, strong, durable, and inexpensive, 
and suited for erection in plantations where rhea was 
grown. Tho competition was to take place at Saba- 
ranpur, and tho Government was to provide shelter 
and accommodation for iho competing machines, as 
well a* the motive power required. The Government 
was alio to pay for tho transport of all machines 
from the sua const to Saharanpur up to a limit of 
ono ton for each machine, and to allow a free second 
class ticket by rail to that station to any person in 
charge of a machine. 
43 
3. The trials were fixed to commence on the 15th 
September, 1879, and the following Committee of 
Judges was eventually appointed to conduct 1 hem : — 
President. — E. C. Buck, Esq., C. S., Director, Depart- 
ment of Agriculture and Commerce, North Western 
Provinces, and Oudh. 
Members.— W. Duff Bruce, Esq., C. E., Vice-Chair- 
man of the Port Commissioners, Calcutta ; Angus 
Campbell, Esq., Superintendent of the Canal Foundry 
and Workship, Roorkce ; and Dr. Murray Thomson, 
Chemical Examiner to Government, North- Western 
Provinces. 
4. Twenty-four applications for permission to com- 
pete were received ; but only ten competitors ultim- 
ately arrived at Saharanpur, and of these three 
withdrew from the competition. The trials were held 
in September and October, 1879. The following is 
a list of competitors and a brief account of their 
machines : — 
I. — Mr. J. P. Vander Ploeg. — His appliances con- 
sisted of a crushing machine and scutching machine. 
He cleaned the fibre finally by boiling it in a pre- 
pared liquor. 
II. — Mons. J. Nagoua. — His uppliances consisted of 
a combined crushing and scutching machine, the same 
machine being adaptable for both operations. 
III. — Dr. R. H. Collyer.— He departed much from 
his original specification. He ended by boiling the 
stems first in water with a very little soda He then 
passed the steins through a machine which broke them 
up, and again through the same machine to clean them, 
lie produced and used also another machine worked 
by band. The smaller or baud machine cost only 
£60, but it would not be suitable for a regular factory. 
IV. — The Paris machine belongs to a French Ramie 
Fibre Company, Messrs. Laberie and Berthet, who 
have exhibited in Pari?. The machine crushed the 
stems which were kept constantly wetted. Then the 
fibre was steeped in a bleaching liquor, and an alka- 
line liquor. 
V. — Mr. J. Cameron. — He abandoned the machines 
described in his specification, and brought a hand 
implement. 
VI. — Mr. C. F. Amery. — He altered his specifica- 
tion. He broke the stems in a crushing machine, 
boiled them in an alkaline solution, and then passed 
them through the breaking machine again. 
VII. — Mr. C. E. Blechyuden. — He abandoned his 
original specification. He steamed the stems, then 
peeled them by hand, and then beat them by band 
with mallets. 
5. Then fibre turned out by each of the compet- 
ing machines was carefully packed and despached to 
the Secretary of State, with a view to its being tested 
and reported upon by experts in the trade at home. 
The reports received from the Secretary of State with 
his despatch of August 12th, 1880, concur in stating 
that the samples are far inferior to the fibre imported 
into England from China, the value of which at that 
period was £50 a ton. The samples of which the re- 
ports speak most favourably were — 
No. 28. (M. Nagoua) described by Messrs. Mark 
Dawson and Company, of Bradford, as containing "some 
good fibre, and fairly inai ketable. " This was valued 
at £26 by the brokers (Messrs. Noble and Compauy ) 
,Nos. 33, 34, and 35 (Mr. Cameron) valued by the 
brokers at £15, £18, and £18, respectively. 
Messrs. Mark Dawson and Son approved of No. 33 as 
beiug " tho best sample as far as freedom from bark 
was concerned: but the fibre was broken and tangled, 
would novcr give so large a yield in silver as No. 28, 
nor would the silver bo so long; on the whole, it is 
the most valuable sample." 
No. 34 is a "nice clean sample, similar but not equal 
to No. 33." 
The Broker* (Messrs. Noble and Company) remark 
of tho whole Beries submitted to them— "nose of 
