508 
using the Imperial Institute and Colonial Office for advertising 
purposes. 
This production of “China Grass” by the Faure process as re- 
commended by Messrs : JULES Karples & Co., is quite another 
matter “ China Grass ” has an established market, though a very 
small one and M. Faure makes no rash promises concerning it. I 
purchased a Faure machine on the English Agents published as- 
surance that “under ordinary circumstances a production varying 
from 100 to 200 lbs. of dry fibre in ten hours per machine my be 
expected l} I' never succeeded in getting more than 4 lbs. per hour 
from my machine but then, I only obtained 2 \ per cent, of fibre 
against the weight of green stems, whereas the agent expected 
about 5 per cent. When I visited the inventor at Limoges, he told 
me that his average was 3 per cent., and that his English agent had 
also overestimated the capacity of the machine. He confirmed 
these statements in writing. Both M. FAURE and his agent advised 
me to visit Mr. BlUNTSCHLI, who was working a number of Faure 
machines in Sumatra I took their advice, but when I arrived at 
Siak I found that Mr. BLUNTSCHLf was getting no better results 
than I was, either in the percentage of fibre or in the gross weight 
of stems treated. The best offer received for my fibre was £17 per 
ton which would, nearly all be absorbed by factory expenses and 
freight. Mr. CURTIS observes that 4 square yards at Kew yield 
100 stems. I have obtained this number from one plant in a single 
cutting and I can get six cuttings per annum ; but the more I 
obtained, the poorer I should be, with the price at ^17 for 2\ per 
cent, of the gross weight treated. Of Black Ramie (ribbons) I can 
get from 5 to 7 per cent, with my Eke machine. This I could sell 
profitably at £17 per ton in Europe but no one seems to want it 
regularly and the last three bales I sent were left at the Liverpool 
Refuse ‘Destructor, to save storage ! 
To return to the Faure machine I improved in quality with ex- 
perience and 1 daresay that I could get a higher quotation now ; 
but to what end? The Chinese supply the demand and if I ex- 
tended my cultivation up to a thousand acres I should spoil their 
market without benefit to myself. 
What are the probabilities of the market’s expansion with an in- 
creased supply. 
The Kew Bulletin, which Mr. CURTIS quotes, says that ;filasse 
must be produced at qd. per pound. Sir WILLIAM Thiselton 
Dyer, the Director, has since repeated this to me, personally, and 
I have often heard this figure quoted amongst the directors of the 
more or less amateur companies which at present play at spinning 
ramie. 
These good folks, usually doctors, lawyers and poverty stricken 
peers show all sorts of beautiful samples of fancy goods, and at the 
same time blandly talk about getting their raw material at half the 
average price of Long Island Cotton. Many a time have I been 
shewn a piece of table linen and been called upon to observe its 
vast superiority to the rubbishy produce of the flax spinner as used 
in my own home. 
