August 1, 1903. 
The Gardening World 
GENERAL NOTICES. 
We would earnestly urge secretaries of societies to notify us as far in advance as possible as to dates of meetings, shows, etc. We desire to do all in our power to have these 
adequately represented in the columns of The Gardening World. 
We respectfully request our readers, when they write to persons or firms advertising in this paper, to mention that their advertisement was seen in The Gardening World, 
They will thereby not only oblige this paper, but the advertisers. 
MOTTO FOR THE WEEK: 
“I know a bank whereon the wild Thyme blows, where Oxlips and the nodding Violet grows.”— Shakespeare. 
Weekly Prize 
FOR 
Short Articles. 
The Proprietors of Thu Gardening World 
will give a cash prize of Ten Shillings for 
THE BEST PARAGRAPH, Or SHORT ARTICLE, sent 
by readers during the week. The Editor’s 
judgment must be considered final, and he will 
be at liberty to use any of the contributions 
sent in. The paragraph, or article, must not 
EXCEED ONE COLUMN IN LENGTH, but the Value, 
rather than the length, of the article will be 
considered in making the award. Competitors 
may send in item? of news or comments on 
news; hints of practical interest to gar¬ 
deners or growers of plants, fruits, or flowers; 
successful methods of propagating plants 
usually considered difficult; or contributions 
ON ANT SUBJECT COMING WITHIN THE SPHERE 
of oardening proper. Letters should be 
addressed to The Editor, marked “ Competi¬ 
tion,” and posted not later than Friday night 
to ensure insertion in the issue of next week. 
The following Coloured 
Plates have appeared 
March 14.— NEW CHINESE PRIMULAS. 
March28 —TEA ROSE “ CHAMELEON.” 
April 4 — COLEUS THYRSOIDEUS. 
April 18 —CESTRUM SMITHII. 
April 25 — JAPANESE PIGMY TREE. 
May 23.—Coloured Plate of SAXIFRAGA 
GRISEBACHII and A GROUP OF ALO 
CASIAS. 
May 30.—Coloured Plate of DENDROBIUM 
NOBILE ROTUNDIFLORUM and D.n. 
NOBILIUS. 
June 6.—Monochrome plate of CALADIUMS. 
June 20.—Monochrome Plate of ZENOBIA 
SPECIOSA PULVERULENTA. 
July 4.—Coloured Plate of APHELANDRA 
aurantiaca roezlii. 
July 11. — Monochrome Plate of the 
AUSTRALIAN PITCHER PLANT. 
Rack numbers may be obtained from the 
publishers, price 2^d. post free. 
With the PRESENT ISSUE we pres 
a Coloured Plate of BORONIA HETEI 
riiYLLA. 
NEXT MEEK we shall give a Half-tone 
CAMPANULA PERSICIFOLIA 
moerheimi. 
Views and Reviews. 
A Substitute for Cotton. 
We have been favoured with a copy of a 
letter sent to the Agricultural Department of 
cur Colonies. Although our readers: are not 
directly concerned with the culture of Cotton, 
or its substitutes, yet some of them do grow 
Cotton, plants by way of experiment or for 
demonstrating what the different forms are 
like. A few also cultivate the Rhea fibre 
plant, particularly in the economic depart¬ 
ment of botanical gardens. Those who take 
charge of foreign botanical gardens and 
stations would no doubt cultivate the plant 
largely ; at least, in tropical countries. Mr. D. 
Edwards-Radelyft'e thinks that our colonies 
should take up the cultivation of Ramie for 
the ‘production of fibre as a substitute for 
cotton, so that we might be thereby inde¬ 
pendent of America for this product, where 
they are said to be cornering the cotton 
trade. Cultivators in several of our warmer 
colonies could very well take up the culture 
of this plant, either on their own account., or 
with State support. We think it certainly 
an excellent opportunity for capitalists to 
undertake what should be a highly profitable 
industry. 
The plant is no new discovery, for Boeli- 
meria nivea has long been cultivated by the 
Chinese, and is known as China Grass. It is 
a native of various parts of Tropical Asia., 
including China, Assam, and some of the 
islands lying to the south of that portion of 
the Asiatic continent. Rami or Ramie is the 
name given [to that variety of the plant 
named B. n. tenacissima. The China Grass 
has been found to be identical with the Rheea 
of Assam, under which name the writer of 
the letter speaks of it, spelling it Rhea. The 
Chinese get. three crops of this annually, the 
second being the best, because it fumishesi 
veiy fine fibre, from which fabrics can be 
made rivalling the very best French cambric. 
Experiments have proved that this fibre has 
double the tenacity of Russian Hemp, and 
possibly the fibres experimented with would 
be obtained from the variety named B. n. 
tenacissima, technically known as Rami. 
Those who have made experiments upon 
this find that the fibre varies in quality 
according to the rapidity or vigour with 
which the stems are grown. Thus shoots 
which are produced during the early part, of 
the season, when the temperature is not veiy 
high, are somewhat coarser, hut, could be 
utilised for the production of canvas, sails, 
ropes, and other things of that character. 
Succeeding crops from the same plants grow 
more rapidly and produce finer fibre, which 
is obtained from the inner bark of the stems. 
The writer suggests that the Government 
should provide seeds or plants, set up de>- 
cortication or degumming stations, or, what 
is even, better, they might encourage 
capitalists to form syndicates by giving a 
bonus on the amount produced. These 
stations, he thinks, would he highly profit¬ 
able', because the fibre could be extracted in 
the form of fillase, which would be easily 
packed and carried by contrast with the 
stems as a whole. With proper machinery 
the waste products could also be made useful, 
including the gum, the fibre of the leaves, 
and small shoots, which could be made into 
paper pulp, as it commands a- high price, 
and forms high quality paper. If the manu¬ 
facturers were to prepare the fibre in the 
colonies, it could be sent over here and used. 
The writer mentions some of the possi¬ 
bilities of the fibre, which he calls the textile 
of the future. Some of these possibilities 
are that it is much stronger than cotton, 
flax, hemp, etc., has a longer staples is easily 
grown in any zone where agriculture is pos¬ 
sible; the fibre is of a lustrous appearance, 
resembling silk, does not readily rot, is non- 
elastic, SO' that it can be used in hundreds 
of cases where articles have to he frequently 
iu water. It may also be used as a substi¬ 
tute for cotton, wool, .flax, hemp, jute, and 
even silk, in articles of commerce, and may 
be used in 'a great variety of ways for 
domestic purposes. The writer also describes 
it as an ideal hygienic clothing. 
We have not mentioned a, tithe even of the 
use® to which it can be put, but as Rami 
is no new industry, and has long been proved 
to be a valuable textile, we are surprised 
that it has not been long ago taken in hand 
