The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1875-07-31

n - - S~1z -
plant, producing q very long stable fibre. Ii is
cut like sugar cane. or an ordinary moving ma
chine NAV he used, care being taken to cut the
stalks close 10 the ground
The plant has no enemies 10 retard It's growth
rust. blight, drouth. worms, auimals-n0thing
retsrds its progress when once rooted. IL l.
acknowledged a more profitable crop than cotton.
1t takes colors readily and perfectly and always
wears a silky lustre.
Mr.. L. W. Wright, of Brooklyn, New York,
says in a letter to Mr.. LaFranc
al In regard to the cost Of preparing the FIBRE
IN staple Of suitable lengths for spinning upon
cotton, fine wool, worsted and flax machinery,
L can safely say, as the result Of my own expert
ence, that twenty-five cents per pound, land forty
cents per pound. including cost of raw material
and waste,) would be very near the cost-cer-
tainly not more-and would sell, when so pre-
pared, for one dollar per pound, as fast as it
could be produced and when prepared for spin
ming and initiating silk, could be sold for three
or four times that price" l.. W. WRIGHT.
Mr.. Wright also says in a letter TO Mr.. Graham
MY process relates to the preparation Of the
fibre alter it has been stripped from the stalk by
the grower, and by which L bring the fibre into
the same state as the enclosed sample, and ready
for delivery at once to the manufacturers of suit
able lengths Of staple 20 spin on their present
cotton, wool, worsted and flax machinery, with
out alteration. You will see by the sample.
which is prepared from some Ramie grown at
New Orleans. that the fibre is strong, glossy, and
AlINAaN ~ " 1NANI 49, - -EENOA0-~~H
takes colors equal to silk, and can be woven into
a variety of fabrics, taking the place of silk, ard
when prepared by my process, according to sam
pie, could be sold here and also exported to Eng
land and other European countries, at the rate Of
one dollar per pound and upwards. Yours, &c,
al. W. WRIGHT.r
Ramie requires the same cultivation as corn the
first year, and one good hand will cultivate thirty
acres. After the first year little or no %cultiya-
ton is required. The second year, the same
bond mill onIFivata fraDty Or thirty acras poora
making a field of from fifty TO sixty acres. Suit
able machinery for cleaning il now on this coast,
and more may be purchased at reasonable rates.
lie Francs Ramie Dresser, with others now in
successful operation, have given a new impetus 10
Ramie planting in Louisiana where it is now the
most profitable agriculture.
Under favorable circumstances, the Ramie will
yield an annual product of 4 ton TO a ton and
one-half of merchantable fibre to an acre, worth
from 12k to 10 cents per pound-cash purchasers
being now ready to take all the fibre that can be
raised. In the past history of our productions,
as a people we depend too largely upon Onc line
of planting. viz in tie Southern States cotton
was entirely depended upon as a crop, to the ex-
clusion Of corn, and other grains-sO in Califor-
MIA, wheat and barley have been ever uppermost
in the minds of our farmers, in place OF a diversity
of crops, to ensure a market and relieve the
land. We would not wish to declaim against
any particular crop, but a diversity of cultures
are desirable. Ramie may be started at a mail
expense, WlID ltGIc OF no care (a1tcF the ursE
yearl in its growth, its large yield, the certainty
of a crop, the beauty of its fibre, with the large
price offered for it in England, France and Ger
many, are great inducements to farmers.
MECHANICS INSTITUTE FAIR REPORT.
The Committee on F.brous and Textile sub
stances, at the Seventh Industrial Exhibition of
the Mechanics Institute, held at San Francisco,
October, 1869, in thei. 2 port say
We do not propose a premium, because this
enterprise is, as yet but an experiment but from
a careful examination of the subject, we are
strongly convinced that the cultivation of this
most valuable plant can be successfully introduced
into California. We are satisfied it will flourish
in the Southern Counties, where the nights are
comparatively warm, particularly in Tulare and
Kern. Wherever Indian corn can be raised in
perfection, there will the Ramie grow. 1t pro-
misses such large profits that, once introduced, it
must soon become the great staple of the Southern
section of our State
The same Committee include in their Report
the following letter
GATARTLA, Miss, Sept. |, 1869.
The Ramie Plant, like everything new, meets
with opposition from those who have not practi-
cally tested it. We have tried it this year, and
the result is a decided success. 1t grows eight
feet high in this climate, and Will make two crops
n year, and probably three. It's roots grow two
feet in the ground, and, notwithstanding the IN
precedented drOuth of this Summer-not q single
copious rain having fallen since April-it still
continues to put forth its luxuriant sprouts and
grows rapidly. So dense is the shade it makes
that the ground continues always moist.
EUGENE and WIN. HALL"
The Committee of Mechanics Fair, consist of
MCssrs. Andrew j. Moulder, Hon. S. s. Triton. !
John G. Mitchell.
When Ramie first attracted the attention of
agriculturalists in this country, it was found diff
ficult to separate the outer from the inner bark,
the coarser from the finer fibre; but this difficulty
has been overcome by the determination and en-
ergy of our mechanics, and machines costing but
a few hundred dollars can now be had, that per-
forms the task, and which renders complete this,
one of the greatest industrial accomplishments of
the age.
a machine for separating the fibre from the
stalks, was in successful operation at the Fair of
the Mechanics Institute, in San Francisco, 1871.
RAMIE PREVENTS DRoUTH.
AS the Ramie covers the whole surface planted,
the land is protected from the evaporation caused
by constant exposure to our long day summers.
The foliage is exceedingly profuse, and if left
pulverized by the Ramie cleaner on the ground,
they furnish a rich manure, and thus the quality
OF the land is constantly improved. The %cultiva-
ton of Ramie is no longer an experiment-it has
been known to agriculture and commerce in Asia,
Java, and the South Sea Islands for many years.
1t was transplanted to Mexico about ten years
since, and it has only failed of extensive culture,
because there was not suitable machinery to sep
arate the fibre from the stem. This objection has
been overcome by machinery adapted to the pur-
pose, and improvements are going on in that
direction every year. In the extended cultivation
of this plant, there is no fear of the market being
over supplied, or labor and capital underpaid.
TAo nnrlurrr Tarv- Me- 49, Clax