Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-02-23
THE EVENING STAR.
SATCRDAY. ...February %. 1875
A Substitute for Silk.
From Cassell's Magazine.


A substitute, or what il is believed will ulti-
mately prove To be an efficient substitute, for
SILK and other facricS, has for several years
been fayOrably known to the great manufac-
turerS of Yorkshire. This is the dressed
fibre, to use the technical term, of the Rheea
plant. Hitherto, however, grave difficulties
have stood in the way OF its introduction into
the market on anything like an extensive scale
and until some inventor cares to takes his
chance OF making large fortune by design
ing machine that will enable the fibre 60 be
prepared for manufacture at price that will
bring il into active competition with other tex
tile fabrics, We cannot hope to reap much ben
EFT from this plant.
The Rheea plant, also known by its Indian
name Ramie, and popularity as Chinese grass,
is member of the Urticacep or nettle fami-
~. IL Is found throughout the greater part OF
height of about four feet There are two
types OF the plant. namely. L. nivea and L.
tenaciSsima, but the latter is far and away the
peter adapted for industrial purposes. The
useful portion is the fibre of the inner bark,
which has to be bleached and separated into
threads. For hundreds of years the Chinese
have been accustomed to do this work by
hand, Skinning the stalk and scraping off the
outer bark with knife: But as one man can
turn out only two pounds a day at the utmost
the process is, of course, wretchedly slow. The
ribbons of light yellow color When these
have been ungummed, bleached, dressed and
comhed smoothly, they form the strong and
brilliant staple for the manufacture of such
goods as japanese silk, fabric of which
ladies speak in terms of the very highest
praise.
Besides possessing great strength, the Ramie
fibre Is quite as elastic as cotton. and more SO
than hemp or fax. In fact, it is inferior i'm the
respect named to silk alone. But we have yet
to make allowance, before eXhauSting the list
OF its merits, for its beautiful luStre and in
tense wilderness. for the easy cultivation of the
plant. and for its rapid production. A planta-
ton where the plant grows in regular, thick
rows Will yield three crops per annum. with as
many as 800 pounds of fibre to the acre. A
Owing-machine, with thick, short blades,
gathers the plants which are collected i'm
SheaVeS and then left in stacks After few
days the leaves wither and fall of, owing to
the handling to which they are subjected
while they are being carried to the dressing
machine. The plant should be cut from to Is
| days, according as the weather is dry or damp,
before it is stripped of its bark.
In 1871 reward of $500 was offered BY the
government for the best machine or process
| for the preparation Of the fibre. All the COM
/, peutors save one retired before the day of
trial, and the sole candidate was only partially
successful, but as he received the sum OF
| $500 we may fairly assume that his inventISa.
| was meritori0uS. However, no practical use
| was made of il, and government have again
| come fOrward-tO their credit be il Said-With
| the offer of two handsome rewards, one for
| the best, the other for the next best machine
! The competition will take place in August and
| September, 1879, at Saharanpur, in the North
, "St PROVINCES OF India, and all entries must
he man. nv the December previous