The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1885-08-12
AN ENGLISH RAMIE MACHINE.

In British India, as well as in
New Zealand and other warm coun-
tries, there is found large number
of fibre-producing plants, which
have not hitherto been utilized,
owing to the cost of separating the
fibre they contain from the matter
with which the fibres are intermixed.
Amongst the best of these is the
well-known Rance or Rhea plant,
from which the "China grass" Of
commerce is obtained by tedious
hand labor. For many years the
Indian Government have offered
money prizes for the production Of
a machine capable of cheaply dress
ing the fibre obtained from this and
other fibre-producing plants grown
in that country. Many have been
the public trials of machines, and
nearly equally numerous have been
the failures. The difficulty, how
ever, appears to have been now
overcome. In November last, a
trial took place in Calcutta, in which
nine machines competed for the
prize of two thousand rupees offered
by the Indian Government. Four
of these machines were different
forms of the fax-dressing machine
patented by Mr.. Pownall, Of We'll
lington. Each machine was tried
with fifteen separate fibre-yielding
plants. OF Mr.. Pownall's four
machines, the commissioners APP
pointed to report on the trials,
stated that "not one produced any
satisfactory results, notwithstand-
ing the care and attention with
which they were adjusted and
worked by the agents under whose
charge they were. The ibres OBJ
tanned are conspicuous by their
dirty condition, being full of bark
and woody matter, and they became
brown when drying" The machine
for whose work the prize was award
ed, is called "The Universal Fibre
cleaning Machine" 1t is the in
vention of Mr.. H. G. Smith, manu-
featured and improved by Messrs.
Death and Ellwood, of Leicester,
and brought to public notice by the
General Fibre Company, Fenchurch
street, London. The commissioners,
after stating that this machine is
simple in construction, economi-
cal in working, and is run at a
speed Of 400 revolutions per minute,
make the following statement:-
"We are satisfied that, as an ex-
tractor of fibres, Messrs. Death and
Ellwood's machine is distinct adj
vance in mechanism Of this class,
that it extracts fibres in their natural
color and in good merchantable con-
dition, that it operates on all plants
with the same facility, and that it is
suited to the requirements of this
country, and is likely to prove Of
great service to its fibre industry"
Now that such degree of success
has attended the operations of this
machine on the plains of India,
where four New Zealand machines
completely failed, it suggests new
era for our flax or phormium indus
try. If by the use of this new ma
chine our flax could be produced
with that softness and silky glossi-
ness characteristic of flax hand
dressed by the Maoris, it would
receive fresh impetus in the mar
kets where our fibre is sent. Under
the circumstances, it is desirable
that some of our hax-dressers OF
machine importers should obtain
one or more of these machines for
experimental work in this part Of
the colony. The result would be
almost certain to be satisfactory
Ne,o Zealand WcekEu Ne,cs