The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1885-06-11

so confident are many good Judges ol blle
great value of China grass as a textile
material, that the interest in it IS lncreas-
ing from year to year. Its cultivation IS
spreading over Southern Europe, consl-
derable areas being now laid out INTO
/ plantations of China grass III Italy and
! the south of France. Spain and Portugal
are beginning to grow it; and on the south
side of the Mediterranean, Alg1ers and
! Egypt are also moving In the same dlrec-
/ ton. 1t is believed that this recent de
velopment of ramie culture in the Mediter
ranean region-to call the plant by the
name our French neighbors appear to
prefer-is to some extent owing to Favier's
recent method of treating the fibre, the
patent for which is owned by q Company
located at Avignon. This plan is very
simple, and considering how much the
use of steam-we do not mean as motive
force-has quickened many processes, even
in the textile industries, it is wonderful
that it had not been thought of before.
NJ. Favier merely exposes the stems of the
plant to the action of steam for about
twenty minutes in a closed wooden trough,
after which the bark and fibre are easily
stripped from the stem By the wetting
process, or stepping in could water, it
takes days, sometimes weeks, to effect the
decortication of the stems; and we have
seen how difficult it has been found to do
this by machinery But although NJ.
Favier's process greatly simplifies matters
in this early stage of the preparation of
the fibre. the gummy substance and outer
skin still require to be removed from it.
Only the other day, it was announced
that Professor Frenzy, a distinguished
French chemist, has, after an elaborate
series of experiments, found out a method
of readily separating the fibre from these
extraneous matters. He takes up the rib
bons Of bark with attached fibre, as OBJ
tanned by Nj. Favier's plan, and subjects
| them to a peculiar treatment, which
r mainly consists in boiling them under
, pressure in an alkaline solution. During
: the operation, everything deleterious is
removed from the useful portion of the
fibre, which is then ready for the ordinary
operation of the spinner. There seems
good grounds for believing that the com
bined processes of the Messrs Favier and
and Frenzy, which are about to be tried on
a scale of some magnitude in France will
prove d commercial success. 1t will be
curious to watch the future history of a
plant which has so long batfied every at
tempt to raise it into conspicuous import
ance as an article of commerce, about
which volumes have been written, and the
fibre of which is now well known by its
t valuable properties to- those engaged in
textile industries in every civilized coun-
! try.
There is another Indian nettle, called
Urtjca hete,ophyl1a, which produces a strong,
| whit H.,
the name of the Neilgherry nettle. it is
nevertheless widely diffused over India.
The stem, branches, and leaves are cover
ed with stiff sharp bristles. which give it
Formidable or, as some say, ferocious
appearance. These also inflict acute pain
if they should happen to be touched, but
fortunately the effect of the sting soon
passes away. The prepared fibre of this
plant is sometimes called vegetable wool;
and it is better suited, from its appear
!, ance, for mixing with real wool than rhea
fibre, which has been good deal used for
this purpose. In some parts of India, the
fibre of the NeilgherTy nettle is used by
the natives in the manufacture of cloth.
1t has been partially experimental upon
for textile purposes in England; but
there seems to have been difference of
sting, there are even greater difficulties in
separating its fibre than is the case with
rhea; but these might be overcome by
1t is quickgrowing plant, and could be
cultivated to any extent should demand
for it arise.
We must pass over other species of
urtica, and come to the common stinging
nettle of Europe. As is well known, this
plant furnishes nutritious food for swine
and some other animals, and in Scotland
is occasionally used for making kind of
soup termed nettle kali; and in default of
a better, its roots will furnish, along with
alum. yellow dye The tenacity of its
fibre has long been known. 1t has been
woven into cloth IN past times, but no
doubt only ON a limited SCALE in nearly
every country where the plant grows. Nor
have its properties as a textile material
been altogether overlooked in modern
times, at least in the British Islands, since
lace, parasol covers, and other fancy
articles made of common nettle fibre have
been on exhibition in the Museums of
Economic Botany at Kew and Dublin for
the last thirty years, besides having been
occasionally brought under the notice of
the public in various other ways At
Dresden, Herr F. G. Seidel has recently
established a manufactory for nettle cloth,
in which, according to what seems to be
an authentic report, he uses fibre of the
common species; but the significant re
mark is added, that he prefers to get his
material from the Chinese nettle.
Some persons think that they see a
great nettle industry looming in the
future, if only process OF readily sep
arating the useless parts of its stem with
out injuring the fibre could be discovered
We are of course speaking of the common
nettle. A statement has been published
which one can very readily believe-name-
ly, that the profitable extraction of its
fibre is possible only when it is cultivated.
In the wild state, the plant is branehy ;but
when grown on suitable soil at regular
distances of from five to eight inches
apart, it forms single stems from four to
fully seven feet hi gh. Even if they would
serve as well as cultivated plants, and
could be economically gathered from
many widely scattered localities, all the
wild nettles growing in our waste places
and old churchyards would be a bagatelle
IN the sense of furnishing material for
many large spinning-mills.
Whatever sanguine people may think.
other things besides skilful cultivation
and an eaSV process of DreDarincr tbe fbre