The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1885-12-24
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New Onssas DsfH In. ~. ~ !. .s.
Razle sAe - asaap.
Il has bssa knowiSlw - $50 that tsmb
spuld b p6ssd In ~ sslsb Is Old unlimitsd
qpaatsisS, bus The Ssllurs - hisAesto been NO
gisctsd becanss no satisfactory nasAins has beeu
invented 10 take the Ahrun ttem she woody mat
terof the stalk, and thus give e - marketable
value For moro than . century ramls has been
one of the established products Of China and IA
pan but In these countries Of the far East labor
10 one Of the cheapest of commodities, and the
preparation OF the dbre is done BY hand. Being
lustrous and silky In its character, II has been
mixed with silk In fabrics which have been sold
as silk, and Of itself 1t makes goods - fine and
more durable than silk. Such b the character
Of the article which promises In the near future
to partially, ct least revolu,ionize our agrcultu-
raj and textile industries.
For years the inventive skill of the world, slim
ulated by large offers Of reward, has been en-
gagged In attempts to produce q satisfactory de-
corticator for the preparation OF ramie fibre
speedily and economically, and Of the hundreds
OF mechanical devices patented for that purpose.
not more than one or two have met the demands
of the situation. One recently completed in
France will, it is alleged, efectually decortcate
five tons of fibre per day and leave it ready for
the bleaching process. In England this patent
has been sold for $4,000. it being much superior
to anything previously 10 existence there, and
for this country, Canada and Mexico it has been
secured by the International Fibre Company of
New York, an organization that proposes to en-
l. sl~
manufacture Of thmie. II
Our intelligent and enterpfising fellow-citizen,
General Leonard Sewell, who has just returned
to this city from New York, has undertaken, in
connection with the International Fbrg Com
pany, TO push the ramie industry In Louisiana,
and to this end has already secured two planta
tons, one as propagating nursery and the other,
Of 5000 acres, for the direct growth Of the most
valuable of ibrous plants He has seen the de-
corticating machine in operation and alleges that
its merits and capacity have not been oversta
ted; and in order to properly commence the in
dustry has now $4,000 plants on the way hithef
from France
1t is estimated that 5000 roots or plants are
sufficient for an acre, and that their cost, until
the process of propagation is perfected, will be
$12 per thousand. Supposing twenty acres to
be planted in February. in the first year two
small crops might be gathered, and in addition
by new subdivision of the tubers, enough of
roots could I've secured to plant 800 acres. Thus.
with 800 acres 10 full bearing, the gross annual
yield of stalks per acre would be twenty tons,
and as the yield Of clean fibre is fully eight per
cent Of gross weight Of the plant the total yield
ofmerchantable fibre would be 924 900 pounds
worth at least eight cents per pound, or say
$4,000
The decorticating machinery sufficient to pre-
pare five tons of fibre per day will cost exclusive
of the motive pawer, $500. Here then is an
opportunity for Louisiana such as was never be-
fore presented. Perfectly prepared ramie is
worth thirty cents per pound, and there is no
good reason why the ramie raised in Louisiana
should not be given it's highest textile value here
and be here manufactured into cloths.