Connecticut western news., 1888-11-28
RHEEA FIBRE.
Its Eminent Suitability for Tex
 tile Purposes.
It's Economical Utilization g
 Great Industrial Problem.

AtleS WAiCu emAuouI Ily IeCOLuuenO 4G Ao1 usc in textile manufactures, have ren- dercd that plant tho subject of solicitous attention for many years past. The production of tn, fibro in quantity, in an economical manner and in suit ablo condition for textile purposes. constitutes, in fact, ono of the most im- portant industrial problems of the present day. For more than thirty years endeavors have been made to utilize this fibre commercially; many thousands of pounds have been spent; tho aid of both mechanical and chemi- cal science has been invoked, but almost all in vain, for although this fibre is used to somc extent, that extent is ex- tremely circums cribed. Twice during tho past eighteen years the h. dian Government has offered priz, of $25, 900 for a machine which should effsctually produce ths fibre in the TO- quired condition, the prize having been twice competed for and twice with drawn. The French Government has recently taken up the matter, and has offered prizes of the value of $1200 for any process or machine that will pro- duco the f1bro in commercial quantities and of proper quality. The great diff culty in the way of success is the satis- factory treatment of tn, gumuy matter in which the fibre is i'm bedded. It has been found easy to decorticate tho rhcea stems-thet is, to remove the fire, with its adhering bark and ce- mcntitious matter, from the wood, but difficult to produce the flores clean and frco from all extraneous and adheront matter, ready for tho spinner, oa a commercial scale. This holds good with all tho varieties of this fibre, whether they be known under tho name of China grass, rheea or ramie-rhcea being the Indian and ramie the Malay name of tho plant.
 One thing is very certain, aud that is, that with machine constructed for an- other purpose, as the one under notice is, and admittedly imperfect as regards its treatment of the rheea plant, tho fibre of the latter can be, and 1s, ob- tained undamagel and fairly free from tho woody stem. The machine in ques- tioa is Q fax-scutching machine of novel design, and about feet 6 inchos high by feet wide, and feot long over all; its working capacity being g put at 1cwt of retted flax per hour It consists of an upper feed table on which the flax straw is fed to three pairs of futed rollers, which deliver tho flax downwards between five pairs of pin ming tools, alternating with six pairs of guido rollers. The pinning tools resem- bio hand d-hackles, and may be popu- larly described as very coarse wire brushes. They are attached to two vertical frames, to which horizontal to-andfro motion is impartod, and tho pins iaterlace as the two sides approach. The fbrous material is drawn down. wards by tho rollers, which have an in- tcrmittent motion, and at each mo- mentary pause the pricking pins enter tho material and are rapidly withdrawn from it. By degrees this fbrous dc. sccnding curtain is delivered off to a slopiug receiving table at the bottom of the machiae, ov,r which tablo the woody substance has previously passed to receiver in crushed and pu,verized condition and per- fcctly free from fibro. But inasmuch as it does it's work perfectly as re- gards flax, the prin ciple would appear to be correct. It is, moreover, to be born in mind that, as wo havo already stated, the machine was not designed to treat rhcoa, Lut flax. Henco in some of its details it is imperfect as regards rhcca. Nevertheless, wo saw some stems of rheea put through with exc l. lent results, as far as the mech,nical separation of the fLro from the bark and wood is concerned. The stems were those of rheea grown at Kew; they wero about six feet high and of fair size. They had been rettcd for fou; days and 'wero not quite dry. MT. Wallace holds that they should be rctted for eight days and completely dried. However this may be, the stems We INV put through tho machine were quickly dono, and the fibro pro l duced was from wood. It is intcnd- cd to sond to India a machine specially made for dealing with rhce,. The first point settled-that is, the proper stage at which tho machine shall be used MT. Wallace is confident of being able to produce tho fibro from his machine ready for u;c by tn, spinner, just as he has already done with fl X, It is to be i hoped that he will succecl in cffecting g his object which will be tho means o! giving to tho textile industry ii bre which has been pronounced to bo the strongest ia nature, and for which tho trade has bccn lone and anxiously look ing. [Londol Tiin"s.
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