The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-10-16
STARTLING INVENTION.
auckland Herald. !

lAuChidHu E1eIdIu
The successful discovery of a process
for the treatment of the Rhea fibre, or
Ramie, or China grass, as it is various
~ called, has produced an eXtraordina-
ry sensation in India This fibre has
long been known for it's remarkable
strength, and beautiful lustre, but the
expense and the difficulty of separating
it from the outer cuticle, and more par
ticularly from the resinous gums, were
so great as to make impossible it's
adoption on a commercial scale for tex
tile manufactures. For over twenty
years the Indian Government has been
offering reward of 6 5000 for any in
vention, whether through mechanical
or chemical means. for cleaning the fl
bTe without injuring it's tenacity or
lustre, and at a cost consistent with the
requirements of commerce. There has
been ceaseless activity among chemists
and persons interested in textile manu-
features to discover the secret, as we'll
for the advantages it would offer to
manufactures as for winning the prize.
But it has been a record of disappoint-
ment and failure, and large capital was
frequently invested by investors in ma
chinery in the belief that they had
solved the difficulty. The most lustrous
sold only to find that the fibre had been
ruined by the process. AT last the cor
rect process has been found by an
English chemist, and all interested in
India are in a state of much excitement
over what they say will be equivalent
to a commercial revolution. The fibre
itself has been known from before the
dawn of history, and cloth formed
from it has been unrolled from Egyp-
tian mummies, and when human labor
was of no account the labor of separat-
ing it from the TeSinous gum and bark
was not barrier to it's use. The in
dustrial adviser to the Indian Govern
ment proved that "the fibres are ex>
ceeded by none in fineness and excel
all others in strength" and he declared
that if the difficulty of separating the
fibre from the resin, and cuticle could
be overcome, "the benefits to India and
the world will be incalculable." That
difficulty it appears has now been alb
solutely overcome, and by marvel
lousy cheap and simple process. Now
this rhea or ramie has a wide habitat,
extending over India, China, Japan and
the Eastern Archipelago generally, it
has been introduced into Cape Colony,
France, California and many other
places which shows that it is no doubt
capable of being acclimatised in this
colony, more particularly in its north
ern parts, where it might become a
most profitable agricultural product.
The new discovery is described as fol-
lows in the London Times:
"The Comes process adopts zincate
of the soda for the elimination of the
resins, and effects it without the slight
est injury to the fibre. After the rib
bons or strips of bark have been freed
from dirt they are placed in weak acid
baths for a night. Next morning they
are passed through a mild alkaline
bath, and then boiled in weak solutions
of caustic soda to which zinc has been
added When washed and dried by the
usual mechanical means, the f1breS
emerge as a long, silky filasse, entirely
free from the cuticle and resinous gums
in which they were embedded-clean,I
white, and ready for the comb of the
spinner. They take the most beautiful
dyes. and be worked into every variety
of fabric from gorgeous velvets to
cheap drills and delicate laces.''