The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-12-13
ONE OF THE IMPORTANT INDUS
TRIES OF INDIA AND
CHINA.
THREE CROPS EACH SEASON
Can Be Raised in Southern Latitudes
-Machinery Needed for Their
Care.
Snecial to the Globe.

i been successful, or that they have been
favorably regarded by statesmen.
The department of agriculture, how
! ever, believes in ramie and has done
great deal of work in behalf of its gen.
eral production. Special agents have
investigated the plant, its habits and
it's best zone for cultivation. They have
all reported substantially in favor of
the development of the plant. Acting
upon the suggestions of special agents
and practical cultivators, the depart
ment of agriculture has made expert
ments; some of them on large scale.
The present secretary of agriculture
believes that it is simply question of
time when rame development will be
popular and lucrative industry
Substantial progress has been made
in the cultivation of this useful plant;
but the machine problem has not yet
been solved. 1t is believed by the Of
ficials of the department of agriculture
that if the inventive genius of the
country were stimulated by general
knowledge Of the usefulness of this
plant, because Of it's superior fiber,
| machines would be evolved which
would dc the required work and make
than Russian hemp, or any other COM
peting product The Chinese have used
ramie fiber for many years; possibly
for centuries. Hand labor there is so
cheap that the fiber is handled skill
fully, and all sorts of fabrics are man
ufactured from it.
India develops ramie and separates
it's fiber at a profit by hand labor. In
dia has competed with China in eX-
porting the fiber of ramie to London
| and other European ports. The manu-
facture of ramie fabrics is not difficult,
after the fiber is separated.
Ramie is called China grass, rhea
and a number of other names in Vari-
Gus localities. 1t has long been known
in China, Japan, Siam, Sumatra, Ben
gal and Burmah, and belongs to the
nettle family OF plants. 1t is believed
to be indigenous to India and to have
been transported and tranSplanted to
other Oriental countries and islands, In
the United States it has been most sue
cessfully grown in California and the
Gulf states; and it has also been grown
sexperimentally in New Jersey, Della
ware and Pennsylvania
The department of agriculture says
that ramie cannot be commercially
grown farther north than South Caro-
lima; although it has been carefully
! nurtured in Maryland, Virginia and
the District of Columbia The fiber in
Northern ATTITUDES, however, is of
doubtful quality. But, in Louisiana
ramie has been known to withstand
severe snow storms, and yet flourish
This is believed to be because of the
fact that extreme cold weather in the
South never lasts more than three days
at a time, and the roots of ramie are
so deep that they retain their vitality
under stress of temporary spells of bad
weather and rapidly rejuvenate the sur
face parts after the cold has passed
away
AS stated above, the main difficulty
with the ramie industry is the lack of
suitable machinery for the treatment
of the fibre. 1t is no longer a matter
of experiment that certain parts of
this country will yield enormous crops
The first ramie machine made in this
country, was patented in 1867, by Ben
ito Roezl, of New Orleans. The in
ventOr and his financial hackers claim
ed that the process of decorticatiOn. by
the ramie machine, was simple, light
work and that one machine would gin
the crops of several large plantations
Practically, however, the work of the
inventor proved to be a dream of an
enthusiast. Hundreds Of machines
were manufactured. But they failed
to do the work of decortication, and
nearly all Of them remained unsoId
Scientific men who are familiar with
the ranie development, and the pos
sibilities of the industry, sincerely re-
greet that no suitable machine has yet
been invented. From the hand manu-
featured fibre all sorts of ia brics have
been made. including lace curtains,
bank notes. napkins, table damask and
even dress goods resembling fine linen
Samples of ramie fabric are on exhibit
ton in this city and in various parts
of the country, as we'll as throughout
the world. The question of the avail
ability and value of the plant is re-
garded as settled.
In China, where hand labor is cheap.
it is customary to grow ramie on red
clay soil. with an admiXture of sand
In the fall all of the roots are taken
up, separated into small punches and
replanted. The Chinese reap three
crops every year. Their first cutting
is in May, when they secure the best
crop of the year; crop better in quail
ity and with longer fibre, than at either
| of the other annual cuttings in August
or October The producers in China
prepare the fibre for market them
selves. BY hand labor they cut the
| stalks put them in water. rot them,
then dry them and fail off the bark,
which is f1oated away with water.
After thus securing the fibre the
| Chinese pr epare two qualities for mar
ket, the light-colored and the dark. The
light ramie is dried over charcoal fires.
That is used for grass cloth. The dark
| err fibre is sun dried, and is used for.
| cordage and fishing nets or fishing
| lines The third cutting of the year is
generally used for sewing Irvine, and
| is consumed at home. Very little of II
| is ever seen in foreign markets
It is officially stated that the specific
! gravity of the finer ramie yarn is as
a ratio of to 10. when compared with
| linen yarn. That is, one kilogram OF
! linen yarn measures 5000 meters. and
! one kilogram of ramie yarn measures
| 900 meters But ramie yarn is heav-
| Ter than cotton yarn, in a ratio of to
! s. The ramie yarn eXcels both the cot
| ton and linen yarn in lUster and silky
! appearance Moreover. the fibers are
much longer and firmer The opinion
! among students of ramie and other
| fiber plants is almost unanimous in
| favor of ramie. as a plant of merit SUI
perior to all others, for many common
commercial and practical purposes.
Investigation and scientific expert
ment demonstrate the kind of soil and
| climate needed for the best develop
ment of ramie. The fiber contains AZ
| per cent of carbon, AZ per cent of oxy-
gen, and per cent of hydrogen. Re
! duction to ashes, demonstrates that
| the ramie has 80 per cent of potash and
! 16 per cent of soda. thus showing that
| one-half Of its sell requirement must