The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1905-04-14
RAMIE EXPERIMENTS.
A Few Facts Concerning This Little
Known Plant-To Be Tried in the
Brownsville Country.

/ for experimental purposes, by Vim.
Doherty, general passenger agent
of the Gulf Coast Line, was the
following communication regard
ing its characteristics, uses and the
manner of planting, cuitivating and
curing this valuable fabric plant.
The letter follows:
I beg to call your attention to the
cultivation and production of
ra1nie, known and recognized
the world over as the producer of
fiber that is stronger III compost
ton than cotton or linen and finer
and more delicate in texture than
silk.
The superior characteristics Of
ramie just mentioned, have been
universally recognized for decades
but the absence of any practical
and economic method of decortica-
ton, the separating Of the fiber
from the plant, has thwarted every
effort to bring ranie into general
and diversified commercial use,
aside from its use in the shape of
China silk for which purpose it is
utilized by hand process of de
cortication.
Millions of dollars have been ex-
pended in an attempt to invent
some machine that would solve the
problem and place ramie goods on
the market at a price that would
enable them to compete with cot
ton. All Of these attempts have met
with failure.
During the past ten days DR.. J.
H. STOPPER, of St. Louis, Mo-, who
claims to have at last solved the
problem Of economical and mechan-
ical decortication of ramie, visited
our territory with a view of ascer-
tanning its adaptability to the ramie
plant, and, incidentally, to inves
tigate the situation looking towards
the establishment of factory III
our territory in the event that its
favorableness to the ramie IS de
The gentlemen informs me that
he has positively solved the problem
of separating the fiber from the
plant and that there is no question
about its practical and economic
Indeed, he insists that
the company which he represents
and which proposes to promote the
ramie industry confidently expects
to put ramie goods on the market
that will be superior in quality to
and will undersell cotton goods
He exhibited specimens Of fiber,
showing the various stages which
he claims were the result of the de-
cortication process which he con-
trolls.
A thorough test of the method
will shortly be made before a COM
mittee which the president of the
United States has agreed to ap-
point.
l am, of course, i'll no position
at this time to say whether or not
the vexatious problem of separat-
ing the ramie fiber from the plant
has been economically and practi-
cally solved.
However, I do believe it is we'll
worth the while of those of us who
are interested in the development
of this section to ascertain by eN-
pertinent the degree of adaptability
of our territory to the production
OF ramie. If we prove satisfactory
production, as have no doubt we
will, (for all conditions demanded
BY the plant exist in an abundance
in this section) and the method of
decortication proposed is demons
trated to be a success, we may eX-
pect the consideration of the COM
pany when It installs its first plant.
In this connection, I might say
that the company in question pro-
poses to purchase the ramie stalks
direct from the grower at a contract
price Of, probably, $500 per ton.