Hill, director of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens, to Sir G. F. Bowen, the governor, from which the following extract is made:

I received plants of the "China grass" so far back as in 1855, from the late Sir W. J. Hooker, of the Royal Gardens, Kew. About a quarter of an acre of the Brisbane Botanic Gardens was, for two years, devoted to their special cultivation. They flourished vigorously, and required comparatively little care in their preparation or preservation. There being at the time no very tempting demand in the European markets for the fibre, and there being no machinery or appliances in the colony for extracting it, and finding that the plant had attained an exuberance and tenacity of growth which was gradually encroaching upon more ground than could be properly spared, I caused it to be removed to the border, on the bank of the river, where it can now be seen growing in a very thriving condition. Some of the fibre, however, was sent home to the International Exhibition in 1862; and, as I believe there are no means in this colony for extracting it on a more extensive and systematic scale, I have lately been contemplating the desirability of again setting apart a portion of ground for the exclusive cultivation of the plant, in the hope of being able to give a more practical illustration as to the quality of the fibre producible in Queensland, and also with a view of stimulating others to embark in the enterprise.

ITS CULTURE IN CHINA.

In China the seed is gathered very carefully before the approach of frost, and when sufficiently dry is placed in a jar or basket mixed with sand or dry earth, and the vessel covered with straw as a protection against the frost. At the time of planting they are tested by immersion in water, the imperfect ones floating at the top.

The proceedings of the Agri-horticultural Society of India give an idea of the mode of culture and means of preparing the fibre. A loose, dry soil is selected, near a stream. The ground is well broken and manured, and laid out in beds eight yards long and one wide, which are carefully raked and watered one day, and the same processes repeated on the following day, preparatory to sowing. The seeds are then mixed with a little dry earth and sown broadcast, and afterwards the beds are swept lightly with a broom, covering the seeds and smoothing the surface at the same time. Matting is suspended on a temporary framework over the beds before the plant emerges from the soil for protection until the plant is two inches high, and this covering is watered every day and removed at night. When three inches high they are transplanted in rows four or five inches apart; watering is continued three or four times daily for the first ten days, when an occasional wetting suffices. At the approach of cold weather the field is covered with a heavy coating of manure for winter protection. In March the manure is removed and watering in dry weather resumed. In the year, as is stated, the stems are ready for cutting, and sometimes in the second year. If grown from roots (cut in pieces and planted 18 inches apart) they are ready for cutting the second year, and after a plantation is established three crops per year are secured.

third

or fourth

The stems are cut an inch from the surface; the first cutting occurring in June, and the last in September or October, the stems being six or eight feet high. After cutting, the plants are covered with manure and watered,

The first step in preparing the fibre is the stripping of the leaves by women and children; then the stems are soaked in water and afterwards broken in the middle, thus loosening the fibrous portion, when the finger nails are inserted between bark and stem, and passed from top to bottom, separating one-half the fibre. The remaining fibre, after further soaking, is taken off with a rudely made knife, with a blade about two inches long. This rude implement is held in the left hand; its edge, which is dull, is raised a line above the index finger; strips of hemp (or fibre) are then drawn over the blade from within outwards, and, being pressed upon by the thumb, the fibrous portion of one surface, and the mucilaginous part of the other, are thus taken off. The hemp then rolls up like boiled tendon. After being wiped dry it is exposed to the sun for a day and then assorted, the whitest being selected for fine cloth." It is then bleached

by boiling and drying in the sun, when the tedious process of separating the individual fibres with the finger nails is dexterously accomplished by women or children, leaving the material exceedingly fine and soft; and afterwards a further bleaching is secured by soaking in water with a little lime, or the ashes of mulberry leaves. During the bleaching process the fibre must be dry, as moisture will give it a dark color.

CHINA GRASS FIBRES OF COMMERCE.

The China grass cloth has long been known to commerce, and the fibre was many years since brought to Europe, where it attracted the attention of manufacturers for its fineness, strength, and beauty. It was found to be stronger than hemp, with the lustre of silk. At the British International Exposition of 1862 several specimens from India, Assam, and Malacca were exhibited. The report of that exhibition referred to these samples as attracting more attention than any other products of India, and stated that late experiments had shown that the fibre was susceptible of manufacture in a great variety of useful and valuable fabrics.

At the same exhibition samples were exhibited bearing the name of Bochmeria nivea, a fibre believed to be identical with the B. tenacissima, of the same commercial value, although represented as botanically a different species. The plant flourishes at Darjeeling and other places in the north of India.

The Neilgherry nettle, (sometimes written Nilgiri nettle,) Urtica heterophylla, abounding in the hills of that name in India, possesses a fibre used for similar purposes, sold at the same price, and is sometimes included with China grass fibres. It has been called "vegetable wool," is abundant in a wild state, and it is assumed that its cultivation would be profitable. The bark of the young wood steeped in water twenty-four hours renders easy the separation of the fibre. The nettle is one of the most formidable of the stinging tribe-a fact which might militate against its utilization. The Technologist says that "the fibre is brilliant and strong, easily separated, regular in fineness, from 6 to 28 inches in length, of good natural whiteness, similar in fineness to the coarsest mohair, much twisted, generally flattened at the root end. The last peculiarity is a defect, otherwise it is a fibre perfectly adapted for spinning with coarse combing wools. It seems to be especially applicable for fabrics where bright stiffness is the quality desired. It dyes in a similar manner to China grass, but does not possess equal brilliance, strength or whiteness. If it were forced on the market it would immediately take a position as a combing fibre, probably second only to China grass. It is reported to be obtainable in abundance, but the plant is a formidable one to manipulate.

The B. candicans, of which seed has been imported from Paris by the Depart ment, is thus characterized by Professor George C. Shaeffer, librarian of the Patent Office, a well-known expert in fibres, in a note to the editor of this report:

"The Boehmeria candicans was first brought to notice in England, at the exhibition of 1851, when, according to Royle, a prize medal was awarded for some beautifully white and silky looking fibre sent by the Singapore committee, from M. Weber, of Java, as the produce of a plant which he called Boehmeria candicans, and also Linum usitatissimum' [but this is the botanical name of our own flax] 'on the same label. The former is probably another name for our plant,' [he is speaking of the B. nivea,] 'as it is said to be the ramie or rame of the Malays. The plant is cultivated by the Dutch in Java, and its fibre has been introduced into Holland, and gold medals awarded to Messrs. Meerburg, of Leyden, for specimens of sail-cloth, ropes, cables, &c., and also for some finer kinds of cloth and table-cloths. The plant producing this fiber was called

Boehmeria candicans and also B. utilis by Professor Blume, but it is probably only a variety of B. nivea, or perhaps a nearly allied species.

"From this it will be seen that the B. candicans is the plant, a specimen of which I have from Mr. Ballestier, gathered by him from a Dutch plantation in Java, and which he called ramee, and said was identical with the "China grass." This, if at all different from the B. nivea, is the plant cultivated by the Dutch in Java, named by Blume, and by him introduced into France. It is, therefore, the same as that "pushed" by Roezl, the Austro-Belgian botanist of Texas, which he says cannot be raised from seeds. But it is to be remembered that in his elaborate display of synonyms he omits this very one of B. candicans. "Of course it will be worth while to carefully distinguish in the culture of this plant, and establish the fact whether it can or cannot be raised from seeds, and whether it is essentially distinct from the B. nivea. It should be borne in mind that it was shown in Holland mostly in the form of the coarser fabrics."

MANUFACTURE OF GOAT FLEECE.

For

Mr. Israel $. Diehl, formerly United States consul at Batavia, in Java, the writer f an article on "the goat," in the report of this Department for 1863, was deputed y Hon. Isaac Newton, late Commissioner of Agriculture, to visit Europe during e past year, and, among other duties, to investigate the manufacture of Angora r Cashmere fleeces, with reference to its introduction into the United States. The acclimatization of these goats in this country is an established fact. several years, in different parts of the Union, the Angora goat has been bred, both pure and crossed, with our native goat. Far from deteriorating by the transfer, as had been predicted, it is found that in some parts of the country even the unmixed breed of the imported goats has shown evident signs of improve ment resulting from the change. This branch of pastoral industry has begun to assume very considerable prominence, as is indicated by the fact that during the past year not less than $100,000 has been paid for these goats in Ohio alone. In order to test the quality of the fleeces produced in this country, Mr. Diehl, prior to his departure for Europe, collected specimens from different flocks and localities from Massachusetts to California, and subsequently compared them with foreign fleeces at the Paris Exposition and elsewhere, both in Europe and Asia. His own deliberate opinion is that in fineness, delicacy, and beauty the American fleeces were equal, if not superior, to the choicest oriental specimens met with. On the subsequent exhibition of these samples at Paris and Roubaix, in France, and at London and Bradford, in England, the manufacturers expressed the most delighted surprise at their beauty and facility of manipulation, pronouncing them fully equal to the best imported Asiatic fleeces. As a result of the exhibition of these samples a rapidly increasing demand for American fleeces may be expected. But shall we confine our industrial enterprise to the mere production of the raw material, leaving to the overgrown manufacturing systems of Europe the monopoly of the higher processes of art in which are elaborated those beautiful fabrics; those shawls, camlets, mohairs, &c., which have become so celebrated? Shall we not rather secure the economical advantages of a varied industry by building up a system of manufactures which, co-working with our agricultural enterprise and absorbing its production, shall at the same time give fresh scope to that wonderful inventive genius which has characterized even the in fancy of American art? It was to solve this problem that Mr. Diehl was sent or this important mission, and it must be acknowledged that he has contributed many important elements to the solution.

As an essential preliminary to his observations abroad, he visited the principal manufactories of wool and worsted in this country, in order to acquaint himself with our actual facilities for working up the fleece. He found very little machinery adapted to its fabrication, and neither workmen skilled in the processes of manufacture nor capitalists at once willing and qualified to engage in the necessary financial enterprise. Manufacturers, however, expressed the warmest interest in his mission, and high hopes of its abundant success.

The manufacture of goat's fleece in the United States is by no means a novelty, however. Many years ago it was imported from England and from Asia to be fabricated into military and fancy goods, selvages, &c. But the high prices of the fleece, with the cessation of the demand for selvages, caused this incipient manufacture to decline and disappear. It has revived to some extent, however, within the last few years, since the introduction of the Angora goat into this country.

ANGORA GOATS.

It is stated that most of last year's clip was sold on commission by a single New York wool house. Three manufactories have provided machinery for its experimental manufacture. These parties ventured to pay for fleeces, varying from three quarters to pure breed, from 50 cents to $1 50 per pound. The goats shear from two to eight pounds each, according to blood, age, and size; hence it is far more profitable, even at these experimental prices, to raise goats' fleece than sheep's wool. The establishment and extension of this manufacture cannot fail to stimulate its increase and secure its permanency. For combed and washed fleece, suited to fancy work, much higher prices have already been realized. Skins of yearling weathers, from 3 to 1% pure breed, have been sold at $18 apiece Having ascertained our manufacturing deficiencies, Mr. Diehl next visited the Paris Exposition, where he directed his attention to the fabrics of various kinds of goats' fleece. He was astonished and delighted at the extent, variety, delicacy, and exquisite beauty of the specimens contributed by the looms of Asia Minor, India, France, England, Germany, and other countries represented in this department of the Exposition. These manufactures consisted of shawls, camlets, challis, mohairs, poplins, velvets, delaines, hosiery, yarns, gowns, robes, rugs, fur trimmings, tassels, &c. Some of them were made of pure goats' fleece, and others of the fleece mixed with wool, cottons, silks, and other fibres, imparting to these compounds a lustre, strength and durability which no other fibre except silk will secure. Nearly every nation represented at the Exposition presented some beautiful manufactures of goats' fleece. India, England, France, and Aus tria seemed to excel in the more delicate fabrics, while Turkey exhibited the greatest variety and richness of the raw material.

In England the manipulation of this staple is practically monopolized by a few parties, who appear adverse to imparting any information in regard to the manufacture and sale of their fabrics.

The fleece manufactured in England is mainly produced in Asia Minor from the Angora goat. It is imported to the extent of 3,000,000 pounds per annum, and is known in commerce by the name of mohair. The annual importations from Turkey for the sixteen years from 1843 to 1858, inclusive, were as follows: