SUMMARY
The thickness of fibres and their irregularity were determined from the forward scattering of a He‐Ne laser beam. Two methods have been used for the measurement of refractive indices and birefringence of Ramie fibres. The first of these methods is the application of multiple‐beam Fizeau fringes in transmission and at reflection. The second is the use of the double refracting interference microscope designed and developed by Pluta. In each method, refractive index values have been determined using two different analyses of the interference pattern. To overcome the difficulty of the irregular transverse section of Ramie fibres, the area enclosed under the fringe shift is considered as representing the path difference integrated across the fibre.