Nature, or rather the great Author of nature, has conferred on the
inhabitants of hot countries few gifts more valuable than the
bamboo-tree, a view of which is given over the leaf. To such a multitude
of useful purposes are its light, strong and graceful stems applied,
that almost any other production of the vegetable world might more
easily be spared than this. These stems spring from a strong-jointed,
subterraneous root-stalk, which is the trunk of the tree, the shoots
being the branches. They are hollow, and jointed, and of a hard, woody
texture, the outside being coated with silex, and the inside consisting
of a close, fibrous and very hard wood. The bamboo grows with great
rapidity; and the shoots, when quite young, are sometimes cut and boiled
like asparagus: but when full grown and vigorous, it becomes a large and
strong tree. Its shoots vary in size, from six to one hundred and fifty
feet in length. When fully grown, the bamboo is a straight rod, bearing
a number of stiff branches, which shoot at nearly right angles from the
main stem. It seems, at first, difficult to imagine how such a stem
elevates itself through the dense mass of rigid branches, which cross
each other in every direction. This is, however, arranged in a very
simple manner. The young shoot, when it is first produced, is nothing
but a sucker, as already said, like a shoot of asparagus; but, having a
sharp point, it easily pierces the dense and overhanging branches. It is
only when it has arrived at its full length, and has penetrated through
all obstacles, that it forms its lateral shoots, which readily interpose
themselves amid the stems. There are many species of the bamboo, all of
which are useful. The young shoots, as mentioned above, are sometimes
eaten as food; the full-grown stems, when ripe and hard, are converted
into bows, arrows, quivers, fishing-rods, masts of vessels, bed-posts,
walking-sticks, floors, supporters of rustic bridges, chairs, and a
variety of other purposes. By notching their sides, the Malays form
wonderfully light ladders. Bruised and crushed in water, the leaves and
stems form Chinese paper; some species are used for lining tea-chests;
cut into lengths, and the partitions knocked out, they form durable
water-pipes. Slit into strips, they form excellent materials for weaving
mats, baskets, window-blinds, and even the sails of boats. It is,
however, for the purposes of building, that the bamboo is most
important. The frame-work of the houses in Sumatra is chiefly composed
of this material. The floors are made of the whole canes, laid close to
each other. The sides are made of the stems, split and flattened, and
the roof is formed of a thatch split into various strips. Great hopes
are entertained of introducing this most useful tree into other
countries; and, as it grows in dry and stony places, where nothing else
flourishes, its introduction would be of great importance. A few species
of the bamboo are found in the tropical parts of America.
[Illustration: THE BAMBOO-TREE.]