56 TROPICAL NATURE, AND OTHER ESSAYS. 



round with a sharp chopping-knife, so that the piece can 

 be unrolled as it were and pressed flat, when it forms a 

 hard board with a natural surface which, with a little 

 wear, becomes beautifully smooth and polished. Blinds, 

 screens, and mats, are formed of bamboos in a variety 

 of ways, sometim'es of thin kinds crushed flat and 

 plaited, but more frequently of narrow strips connected 

 together with cords of bamboo-bark or rattan. Strips 

 of bamboo supported on cross-pieces form an excellent 

 bed, which from its elasticity supplies the purpose of a 

 mattress as well, and only requires a mat laid over it 

 to insure a comfortable night's repose. Every kind of 

 basket, too, is made of bamboo, from the coarsest heavy 

 kinds to such as are fine and ornamental. In such 

 countries as Lombock and Macassar, where the land is 

 much cultivated and timber scarce, entire houses are 

 built of bamboo, posts, walls, floors, and roofs all being 

 constructed of this one material ; and perhaps in no 

 other way can so elegant and well-finished a house be 

 built so quickly and so cheaply. Almost every kind of 

 furniture is also made of the same material, excellent 

 bamboo chairs, sofas, and bedsteads being made in the 

 Moluccas, which, for appearance combined with cheap- 

 ness, are probably unsurpassed in the world. A chair 

 costs sixpence, and a sofa two shillings. 



Among simpler uses, bamboos are admirably adapted 

 for water-vessels. Some of the lighter sorts are cut 

 into lengths of about five feet, a small hole being 

 knocked through the septa of the joints. This prevents 

 the water from running out too quickly, and facilitates 

 its being poured out in a regulated stream to the last 

 drop. Three or four of these water-vessels are tied 



