GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 13 



ever seen them in China or Japan can fail to have been impressed 

 with their beauty or convinced of the great charm which they lend to 

 the otherwise often monotonous character of the scenery. They are 

 waving- plumes of delicate green foliage, which, whether seen against 

 the sky line or backed by a darker mass of forest, always give a pecul- 

 iar softness to the scene. 



Nearly every farmhouse has growing near it a clump of some one 

 of the useful species, and the graceful mass of culms transforms what 

 would be an uninteresting plaster and tile house into a pretty, pictur- 

 esque home. 



It is, however, the introduction of the hardy representatives of this 

 remarkable family of plants into the United States that should attract 

 the attention of Americans, and the object of this bulletin is to show 

 how tin 1 various kinds of bamboo are cultivated in Japan, and to 

 suggest how these methods of cultivation can be applied to American 

 conditions. 



As might be expected, in a group of plants containing hundreds of 

 species, there is a great range of hardiness among them. Some of the 

 Japanese forms are able to thrive in the coldest regions of Hokkaido, 

 the North Island, while others are too tender to be grown successfully 

 even in the comparatively mild climate of the central provinces. 



There is also a great range in the size of the di tie rent species. Some 

 are so small that they creep over the ground, forming a reed-like, rank- 

 growing greensward (PI. VII, tig. 2), while others g-row to a height 

 of 4<» feet or more and produce steins which are »'> and 7 inches in 

 diameter (PI. IV). Certain forms are suited only for potting purposes 

 and are chosen by the Japanese gardeners as objects upon which to 

 practice their dwarfing art (PI. VII, tig. 1), while others are grown in 

 forests which are many acres in extent. 



While the introduction into America of some of tin- smaller forms 

 is a desirable matter, the main interest attaches to securing and estab- 

 lishing the hardy forest species. 



As previously remarked, there are many plants of Japanese bam- 

 boos already growing in America. Clumps of the very hardy kinds 

 may be seen occasionally in private gardens or public parks in the 

 South, even as far north as Washington; but owing either to the diffi- 

 culty of getting the plants or a failure to understand their manage- 

 ment these have never become popular farm plants. Potted specimens 

 of the small species are to be met with in many florists 1 collections, and 

 some are used as lawn plants, but the employment of even these is 

 very limited. 



In California, where the Japanese and Chinese species thrive very 

 well, there are many large specimens, and even one small forest, while 

 a number of Californians are enthusiastic bamboo fanciers. Dr. H. 

 Tevis, of San Francisco, has probably the largest collection on the 



