GRAMIXE.e: 103 



the lirtuiboi) wIiIlIi yit'lili-'il it lias decayed ; and wlien a bamboo forest has been 

 destroyed by fire, tliose white calcined disks form quite a noticeable feature of the 

 ground, especially when a shower of rain has removed the Avhite pulverulent ash. 



Among otlier uses to which the bamboo is applied in Burma, not the least useful 

 is that of ])roducing fire by friction. For this purpose a joint of thoroughly dry 

 bamboo is selected, about one and a half or two inches in diameter, and this joint is 

 then split in halves. A ball is now prepared by scraping off shavings t'rom a 

 perfectly dry bamboo, and this ball being placed on some firm support, as a fallen 

 log or piece of rock, one of the above halves is held by its ends firmly down on it, so 

 that the ball of soft fibre is pressed with some force against its inner or concave 

 surface. Another man now takes a piece of bamboo a foot long or less, and sha])ed 

 with a blunt edge something like a paper-knife, ami commences a sawing motion 

 backwards and forwards across the horizontal piece of bamboo, and just over the 

 spot where the ball of soft fibres is held. The motion is slow at first, and by degrees 

 a groove is formed, which soon deepens, as the motion increases in quickness. Soon 

 smoke arises, and the motion is now made as rapid as possible, and by the time the 

 bamboo is cut through, not only smoke, but sparks are seen, which soon ignite the 

 materials of which the ball beneath is composed. The first tender spark is now 

 carefully blown, and when well alight the ball is withdrawn, and leaves and other 

 inflammable materials hea])ed over it, and a fire secured. 



This is the only method that I am aware of for procuring fire by friction in 

 Burma ; but on the hills and out-of-the-way parts, that philosophical toy, the 

 ' pi/rop/iorus,' is still in \ise. This consists' of a short joint of a thick woody 

 bamboo, neatly cut, which forms a cylinder. At the bottom of this, a bit of tindcjr 

 is placed, and a tightly-fitting piston inserted composed of some hard wood. The 

 tube being now held in one hand or firmly supported, the piston is di'iven violently 

 down on the timber by a smart blow from the hand, with the result of igniting the 

 tinder beneath. 



Centotheca, Desvaiix. 

 C. LAPPACE.i, E. and S. Kamorta. Katrhall. Trice and Track (K.). 



Erageostis, Palisot de Bcauiois. 



SpikeJefs several-flowered, flattened, awnless, numerous, in a spreading or compact 

 panicle. Glume-'< keeled, very regularly distichous, obtuse or jiointed, but not awued, 

 the 2 outer empty ones not longer, and often one or both smaller than the others. 

 Paleas prominently 2-ribbed, often persistent after the glumes have fallen. Axis of 

 the spikelet not hairy, and very rarely articulate. 



E. (Poa) fnioloides, Retz. Kamorta (K.) (scarce). Ceylon. 



E. amahilis, Wight and Arnott. India. S. China. 



E. ZEViAXiCA, Necs. Kamorta (K.) (common). Ceylon. India. S.China. 



E. PLOiosA, Link. Katchall. Great Nicobar (K.). S. China. Ceylon. 



Poa amabilis, L. 



P. riscona, Kth. 

 E. (Poa) ktjtaxs, Rotz. Bengal. Ceylon. 



Poa Koenigii, Kth. 

 E. (Poa) iexella, L. Bengal. S. Cliina. 



E. tenuissima, Schrad. 



£. aurea, Stencl. 



E. verticilhitus, Wees. 

 E. (Poa) pii.osa, L. India. S. China. 



E. rertkillata, Cab. 

 E. Beownei, Nees. 



' It is also made of a solid cylinder of BufT.iIops' horn, with a central liollow of thrce-sixteentks 

 of an inch in diameter and three inches deep burnt in it. Tlie piston, wliicli fits very tigluly in it, is 

 made of iron-wood or some wood equally hard. 



