284 



south of tlie United States, and proposes to forward to the Department 

 a parcel of seed of the new crop, just being harvested. It is sown in De- 

 cember, and harvested in May, and stands very successfully the climate 

 of Egypt, in latitude 30°, where it rarely receives rain, and is grown, 

 by irrigation. General Stone has sent to the Department a pam- 

 phlet on the Indian bamboo, which is being acclimatized in Egypt 

 with great success. This pamphlet was recently published at Cairo, 

 under the patronage of the Khedive, by the agricultural department of 

 Egyi^t. We append a few notes from it, which may serve to answer in- 

 quiries frequently made at this Department for a suitable material for 

 lining and x)rotecting the banks of rivers and canals ; for this purpose 

 the bamboo, which may be acclimated in this country ds well as in Egypt, 

 seems to be peculiarly adai)ted : 



The gigantic bamboo, Avhich is of colossal dimensions, growing to the height of 20 

 meters, with a circumference of 40 to 50 centimeters at the base, (say 65 feet high and 

 15 to 18 inches in circumference,) from the joints of which, especially those of the 

 middle and u^jper parts, grow numerous branches with long leaves, is the most vigor- 

 oiTS species of this arborescent plant. It was introduced some years ago into the gar- 

 dens of the Khedive of Egypt, at Ghdzireh, from whence it has been multiplied in two 

 or three other gardens of Egpyt. It was so much admired by the Emperor of Brazil, 

 on his visit to the gardens of the Kh6dive last autumn, that he expressed his determi- 

 nation to import it into Brazil, and to cultivate it upon the imperial estates as a shade 

 for animals during the heats of summer. 



The gigantic bamboo originates in India and China, and is highly appreciated 

 wherever it is cultivated, being used for posts in pavilions and the houses of the in- 

 habitants. The hollow joints are utilized for carrying liquids, for flower- vases, «fec. ; 

 and in China, and especially in Indi'a, for bottles and tobacco-boxes, highly wrought 

 and polished, and sold at great prices. The larger stalks are also used for bridges, 

 "^vater-pipes, and carts and other vehicles. In fine, the wood is employed in the arts, in a 

 multitude of industries, and for implements of agriculture. 



This species of bamboo vegetates with such rapidity that it can almost be said that 

 one can see it grow. Its progress may be seen from day to day, and at Gh6zireh it has 

 been known to grow 9 inches in a single night. In China, criminals condemned to 

 death are subjected to the atrocious punishment of impalement, by means of the bam- 

 boo. A humid soil is congenial to the gigantic bamboo, although it suffers under a 

 prolonged inuudatiou. It is proposed in Egypt to cultivate it upon the borders of the 

 canals in the vast domains of the Kh6dive. 



There is also in the gardens of Egj'pt another species of bamboo, believed to be 

 the Banibusa arundinacea of Wildenow. It presents the following characteristics : The 

 stalks are smaller and shorter than the gigantic bamboo of India ; it attains about 12 

 meters (39 feet) in height ; it forms larger tufts or clusters than the great bamboo, and 

 throws out a greater number of stalks, which are furnished with numerous slender and 

 tlexuous branches, bearing ordinarily tolerably large thorns, a little arched at the 

 joints or articulations, and the leaves are smaller than those of the gigantic species, 

 being rounded at the base, lance-shaped, tapering to a point, and a little downy. 



There is another species of bamboo which it is proposed to cultivate in Egypt. It 

 attains a height of 5 or 6 meters, produces enormous clusters of canes, about the size 

 of the finger, and makes excellent props for use in horticulture. A plant of two or 

 three years' growth will furnish a hundred stalks, forming a cluster of vast size. This 

 species is the Bambusa edulis, so called from the fact that its young shoots are edible, 

 and in China regarded as very nourishing. 



There is still another species of bamboo to which the attention of the cultivators in 

 Egypt is called. It is the black bamboo, {Bamhusa nigra.) It is distinguished princi- 

 pally by its slender branches, which are of a iine black color, and from which canes 

 are manufactured extensively for exportation. Pens are made from the smaller stem*, 

 which are commonly used for writing in Egypt. 



The opening of direct communication by rail from New Tork to 

 San' Francisco, and by steamshij) thence to New South Wales, 

 has so shortened distance that our buyers of Australian wools, in- 

 stead of going to England for supplies, may go direct to the first 

 market. This has induced the Agricultural Society of that colony to 

 send to E. W. Forbes & Co., of New York, thirty-three prize fleeces, 

 which were exhibited in the exhibition in Sydney in 1871, " in order," 



