52 THE BAMBOO GARDEN CHAP. 
slowly at first, the cone pushes its way through the top of the 
soil. For a day or two, indeed, nothing is seen but the little 
tongues which are the tongue-like blades of the two or three 
topmost sheaths. By degrees a little more of the stem 
appears, but the growth is very deliberate, as if the newly- 
born baby were taking careful note of its surroundings and 
making up its mind whether it be worth while to play a part 
in so doubtful a world. Sometimes, indeed, it decides to 
make no further effort. Of two or three, to all appearance, 
equally healthy shoots on the same plant one will often, 
without rhyme or reason, fade away during this hesitating 
period of almost arrested growth. Its mates, on the contrary, 
after a while begin to push forward vigorously and to show 
their true character. The shoots are round, fat, and pointed, 
closely packed in the alternate sheaths which, each sur- 
mounted by its little ligule and blade, spring from what will 
presently appear as the joints of the cane. The function of 
the ligule, which adheres closely to the stem, is to prevent 
water in the shape of rain from running down and choking the 
stomata of the bud. Sometimes it is grooved so as to make 
channels, and often it is fringed with hairs, curling so as to 
direct the downward course of the water. Gradually the growth 
becomes faster until the culm has attained about two-thirds 
of its height, when it begins to slacken, until at last it is 
almost imperceptible. When the shoot has grown to nearly 
its full height,’ the lower sheaths begin to stand out from the 
stem and the branches first show themselves. This process 
continues upwards until the topmost branch has been revealed, 
* According to Messrs. Riviére, the branching occurs much earlier in the 
life of the stem. Difference of climate may account for this. 
