396 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1957 



of matting common in the Philippine Islands, whence comes the name, 

 and in southeastern Asia generally), the culms are first cracked at 

 several points around each node, then opened by a single longitudinal 

 slit. When the diaphragms have been removed, the culms are spread 

 out flat. 



BAMBOO IN BASKETRY 



In the Orient bamboo baskets and trays enjoy a usage more varied, 

 perhaps, than that accorded any other bamboo article. This is true 

 in the outer world of industry and transportation as well as in domestic 

 circles where there is still much fetching and carrying to be done and 

 where drying is the prevailing method of preserving foods. The 

 Orient possesses no material, other than bamboo, that is available 

 in such abundance or is so well suited to the construction of light, con- 

 venient, attractive, and inexpensive baskets and trays. 



Baskets of a design peculiar to the individual need are used by 

 money changers, carriers of sand and earth, tenders of newly hatched 

 chicks, wholesale food merchants, dealers in crude drugs, and peddlers 

 of fish, fruits, and vegetables. Baskets in an infinite variety of shapes 

 and weaves are available, particularly in Japan, for the decorative 

 arrangement of flowers and fruits. For the farmer's wife, the herb- 

 alist, and the maker of candied fruits, bamboo trays provide a cheap, 

 light, and convenient means of exposing things to the sun and of 

 gathering them up again quickly when rain threatens. Bamboo 

 baskets and trays constitute an important item of equipment required 

 for many large-scale industrial and commercial pursuits in the Orient. 

 In the silk industry the mulberry leaves are brought from the field in 

 bamboo hampers, while the silkworms are hatched, and spend the 

 whole of the caterpillar stage, on bamboo feeding trays. As a fitting 

 finale they are placed, when mature, upon racks fashioned from bam- 

 boo in a form suggesting treetops where, in the wild free state, their 

 ancestors spun their cocoons. The shape of these spinning racks is 

 cleverly designed, however, in deference to the requirements of space 

 economy. 



In southeastern China, pig crates, chicken baskets, and tree pro- 

 tectors (pi. 1, fig. 2, and pi. 5, fig. 1) are made from heavy strips of the 

 culms of Bambusa tuldoides and related species. In this same region 

 trays and baskets are woven principally from thongs of Bambusa 

 textilis, while certain heavier parts, such as the stays and rims, are 

 usually made from Bambusa tuldoides and similar kinds. In more 

 temperature regions, including Japan, various species of Phyllo- 

 stachys are used for all parts of these containers (pi. 7, fig. 1). In 

 more tropical regions a wide array of species, chiefly of the genera 

 Bambusa, Dendrocalamus, Melocanna, Gigantochloa, and Schiso- 

 stachyum, yield basket-making materials. 



