MEN OF THE TREES 



parts of India where, having flowered over the whole 

 area, the old culms die, and in the course of a few years 

 a new generation springs up from seed and takes the 

 place of the old culms once more. Such an occurrence 

 might upset the working of a pulp factory, and it is 

 reasonable to inquire whether there is any chance of 

 such gregarious flowering in the bamboo of the Kenya 

 Highlands. Having visited all the main bamboo forests 

 of the Highlands, I have come to the conclusion that 

 there is little risk on this account, as the largest area 

 of this Arundinaria that I have seen flowering simul- 

 taneously was about four acres in extent. Here, then, is 

 an advantage over the bamboo grown in India, where 

 the seed year involves a large area, holding up supplies 

 for a considerable period. Areas affected by the seedling 

 of the Kenya species are so small that as an adverse fac- 

 tor they need hardly be given consideration. 



In the absence of a proper survey it is very difficult to 

 estimate accurately the vast areas of bamboo forests in 

 the Highlands of British East Africa, which may 

 amount to nearly a million acres. Many of these forests 

 are at present quite inaccessible owing to lack of rail- 

 ways and navigable rivers, but of the more accessible 

 areas I estimate that there are eighty thousand acres. 

 With the further extension of railways which may be 

 possible in the near future, an area of similar extent 

 will become available. 



The most extensive areas are found at an altitude 

 ranging from seventy-five hundred to ten thousand feet. 



230 



