JUNGLE BAMBOOS. 275 



is quite hardy, and B. Simmonsi, another small bamboo 

 of a somewhat similar kind, form good examples of 

 these small species, sometimes used for bedding pur- 

 poses in English gardens). Some of the jungle bamboos 

 are covered with terrible spines and thorns; planted 

 closely together in rows such bamboos make beautiful 

 hedges of most ornamental and impassable character. 

 The Bambusa Blumeana for instance is a prickly bam- 

 boo, which makes cattle-proof hedges of great strength. 

 It was originally found in the hill districts of Java, we 

 believe. Then there is the valuable male bamboo 

 {Dendro calamus Strictus], a hardy and thorny species, 

 which sometimes grows to a large size, and has the 

 peculiarity of having a solid stem. Small specimens 

 are therefore in use for lance shafts, hog spears, etc. 

 Among the smaller and more ornamental kinds we 

 may notice the beautiful Arundaria Hookeriana, with 

 a blue-green, or purple shaded skin a native we be- 

 lieve of the Himalayan jungles which is rarely thicker 

 than a walking stick, and one of the most ornamental 

 sorts that we have seen. There are specimens of it 

 to be seen in the Botanic gardens at Darjeeling. 

 Captain Forsyth, formerly conservator of forests in 

 Central India, gives many interesting details about the 

 Bambusacese: the feathery heads furnish a valuable 

 fodder for stock throughout the year, and the young shoots 

 make a useful vegetable, much relished by many natives 

 of the East,* while the seeds supply the peasant population 

 with a valuable grain. The seeding of the bamboos, 

 when it becomes general, is therefore quite an event 



* See respecting edible bamboo shoots, The Industries of Japan, by 

 J. J. Rein, p. 227. 



