SALMON FLY ROD, REEL, &c. 41 



their ripeness, which varies with their position 

 in the clump, those on the outside being yellower 

 and riper, by getting more sun than those in 

 the interior, which are more shaded. In order 

 to straighten and prepare them for market, the 

 natives make a fire of leaves, grasses, &c., and 

 lay them in this until they are soft enough to 

 straighten. While this firing doubtless solidifies 

 the sap and hardens the cells greatly, it destroys 

 fully 50 per cent, of the bamboos for rod-making, 

 by burning through parts of the outer skin, 

 the effects of which may be seen in the very dark 

 blotches. Where this appears the material is 

 worthless, all the original structure having been 

 destroyed. It has been very difficult to per- 

 suade the natives to adopt special methods of 

 heating for the purpose of straightening, in order 

 to avoid this over-burning ; but it is satisfactory 

 to know that better methods, under strict super- 

 vision, are now being employed. As the leaf 

 base on both sides of a bamboo covers fully two- 

 thirds of the circumference, only two narrow 

 strips can be taken out of each culm, so that 

 even if the bamboos are of the finest quality 

 and free from worms and burns (which is very 

 seldom the case), it takes a large number to 

 produce one rod. It is not unusual, taking 

 them in the bulk, for an 18 feet rod to require 

 from thirty to fifty culms, to be split up and 



