12 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



ing, propelling, and measuring ; by the porter, the carpenter 

 and tlie boatman ; for the joists of houses and the ribs of sails ; 

 the shafts of spears and the wattles of hurdles ; the tubes of 

 aqueducts and the handles and ribs of umbrellas and fans. 

 The leaves are sewed upon cords to make rain-cloaks for 

 farmers and boatmen, for sails to boats as well as junks, swept 

 into heaps to form manure, and matted into thatches to cover 

 houses. The bamboo wood is cut into splints and slivers of 

 various sizes to make into baskets and trays of every form 

 and fancy, twisted into cables, plaited into awnings, and 

 ■woven into mats for the bed and floor, for the sceneries of the 

 theatre, for the roofs of boats, and the casing of goods. The 

 shavings are picked into oakum to be stuffed into mattresses. 

 The bamboo furnishes the bed for sleeping and the couch for 

 reclining, the chair for sitting, the chop-sticks for eating, the 

 pipe for smoking, the flute for entertaining ; a curtain to hang 

 before the door, and a broom to sweep around it. The ferule 

 to govern the scholar, the book he studies and the paper he 

 writes upon, all originated from this wonderful grass. The 

 tapering l^arrels of the organ and the dreadful instrument of 

 the lictor, — one to strike harmony and the other to strike 

 dread ; the rule to measure lengths, the cup to gauge quanti- 

 ties, and the bucket to draw water ; the bellows to blow the 

 fire and the box to retain the match ; the bird-cage and 

 crab-net, the fish-pole, the water-wheel and eave-duct, wheel- 

 barrow and handcart, and a host of other things, are the 

 utilities to which this magnificent grass is converted. I there- 

 fore highly recommend this most useful of grasses to your 

 consideration. 



The agricultural tools of a Chinese farmer are simple and 

 primitive, being the same as those used for thousands of years 

 past. The plough and the harrow are used for cultivating rice 

 and other grains, while the hoe, spade, shovel and mattocks 

 are used for gardening. The plough is made of wood, the share 

 of which is edged with iron, very flat, and does not penetrate 

 into the ground more than five or six inches. The harrow is 

 a trianjjular wood frame, interlined with slabs three inches 

 square, with wooden or iron spikes, two or three inches long, 

 sticking out on one side, and the driver stands on the other 

 side while harrowing. The hoc is used for gardening pur- 



