144 



TEXTILE FIBRES. 



Bamboo (Bambusa, Gramineae). The stems of Bamboo, after 

 being cut down in the green state, are split up and made of the required 

 length, being then mixed with other fibres or bristles for coarse brooms 

 and for scavenging implements. Paper has been made from the cane- 

 like stems, which are first bruised, then steeped in water, and formed 

 into a paste. The stems have been used for a variety of purposes, such 

 as bridges, masts, boxes, mats, and drawing-room ornaments. India is 

 the home of these plants. Sir J. D. Hooker, in his Himalayan Journals, 



Fig. 94. Bristle fibres of Attalea funifera. 



mentions an interesting circumstance as follows : " At about 2000 feet, 

 and 10 miles distant from Darjeeling, we arrived at a low, long spur, 

 dipping down to the bed of the Rungeet at its junction with the Rungms. 

 This is close to the boundary of the British ground, and there is a guard- 

 house and a sepoy or two at it. Here we halted. It took the Lepchas 

 about twenty minutes to construct a table and two bedsteads within our 

 tent ; each was made of four forked sticks stuck in the ground, support- 

 ing as many side-pieces, across which were laid flat pieces of bamboo, 

 bound tightly together by strips of Rattan Palm stem. The beds were 



