Gardening for Amateurs 



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in dense clusters of an indefinite number 

 and by the sheaths of the branches being 

 retained after the latter are dead. Whereas 

 some attain a height of 15 or 20 feet, 

 others are but 1 foot or 2 feet in height. 

 A. anceps forms upright, slender branches 

 8 or 9 feet high, clothed with bright green 

 leaves. When planted in loose, rich soil, it 

 grows freely and soon spreads into a large 

 and handsome group. Its home is in north- 

 east China. People who are fond of varie- 



leaves. A. Hindsii is a tall, upright-grow- 

 ing kind from Japan, which has dark green 

 leaves. The variety graminea, however, is 

 infinitely superior to the type for general 

 cultivation, for its leafage is more luxuriant 

 and its habit more pleasing. It grows 12 to 

 15 feet high. A. japonica is perhaps the 

 best known of all the hardy Bamboos, and is 

 sometimes met with under the name of 

 Bambusa Metake. A native of Japan, it 

 grows from 12 to 15 feet high, and bears 



Bamboos fringing a Water Lily pool. 



gated-leaved plants should try the Japanese 

 Arundinaria auricoma, for it has golden 

 variegated foliage. Growing from 3 to 4 feet 

 high, it forms a dense mass of slender stems. 

 By cutting it down to the ground every 

 three or four years it is much improved. 

 A. falcata is not hardy enough for genera] 

 cultivation, though it may be grown in 

 the south-west counties. A native of the 

 Himalayas, it forms handsome clumps 20 

 feet or more high. A. Fortunei is a 

 Japanese plant of dwarf growth. Its 

 chief asset is its pretty silver variegated 



large, handsome, dark green leaves. A. 

 Kumasasa the name of Bambusa palmata 

 is often applied to this plant, and for garden 

 purposes it is perhaps better than the older 

 Japanese name. Of bold appearance, it 

 grows 8 to 10 feet high, and bears large 

 ornamental leaves. The canes are slender 

 and crowded together to form an almost 

 impenetrable mass. It spreads rapidlv by 

 means of underground stems, and soon 

 covers a considerable area. A. nitida 

 is, perhaps, the most graceful of all hardy 

 Bamboos, and where one kind only is 



