MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 298 
No, II.—THE FLOWERING OF BAMBOOS, 
Given an Indian witness wishing to tell the truth regarding what should be 
within his knowledge, let him be without training in the ways of accurate 
observation, failure is almost certain. In our law courts endless absurdities 
arise from the initial question ‘‘ What is yourage?” Time has but little 
value or meaning to the common villager. He has no fixed standard whereby 
to measure it. He is quite as inaccurate in his estimate of distances, A 
generation ago, in parts now almost within hearing of the railway whistle, 
one might hear a cart journey described as of so many axles, meaning that 
a prudent man, setting out on that adventure, would take so many spare axles 
on his cart to provide against the ordinary contingencies of the way. To a 
much later date a Bilaspur villager would naturally answer that his home lay 
four chungis away, thereby indicating that, before beginning the march, he 
ought to have rolled four cigarettes in the fresh leaf of the sal tree and have 
fixed them in his pugree as provision for so long or so short a journey. If 
pressed to be more definite, he would admit that his village was so many coss 
away. “ But, my Peikoo, how long is youR coss?” “ Well, Sir, a coss is 
everywhere the same; it always equals two dhabs,” “ Quite true, friend 
Peikoo, but I am not quite sure that I am acquainted with the length of your 
dhab ; how longisit?”’ ‘ A dhab, O Lord of Earth, isa dhab: the distance 
at which a voice can be heard on a still night, that isa dhab.” ‘“ But, Peikoo, 
suppose it be a mother-in-law’s voice.” ‘‘Then, O Personation of Virtue, 
there will be a difference! The coss will be longer, ” 
If Peikoo be so unsettled as to hear things of the visible world, how shall he 
now give us assurance regarding his memories of years long gone by as to the 
distant and silent foldings of the wings of time ? 
Is there, then, any hope of determining, on native evidence, what is the life- 
period of our mutual friend —the Katang bamboo? We may expect nothing 
better than vague traditions of the last time when in any given locality the 
Katang seeded. Such events are not recorded save by the pale-faced strangers 
who are ever crazy after facts and figures, And they stay too short a time in 
the country to see the seedling attain maturity and pass away in the course of 
nature. Still these traditions are not without interest, ana they may corrobo- 
rate or correct stray observations of those of our own people who have gone 
before us, 
The widest personal observation will convince no one, and trustworthy 
evidence is not forthcoming. It isin the hope that others, while pardoning 
my mistakes, will help towards solving this puzzle that I venture to accept a 
kind invitation to put together the following rough notes on the flowering of 
the Bambusa arundinacea, the most beautiful and one of the most useful of 
the Bamboo family. At any rate I may hope to indicate directions in which 
further enquiry promises success. 
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