BAMBOOS 
Or the large number of hardy plants remarkable for 
their elegant habit, nobility of aspect, or the distinctive 
colouring of their foliage that were brought into pro- 
minence during the last thirty years of the nineteenth 
century, but few are more deserving of the attention 
of the planter than the bamboos, of which there are so 
many beautiful kinds in cultivation. Unsurpassed in 
elegance of growth, they are so vigorous in constitution 
as to soon become established and develop their dis- 
tinctive characteristics, and with a few exceptions they 
are sufficiently hardy to withstand the effects of the 
severest weather experienced during the British winters. 
They are indeed so beautiful and also so distinct from 
all the other hardy plants, whether herbaceous or 
shrubby, that it is not unreasonable to assume that 
some of the more formal objects usually met with in 
gardens and pleasure-grounds will be replaced by the 
feathery growths of the bamboos as they become better 
known. They have not, it must be admitted, proved 
so satisfactory in every instance as could be desired, 
but this has in a large measure been due to the conditions 
under which they attain their highest degree of develop- 
ment not being fully understood. Cultivators were 
aware that several of the finest species grew luxuriantly 
in certain parts of Japan, where in the coldest season 
the temperature falls so low as to justify the belief that 
they would withstand the effects of the winters in this 
country without injury. 
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