NOTES ON BORNEO WOODS. 123 



and the casing of goods. The shavings even are picked into oakum, and 

 mixed with those of rattan, to he stuffed into mattresses. 



The bamboo furnishes material for the bed and the couch, chop-sticks 

 to use in eating, pipes for smoking, and flutes to aid in singing ; curtains 

 to hang in the doorway, and brooms to sweep around it ; besides screens, 

 stools, coops, stands, sofas, and other articles of convenience and luxury 

 in the house, too numerous and trifling to mention. The mattress to lie 

 on, the chair to sit upon, the table to dine from, food to eat, and fuel to 

 cook it with, are alike derived from it. The ferule to govern the scholar, 

 and the book he studies, both originate here. The tapering tubes of the 

 native organ, and the dreaded instrument of the lictor ; the skewer to 

 pin the hair, and the hat to screen the head ; the paper to write on, the 

 pencil to write with, and the cup to hold the pencils ; the rule to 

 measure lengths, the cup to gauge quantities, and the bucket to draw 

 water ; the bellows to blow the fire, and the tube to hold the match ; 

 the bird-cage and the crab-net, the life-preserver and the children's 

 buoy, the fish-pole and sumpitan, the water-wheel and cave trough, 

 sedan, wheelbarrow and hand-cart, with scores of other machines and 

 utensils, are one and all furnished by this magnificent grass, the graceful 

 beauty of which when growing is comparable to its varied usefulness 

 when cut down. 



China could hardly be governed without the constant application of 

 the bamboo, nor the people carry on their daily pursuits without it. 

 The very phrase, to "bamboo a man," has almost become incorporated 

 into our language, to express the design and means of Chinese govern- 

 ment. It serves to embellish the garden of the patrician, and shade the 

 hamlet of the peasant. It composes the hedge which separates their 

 grounds, and assists in constructing the tools to work their lands, and 

 feeds the cattle which labour on them. The boatman, dyer, and weaver 

 find its slender poles indispensable in their trade, while there is nothing 

 the artists paint so well on wares and embroideries. The tabashir found 

 in the internodes has its uses in native pharmacy, and the silicious 

 cuticle furnishes the engraver a good surface for carving and polishing. 



NOTES ON BORNEO WOODS. 



Mr. Spencer St. John supplies the following notes of the uses and 

 qualities of some of the woods from Sarawak, which he has sent to the 

 International Exhibition : — 



The red Thrangi or Krangi Min wood is, perhaps, not so abundant as 

 the other sorts, but still can be obtained if required. The growth is 

 about 30 to 40 feet to the branches, and the diameter 20 to 30 inches. 



