CULTURE OF EDIBLE BAMBOO. 25 



number of 9-year-old steins are cut and sold for timber. These are 

 only a small proportion of the total number of bamboos on an acre, 

 for this ranges from 640 to 680. If this system of thinning out is fol- 

 lowed a plantation may be kept in bearing almost indefinitely. Near 

 Kyoto the practice is followed of cutting off the top of every shoot 

 left standing, before it is fully mature, to a height of from 12 to 14 

 feet. This prevents the wind from moving the culms too much and 

 induces the formation of a bushy mass of luxuriant foliage and a great 

 number of medium-sized shoots, which are more profitable than the 

 few larger-sized ones that result if the mother plants are not topped. 



The tenderest shoots and those which bring the highest prices are 

 the ones dug up before their tips have pierced the surface of the soil. 

 These bring, early in the season, as much as 1 yen per "kwan " (about 

 6 cents gold per pound), while the later product must sometimes be 

 disposed of for a tenth of this price. The market season in Tokyo 

 begins in December and closes in June. Although bamboo shoots are 

 very nutritious, they are not easily digested, and many Americans do 

 not like them for this reason. Old residents in Japan, however, often 

 grow very fond of them and have adapted them to their Western menu. 



Miss Fanny Eldredge, of Yokohama, has very kindty furnished the 

 following recipes for cooking bamboo shoots: 



1. Bamboo sprouts with cream sauce. — These sprouts are cut when about a foot above 

 the ground, by digging down to the rhizomes which bear them. After being gath- 

 ered, the outside sheaths are removed and the shoots are soaked for half an hour 

 in cold water. They are then cut in thin slices, about 3 inches long by 1 inch square, 

 and thrown into boiling water containing a small teaspoonful. of salt, and are boiled 

 from an hour to an hour and a half, or until tender. The pieces are then drained 

 and a white sauce is poured over them, which is made in the following way: To a 

 half pint of cream or milk add a teaspoonful of butter; season with salt and black 

 pepper. Allow this to boil up and serve at once. If desired, this sauce. may be 

 thickened with flour. 



2. Bamboo shoots in butter. — Slice and cook as in the previous recipe, until tender. 

 Into a saucepan put three tablespoonfuls of butter, seasoned with pepper, salt, and a 

 little chopped parsley. When heated, put in the bamboo. Shake and turn until 

 the mixture boils; then lay the bamboo on a hot platter, pour the butter over it, and 

 serve at once. 



3. Bamboo shoots, Japanese style. — Slice and cook the bamboo until tender, as in 

 recipe No. 1; then put into a sauce made as follows: Take one coffee cup full of soy 

 sauce (this is the basis of Worcestershire sauce and obtained only at Chinese or 

 Japanese grocers or at some of the largest groceries in our large cities), one-fourth 

 cupful of water, one heaping teaspoonful of sugar; let boil for half an hour in this 

 sauce, and serve. 



DIFFERENT SPECIES OF BAMBOOS. 



The bamboo family is a large one and scattered over a great portion 

 of the warmer and mountain regions of the globe, and, owing to the 

 fact that the plants so infrequently bloom and that their classification 



