16 JAPANESE BAMBOOS. 



dense masses even the first twenty or more are often devoid of 

 branches. The smaller the shoot the more likely it is to branch from 

 the lower nodes. 



The leaves of bamboo vary greatly in size, but have one general 

 lanceolate form, some being nearly a foot long by 6 inches wide, and 

 suitable for wrapping material; but the majority of forest forms at 

 least have leaves from 2 to 6 inches long. Mr. Mitford points out 

 in his most interesting book, "The Bamboo Garden," that the leaves 

 of all hard} T species in England have not only the parallel longitudinal 

 nerves which are common to all bamboos, but delicate cross nerves 

 which give a leaf the appearance, when held up to the light, of being 

 covered with a network of veins. All species tested by him which 

 did not have these "tesselated" leaves, as he calls those leaves with 

 cross as well as longitudinal veins, proved tender in England. 



Little use is made of the foliage of most species of bamboo, a few 

 only being used for fodder where better food in not obtainable. One 

 species in Hokkaido is said to be browsed over b}^ the few cattle 

 which are there. When first produced the .young foliage is often of a 

 dark-green color, but as it becomes older it changes to a lighter shade 

 of green, and on very old culms it often has a } T ellowish tinge. These 

 differences in the color of the foliage are what give such a variable 

 appearance to a bamboo forest. 



Although produced in a few weeks, a stem requires three or four 

 years to harden and become fit for use, and if left standing in the 

 forest too long, or until it becomes } T ellow, it loses much of its 

 elasticity. Culms that are twenty years old have lost much of their 

 beauty, the foliage becoming scant and the stems yellow and scarred. 



The roots of the bamboo resemble those of Indian corn. They are 

 brittle and easily broken and are never of any great size, but are 

 formed in large masses from the nodes of the underground stems. 



PROPAGATION OF JAPANESE BAMBOOS. 



If Japanese bamboos produced seed, the cheapest and safest wa} 7 to 

 propagate them would be by importing large quantities of the latter 

 and growing them in seed beds; but as none of the useful species bears 

 fruit, except at very long intervals, it is necessary to propagate the 

 plants by other means. Two methods have been practiced, one of 

 which, however, is only used to a limited extent. 



The safest wa} T is the simple one of digging up 3 T oung plants, 

 separating them from the mother clumps, and transplanting them 

 to the desired situation. This method seems very simple, but there 

 are several essential points regarding it which must be attended to if 

 the transplanting is to prove a success. If the transplanting is only 

 from a forest to a location near by, it may be done at any time during 



