286 



THE AGRICUL TUBAL JOURNAL. 



are taken from plants at least ten years 

 old, are first allowed to dry. They are 

 sa^vn to the required length, rather a 

 small tooth hand saw heing used. The 

 lengths are then split ; a bamboo of four 

 inches diameter gives about five slals. 

 For this wovk the man I saw at work was 

 using a plough coulter, which had had 

 the upper end shaped into a handle by 

 the village blacksmith. The triming fol- 

 lows. This was done by an Indian, 

 squatting on his haunches. His tools 

 were a side axe and a biish knife. The 

 latter was the implement most used, and 

 the rate at which he trimmed the lengths 

 was astonishing. The nailing of the 

 boxes together was done with a sort of 

 automatic ease and regularity. Mr. 

 James has always in training several of 

 the hands, so as to avoid ever being in a 

 fix for want of capable workers. Here 

 are the prices : — 



Cost of a Bamboo Box. 



d. 



Two sawn timl)er ends G 



Hoop iron 1 



Wire nails 1^ 



Labour and bamboo (^^ 



Is. 3d. 



Such is tlie cost of a bamboo box 2ft. 

 2in. by 1ft. 6in., and 9in. deep, which, 

 filled " with citrus fruit, weighs almost 

 exactly 100 lbs. The increase of cost for 

 bigger cases is comparatively small owing 

 to the fact that the timber required for the 

 ends is not solid, but, as explained, is 

 made into a square frame. Mr. James 

 is convinced that a factory for the mak- 

 ing of these boxes and other articles 

 from bamboo would do a profitable busi- 

 ness. The difficulty lies in the want of 

 bamboo. It is not commonly enough 

 grown to justify the manufacture being 

 undertaken as an independent business. 

 Ten years would have to go by before 

 purposely planted ])amboos on a large 

 scale would be tit for manufacture. 



Other Bamboo Construction. 



The bamboo is impressed into many 

 more services by Mr. James. The walls 

 and doors of his sheds and stable are 



bamboo, the ladders for gathering fruit 

 are bamboo, the water troughs for the 

 poultry are bamboo, and even the handles 

 for hammers and the kitchen kafir's axe 

 are of bamboo. Most Colonists know 

 how soon the handle of the last-named 

 implement comes to grief, and when they 

 learn that a bamboo handle successfully 

 resists the bad treatment it gets from 

 average kitchen boys, they will reahse 

 how tough must be the fibre of the bam- 

 boo. In some parts of the shed walls I 

 noticed the "borer" was busy, while 

 other sections were untouched. Mr. 

 James is of opinion that if the bamboo is 

 cut at a certain time of the year the 

 "borer"' makes no entrance, but what that 

 time is he has not yet concerned himself 

 to determine. 



Propagation. 



"Some people,*' said Mr. James, "find 

 the propagation of the bamboo difficult. 

 I cannot say I have found any difficulty. 

 It should be planted out as sugar cane, 

 the holes being a little deeper, and about 

 30 feet apart. The lengths planted 

 should be about four or five feet, and 

 great care should be taken not to injure 

 the shoots. In damp, rich soil they grow- 

 big and strong, and on dry, poor soil, 

 tbiuner and harder. A^ery poor, dry sod 

 gives the best whip sticks." 



Final. 



"And now, Mr. James, to sum up, tell 

 me about the profits and prospects of the 

 citrus fruit industry." 



"A planter may safely, in my opinion, 

 look forward to getting a yearly return 

 of from £20 to £25 per acre. In calculat- 

 ing the expenditure the value of the catch 

 crops grown between the trees, of mealies, 

 sweet potatoes, beans, etc., must not be 

 forgotten, for they go a long distance m 

 bringing it down. Of course a good deal 

 of work thinking and organising are re- 

 quired, and certainly no man who is 

 ' born tired ' should go in for the busi- 

 ness. And about the prospects, I think 

 they are capital. Johannesburg will take 

 all we can supply for years to come, and 

 then there will be the unlimited demand 

 of England." 



