BAMBOO. 



53 



thickets where the forests have been cleared away ; and, 

 owing to their great utility, they are cultivated or 

 preserved near native houses and villages, and in such 

 situations often give a finishing charm to the landscape. 



Uses of the Bamboo. — Perhaps more than any other 

 single type of vegetation, the bamboo seems specially 

 adapted for the use of half- civilized man in a wild 

 tropical country ; and the purposes to which it is applied 

 are almost endless. It is a natural column or cylinder, 

 very straight, uniform in thickness, of a compact and 

 solid texture, and with a smooth flinty naturally-polished 

 external skin. It is divided into ringed joints at 

 regular intervals which correspond to septa or partitions 

 w^ithin, so that each joint forms a perfectly closed and 

 air-tight vessel. Owing to its hollowness, the hardness 

 of the external skin, and the existence of the joints 

 and partitions, it is wonderfully strong in proportion to 

 its weight. It can be found of many distinct sizes and 

 proportions ; light or heavy, long or short -jointed, and 

 varying from the size of a reed to that of a tall and 

 slender palm-tree. It can be split with great facility and 

 accuracy ; and, o.wing to its being hollow, it can be easily 

 cut across or notched with a sharp knife or hatchet. It 

 is excessively strong and highly elastic, and whether green 

 or dry is almost entirely free from any peculiar taste or 

 smell. The way in which these various qualities of 

 the bamboo render it so valuable, will be best shown by 

 giving a brief account of some of the uses to which it 

 is applied in the Malay Archipelago. 



Several effective w^eapons arc easily made from 

 bamboo. By cutting off the end very obliquely just 

 beyond a joint, a very sharp cutting point is produced 



