HARDY BAMBOOS. 
373 
Bambusa disticha should prove to be, according to Mr. Watson's 
surmise, which I have mentioned above, CJmsquea tessellata. 
From Africa we have no single species. 
There is no doubt in my mind that, seeing there are many 
Bamboos growing at high altitudes in the Himalayas and in 
other parts of Asia, in the Andes and in Africa, we shall in time 
add largely to our collections of these interesting and beautiful 
plants. Nor is it by any means certain that the resources even 
of China and Japan have been exhausted. It is only within the 
last few months that the origin of Arundinaria nitida, one of 
the loveliest as well as one of the hardiest of its kind, has been 
traced by the authorities a-t Kew to the province of Szechuan.. 
It is hardly unreasonable, therefore, to suppose that the same 
almost unexplored region may yield other kinds equally lovely 
and equally reliable. The cultivation of Bamboos is as yet in 
its infancy. We do not know what results we may obtain from 
the plants we have got. Still less do we know what may be in 
store for us. Of one thing I am certain. We have added a new 
feature of distinction, grace, and elegance to our gardens, and 
one which cannot fail to be more and more sought after as it 
becomes better known and appreciated. W^ith this conviction 
before me, I would fain impress upon all those interested in 
horticulture — whether as nurserymen, or cultivators, or amateurs 
— the great importance of lifting the nomenclature out of the 
darkness by which it is surrounded. At the present moment 
Bamboos are sent out under any and every name, to the despair 
and bewilderment of those who receive them. The impetus 
which has been given to this, as I think, important branch of 
horticulture at Kew will furnish those who seek for information 
with a living catalogue, and I look forward with confidence to 
the time when Phyllostachys mitis will no more be sent out for 
aurea, or Quilioi for viridiglaucescens, than an Oak for an Elm 
or a Rose for a Carnation. 
I have very briefly and very perfunctorily touched only upon 
the fringe of my subject. There are many matters in connec- 
tion with hardy Bamboos upon which I should have liked to say 
a few words. Above all I should have wished to raise some 
questions upon the mystery of the periodical inflorescence whicb 
would perhaps call forth some interesting remarks from those 
learned in the subject, and indeed in this company I feel strongly 
