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JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



it. For us it has only an academic interest ; our climate forbids 

 any competition. Indeed, from inquiries which I have made it 

 would appear that even the best Europe-grown Bamboos are 

 rejected by our artisans ; only those canes which have been 

 ripened and toughened by the burning sun, and nourished by the 

 torrential rains of the Far East, will serve their purpose. 



If statistics as to the Bamboo commerce in France are with- 

 held, in England they may be said to be non-existent. In the 

 Board of Trade Returns Bamboos are lumped together with 

 canes and rattans in such a way as to render it impossible to 

 obtain any accurate general information. I have undertaken a 

 voyage of discovery into the depths of the Borough without 

 much result. The Bamboo importers, though most courteous 

 and ready to supply any information at their command, can of 

 course only speak each one as to his own particular business. 

 Indeed, some of the statements made to me were contradictory ; 

 for instance, one great dealer assured me that Bamboos only 

 come over as ballast and are sold by public auction ; another 

 pooh-poohed this, and showed me his bills of lading, proving that 

 he had paid 9d. per foot cube on his importations. I will not 

 weary yon with the difficulties and disappointments by which I was 

 met in my endeavours to give you some account of the Bamboo 

 trade. Suffice it to say that the latest edition of the Post Office 

 Directory shows that there are now in London alone no fewer 

 than sis firms of Bamboo importers ; probably there are others 

 at the seaports. There are also in London six firms of Bamboo 

 cane-workers, and thirty of Bamboo furniture makers. A busi- 

 ness giving employment to such numbers of people seems to me 

 to deserve some notice. I hope that before long our very 

 active Department of Trade will see the advisability of getting 

 together reliable statistics in regard to a branch of commerce 

 which is not unlikely to be of considerable and growing impor- 

 tance. At present China and Japan are the only source of 

 supply of the Bamboos which our traders require. For the 

 Indian species, with the exception of Dcndrocalamus strictus 

 which our warriors require, there is no demand. The war 

 between China and Japan sent up the prices of Bamboos some 

 80 or 40 per cent. Why should not some of our Colonies 

 possessing the requisite soil and climate enter into competition 

 with those astute Easterns ? 



