THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[August  i,  1892 
130 
Oue  species  only  a few  inches  in  height  covered 
the  uncultivated  portions  of  the  country  very  much 
to  the  detriment  of  pasturage.  Some  varieties  grew 
to  the  height  of  30  or  40  feet,  with  stems  six  or 
seven  inches  in  diameter,  and  there  were  many 
species  of  intermediate  growth.  The  peculiar  pro- 
perties which  rendered  bamhoo  especially  valuable 
to  man’s  use  were  its  great  strength,  flexibility, 
and  lightness,  the  hollowness  and  boxlike  cavity 
of  its  stem,  and  the  ease  with  which  it  could  be 
spilt  into  long  even  flexible  lengths.  It  had,  more- 
over, its  excellence  as  an  article  of  food.  Collectors 
of  Japanese  objects  of  art  know  how  frequently 
the  labourer  was  pourtrayed  either  digging  up  the 
bamboo  shoot  or  carrying  it  on  his  back  for  his 
wife  to  cook  and  prepare  for  himself  and  family. 
Opinions  varied  greatly  on  gastronomic  subjects, 
and  many  dishes  favoured  by  the  Japanese  required, 
to-  say  the  least,  much  education  on  the  part  of 
the  European  palate  to  appreciate.  (Laughter.) 
But  the  bamboo  shoot,  when  well  boiled,  was  by 
no  means  to  be  despised  by  a hungry  man,  what- 
ever his  nationality  might  be.  The  uses  of  bamboo 
might  conveniently  be  put  under  three  general 
heads : implements  . employed  in  agriculture  and 
the  trades;  secondly,  household  utensils;  and 
thirdly,  objects  for  general  use.  Mr.  Holmes  then 
went  on  to  describe  in  some  detail  the  various 
implements  made  of  bamboo  which  were  used 
in  the  preparation  of  rice,  tea,  silk,  &c.,  in  weaving 
and  dyeing,  in  baskets  for  traders  and  for  fishing. 
Many  of  the  articles  w'hicli  the  lecturer  explained 
were  exhibited  to  the  audience.  Bamboo  was  used 
in  a variety  of  ways — in  the  kitchens  in  the  service 
of  tea,  in  the  arrangement  of  flowers,  and  in  general 
household  requirements.  Mr.  Holmes  thought  it 
surprising  that  with  the  many  ideas  which  Europe 
had  taken  from  the  East  it  had  not  adopted 
bamboo  for  tobacco  smoking.  The  tiny  Japanese 
pipes  were  generally  applied  with  a bamboo  stem  ; 
the  bowls  and  mouthpieces  were  usually  of  metal. 
Women’s  pipes — for,  said  Mr.  Holmes,  ladies  smoke 
in  Japan,  and  he  created  a little  diversion  by 
adding,  “The  same  as  they  do  here” — have  a 
longer  stem,  and  the  cases  in  which  they  are  kept 
are  artistically  made  of  bamboo.  He  then  went 
on  to  speak  of  the  use  of  bamboo  for  musical 
instruments  and  for  toys.  Coming  to  the  personal 
uses  of  bamboo,  he  instanced  fans  umbrellas  and 
hats  as,  perhaps,  the  most  important.  The 
Japanese  umbrella  was  the  most  classical  form 
of  a very  necessary  object.  We  all  knew  the 
apjiearance  in  London  or  Paris  of  a multitude  of 
black  or  sombre  umbrellas  in  the  streets.  It  was 
not  in  any  way  gratifying  to  the  asthetic  sense, 
but  in  Kioto,  where  the  imported  gingham  had  not 
yet  been  introduced,  the  use  of  the  native  umbrella 
seemed  to  lighten  the  highways  in  pouring  rain 
as  with  a ray  of  sunshine.  The  lecturer  then  pro- 
ceeded to  give  some  miscellaneous  uses  of  bamboo 
in  Japan.  Amongst  other  things  he  described  the 
nomi  tori  which  the  lecturer  caused  some  amuse- 
ment by  translating  “ flea  catcher.”  This  ubiqui- 
tous little  insect,  he  added,  was  to  be  found  in 
Japan  as  elsewhere.  He  exhibited  the  article  to 
the  audience,  and  it  certainly  looked  as  it  appeared 
to  the  lecturer  the  first  time  he  saw  one  more 
suited  to  catch  rats  and  mice  than  fleas.  The 
little  bars  of  bamboo  are  half  an  inch  apart,  but 
the  lecturer  explained  that  the  fleas  were  caught 
by  smearing  the  bottom  of  the  trap  with  bird- 
lime, and  the  only  object  of  the  bars  was  to  keep 
the  clothes  of  the  susceptible  native  in  whose 
sleeve  it  was  secreted  from  touching  the  bird-lime. 
In  conclusion  the  lecturer  said  the  Japanese  were 
truly  lovers  of  the  bamboo.  Their  artists  never 
tired  of  depicting  its  graceful  form,  or  poets  of 
praising  it,  while  metallers,  lacquer-workers,  and 
potters  fashioned  their  wares  in  imitation  of  it. 
The  Chairman  having  invited  a discussion, 
Mr.  Okoshi,  Japanese  Consul  in  London,  after 
complimenting  the  lecturer  upon  the  interest  of 
his  paper,  said  that  one  curious  thing  was  that 
the  bamboo  could  be  grown  in  private  gardens. 
Still  more  curious  to  the  European,  perhaps,  was 
the  fact  that  bamboo  was  used  as  a family  name 
in  Japan.  He  could  mention  about  thirty  different 
family  names  called  simply  Bamboo.  In  other 
cases  some  adjective  from  the  shape  of  the  bamboo 
was  prefixed,  as  Mr.  Inside  Bamboo,  Mr.  Middle 
Bamboo,  or  Mrs.  Bamboo  Under.  (Laughter.) 
The  bamboo  wTas  so  extensively  used  in  Japan  that 
some  of  them  were  even  born  Mr.  Bamboo. 
The  Ilev.  S.  Coode  Hore  said  that  the  symbol  of 
the  bamboo,  according  to  the  Japanese,  expressed 
in  English — Just  Judgment,  Noble  Heart,  and 
Devoted  Sentiments. 
Mr.  Jackson,  as  Curator  of  the  Boyal  Gardens 
at  Kew,  who  hoped  to  have  charge  in  future  of 
this  marvellous  collection  of  bamboo  products,  said 
he  was  glad  of  the  opportunity  of  congratulating 
Mr.  Holme  upon  his  success  in  collecting  such  a 
comprehensive  series  of  bamboo  articles.  The  ex- 
hibition of  these  objects  would  popularise  and  make 
more  general  the  knowledge  of  this  wonderful 
series  of  plants  of  which  the  bamboo  formed  apart. 
He  thought  the  public  were  to  be  congratulated 
upon  the  acquisition  of  such  a rare  collection. 
Mr.  F.  Satow  asked  the  lecturer  whether  bamboo 
was  used  in  theschoolsof  Japaniu  a similiar  wav 
that  a kindred  product  was  used  in  this  country, 
and  whether  it  had  the  same  stinging  qualities. 
(Laughter.) 
Mr.  Holme  said  that  he  would  reply  to  the  ques- 
tion at  once.  The  Japanese  were  very  gentle  with 
their  children,  and  the  bamboo  was  not  used  in 
that  particular  manner.  In  China,  however,  the 
case  was  different.  He  believed  there  the  bamboo 
was  used  to  inflict  very  great  cruelties. 
The  Rev.  S.  Coode  Hore  said  that  in  one  of  the 
classical  books  of  China  he  thought  the  Shi  King 
there  was  a reference  to  the  ancient  classical  birch. 
Mr.  Larkin  said  that  in  the  year  1877  he  had 
rather  an  unpleasant  experience  of  one  of  the  uses 
of  the  bamboo,  which  had  not  been  mentioned  by 
the  lecturer.  The  Japanese  Government  had 
remitted  the  taxes  of  the  land  into  a tax  of  coin — 
that  was  to  say,  the  taxes  gathered  in  rice  were 
substituted  for  a tax  in  coin.  The  peasants  were 
unable  to  furnish  the  coin  to  the  extent  required, 
and  they  were  very  perplexed  and  rose  in  rebellion. 
He  happened  to  be  in  the  neighbourhood  at  the 
time,  and  he  noted  that  their  arms  consisted  of 
bamboo  spears,  and  most  formidable  weapons  they 
were.  The  spear  was  pointed  like  a lance,  and 
heated  to  a degree  of  hardness  that  it  would  go 
through  the  bodies  of  two  men  with  a good  thrust. 
As  he  ran  in  his  flight  to  the  sea,  he  saw  the 
Japanese  peasants  thrusting  the  bamboo  spears 
into  the  houses  and  killing  many  men. 
Mr.  A.  Diosy,  honorary  secretary  of  the  Society, 
said  that  one  use  of  the  bamboo  had  not  been 
mentioned  that  evening.  It  was  really  of  Chines# 
origin.  In  the  province  of  Kiushiu,  on  the  island 
sea,  the  custom  prevailed  in  summer  of  having 
in  each  house  one  or  several  bamboo  cylinders 
made  of  plaits  of  bamboo,  which  people  took  to 
bed  with  them  for  the  sake  of  coolness.  There 
were  no  beds  in  Japan ; the  people  slept  on 
mattresses  covered  with  quilts,  and  in  hot  weather 
these  were  sometimes  inconveniently  hot.  Two 
plans  were  adopted  to  obviate  this — one  was  to  have 
a cord  attached  to  a quilt,  which  ran  over  a small 
hook  in  the  ceiling,  so  that  the  sleeper  could  raise 
