110 
FIRST BOOK. 
5. In this way many upright stems grow close 
together, forming a thick clump. And very fast 
they grow, too, some of them becoming more than 
ten times as tall as a man. 
6. Their smooth, shiny stems are perhaps six 
inches thick near the ground, and, rising straight 
up at first, they become thinner and thinner to- 
wards the top, until they bend over from the 
weight of their grassy leaves or feathery flowers. 
7. For food the bamboo is not as useful to us 
as the other plants that I have named in the 
grass family. But it is used in so many other 
wa.ys that to tell of them all would fill many 
pages of this book. 
8. Where needed, it serves for building houses, 
fences, and bridges; for ladders, masts, and all 
kinds of furniture; and for making paper and 
many other things. In the West Indies seedlings 
are often transplanted into bamboo pots", which 
are easily made by sawing a stout rod into short 
lengths at the joints. When the seedling is large 
enough to be planted out the bamboo pot can be 
split down, and thus the plant may be set free 
without its roots being disturbed. 
9. The bamboo is even made use of for food, 
the tops of its very young shoots being eaten 
when pickled. 
Let us try to find out why the bamboo is chosen 
