bamboos: their cultuee and uses 29 
In handling rhizomes so as to secure the largest number of good 
plants from them, either one of two plans may be followed. First, 
a good piece of garden soil may be selected, and after thorotughly 
preparing the land to a depth of 8 or 10 inches a trench may be 
dug 31/^ to 4 inches deep. The trench must be sufficiently wide to 
permit placing the rhizomes on the bottom, side by side and about 
2 inches apart. This means that the trench must be from 10 to 12 
inches wide and 3i/2 to 4 inches deep. After placing the rhizomes 
in the trench, they are covered and the soil carefully firmed with 
the hands. Rough treatment, such as tramping or rolling, is to be 
avoided, as this sort of procedure is likely to break off or injure the 
eyes. If the weather is dry the rhizomes should be watered, and at 
no time during the growing season should they be allowed to dry 
out. It is important to understand this, for during the first two or 
three months of the life of these cut-off rhizomes the young shoots 
draw mainly on the stored food in the rhizomes for sustenance. The 
object is to take every care to see that the rhizomes produce feeding 
roots as quickly as possible. 
As an illustration of the method of propagation by rhizomes, an 
experiment at Brooksville, Fla., may be cited. This work was done 
at the suggestion of the writer by Robert Jones, who was at the time, 
1919, in charge of the bamboo project. Two pieces of ground were 
selected for the work, one at the garden proper and the other a 
better drained piece about half a mile away. The rhizomes were 
lifted in February and March, but owing to the fact that they were 
taken from old groves it was not practicable to tell their age. It was 
also necessary to dip the rhizomes in water containing soap and 
nicotine extract, as this was part of an experiment in mite control. 
Altogether, something more than 82,000 rhizomes of four or five 
different bamboos were handled. After treatment in water the 
rhizomes were planted in trenches, as described. It turned out that 
the season was dry at times, and water was not available for con- 
stant use. Notwithstanding this drawback and others about 28,000 
plants were produced, sufficient for planting about 20 acres of per- 
manent grove. The cost of producing the plants under these rather 
unusual conditions was about 2 cents each. 
The second method of handling rhizomes is called the frame 
method, for the reason that the plants are grown in frames much 
like ordinary coldframes used for many gardening operations. The 
frame method is preferred to that of the field, for it is more in 
keeping with the art and practices of a good gardener. Here pro- 
duction is on an intensive scale. Evei'y inch of ground must be 
made to pay, and this brings out the best skill of the grower. Frames 
are made 6 feet wide and as long as desired. Boards 1 foot wide and 
1 inch thick make good sides and ends with rough 2 by 3 or 2 by 4 
inch posts for support. The soil in the frame should be a rich 
mellow loam, spaded and fined to a depth of at least a foot. 
When all is ready a trench 1 foot wide and 4 inches deep is dug 
across the end of the frame, the soil being placed outside. Into the 
trench the rhizomes are laid side by side and as close as possible. 
When the first trench is filled with rhizomes, a second one is dug 
6 inches distant, and the soil from the second trench is used for 
covering the rhizomes in the first. Proceed in this way until the 
whole frame is filled. The last trench may then be filled with the 
