BAMBOOS: THEIR CULTURE AND USES 23 
Southern canes are cut in this countr}^ from the native cane 
which is so common in the Southern States. The scientific name of 
this bamboo is Arundinaria tecta. These canes as they appear on 
the market are from 3 to 8 feet in length and little larger than a 
lead pencil in girth. Six-foot canes sell wholesale for about $10 per 
1,000 and 10-foot stakes for $27.50. Southern-cane stakes 7 to 9 
feet long sell for about $14 per 1,000. The plant stakes are easily 
grown, the stake bamboo {Phyllostachys nevinii) being one of the 
best for this purpose. The production of plant stakes appears to be 
one of the small commercial enterprises that might well be under- 
taken^ in this countr}^, as it could be carried on in places and in a way 
that would not invoh^-e much labor, a sort of side line, as it were, 
in connection with the use of the same plant as a forage crop. 
Then, there are large quantities of bamboo material imported simpty 
under the name of poles. These poles are cheap and it is believed 
are harvested mostl}^ from the timber bamboo {Phyllostachys haiii- 
husoides). 
From our experience with the bamboo there would seem little 
doubt that it can be grown here so as to meet the demand for most 
of the purposes above indicated, provided the competition of the 
Orient in the matter of cost can be met. 
BAMBOOS FOR TIMBER 
The lightness and strength of the large timber bamboo make it 
very valuable in many kinds of construction work. Lack of laiowl- 
edge as to how to handle such material is one of the drawbacks 
here. A Japanese or Chinese craftsman will take this wood and do 
many things with it that would be entirely beyond our own carpen- 
ters. Note the scaffolding where large construction work is under 
way in any Japanese city. It is made entirely of bamboo poles 
lashed together in such fashion that it is quickly put up, taken 
down, and used over and over again. An American would find dif- 
ficulty in moving on one of these scaffolds, but the Japanese work- 
man clings to the round, smooth poles with his bare feet, like a 
chicken on a roost. Many of the cozy homes of Japan are built 
ahnost entirely of timber bamboos. Unsplit poles are used for sup- 
porting posts, rafters, and beams; split poles are employed for 
siding and many other purposes. 
The Japanese, as well as other peoples of these eastern countries, 
use the thin-walled bamboos split and woven into a kind of coarse 
matting for both exterior and interior construction. In the Philip- 
pines this material is called " sawale," and according to a bulletin (i) 
issued by the Philippine Department of Agriculture it has value for 
the construction of light bungalows even in temperate climates. 
Quoting from the bulletin : 
It is also very attractive as an interior finisli in strong-material houses. 
Sawale is of particular advantage in the construction of large temporary build- 
ings. In Manila there is held an annual carnival, in which very imposing 
structures are constructed rapidly and cheaply with the aid of this material. 
When the Philippine National Guard was organized, all the barracks were con- 
structed very quickly on account of the use of sawale. In the entire l*hilippine 
exhibits at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition at San Francisco, 
Calif., various weaves and classes of sawale were used extensively in the 
