2 BULLETIN" 1329^ TJ. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTTJEE 
The major portion of the introductions has naturally come from 
the Orient, chiefly Japan and China, for it is in these countries 
that bamboos attain their greatest economic importance. In nearly 
all of the early systematic agiicultural exploration work of the 
department special attention was given to the bamboos. Knapp, 
Fairchild, Lathrop, and the late Frank N. Meyer were pioneers in 
the field. Barbour Lathrop was so impressed with the possibilities 
of this group of plants in America on this third agricultural explor- 
ing expedition, carried on more than 20 years ago, that he caused to 
be made a special study of Japanese bamboos with a view to their 
introduction and utilization in the United States. These studies 
were made by David Fairchild, now in charge of the Office of 
Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction, and the results were pub- 
lished in the only bulletin (4)^ issued by the department on this 
subject. 
Long before the department inaugurated its systematic work on 
agricultural explorations, bamboos were being brought into the 
country in various ways. These unusual and often strikingly beauti- 
ful plants naturally attracted the attention of travelers, wdio found 
they could be lifted in clumps and kept alive for several weeks. 
Isolated plantings were thus early established along our southern 
seacoasts, and some of these have developed in a very striking- 
manner. An interesting case in point is the grove on the Ogeechee 
Road, 14 miles south of Savannah, Ga. This grove is now more 
than 30 years old, covers an area of something over an acre, and 
many of the plants are 50 to 60 feet in height. 
Mr. Lathrop 's continued interest in the bamboo is shown by the 
fact that when this remarkable planting of oriental bamboos was 
called to his attention he purchased it, together with 40 acres of 
surrounding land, and deeded the property to the Government for 
plant-introduction work. 
It is planned to conduct a large part of the future bamboo propa- 
gation and other work at this place. The bamboo found there seems 
likely to prove one of the best of our cold-resistant giant types, and 
since further importations of all bamboos in large quantities or for 
commercial plantings are prohibited, ov^dng to the danger of intro- 
ducing alien enemies, this grove will likely prove a very valuable 
asset as a source of propagating material. 
Early in 1908, David Fairchild, in charge of the plant-introduc- 
tion work of the department, inaugurated some extensiA^e measures 
for bamboo introduction. The services of a man believed to be an 
expert, W. D. Hills, were obtained in Japan, and he was authorized 
to get together, grow, and ship to this country a large collection 
of three or four varieties of the most important economic bamboos. 
When Mr. Hills had completed his plans he returned to the United 
States in the autumn of 1909 on an Army transport, bringing 3,500 
bamboo clumps with him. The plants were divided into two lots, 
one being sent to William Tevis, Bakersfield, Calif., and the other 
to the Plant Introduction Garden at Chico, Calif. This was an 
instructive but costly experiment, foi- it showed conclusively that 
great care is necessary in the handling of such plants. 
1 The serial numbers (italic) in parentheses refer to "Literature cited," at the end of 
this bulletin. 
