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purpose, and is thus briefly described in the Journal of Forestry for July, 1880: 
" Cut the bamboo of which estate baskets are made, and which is not moi-e than an 
inch or two in circumference, into bits about 3 inches long. Place these pieces 
endways close together, in thousands, cover with forest mould or fine soil and sow 
your seed. In this way there will be from one to three or four seedlings in each piece 
of bamboo. When carried out in the bamboo the best plant can be left, the others 
being removed and utilised immediately or at a subsequent period." 
' When the subject of forest conservancy was first mooted in this Colony, His 
Excellency Sir Anthony Musgrave, the then Governor of South Australia, in a lecture 
on the subject, incidentally referred to Captain Beddome's system, which he had heard 
of or seen carried into effect in India. The idea of trying to adopt the method of 
tree planting here was not, as far as I am aware, suggested at the meeting in question, 
simply, I would suppose, from the want of bamboos wherewith to carry it into effect. 
The idea, however, occurred to Mr. Murray, who was subsequently appointed as 
Conservator to the Forest Board of South Australia, that the same results might be 
obtained by the use of small pieces of the well-known reed, Arundo donax. Acting 
upon this notion, he had several pieces prepared, filled with fine soil, gum seeds sown 
in them ; and the result was such that, on his appointment to the Forest Board, he 
suggested that he might be allowed to apply the system to the planting of the 
Bundaleer reserve, where the Board had just commenced operations. This the 
Board allowed, and, under the immediate supervision of Mr. John Curnow, nurseryman, 
the system has been carried out at Bundaleer with a certain degree of success in the 
raising and planting of Eucalyptus plants. With pines it has proved a failure." 
The " bamboo " chosen is the common Danubian reed (Arundo donax), which 
flourishes in many parts of the State in muddy situations or by the sides of lagoons. 
The stems are cub by means of a tieadle-saw and a gaupe to a uniform length of about 
5 inches (not 3 inches, as is or was bhe Indian practice). It is a matter of considerable 
practical importance to secure uniformity of length and to see that they are cut 
absolutely afe right angles to the axis. The properly prepared fine soil is put into a 
stack of tubes standing on end and placed close to each other. It is necessary that 
the soil should completely fill each tube, and this is secured by tapping the tubes from 
time to time by means of a wooden beater. A little seed is placed in each tube, and 
the tubes are watered. The tubes are stacked in boxes, moderately tightly, so that 
they will remain vertical, but not too tightly, because expansion takes place, seeing 
that the tubes are kept wet. And here it may be mentioned that it is of practical 
importance to see that the bamboos are not too thick or tough. The bamboo tube 
is really a flower-pot, but with this difference : that tube and all are planted, so that 
if the tube will not readily decay in the ground the tender plant becomes pot-bound, 
or rather tube-bound, and will die or be retarded in growth. It requires judgment 
to select the tubes, and some growers half rot their tubes before putting seed in them, 
and sometimes they slit the bamboo or cut away the septum (partition of bamboo). 
Suppose the little trees to have been successfully grown, they are taken to the place 
of planting in boxes of a convenient shape. 
