35 
Part V.] Prarson : Note on the Utilization of Bamboo. 
Experts up to recent times have been of opinion that the nodes and inter¬ 
nodes could not be treated together, and at the time the writer first took 
up the enquiry, he was of the same opinion. Had it been known from 
the first that in the case of B. polymorpha, and C. pergracile both nodes 
and internodes could be treated together, much labour and time might 
have been saved. When inspecting the various bamboo areas and at 
the time of counting and weighing large quantities of bamboos to obtain 
figures of outturn per acre, the bamboos which were cut for this pur¬ 
pose were further cut into tubes and the nodes and internodes weighed 
separately. The results obtained are given in the Appendices, and. 
throughout the report mention is made both of the nodes and 
internodes. To obtain the total weight of the bamboos it is only 
necessary to add the weight of nodes to that of the internodes, while 
in the case of B. arundinacea and possibly in that of M. bambusoides 
it will be necessary to cut out the nodes before treatment, so that 
the calculations, based on the internodes only, have been left as they 
are in the report. 
Crushing versus cutting bamboos before treatment. —To overcome the 
difficulty of treating nodes and internodes together, Raitt, in his above- 
quoted report, advocates crushing the bamboos between rollers and 
in this way proposes to reduce the material to a tow-like substance. 
This method has its advantages and disadvantages. The liquor acts 
more readily on the crushed material resulting in more rapid liberation 
of the fibre ; on the other hand, the material is rendered more bulky 
and the capacity of a digester is reduced by one-half.* The other method 
is to chop the material into narrow sections about 1" long. The results 
obtained, by treating both nodes and internodes of B .polymorpha and 
C. pergracile bamboos, by cutting them into short sections and boiling 
them in large digesters, have proved most successful. 
Washing bamboos before boiling. —Owing to the dust and dirt which 
is found in bamboos, especially those which have been stored for a con¬ 
siderable time, it has been found necessary to first pass the cut chips 
through a fanning machine and afterwards to wash them in running 
water. 
Steaming. —Raitt, in his report, advocates treating the bamboos by 
steaming or boiling them in water before introducing the liquor. 
* Note.— Since writing the above Raitt has been able to reduce the bulk of the raw 
material when crushed by a process of fractional distillation. 
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