Smyrna times., 1866-02-14
a Tree Of All-Work.

ness, the DamDO0 nlgnC lalrly claim Cne cTOWu
of the vegetable kingdom. Tried by the test
of utility to man, there is no plant the earth
| produces worthy to enter into competition with
| it. The Chinese say. and truly say, the bam-
] boo Is all nroit Seasoned with chlllles, its
/ tender Young shoots make favorite SANDAL OF
the Malay; sliced and boiled, they are served
at the tables of the wealthlest Japanese; and
when salted, dried, and prepared IN vinegar,
thev make a pickle ever welcome to the Sia-
mese gourmand As the plant grows older,
| fluid is secreted in its hollow joints which af-
ford refreshing beverage, and if it is allowed
to remain untapped, the valuable medicine
tabischeer-said to resist alike fire and acids
is produced. The leaves of the bamboo are
reckoned a sovereign remedy for sore throat,
as the bark is all powerful against fever, and
other useful medicamGnts are obtained from
the buds and the roots.
Entire houses are constructed out of the bam-
boot, the stoutest parts of the tree supplying
ready y-turned pillars, while the slenderer joints
are combined together to form the walls
Split into laths, and beaten out, it makes an
excellent flooring; and for the roof the canes
are arranged side by side across the building
with their concave sides uppermOst to catch
the rain; the edges Of these are covered with
another row with the convex side outward, and
! thus the roof is ndrr,.d perfectly water tight
Should the hon ..hollrr se iurkv enough To
Il
! boo palisado for II his host protection against
intruders, whether qua1rup d or biped. Does
he want to bring the waters OF the ucighboIing
river into his service for dom site purposes in
the hollow stems of the bamboo he has pipes
ready To his hand pipes easily converted into
cutters and spOutI IL ret rid of the water he
does not want. Then. inside this bamboo
house will be tOu al chairs to sit upon, benches
to recline upon, mattresses to lie upon, pillows
20 kha had oDH IN Re IN mt tho foot
upon, all and each Of the same material as the
tube through which their owner lnhales the fra
grant weed at home, and the cane he leans up
on, as he takes his walks abroad, with bam-
/ boo basket on his arm, a bamboo hat upon his
head, and possibly bamboo splints at his finger
ends to protect his long uncut nails.
! The tea crops Of the inland districts Of China
ind their way to the seapOrtS upon the Shout
ders of the coolies Two strong bamboo canes
are fastened to the sides of the load. their ends
resting on the shoulders of the carriers. When
the load is too much for four men, room is
made for any additional number of bearers, by
joining shorter bambOOs to a cross-piece fixed
10 the ends of the longer canes. The palan-
Quins of the mandarins are borne through the
streets in similar manner The bamboo is
applied to tranSltpurpOSeS in many other ways.
1.-The cany wagons light of Milton are still
used in Cathay; the Dyak propels his light
| CdLOt ny uSdLS VI tIlc DdIuDOOJ lDC TlNGT-TdLlS
Eof the Chinese are made of nothing else; and
give Hindu boat builder three pennyworth Of
! bamboo, and he will turn out tour-ton vessel,
with masts and sails complete.
| The Japanese separate the heads of their
corn from the stalks by beating it over bam-
boo grating, which, having a sharp edge, cuts
of the grain at every stroke, leaving it to fall
through the grating to the ground or, after
being thrashed with bamboo fail, the grain
is siited through bamboo sieve.
When about to erect house, the first pro-
ceeding on the part of a Chinese builder is the
raising of strong but light scaffolding of bam-
boo, and inside this the house is built up
When building is to be pulled down, the
bamboo is again called into rcquisition; the
roof having been taken off, each of the end
walls is attacked by party Of coolies, who fix
tler bamboOs as high up the wall as possible,
and push steadily together till it topples over
with loud crash and a smothering dust. This
process is often performed at FIRE, TO stay the
progress of the destroyer, The Cantonese pos
sess hre engine, but for all that still press the
bamboo into service, the hose being held over
r the peoples heads ON long bamboos, and by
: their agency carried quickly to any desired
4 spot. The watch towers, too, from whence the
police discern the whereabouts Of fire as soon
: as 1t breaks out, are merely skeletons Of BAN
1 boo.
b Inc NulueSc mdQ OI leLCorS writes with q
bamboo pen upon paper of the same material
: the musician extracts sounds sweet to Chimes,
ears from bamboo instruments, and the arts
Y is indebted to the same sOucre for his brushes
e Besides serving SO many uses In commerce
e industry, and art, the bamboo performs it
q part in warlike operations, supplying lances
bows, and those wonderful grOtesque shield
+ with which the braves of the Celestial Empir
seek to frighten their foes. The earliest at
It tempt in the way of cannon on the part Of tn,
d Chinese was weapon Of bamboo.
John Chinaman would be an ungrateful ras
cal it he did not love and admire his tree of all
X work but he has good reason, also, to lool
z upon 1t with awe and trembling The bambO
is the eall and end-all Of the Chinese code O
:. justice, and as such may fairly be said to rul
o1 the most populous country in the world Chi
,e nese law recognizes two degrees of punishment
sr in the first and least severe, the number O
blows inflicted on an offender, varies from fou
to twenty, that being considered discipline sui
Is 6cient to make transgessor entertain sens
is of shame for his past behavior, and render hin
p cautious as to his future conduct. The secon
class of punishmentS applies to offences Of
- serious nature, and the law allows as many a
s, a hundred blows TO be awarded; but in praC
t tice forty is the limit. Two different instru
r ments are used one being bamboo five fee
|: eight inches long, two inches and three-qual
u ters broad, weighing nearly three pounds; tn
q, other is of smaller dimensions, falling short {
e. two two pounds in weight. Women are not e,
Of empt from the bamboo discipline, but, by
" stretch of gallantry, are permitted to wear
y single upper garment during the lntilctl?n
n the punishment, except in cases OF matrlm'
- nial in6delity, when they must content thell men
u. selves with the protection afforded by the
,v lower garments In China, as elsewhere, tf
l. law is supposed to be no respecter Of person
= and in theory all ranks are subject to the ban
ul- booi but the fact that the stripes awarded !
ur the judge are commuted into proportional
~ practice The criminal in 'c,u experience Of Ii
~ bamboo's adaptability does not stop here
"a ne is obstinase in asserting his innocence, bar
ID boo stakes supply the officials with the meal
m OF inHicting no end Of ingenious tortures al
- when his death is deemed necessary, bamb'
'f- rope vindicates the majesty Of the law s
a4s There are several speciesot bamboo, but b
" . tA .. 4s-Btsl..,e = g 4 ...t tst .a -, 4.