Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1893-12-16
THE USEFUL BAMBOO.
yAnKEE MACHINERY COMPLETES
VITA JAPANESE FINGERS.

wwasfs~su~sd Products % rorsisn Weed |
Ara ropusar. eas csasrary % General
neiisf rhey Are szsas In This Country.
sapsness Curtains
The light bamboo curtain Is giving the
annss privacy 20 suburban New foFksr
ths- rear that the venetian blind has long |
owen Ia West Indians and other jewellers |
IN warm climates Several years ago these |
railing cxrsains Of split bamboo made their |
spnearance la this city under the name OF
sfdarris, and they were found so useful
that they soon became popular favoritea,
particularly In the suburban towns The
suburban New Yorker had fallen into the
habit Of living much in public when out
zids the walls OF his hcnss
Fashion decreed long ago that tbs front
fencs must come down. and the piazza.
usually net FAR from tho street. WIS 30 ex-
posed that It was useless for comfortable
lounsdnE and demanded the same dress
that must he worn for walking or calling.
The bnmpco curtain came TO remedy this
evil and TO give to tho American piazza
greater privacy and comfort ft In cheap
XHXHXu t0f tie htAl&ttGMt &NS&AEAs ftGsAI
enough for the most expensive and useful
for everybody who has n piazza Like
most things that are cheap. pretty and use
full. IL has male place for itself
Possibly there may be some remote ham
lee In the United States where the bamboo
curtain hns not Jet appeared. and for the
b~uefit Of that hamlet II may lie necessary
% describe IL. IL IL simply n rolling shade
made Of thin strips Of split bamboo. with a
round bamboo rod NJ top and bottom to
give II strength and ropes running through
two small pulleys 20 raise IL or let IL down
II IN no loosely made that the wind whis
ties through Il readily, yet II has enough
xolIdity TO make u shield from the sun. II
mar I've run up or down m easily ~ any
shade. and IL Ii not only a protection
sgxinst the sun, but valuable screen TO
shield the summer Younger from the gaze
Of every passerby II Is used only upon the
pinzxa
Thr bamboo curtain in too familiar hero
abuuts 20 need any description for the New
Yorker. urban or suburban. but there nrc
some curious things about IL that must at
tract the idle notice OF the summer loung
On. IL has n foreign look throughout and
seems to bear the delicate odors OF lacquer
2uu lll& CH0fGiGk WQEM Thai We A%&uGtlN&
with Japan. The Stats are tiny things.
perhaps quarter OF an inch wide and n
sixtecnth OF nm inch thick. Wherever the
marks OF a joint appear. they are not In ono
Stat or two. but in enough OF tho Stats to
cover foot or more In height, and each
one exactly over the one below 1t. showing
that all these stats have been deftly cur
from one stalk Of bamboo. So neatly and
evenly In this cutting done that the sum
naer Younger IN likely to wonder Mt the pa.
tisnoc and dexterity of the Japanese work.
men who make these things
Tut the patient Japanese workmen who
make these screens are usually good Amer.
acan citizens. and all the foreign look n
manufactured TO order and by machinery.
Il IN not In Toxic or Yokohama that the
bamboo curtains are made, but In New
York or brooklyn. Sidarris In good name
Tor them because It has a far away sound.
and lew people know what IL means. The
bam,oo In a genuine product OF the tropics.
but the manufacturing In all done on one
side or other OF the East river-largely In
hrooklyn. and not far from the navy yard
This applies. however. only to the bamboo
shssisss aud other bamboo work used In and
shout this city. Nearly every large city In
she country has nc least one factory where
AkBtA088 &JaAAH s@A&AAG 2utffC VI lug
largest Of these factories after those of
New York and Brooklyn. are In Philadel.
phia, ST. Louis and San Francisco. In all
OF these factories, although the prizes OF
labor IL 10 times higher than In Japan. the
goods are made M chsaply AZ they can be
made In the east because the work In done
with machinery
Beyond a few ornamental chairs and u,
biex. the bamboo curtain Ii the FIRST popu.
lar use 10 which bamboo has been put In
this country. II probably viii not he the
lazls for bamboo bus a habit OF making IL
self so useful wherever IL goes that It's no
Qnaintance II cultivated The raw mate.
rial has 10 oe imported. for banib boo has not
yet pecn successfully raised In this coan.
twy The Chinese In California have tried
Il. but without any great success. some
to;iely trees grow In ST. Augustine In Flor
Ma. bnt they nfe mere irayssties upon tbs
renl hamhoo OF the tropics.
Fur commercial purposes bamboo comes
% this country Ia the holds OF sailing ves
sslK. ti~d up In long cylindrical bundles
and The packages Of 1t that one mny ire
quentiy wee unloading In south street ar.
uat Epod samples Of the bamboo OF the Last
indiss1 except Tor business uses The i'm
m~nse stalks, sometimes n foot thick nnl
ks
nrw NOT nresiesl. 0ur bamboo soosls nrc bct
ter made from small growths. and II IN 10
mitch mHttcr whether thestai ksare straigl
o. crooked They are often crooked. bu
shey arr e,.Sily Strengthened.
Our raw material" says q maker 0
bnmlsos goods. comes principally from
China. Japan and India In these ahrc,
countris~ We lind more than co varieties
ringing between } feet ausl 90 feet Ia leigh
and half an inch and \. 10. II inches Ii
diameter Every one ~ these varieties I
nos~si fur IT, durability, ils great tcIldene,
20 iseiid when steamed. Its unique propert,
OF splitting into pieces Of amy thickness
dsxisssd. and The high polish II will take
Fer any Of these qualities 10 other weoi
compare with H. Ia some varieties ,h
joints ARE Gully from Eve to eight inche
apart. and In others they are upward of iiv
fset apart These larger kinns are ran
and arr ussd only In tile manufacture @
the morr costly furniture.
.sWhas banls0o articles do we makcs i
great nsauy. and still not neariy ~ many d
we might. nor ia many IN we probnb
aknil when Americans come 10 know ham
kco better We make Sidarris or .japane,
curtains. srrerus. frrtwork. baskets an
kaiaper~. fancy boxes. parasols. chair,
atcols flower stands. settees. hafraek,
tables. cmbinsss. brackets. easels. portieres
scnolls and fancy woodwork OF every ds
bsripGinu anst VI these things. yeu vii
nosica are fancy articles. Palmer an
more useful things will come Ia time A
soon m there IL demand for them we M
ready 10 make half the furnishing and III
ting of n auflne from bamboo