The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-07-30
USEFUL IS JHE BdHBOO.
Ano Yankee Machinery Can Work II Up M
Wen SIS japanese Fingers.

this year that the Venetian blind IA.
long given 10 West Indians and othe,
dwellers IN warm climates Several
years ago these rolling curtains OF split
bamboo made their appearance In this
city under the name Of Sidarris and they
were found so useful that they soon be.
came popular favorites. particularly In
the suburban towns. The suburban New
Yorker had fallen into the habit OF
hying much In public when outside the
walls or his house. Fashion decreed
long ago that the front fence must come
down, and the piazza, usually not far
from the street, was so exposed that IL
was useless for comfortable lounging.
and demanded the same dress that must
be worn for walking or calling The
bamboo curtain came to remedy this
evil, and 20 give 10 the American piazza
greater privacy and comfort. 1t is CHEAP
enough for the smallest cottage. pretty
enough for the most expensive, and USE
fui FOR everybody who has a piazza
Like most things that are cheap, pretty
and useful, II has made place for itself.
Possibly there may be some remote
hamlet In the United States where the
bamboo curtain has not yet appeared.
ana for the benefit Of that hamlet it may
be necessary 10 describe ii. It's is simply
rolling shade made OF thin strips of
|
at top and bottom 10 give II strength,
and ropes running through two small
| pulleys 10 raise II or let il down. il Is
| so loosely made that the wind whistles
! through II readily yet IL has enough
solidity TO make a shield from the sun
! IL may be run up or down as easily as
| any shade, and II is not only a pro-
| lection against the sun. but a valuable
screen TO shield the summer lounger from
the gaze OF every passer-by. 1t is used
only upon the piazza.
The bamboo curtain is too familiar
| hereabouts TO need any description for
the New Yorker. urban or suburban;
but there are some curious things about
1t that must attract the idle notice Of the
summer iounger II has a foreign look
throughout, and seems 10 bear the deli
cate Odors OF lacquer and fine cabinet
work that we associate with Japan. The
Stats are tiny things, perhaps quarter
Of an inch wide and a sixteenth OF an
inch thick. Wherever the marks Of a
joint appear, they are not in one Stat or
two. but I'm enough Of the Stats TO cover
a foot or more i'm height. and each one
exactly over the one below II. showing
that all those Stats have been defty cut
from one stalk Of bamboo. So neatly
and evenly Is this cutting done that the
summer lounger IS likely 10 wonder at
the patience and deXterty Of the Jap
anese wOrkmen VINO make these things.
But the patient japanese worSmen who
IT. ske these screens are usually good Anne
rican citizens. and all TIE foreign look IL
manufactured to order, and bv machin-
cry. II Is not I'm Toxic or Yokohama that
the bamboo curtains arc male. but in
New York or Brooklyn. Sdarris is a
good name TO- them because IL has a
far-away sound, and few people know |
what it means. The bamboo is n genuine |
produce. Of the tropics. but the manu- !
featuring is all done on one side or other |
OF the East river: largely In Brooklyn |
and not far from the navy yard. This |
applies. however. only 20 the bamboo |
shades and other bamboo work used I'm |
and about the city. Nearly every large |
city in the country has at least one
factory where the bamboo goods are
made. Some Of the largest Of these fac
tories. after those OF New York and
Brooklyn, are in Philadelphia, St. Louis
and San Francisco. In all OF these fac
tories. although the price Of labor is
twenty times higher than in Japan, the
goods are made as cheaply as they can be
made I'm the East. because the work Is
done with machinery
Beyond a few ornamental chairs and
tables the bamboo curtain is the first
popular use TO which bamboo has been
put in this country. it probably will not
be the last. for bamboo has a habit Of
making itself sc useful wherever il goes
that IT'S acquaintance is cultivated. The
raw material has 10 be imported. for
bamboo has not yet been raised success
fully in this country. The Chinese in
California have tried II. but without any
great success. Some lonely trees grow in
81. Augustine. I'm Florida. but they are
mere trayesticS upon the real bamboo |
OF the tropics. ~ Fort Myers in the
same state. two hundred miles further
south, there are better specimens. notably |
In the grounds OF Thomas a. Eds0n's
winter residence. There are some also AZ
Tampa. and a few at Key West But
none OF these. even with careful cutlva-
ton. gives any idea OF the gigantic.
stately, feathery bamboo OF hot countries
For commercial purposes bamboo comes
% TINS country In the holds Of sailing |
'essels, tied up In long cylindrical bundles
ma the packages OF il that one may IRE
Iuently see unloading In South street are
lot good samples OF the bamboo OF the
cast Indies. except for business uses. The
immense stalks. sometimes "A foot thick
nd sixty feet long. seldom come here. be-
ause they are not needed. Our bamboo
GODS are better made from small
whether the stalks are straight or crook
d. they are often crooked but they are
asily straightened. From the ship they
o 10 the factory. and one Of the largest
takers or bamboo goods I'm Brooklyn
ives 10 a Sun reporter this account Il
lelr Manufacture In this country;
Our raw material" he says. comes
from China, japan and India.
n these three countries we find more
nan sixty varieties. ranging between two
&c. ana sixty feet In height ana half an |
lch and eight ten. twelve inches In d. 4
meter Every one OF these varieties Is
o'ed Tor It's durability, its great ten
sHcy 70 bend when steamed its UNIQUE
ioperty OF splitting into pieces ~ any
llcAness desired and the high polish il
III take. For any OF these qualities no I"
-her wood compares with IL. In some
arieties the joints are only from five :
} eight Inches apart. and in others they |
re upward Of FIVE feet apart These 4
rger kinds are rare and are used only =
the manufacture OF the more costly /
irniture. II
what bamboo articles do we make? 8
great many, and still not nearly as -
any as We might. nor as many az we S
oDabiy shall when Americans come 10 n
now bamboo better. We make Sidarris, hi
japanese curtains screens fret work, e.
lskets and hampers. fancy boxes, para .,
rs chairs, stools flower stands, settees. q,
II racks, tables cabinets backets. easels. q
'riieres. scrolls, and fancy wood work OF Il
cry description. Most OF these things. IL
u VIII notice are fancy articles. Plainer
~ more useful things will come I'm time