The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-05
UNIVERSAL PROVIDERS.
some of Them That Nature Furnish
es-The Banana and bamboo.
From the New York Post.

words. he must have been in a frame of
mind more suitable for the Monks of the
Laura. as described by Kingsley in 'Hyp-
atia.'' than for the Holy Clerk Of Cop
manhurst," whose deeds form not the
least interesting portion of the history
of "Ivanhoe" 1t would be curious and
intricate mental operation to calculate
the number of the sources from which
81 millionaire derives his necessaries and
injuries, when, besides his city home, he
has "a cottage by the sea-" a hunting
lodge in the forest, and a yacht in the
barbor. If we performed a like invest-
cation into the needs of the mechanic and
The country farmer, we should find that
even in the best supplied store, where
YOU can "buy anything from a needle to
a sheet anchor" they could not purchase
something or other which they regard
as a necessary of life.
What man, howver, cannot do, some
uants very nearly do, and, under some
circumstances, might possibly completely
do If we visited some oasis in an Afri-
can desert, where the date-palm rears its
feathery head above the expanse of sandy
main, We should find this tree supplying
'pretty nearly all the natives require for
their simple life, for at least nine months
Of the year. 1t yields them farinaceous
food and sugar; wine, vinegar and oil;
timber for the house and furniture, and
uses; mats for seats and beds; and even
a paper on which to scratch their rec
Ords if they should be so unfortunate as
to have an event out of the common.
In the cocoanut palm the South Sea Is
lander finds an equally valuable supplier
Of wants; for, in addition to all the Arab
gets from the date palm, he has the shells
OF the nut for his drinking vessels. From
such a specimen of natures workmanship
he may quaff that drink which can turn
even the philosopher into a Syibarite; for
Of it Grant Allen can write, You take the
cool cup thankfully and swallow it down
at one long draught; fresh as a May
morning pure as an English hillside
spring. delicate as-well, as cocoanut wa
Ter None but itself can be its parallel.
II is certainly the most delicious, dainty,
transparent, crystal drink ever invented"
In the islands of the tropical seas, where
the temperature renders the house of less
Importance than it is elsewhere, the ba-
mana provides for almost every known
want If timber is not included in its
gifts it compensates for the omission by
Yielding a remarkable substitute for flax,
which is prepared from the stalk of the
leaves and is woven into the most delicate
fahrics fit for the dress Of the dusky
brides The top of the stalk, also, forms
an excellent vegetable when boiled. The
lavish character of the bananas gifts, in
deed. may be gathered from Humboldts
statement: THE food produce, compared
with that of the potato, is as A to l, and
with that of wheat as 1873 to 1. A square
space OF 1000 feet will grow forty or fifty
plants. and one acre of ground will yield
sufficient support for fifty men, Take
match of land and cultivate it with wheat,
and it will nourish its tiller; plant it with
bananas, and it will maintain half com
pany of soldiers.
But of all the natural providers" for
Of ha r
" approaches the ideal of a universal one;
and some of its products are not unknown
in the haunts of our most refined civili-
cation. When one takes a glance at the
furniture of the summer cottage" the
prevalence of bamboo is a remarkable
feature. 1t seems to accord with the al
most tropical heat and the consequent
languid tolerance of existence among the
inmates. The easy chairs on the porch;
the tables scattered about, the brackets
which hold the delicate porcelain orna-
ments, some of which are incased in cum
ningly devised wicker-work made of bam-
boo; the screen which keeps off the too in
trusive rays of the sun, while it admits
the freshness of the sea-breeZe; the
splashers at the washstand, inviting
cooling dash of water; the waste-paper
basket, suggesting a method of getting
rid Of too troublesome correspondence, and
many another 'trifie," all indicate the
pLCSHuCG VI that NIOplCdA SLONlhs WlOSS
Malay name, "bambu," has found place
N our vocabulary ever since the seven
tenth century.
Wallace, the traveller naturalist, says
that he had to go to Borneo to learn ito
appreciate the admirable qualities of the
bamboo" 1t may be questioned whether
any other single group of plants ever had
such summary of excellent characters
tics written about it as that which he has
given of this genus of the aboreScent
grasses. Their strength, lightness,
smoothness, straightness, roundness, and
hollowness, the facility and regularity
with which they can be cut and with which
holes can be made through them, their
hardness outside, their freedom from any
pronounced taste or smell, their great
abundance, and the rapidity of their
growth and increase, are all qualities
winch render them useful for a hundred
Inherent purposes, to serve which other
materials would require much more labor
ana preparation. The bamboo is one of
We most wonderful and most. beautiful
productions of the tropics, and one of ma
lures most valuable gifts to uncivilized
man"
members Of the genus are found in the
Vopical parts of America, but the chief
hume Oh the finest species is in the east of
ASIA in China, India and the Malayan ar
O1ipelago. Although a grass in its botani-
va dInhltles, 1t may rank as a tree, for it
sonetimes reaches hight of eighty feet
WIN diameter of eighteen inches. It's
idpidlty OF growth is such that two and
ualI leet in one day have been recorded;
qua IN the FARMHOUSE of the Botanical
s@roens at Kew. near London, specimens
asVe grown thirty feet in three months
u the year.
ne tree" is indeed beautiful. Shoots
S~ing ON alternate sides from the joints,
9.u' these being furnished with leaves,
III, me whole looks, like a gigantic feather
ne Chlnese carefully cultivate it, in or
uer TO obtain good specimens for special
@"Poses; but in the Malayan Islands
lnueed generally, the supply is obtained
" IGN the native Jungle.
nat the Dyaks of Borneo and other
lives OF those regions would do without
e bamboo is difficult to imagine, for II
tspples them with nearly everything
tFy need, short of food, and they OBJ
y pin even that from it partially. The
hing shoots furnish a vegetable resem,
f'HS asparagus. Not only are they eaten
49,, n When boiled, but they are pickled
tInD'eu and preserved in sugar for fu-
Cbi use The seeds are largely used In
Una as substitute for rice and the