Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-06-25

David G. Fairchild,
the Agricultural Explorer.
children of the Spanish mountain villages
crack the nuts and take out the kernels for
shipment. When they are thoroughly in
troduced here cracking machines will do
this work.
Another nut which we are introducing"
said Mr.. Fairchild, us the cashew nut,
which grows in different parts of Africa
and elsewhere. 1t is served roasted and
will some day be far more liked than the
peanut Is now. 1 think the cashew tree
can be grown In Porto Rico.
Bamboo Trees for Uncle Sam.
Zone of the most important projects in
this line" continued Mr.. Fairchild, is the
Introduction of the Japanese bamboo for
the gulf states Florida and southern
Texas. We have imported thousands OF
bamboos and have placed them in the
hands of a few selected men, who, 1t Is
thought. will be capable of handling them.
We hope that commercial groves Of bam-
boo timber can be grown throughout the
south, and they will be as profitable there
as they are in Japan"
"Give some idea of the bamboos of
Japan and the money in them7" I asked
1T would take a book to tell the story"
said Mr.. Fairchild. There are many va
rieties, used for all sorts of purposes. The
bamboo. you know, is a giant grass which
grows not only in the tropics, but also in
the upper regions of the Andes and Hima-
layas, which are covered with deep snow
In the winter. The plant is found almost
everywhere in the Philippines and the DIFF
ferent varieties may be introduced into
Porto Rico and Hawaii. Some of the bam-
DOCS have edible shoots, which look like
giant asparagus sprouts and may be cook
ed and eaten in the same way. They are
a delicious vegetable and will some day
have place in the American market.
Other bamboos are grown entirely for the
timber and for use In manufacturing. 1
think the timber species be grown
along the Yazoo river in Mississippi, and
that they would be very valuable crop"
Are bamboos cultivated" I asked.
Yes the Japanese treat them with all
the care of other field crops They set
them out In orchards or groves. taking a
harvest of poles in August later. OF
some varieties there are four or five thou
sand to the acre. and more than a thou
sand culms or stalks can be marketed from
them every year. The plants are usually
set out about twelve feet apart and the
first stalks cut when the grove is about
four years Old
Give me some idea of the profits of
bamboo raising"
''They should be greater here than In
Japan" said Mr.. Fairchild, land as far as
l could learn the business pays very we'll
there. DR.. Shfga of the japanese bureau of
forestry told me that the bamboo was one
of the best crops of the country, often
yielding $50 gold per acre. OF this 20 per
cent came from the edible shoots. Another
Japanese who raised bamboo timber told
me he was annually making about $40 per
acre out of his land, and near Kiota
heard Of men who were making as much as
$50 per acre. Prices rise and fall from year
to year. About five years ago some of
the planters who were raising groves of
black bamboo were realizing $500 per acre.
They are now netting about $50
THE bamboo" continued Mr.. Fairchild,
us the most indispensable Of all trees in
the far east 1t is used for everything I'M
der the sun. 1t forms the building material,
the furniture wood, the kitchen utensils.
the water pipes, and in some places the
floors and rafters Of the houses. 1t Is
used to make ropes and mats, fans and
umbrellas. 1t largely takes the place of
iron and wire. and Of many other things.
Here 1t Is used chiefly for fishing poles, of
would indeed be a valuable addition to our
timber CROP
Japan's Wonderful Paper Plant.
The conversat ton here turned to the Jap
ar csc paper plants which now being
brought to the United States. The Japa-
nese make the finest papers of the world.
They have some which look like silk, so
strong that a large sheet will support the
weight of the average men. They have
the finest of tissue papers, some of which
are imported by opticians for wiping lenses
and glasses, and the dentists all over the
country dry out the cavities in teeth prep
atory to filling them with gold with
porous paper made in Japan. Mr.. Fair
child showed me samples of some of these
papers, and, among other things, what
looked like leather portfolio which would,
l suppose. cost at least s. at any notion
store in this country. 1t was made of paper
instead of leather, and l was told it had
cost just Is cents.
THE japanese papers,, said Mr. Fair
child, come from different sources but
chiefly from the mitsumata plant which
covers the hillsideS and Is also grown
between the rice fields throughout central
Japan. 1t is perennial shrub with long,
lance-shaped leaves and yellow flowers. It's
bark has long, delicate flbers, and it is Sc
cured by cutting the plant and stripping
off the bark which is then macerated and
made into paper.
This plant could be grown in the United
States, and it might be harvested by ma
chinery. The plants are grown from the
They are cut off from year to year, other
sprouts coming UP for another crop.
The japanese make their napkins. UNI
brellas and lanterns out OF paper. 1t takes
tho place of glass in the walls of the peo-
pies houses and as oiled paper serves as
rubber blankets and rubber coats. 1 see
no reason why such plants should not be
raised here and why, with our modern ma
chinery, they might not form an important
part of our paper industry. 1 understand
that from 900 to 1900 pounds of bark can
be annually produced on one acre. and that
this when made into pulp Is worth in
Japan from Is to 16 cents In gold per pound.
This would make a profit I should say,
of 500 or upward per acre.
FRANK G. CARPENTER.