| Show the emba tree there is no DO tree known on earth that sub serves so many purposes as the bamboo the indian obtains from it 0 9 part of his food many of his bis bo household utensils I 1 and a wood at onee onca lighter and capable of bearing greater strains than heavier timber or of the be isaure size besides in expeditions in the tto tio ti ople opie ples pies 4 under the rays of a vertical sun bamboo trunks have moro than buco been used as barrels in which a water much purer than could be preserved in of any other kind hind is fresh for the tho crew upon the west coast of sout boul of asia bamboos furnish all the materials for the construction of houses at af once pleasant plea piea aut ant substantial and preferable to those of sone wone bone which the frequently recurring earthquakes bring down upon the heads beads of the lodgers the loftiest loft iest of the bamboos is the in tracts where it grows in the tha greatest perfection it ib sometimes rises to the height of feet with a stem only 18 13 inches in diameter at the tho bate bahe the wood itself Is ia only an inch in thickness the fact that the bamboo is hollow has made it eminently useful for a variety of purposes it serves as a measure for liquids and anti ir if fitted with a lid and a bot bottom torn toru trunks and barrels are made of it small boats even are made of the largest trunks by strengthening them with strips of other wood where needed I 1 in one day they obtain the height of several feet and with the microscope their development can cau be easily watched but the most remarkable thin thing about the bamboo is their blossoming bloss oming 1 with all tills this marvelous rapidity of growth they bloom only twice in a century c en the rower flower appearing at the end of 60 50 years like other grasses they die after having borne seed eed ex c |
