Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/322

306 it, leaving only four or five inches above the joint next the ground. The cavity is then filled with a mixture of horse- litter and sulphur. According to the vigour of the root, the shoots will be more or less numerous; they are destroyed at an early stage during three successive years ; and those springing in the fourth resemble the parent tree. The uses to which all the parts and products of the bamboo are applied in Oriental countries are almost endless. The soft and succulent shoots, when just beginning to spring, are cut over and served up at table like asparagus. lake that vege table, also, they are earthed over to keep them longer fit for consumption; and they ail ord a continuous supply during the whole year, though it is more abundant in autumn. They are also salted and eaten with rice, prepared in the form of pickles, or candied and preserved in sugar. As the plant grows older, a species of fluid is secreted in the hollow joints, in which a concrete substance, highly valued in the East for its medicinal qualities, called tabaxir or tabascheer,is gradually developed. This substance, which has been found to be a purely siliceous concretion, is possessed of peculiar optical properties. As a medicinal agent the bamboo is almost or entirely inert, and it has never been received into the European ruateria medica. A decoction of the leaves of the plant is, however, employed in the East for pectoral affections, and the leaf-buds are said to be diuretic. The grains of the bamboo are available for food, and the Chinese have a proverb that it produces seed more abundantly in years when the rico crop fails, W 7 hich means, probably, that in times of dearth the natives look more after such a source of food. The Hindus eat it mixed with honey as a delicacy, equal quantities being put into a hollow joint, coated externally with clay, and thus roasted over a fire. It is, however, the stem of the bamboo which is applied to the greatest variety of uses. Joints of sufficient size form water buckets ; smaller ones are used as bottles, and among the Dyaks of Borneo they are employed as cooking vessels. Bamboo is extensively used as a timber wood, and houses are frequently made entirely out of the products of the plant ; complete sections of the stem form posts or columns ; split up, it serves for floors or rafters ; and, interwoven in lattice-work, it is employed for the sides of rooms, admitting light and air. The roof is sometimes of bamboo solely, and when split, which is accomplished with the greatest ease, it can be formed into laths or planks. It is employed in shipping of all kinds ; some of the strongest plants are selected for masts of boats of moderate size, and the masts of larger vessels are sometimes formed by the union of several bamboos built up and joined together. The bamboo is employed in the construction of all kinds of agricultural and domestic implements, and in the materials and implements required in fishery. Bows are made of it by the union of two pieces with many bands ; and, the septa being bored out and the lengths joined together, it is employed, as we use leaden pipes, in transmitting water to reservoirs or gardens. From the light and slender stalks shafts for arrows are obtained; and in the south-west of Asia there is a certain species of equally slender growth, from which writing-pens or reeds are made. A joint forms a holder for papers or pens, and it was in a joint of bamboo that silk-worm eggs were carried from China to Con stantinople during the reign of Justinian. The outer cuticle of Oriental species is so hard that it forms a sharp and durable cutting edge, and it is so siliceous that it can be used as a whetstone. This outer cuticle, cut into thin strips, is one of the most durable and beautiful materials for basket-making, and both in China and Japan it is largely so employed. Strips are also woven into cages, chairs, beds, and other articles of furniture, Oriental wicker-work in bamboo being unequalled for beauty and neatness of workmanship. In China the interior portions of the stem are beaten into a pulp, and used for the manufacture of the finer varieties of paper. Bamboos are imported to a considerable extent into Europe for the use of basket-makers, and for umbrella and walking-sticks. In short, the purposes to which the bamboo is applicable are almost endless, and well justify the opinion that &quot; it is one of the most wonderful and most beautiful productions of the tropics, and one of Nature s most valuable gifts to uncivilized man&quot; (A. II. Wallace, The Malay Archipelago).  BAMBOROUGH, a village in Northumberland, on the sea-coast, 14 miles N. of Alnwick. It was a royal borough previous to the Norman Conquest, and returned two members to parliament in the 23d year of Edward I. Its ancient castle stands close to the sea on an almost perpen dicular rock, 150 feet in height, and is accessible only on the south-east side. The first erection is ascribed by the Saxon chronicles to King Ida of Northumberland, who is said to have named it Uebbanburh after his queen Bebbo (547 A.D.) The principal events in its early history are the sieg&quot;e by Penda in 642, the ravages of the Danes in 993, the unsuccessful defence by De Mowbray against William Rufus, and numerous sieges during the Wars of the Roses. In the reign of Henry VII. it fell into decay. At length, in the 18th century, it became the property of lord Crewe, bishop of Durham, who, in 1720, vested the castle and manor in trustees for charitable purposes. In virtue of this bequest a patrol is kept on the coast, apart ments are provided for shipwrecked seamen, and a store house for salvage-goods, and granaries are maintained in order to supply corn to the poor at a cheap rate in times of scarcity. An infirmary, a dispensary, and a large library be queathed by Dr Sharp, are also maintained, while poor chil dren receive gratuitous education at two &quot;national&quot; schools. Population in 1871, 320 in the village, and 3751 in the parish.  BAMBOUK, a country in the interior of Western Africa, situated between the Senegal and its tributary the Faleme, and extending from lat. 12 30 to 14 N., and from long. 10 to 12 30 W. It is traversed from N.W. to S.E. by the steep and wall-like range of the Tamba-Ura Mountains. The soil in a large part of the country is of remarkable fertility ; rice, maize, millet, melons, manioc, grapes, bananas, and other fruits, grow almost without cultivation ; the forests are rich in a variety of valuable trees; and extensive stretches are covered with abundant pasturage of the long guinea-grass. As a- natural consequence there is great profusion of animal life. The inhabitants, a branch of the Mandingo race, have made but little progress in civilization. The one product of their country which really excites them to labour is gold ; and even it is so common and accessible that the rudest methods of collection are deemed sufficient. The most remarkable deposit is at Natakoo, where a considerable hill seems to be wholly composed of auriferous strata. There is also a good mine at Kenieba. In exchange for the gold, cloth, ornaments, and salt the last a most valuable article are imported. The usual beast of burden is the ass, the horse being only possessed by the very wealthiest in the country. Sheep and cattle are both pretty numerous. Unfortunately, the climate is very unhealthy, especially in the rainy season, which lasts for about four months, from July or August. The chief towns are Bambouk, Salaba, and Konkuba. The Portuguese early penetrated into Bambouk, and were even for some time masters of the country ; but the inhabitants made a general rising and completely drove them out. Remains of their buildings, however, are still to be seen. The French, soon after they had formed their settlement on the Senegal, turned their attention to this land of gold. It was not till 1716, however, that Compagnon, under the auspices of De la Brue, the governor of Senegal, succeeded, by great 