and the dreadful storm was averted from Constantinople until the Hungarians in their turn were driven back, and Mohammed the second with a firm hand held the sceptre.

The Turks were now no longer those undisciplined hords, which invaded the Asiatic provinces. Aided by the military arts, imbued with an invincible ardor to maintain the conflict with the infidels, they were terrible in the field of battle. The crafty Mohammed amused the Greeks by solemn promises of lasting friendship, whilst he was carrying on his hostile preparations without interruption. Constantine Palæologus, the emperor, found himself on the brink of ruin, but like a Christian he addressed his enemy, saying: "Since neither oaths, nor treaty, nor submission can secure peace, pursue your impious warfare. My trust is in God alone; if it should please him to soften your heart, I shall rejoice in the happy change; if he delivers the city into your hands, I shall submit without a murmur to his holy will. But until the Judge of the earth shall pronounce between us, it is my duty to live and to die in the defense of my people." The siege of Constantinople commenced and was carried on with all that vigor which formed the prominent characteristic of Mohammed the 2d. The Turks prevailed, and the city was taken in 1453, where they maintain their ground to the present time, All Europe began to tremble before the common foe, whose arms were generally victorious; the Christians acknowledged in them a scourge from God. Hungaria, Poland, and Germany were alternately laid waste by these ferocious invaders, and a general,prayer at that time inserted in the litany shows at once the dread and the devotion of the Christian world. But the season appointed by the Lord to curb their power of insolence has arrived; Turkey lies prostrate before the giant of the north, and acknowledges the independence of the most despised of its former vassals. The land of their ancestors also after many a hard struggle has been reduced by the Chinese to utter subjection, and the power of this indomitable nation is broken, They will rise no more, but will share in the blessings of the saving Gospel which they have so long indignantly rejected, Their history, even the little of it which is well known, is full of remarkable events, worthy of the profound study of the Christian philosopher. With the greater obstinacy they have coutemned the Lord of glory, so with the deeper repentance and contrition will they bow before his cross.

ART. VI. Comparison between the bamboo and the palm: description of the bamboo; varieties and cultivation; partiality of the Chinese for it; its uses; mode of manufacturing paper: description of the cocoa nut palm; and the uses to which it is applied. The bamboo and the palm appear to be designed by nature almost

exclusively for the use of those nations in whose soil they are found to grow. The many uses to which they are applied by the inhabitants of the countries where they are indigenous, cease to be found when they are transplanted into foreign climes. The hemp for ropes, the cotton for paper,and the wood for roofs, answer their purpose far better than those which are obtained from the cocoa nut, the bamboo, or the palm leaf. These plants seem to be particularly suited to the people, and the people have become attached to them. Both, however, are not found growing in the same country to any extent; the palm is found near the equator, and the bamboo on the borders of the torrid and temperate zones. There are but few uses to which the one is applied that the other is not; the bamboo, however, is not well calculated for making ropes or boats, nor is the palin fitted for the manufacture of paper. The numerous applications of both, we shall be better able to observe by a separate consideration of them.

The bamboo (Bambusa arundinacea,) is indigenous in all the southern countries of Asia, in the greater part of China, and in the West Indies. By long cultivation and care, it has become sufficiently hardy to grow as far north as Peking, and in all the central countries of this continent. By the Chinese, it is called chuh, and the character by which they represent this name enters into the composition of many of the more complicated characters of their language; in which cases the new character usually expresses some action or objectconnected with the use of the bamboo. The number of species is small compared with the wide diffusion of the plant, there being about ten only at present known. The bamboo occupies an intermediate station between the proper grasses and the more stately trees; in its internal structure showing its gramineous affinities, while, by its size it appears to the observer as a tree. Like all the grasses, it receives its nourishment from the pith, and proceeds from the ground nearly as large as it ever is in diameter. This endogenous growth is admirably calculated to serve many of the purposes to which the bamboo is applied, where a hard, smooth surface is necessary. The popular description is as follows: "The bamboo has a hollow, round, shining and straight stem; grows to the height of about forty feet; nodes from 10 to 15 inches asunder, with thick, rough, hairy sheaths; the branches alternate, and proceeding from the root to the top; and small, entire, oval leaves." The branches ars usually cut off for some distance from the root by the cultivator. The varieties are numerous, but the differences between them are trifling. The long period, during which this plant has been cultivated in China, and the desire to procure new and singular kinds for the gardens of the wealthy, have produced many varieties. A Chinese botanist, in treating on this plant, observed in the beginning of his book, that he could not undertake so much as to name all the varieties, and would therefore confine himself to a consideration of sixty-three of the principal !

A few of the general differences which cultivation has made in the bainboo may be noticed. The diameter of the stem and its height are subject to considerable variation; but the former much more than

the latter. The usual height is between 40 and 50 feet; those which reach 60 or 70 feet are regarded as monsters. The diameter varies more than any other part; the common size is from one inch and a half to five; but they are seen as large as seven and eight inches. Some of the stems, near the roots, are sufficiently large to make vessels to measure grain; but such are not common. The Chinese herbalists give the following directions to increase the diameter: 'The gardener is to be careful to select the most vigorous plants, and those which have a healthy root; they must be transplanted free from all suckers, and with much care, that the growing be not retarded. The top of the shoot is to be cut off three or four inches above the highest knot, and the cavity filled with sulphur. For the first three years the suckers are cut down, to keep the root strong; but on the fourth year, they will sprout forth much increased in diameter above the first year's growth.' This mode is affirmed to be infallible. The distances between the joints is found to vary from four to six inches in some kinds, while in others it extends to four and five feet.

The color of the outside is not always yellow, but has been made to vary into chestnut, black, etc. The black bamboo is a favorite in the parterres and gardens of the rich. The process by which the color has been changed, from its natural yellow to a black, is unknown except to the Chinese. The outer surface is sometimes observed striated and roughened, instead of having the glossy appearance. There are also some small and delicate varieties which are esteemed by the Chinese horticulturalists for oruamenting the artificial rock work of their gardens. The wood of the bamboo is usually hard like horn, especially near the outer surface, but some are found in which the wood appears like an indurated pith, at all stages of their growth. The leaves do not usually exhibit much variety in form, but the color is sometimes seen passing into a bluish, reddish and an ashy hue. That singular vegetable cafculus, tabasheer, which is found in the cavities between the joints of the bamboo, has been obtained from some parts of the province of Yunnan. In that province also a sweetish liquor is procured from the bamboo, which yields sugar by evapora tion. But neither the tabasheer nor the fluid has been observed as frequently in China as in India; and those parts where they are found are near Hindostan. Some mention is also made of a bamboo which has a fragrance like the Brazil wood.

Many directions are laid down in the Chinese books concerning the cultivation of the bamboo. The culture varies according to the soil, the exposure and the variety. Generally, it requires a sandy soil, which the roots will easily penetrate. The banks of rivers, and newly drained marshes are well adapted to it, if the situation is raised two or three feet above the water; for the plant perishes if the roots touch the water. A northern exposure is to be avoided, but it wilk grow on spots where there is but little soil. The bamboo is propagated universally by suckers, for it seldom blossoms and still more rarely perfects its seeds. The autumn and spring are the most proper seasons of the year for planting the suckers, which yet can be done at

any time. The root of the sprout is separated from the parent root for a time before transplanting, that, as the Chinese say, it may be forced to seek its own sustenance. A portion of earth is taken up with the shoot, and the same exposure to the winds, and the same points of compass must be observed. These particulars, in the apprehension of the Chinese, materially affect the growth of the bamboo, who say, that if these be altered, a second revolution is added to that of transplanting. The new plants may need a little watering after they have been transplanted, but otherwise little or no care is bestowed upon them. Two or three years elapse before it throws out suckers in its turn, and the period allowed for a plantation to become ready to cut, is four or five years.

The inflorescence of the bamboo is similar to the grasses of the same natural family. The flowers are arranged in spikelets of five, and each branch has several spikelets. The seed is somewhat like that of wheat, but it has a black skin; it is farinaceous, and in times of scarcity is eaten by the poor. The Chinese have a proverb, that famine makes the bamboo to seed; which probably originated from the want of food at that time, and they were led to search more for edibles. The plantations of bamboo are cut down both in the spring and autumn. The practice recommended is, either to cut the whole down at once, or one fourth yearly. But this direction is not attended to much, as the proprietors cut the plant as there is a need for it, and the plantations are also cultivated for particular purposes. The winter is the most favorable season for cutting the bamboo, for at that time the wood is the hardest; the plant then ceases to grow, and the roots are better prepared to resist the exposure:

The partiality of the Chinese for the bamboo is so great, that it may justly be called their national plant. In selecting individuals for transplanting, reference is had to the size, form, color or any other quality that is desired, and according as these peculiarities are rare, the specimen is valued. By this predilection, the varieties become more determinate than they would otherwise be, if the plants were raised from the seed. The bamboo is placed i̟, all those situations in which it can be used for effect; no garden or pleasure walk is destitute of it; the peculiar artificial rock work of the Chinese is rendered still more picturesque and natural by this plant, where it is often seen overhanging some mimic precipice, or rising up over a summer-house, affording both shade and profit. The emperor is said to have an officer about the palace, whose especial duty it is to attend to the bamboos in the imperial gardens. Small patches of them are to be seen on the banks of the Choo keäng; and they are to be found near almost every house of any considerable size. The banks of the rice fields are particularly adapted to their growth, and the roots of the bamboo also strengthen the bank against the force of the current. It is probable that among the varieties which are cultivated in China, there may be found several species on further investigation, but as yet our knowledge is limited to one only. The accompanying cut groups together the young sprouts of the bamboo just appearing above the

ground, the full grown plants, and one stem hearing flowers and seeds. It was designed and carved by natives, and is very similar to their mode of drawing the bamboo.

The many purposes to which the Chinese apply the bamboo are truly surprising. They press it into use on the water and on the land. In literature and confectionary; as well as in navigation and clothing, this useful plant is found necessary. Its services are required in building the house and in clothing its inmates; and it is indispensable in the school room and the police office. To the agriculturalist, the carpenter, and the seaman, this plant serves many useful purposes. The young and tender shoots of the bamboo are used as a vegetable for the table in different ways; if cut as soou as they appear above the ground, they are almost as tender and delicate as asparagus. They are white and palatable, and wheu in this state are used as pickles, as greens, as a sweetmeat, and as a medicine. The fondness for these young shoots is so general, that they are made articles of commerce, and are sent to the capital and all parts of the empire. They are cured by exposing them when fresh to steam and afterwards drying them. They often form a part in the feasts of the rich, and constitute an important article of diet for the priests. These young shoots are artificially cultivated during the most part of the year. All classes use the pickle as a relish with rice and other vegetable dishes.

The manufacture of paper consumes great quantities of this plant. The stalks are cut near the ground and then sorted into parcels according to the age, and tied up into small bundles. The younger the bamboo, the better is the quality of the paper which is made of it. The bundles are thrown in a reservoir of mud and water, and buried in the ooze for about a fortnight to soften them. They are then taken out, cut into pieces of a proper length, and put into mortars 35

CH: REP: VOL. III.