The largest of the family, and perhaps the most beautiful, is the tropical arborescent grass which bears the name of bamboo. Although it is not cultivated for the sake of its seed, it has many admirable qualities, and wherever it grows in abundance it is applied to a variety of uses. “The strength, lightness, smoothness, straightness, roundness, and hollowness of the bamboo,” says Mr. A. R. Wallace in his _Malay Archipelago_, “the facility and regularity with which they can be split, their many different sizes, the varying length of their joints, the ease 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 which render them useful for a hundred different purposes, to serve which other materials would require much more labor and preparation. The bamboo is one of the most wonderful and beautiful productions of the tropics, and one of nature’s most valuable gifts to uncivilized man.” In order that the accuracy of this eulogy may be appreciated, let us imagine the case of a shipwrecked man landing without any tools, except an axe and a knife, upon an island in which we will suppose the bamboos are the only vegetation, and let us see how far he could supply his needs with their assistance. One of his first requirements would be a house, and this could be provided with very little labor. The stems of one of the larger species, such as Bambusa Brandisii, driven into the ground, would form excellent uprights for the framework, which could be completed with lighter cross-pieces nailed to the uprights with pegs of the same material. A good roof could be made by taking broad strips split from large bamboos, and fastening them side by side with their concave surfaces uppermost, the interstices between them being covered with other pieces having their convex sides uppermost. Similar but flatter pieces laid upon the joists, and tied down firmly with strips shredded from the outer rind, would form a smooth and elastic floor such as could not be made out of other materials without a great expenditure of labor. Thin strips plaited together, or broad strips pegged side by side, might be used for the walls.