A BAMBOO FACTORY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 12720, 15 August 1919, Page 4

A BAMBOO FACTORY.

There is a bamboo manufactory in New York where nothing but bamboo is handled. The superintendent of it is a Japanese, for Japan grows the only bamboo tree that is worth putting under the lathe- The bamboo from Japan comes in lengths of from four to twenty feet wrapped loosely in straw matting. The short lengths have been pulled up by the roots, which are worked into curiously formed- heads for canes and corners for book-cases. The long strips are of full growth, and are made into furniture. Carpenters who work on bamboo furniture do not make as high wages as ordinary carpenters, but they com© out better in the long run. Tbsre is work for them all the time, for the demand for bamboo furniture in America is much greater than the supply. Many persons who have lived in Japan, where the houses are made of bamboo, are constantly calling for bamboo material. They want beds made of it. Sometimes architects semi designs to the bamboo factory for special furniture for the library or smoking-room. In some instances the bent wood furniture costs more than the Japanese wood, but in most cases it Is cheaper. Calcutta exports a kind of bamboo marked with peculiar tigerlike stripes that artists like for malTim* easels. . ’