Of the vegetation of the Philippines, the bamboo may be deemed the most extensive, the most useful, and the most beautiful. The graceful groups of Cañas (the Spanish name, the Tagál is Bocaui) are among the most charming decorations of the island scenery, and are scattered with great profusion and variety on the sides of the streams and rivers, on hills and plains, and always to be found adjacent to the residence of the native. Waving their light branches at the smallest breeze, they give perpetual life to the landscape, while they are of daily service to the people. The Bambus arundo grows to a great height, and its cane is sometimes more than eight inches in diameter. In it is sometimes found a small stone, called Tabaxir, to which the Indians attribute miraculous healing virtues. The Bambus lumampao and the lima are so hard that the wood is used for polishing brass. The bamboo serves for an infinity of uses; from the food that nourishes man or beast, to the weapons that destroy his life: for the comforts of home; for the conveniences of travel; for the construction of bridges, several hundred feet in length, over which heavy artillery can safely pass; for shipping and cordage; for shelter, and for dwellings and domestic utensils of all sorts; for vessels of every size to retain, and tubes to convey, water and other fluids; for mats, palings, and scaffoldings; for musical instruments, even organs for churches; for a hundred objects of amusement; and, indeed, for all the purposes of life the bamboo is distinguished. It is the raw material on which the rude artist makes his experiments--roots, trunks, branches, leaves, all are called into the field of utility. There is much of spontaneous production, but it may be multiplied by layers and cuttings. Some of the bamboos grow to an enormous size. That called by the natives cauayang totoo, and by the Spaniards caña espino, reaches the height of from forty to fifty feet, the diameter of the stalk or trunk exceeding eight inches. One of its divisions will sometimes hold two pecks of wheat. An infusion of this bamboo is poisonous to deer; but its leaves are eaten by horses and cattle and its young shoots as salad by man. The cauayang quiling (caña macho of the Spaniards) grows to about forty feet in height, its stem being of the size of a man's arm. From the thickness of the rind and the smallness of the hollow, it is the strongest of the bamboos, and is used for carrying burdens on the shoulders; a fourth part of the whole cane, of the length of two yards, when split, will support any weight that a man can carry. The cane has an elasticity which lightens the burden to the bearer. The varieties of the bamboo are scarcely to be counted. The interior of the osin gives a white substance, which is used as a cure for urinal and eye diseases.