in Botany, the trivial name of a species of arundo. See ARUNDO, BOTANY Index.

BAMBOE-Habit; a Chinese contrivance by which a person who cannot swim may easily keep himself above water. The following account of it is from a letter to the author of the Seaman's Preservative. "In the year 1730, I was passenger in a ship from Batavia to China, burden about 400 tons, called the Pridae, Francisco Xavier commander, freighted by English, Chinese, and Portuguese. Near the coast of China we met one of those storms called a tufton (tau-fong), or a great wind, which carried away all our masts, bowspirit, and rudder; and in our hold we had six feet of water, expecting every moment the ship would founder.—We consequently were consulting our preservation: the English and Portuguese flood in their shirts only, ready to be thrown off; but the Chinese merchants came upon deck, not in a cork-jacket, but I will call it a bamboo-habit, which had lain ready in their chests against such dangers; and it was thus constructed; four bamboes, two before and two behind their bodies, were placed horizontally, and projected about 28 inches. These were crossed on each side by two others, and the whole properly secured, leaving a space for their body; so that they had only to put it over their heads, and tie the same securely, which was done in two minutes, and we were satisfied they could not possibly sink." The shape is here subjoined.