262 BAMBOOK BAN The tubes are in constant use in many depart- ments of human industry ; not only are entire houses and boats made of them in some cases, but various kinds of ornamental screenwork for interior decoration ; also the yards of vessels and the tacking poles by which boats are im- pelled in calm and shallow waters. The straight- est of the tubes have been used for astronomi- cal purposes, and cheap aqueducts are in com- mon use, formed by fitting the ends together. Sheds are made from the bamboo by softening it in water and flattening the sections, and these when split finer are made into rain cloaks. Floats to tie on the backs of little children who live in the boats on rivers, as well as the poles by which strong coolies carry burdens, come alike from the plant. Water wheels, fences, rope, chairs, tables, bookcases, boxes, hats, um- brellas, pipe sticks, fans, fan cases, cups, meas- ures for grain, shields, pike and spear handles, and paper, all are formed from bamboo. The pith is used for lamp wicks, and exquisite carv- ings inlaid with gold and silver, and far more elegant than ivory work, are produced from the hard stems. From the large quantity of silex in the wood, thin slices make good knives. In the islands of the Indian ocean, the bamboo, like the breadfruit tree and the cocoanut, en- ters largely into the industrial arts of all the various races. The Battaks and the Redjangs of Sumatra write on small polished joints of bamboo, about one inch in diameter, begin- ning at the top and descending spirally to the bottom. In Burmah the bamboo is so exten- sively used in the construction of houses, that large cities, such as Rangoon and Prome, are composed almost entirely of bamboos. These houses are lashed together, not nailed, and eas- ily struck and removed like tents. The family Ixiiribwacea comprises 20 genera and 170 spe- cies already described. Of these only one is found in America north of Mexico, none in Europe, and but one is native to Africa ; and only one is common to both hemispheres, dif- fering in this respect from all other grasses. B U1BOOK, a country in the interior of Af- rica, between lat. 12 30' and 14 30' N. and Ion. 10 30' and 12 15' W. It is about 140 m. in length, and 90 in breadth. It is rugged, though the greatest elevation nowhere exceeds 600 ft., and is watered by the head streams of the Senegal. The higher region is barren and naked, but the lower supports an exuberant vegetation. The baobab, tamarind, and palm trees reach the greatest dimensions. The soil produces almost without culture maize, millet, cotton, melons, and a great variety of legumi- nous plants. Rice is yielded by the low lands, which are subject to overflow. Large herds of cattle roam over the plains. Lions and ele- phants are numerous. Bambook has rich gold mines, whose product is exchanged for salt. The inhabitants are Mandingoes of a very low type, and extremely numerous. Bambook was once invaded by the Portuguese, the ruins of whose forts and houses are still to be seen. B AMI AN, Itiiinjan, or Banmian, a valley, pass, and ancient town of Afghanistan, about 60 m. W. N. W. of Oabool. The valley lies between the Hindoo Koosh and the mountains of Herat, and is important as the only route practicable for artillery across the Himalaya into Independent Turkistan. It is about 1 m. wide, 12 m. long, bounded on each side by almost perpendicular steeps, and crowded with remains of antiquity. The town occupies the sides of the detached Ghoblghoola hill, in the middle of the valley, the site of the old city of Ghoolghoola, destroyed by the Mongols under Genghis Khan in 1221. Among the relics are gigantic figures cut in the rock on the hill, and supposed to be idols, two of which are over 130 ft. high. There are vast caverns excavated in the rocks, extending in a series for upwards of 8 m. The highest eleva- tion of the Bamian pass is about 8,500 ft., and further south are passes as high as 13,000 ft. About 8 m. W. of the town are the ruins of the castle of Zohak, believed to have originated from that mythical conqueror, and where coins and other relies were lately found. BAJMPTON LECTURES, a series of lectures or sermons preached before the university of Ox- ford since 1780, according to the will and en- dowment of the Rev. John Bampton, resident canon of the cathedral of Salisbury. The income of the endowment is 120 per annum. The Bampton lectures consist of eight annual dis- courses, for ever, on one or more of the follow- ing themes: 1. The divine authority of the Scriptures. 2. Divinity of Christ and of the Holy Ghost. 3. The articles of the Christian faith as comprehended in the Apostles' and the Nicene creeds. 4. The authority of the writings of the primitive fathers as to the faith and practice of the primitive church. 5. An essay to confirm the Christian faith, and confute all heretics and schismatics. One person is to be chosen annually, who is to deliver the annual course between the commencement of the last jnonth in Lent term and the end of the third week in Act term. The lecturer is to be chosen by the heads of the colleges; he must have taken the degree of M. A. either from Oxford or Cambridge ; is never to be chosen a second time ; and the lectures are to be delivered in St. Mary's church. Within two months after the delivery of the lectures, 30 copies are to be printed for distribution to the universities, the mayor of Oxford, and the Bodleian library. They are, however, generally published. BAN (Hun. bdn. a corruption of the Slavic pan, lord), the title of the governor of Croatia and Slavonia; formerly also of the governors of various other provinces belonging to the Hungarian crown. BAN, a proclamation; in old English and civil law, applied most commonly to an excom- munication or curse publicly pronounced against those who had been or should be guilty of cer- tain specified offences. In Germany sometimes persons, cities, or districts were placed under the ban of the empire by some public act or
