German Imperial Bank took its
present form; in his later years he wrote and spoke strongly against
bimetallism. He was the leader of the free traders, and after 1878 refused
to follow Bismarck in his new policy of protection, state socialism and
colonial development; in a celebrated speech he declared that the day on
which it was introduced was a _dies nefastus_ for Germany. True to his free
trade principles he and a number of followers left the National Liberal
party and formed the so-called "Secession" in 1880. He was one of the few
prominent politicians who consistently maintained the struggle against
state socialism on the one hand and democratic socialism on the other. In
1892 be retired from political life and died in 1899. Bamberger was a clear
and attractive writer and was a frequent contributor on political and
economic questions to the _Nation_ and other periodicals. His most
important works are those on the currency, on the French war-indemnity, his
criticism of socialism and his apology for the Secession.

An edition of his collected works (including the French life of Bismarck)
was published in 1894 in five volumes. After his death in 1899 appeared a
volume of reminiscences, which, though it does not extend beyond 1866,
gives an interesting picture of his share in the revolution of 1848, and of
his life in Paris.

(J. W. HE.)

BAMBINO, IL (Ital. for "the Babe"), the name given in art to the image of
the infant Jesus in swaddling clothes common in Roman Catholic churches.
The most famous is the miracle-working _Santissimo Bambino_ in the church
of Ara Coeli at Rome, the festival of which is celebrated on the feast of
the Epiphany (January 6).

[Illustration: FIG. 1.--_Bambusa arundinacea_, an Indian bamboo. 1, Leafy
shoot. 2, Branch of inflorescence. 3, Spikelet. 4, Flower.]

BAMBOO, the popular name for a tribe of grasses, _Bambuseae_, which are
large, often tree-like, with woody stems. The stems spring from an
underground root-stock and are often crowded to form dense clumps; the
largest species reach 120 ft. in height. The slender stem is hollow, and,
as generally in grasses, has well-marked joints or nodes, at which the
cavity is closed by a strong diaphragm. The branches are numerous and in
some species spiny; the narrow, often short, leaf-blade is usually jointed
at the base and has a short stalk, by which it is attached to the long
sheath. The spikelets are usually many-flowered and variously arr