10 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



thing sown by the brooks, shall 

 wither, be driven away, and be no 

 more." (Isaiah, xix. 6, 7.) 



In like manner the Lotus {Nelum 

 Hum) once so celebrated, and so con- 

 stantly represented in Egyptian paint- 

 ings, and popular as an architectural 

 ornament, has quite disappeared from 

 the Nile. 



Papyrus antiquorum is a native 

 of Syria, Calabria, Sicily, Egypt, 

 and Abyssinia. Its name in Syria is 

 " Babeer " whence iu all probability 

 we, and most of the European lan- 

 guages obtain our name for paper; 

 the white pulpy stems of this plant 

 being manufactured into the Papyrus 

 scrolls upon which all the learnmg of 

 the Egyptians as well as that of the 

 Greeks and Romans, was written. I 

 can find no description of the manner 

 in which the Papyrus was prepared 



for this purpose, but I am inclined to 

 think that the stems were peeled and 

 then cut into thin longitudinal slices 

 which were laid crosswise upon each 

 other, and then beaten until they 

 made a substance not much unlike 

 paper. 



The stems of this plant are also 

 twisted into ropes ; and another 

 species of the same genus (P. corym- 

 hosus) is employed, according to 

 Lindley, for making the mats so much 

 used in India for covering the floors of 

 rooms, and which are also much 

 esteemed in Europe. Bruce speaks 

 of Papyrus being used for making 

 boats ; I think tliat bundles of the 

 stems are more likely to be used as 

 floats, but no modern traveller that I 

 am aware of has confirmed this state- 

 ment. Specimens of the Papyrus may 

 be seen at Kewand the Crystal Palace. 



ON PEOTECTING TENDER EOSES. 



" Feost is a fatal enemy to roses, but 

 damp is a much more fataller," was 

 once remarked to me by a jobbing 

 gardener, and the man's double com- 

 parative was more sound in fact than 

 in grammar. There is no doubt that 

 where frost stay its thousands, damp 

 slays its tens of thousands, particu- 

 larly among young plants on their 

 own roots during the cold spring 

 months. The worst of it is that it is 

 difficult to know what protection to 

 employ against these enemies, as what 

 is effectual in the one case, too often 

 produces the opposite evil. During 

 my experience in the climate north 

 and east of London, I have found none 

 of the modes usually advocated satis- 

 factory in their efiect. Sawdust, 

 cinder-ashes, moss, or hay, round the 

 roots of the dwarfs, hold the wet, 

 and almost invariably produce mil- 

 dew ; and haybands or fern round the 

 heads of tender standards, as cer- 

 tainly generate a premature growth, 

 which is cut ofi', when the protection 

 is removed, by the cold early winds, to 

 the ruin of the first blossoms, and 

 often to the detriment of the plant 

 for the whole season. After a good 



deal of pondering over the matter, I 

 have determined to adopt the follow- 

 ing plan, which I promulgate for the 

 benefit of brother rose-growers, who 

 I hope, will participate in the experi- 

 ment, and make known the result. 



I propose obtaining some conical 

 caps, in shape like a grocer's sugar- 

 bag, of various sizes, of that common 

 rush material of which fish baskets 

 are made. These are intended to be 

 put over the heads of standards, and 

 removed when the weather requires 

 it, even tying them close round the 

 stocks if necessary. They will not 

 cost more than a penny apiece. I 

 should use them in the same way to 

 the dwarfs, placing in addition a few 

 inches of charcoal dust round the 

 collars of the roots. These caps will 

 be taken ofl" when the condition of 

 the atmosphere permits, affording the 

 'plants all the bracing advantages of 

 exposure to favourable atmospheric 

 conditions with protection from cold, 

 winds and frosts. As soon as the 

 season admits, the coverings will be 

 entirely removed, and the charcoal 

 will be stirred in, to the manifest im- 

 provement of the borders. With re- 



