PAPYRUS PAPER. 101 



modes of manufacture. One of the richest is shaggy velvet, (Italian 

 veluto.) The soft shag or pile is produced by the insertion, during 

 the process of weaving, short pieces of silk under thread, doubled 

 under the shoot, and it stands upright on the upper surface so crowded 

 together as to conceal the interlacings of the warp and shoot. This 

 pile gives it its softness to the touch ; and the beauty depends on 

 the evenness of the pile and the equality of the threads. Gauze is a 

 light transparent fabric formerly brought from Gaza ; hence its name. 

 The plainest mode of silk weaving has the name of Persian, sarsnet, 

 gros de naples, ducopes, &c. ; the two first are flimsey textures, and 

 the two last are stouter. Satin is a peculiar twill, the soft lustrous 

 face of which is given by keeping a large part of its warp visible. 

 The flossy or warp face is dressed by being rolled on heated cylinders, 

 which gives it its brilliant lustre. Crape is a lighter fabric of plain 

 weaving. Levantine is a stout easily-made twilled silk. Gros des Indies 

 isformen by using different shuttles with threads of various substances 

 for the shoot. Watering silk gives to it its peculiar wavy appear- 

 ance. Two pieces are passed lengthwise through metallic rollers and 

 thus subjected to different degrees of pressure, which causes the wavy 

 appearance. Silk is embossed by passing plain stuff between rollers, 

 the surfaces of which contain the desired pattern, on one cylinder 

 raised and on the other sunk. Bombasin is twilled with its warp of 

 silk and shoot of worsted. Poplins and lustres are plain woven goods 

 with more silk than bombasin. Tabby is a coarse taffety watered. 

 There are numerous other kinds of silken fabrics. 



PAPYRUS, antiquorum. C. 3.01, Cyperaceae, sp. 1, 3. A. 10 ft 



This plant grows wild in Egypt, Syria, Sicily, &c. It is an aquatic 

 plant. For paper the inner rind of the stem was cut into strips in 

 parallel and transverse rows, which adhered on pressure, or was past- 

 ed, and formed the paper of the ancients for writing upon, as seen by 

 ancient manuscripts. It is now made into sail-cloth, ropes, mattresses, 

 and cloth, by weaving the stems and plastering them with resins. 

 Boats are also made in this way. " The ark of bullrushes," in which 

 Moses was found is supposed to have been thus made of this plant. 

 The floral thyrus, used to adorn ancient temples and statues, repre- 

 sented a tuft of the papyrus. The root was chewed as the cypruses 

 now are in Abysinia, and also that of maize. It grows in stagnant 

 water. This plant has given name to the modern valuable article 

 paper, also made of vegetables, but very differently from that of former 

 times. 



PAPER. As this is a vegetable substance, and chiefly the product 

 of the foregoing plants, cotton and flax, a brief notice of it, especially 

 since it is one of the most valuable articles in civilized life, may not 

 be without interest. The manufacture and use of paper made from 

 the papyrus, was continued down to the 8th century, and was an ar- 

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