58 



WONDERFUL PROPERTY IN THE CHINESE 

 RATTAN, NOT GENERALLY KNOWN. 



The Chinese Rattan, which is used when split 

 for the making of cane chairs, will, when dry, 

 if struck against each other, give fire ; and they 

 are used accordingly in some places in lieu of 

 flint and steel. 



CYPRESS-WOOD SUPPOSED TO BE IMPERISH- 

 ABLE. 



The imperishable chests which contained the 

 Egyptian mummies were of Cypress; and the 

 x/ cedar, with which black-lead pencils are covered, 

 is not liable to be eaten by worms. The gates 

 of St. Peter's Church, at Rome, which had lasted 

 from the time of Constantine to that of Pope 

 Eugene the Fourth, that is to say, eleven hundred 

 years, were of cypress, and had, in that time, 

 suffered no decay. According to Thucydides, 

 the Athenians buried the bodies of their heroes 

 in coffins of cypress, as being not subject to 

 decay. A similar durability has also been 

 ascribed to cedar. 



