20 



GRASSES. 



parts of the Nile, but in the little streams in the 

 vicinity. 



The Papyrus, or 

 Paper - Reed, has a 

 thick triangular stem, 

 eight or ten feet in 

 height, and is said 

 always to turn one of 

 its angles toward the 

 current, as though to 

 break the force of the 

 waves. It formerly was 

 very abundant in all 

 parts of Egypt, Abys- 

 sinia, and Syria, but 

 modern travellers de- 

 scribe it as now being 

 very rare. 



Papyrus. From the very ear- 



liest ages of Egypt, papyrus appears to have been 

 used for various purposes, but especially for the man- 

 ufacture of paper. Herodotus mentions paper made 

 from it as being an article of commerce long before 

 his time ; he calls it byblos. This name, it is sup- 

 posed, is the origin of the Greek word billion, or 

 book, whence comes the term Bible. The paper made 

 by the ancients was formed of the pellicle found be- 

 tween the bark and the fleshy part of the stem ; the 

 pieces of this were united together until they were 

 of a suitable size, when they were pressed and dried 

 in the sun. Many manuscripts, written upon this 



