GRASSES. 21 



paper, have been found in the swathings of mum- 

 mies, which were perfectly legible, and are interesting 

 on account of their great antiquity. Paper was made 

 from the papyrus until the eleventh or twelfth cen- 

 tury, when it was superseded by that made from 

 cotton. The papyrus had also many other uses 

 among the inhabitants of Africa. Boats of a consi- 

 derable size were made of it, and are spoken of in the 

 Scriptures. The tassel-like flowers which surmounted 

 its tall straight stems were worn as coronals by illus- 

 trious men. The Abyssinians chewed the root and 

 the woody parts of the stem, its sweet juice resem- 

 bling liquorice. The stems, as well as being used for 

 fuel, were also made into cordage, and woven into a 

 coarse matting which was used for various purposes. 

 Those grasses, which seem to be created rather for 

 the purpose of increasing our happiness by affording 

 a pleasing and grateful prospect to the eye, than to 

 minister to our comfort by supplying the wants of 

 the body, are so numerous and so widely distributed, 

 that all are familiar with some of them, and as any 

 attempt to describe them would be useless in so small 

 a compass as could be assigned them here, we shall 

 only cite a single example, leaving it to the readers 

 to enter more fully into the subject as their interest 

 or pleasure may incline them, there being few, per- 

 haps, who have not the opportunity of seeing them 

 in profusion, as they exist almost everywhere, and 



"Clothe all climes in beauty." 



