556 PAPYRUS, THE MATERIAL 



733. To the Sedge tribe belong many of the plants which are 

 popularly considered as Rushes, and which are employed in the 

 manufacture of candles, mats, and chairs ; amongst the most re- 

 markable of the British species is the Club Rush, which some- 

 times grows to the height of nine feet. This order is perhaps 

 more widely distributed than any other, except the Grasses. 

 Several of its members are found in marshes, ditches, and by 

 running streams ; others flourish in meadows and on heaths ; 

 others in groves and forests, others on the loose sand of the sea- 

 shore, others on almost naked rocks, and others on the barren 

 sides and summits of mountains. In the most northern climates, 

 their number equals that of the Gramineae ; but as we approach 

 the Equator, the proportion very much diminishes, both by the 

 increase of the Grasses, and the diminution of the Cyperacese. 

 Some of this tribe have a large rhizoma, which may be employed 

 for the same purposes as that of the edible Araceze. One of the 

 most interesting plants belonging to the group is the Papyrus, 

 famous as having afforded to the Ancients the chief of their 

 materials for writing, from which our word paper is derived, 

 although the nature of the thing is entirely different. The 

 former uses of this plant, which is a native of Ethiopia and 

 Egypt, were many. The roots were chewed for the pleasant 

 juice they yield ; and the Egyptians used to roast their stalks, 

 and eat the soft pulpy matter they contain. The stalks afforded 

 materials for ropes and cables ; and the leaves were employed, 

 as they are at the present time, to make the small boats, in 

 which the inhabitants of the banks of the Nile venture upon its 

 waters. Although the Papyrus generally prefers stagnant pools 

 and lakes, yet it will grow in rapidly-running streams ; and in 

 such circumstances the angles of its three-cornered stem adapt it to 

 break the force of the current. The material used for writing on is 

 commonly said to have been prepared from the leaves of the 

 plant; this is not the case, as it was obtained by separating the 

 thin plates of cellular tissue, which lie just beneath the exterior 

 of the stem ; those nearest the centre being esteemed the best. 

 These were then trimmed at their edges, so as to meet equally, 



