8o Gardening in Egypt. 



distachyon (Water Hawthorn), Nelumbium speciosum 

 (The Lotus), and many other aquatics grow well in 

 the ordinary garden fountain (Fusghieh). 



Papyrus antiquorum, also known as Cyperus 

 Papyrus, is a native of Egypt. This tall handsome 

 aquatic is, apart from its beauty, interesting, because 

 it is the plant that furnished the pith from which 

 the paper of the ancient Egyptians was made. It 

 is propagated from divisions, which ought to be 

 planted in a native basket (zambil)^ filled with Nile 

 mud, and tied at the top to prevent the plant from 

 floating out, and supported by large stones. The 

 plants should be divided in February. 



Nelumbium speciosum The Sacred Lotus. The 

 most beautiful and graceful of all the Water Lilies, 

 having delicate pink flowers and large round leaves, 

 which rise considerably above the surface of the water. 

 At the same time it is interesting on account of 

 its remote historical associations. It was once a 

 native of this country, and is believed to have been 

 the " sacred beans " of Pythagoras, and the roots and 

 seeds were eaten by the Egyptians in the time of 

 Herodotus. Four thousand years ago it was the 

 emblem of sanctity in Egypt and to-day it occupies 

 the same position in the religion of the Buddhists 

 and Hindoos. The petals of the flowers are astringent, 

 and the fruit, which is like a large poppy capsule, 

 cut in half, is composed of a funnel - shaped re- 

 ceptacle made up of a number of separate carpels, 

 each containing a single seed, which are imported 

 into North - West India in large quantities from 

 China, the Malay Islands, and the warmer parts 

 of Asia, where the seeds and stems are used as an 

 article of food. To grow the plant the seeds should 

 be filed, so that the embryo or shoot may break through 

 the hard skin, and then enclosed in a ball of clay, and 

 placed in the water. The seeds are, however, 

 often lost or destroyed, as they often take a long time 

 to germinate. 



