53 / 



in having from four to six ceils instead of six to eight. One of the fruits 

 preserved in the Berlin Museum has been bitten into, as the marks of 

 both rows of teeth of a human being are plainly to be seen. 



The castor oil tree, Bicinus communis, Linn., seems to have been 

 cultivated as extensively in Ancient Egypt as it is at present in Modern 

 Egypt, for the sake of the oil. The seeds of this tree are frequently 

 found entombed, and have preserved a very fresh appearance, and several 

 have been sown, but without results. 



The culture of the vine in Ancient Egypt must have been also very 

 extensive. On all, even the oldest, monumental structures, the vine is 

 represented, as also branches of the same and the gathering of the grapes. 

 The ancient authors give also an account of its culture and the con- 

 sumption of the wine, while the results of the latter are represented on 

 monuments. The berries of the vine have been frequently found in the 

 tombs ; and the Berlin Museum contains a large series of them. They 

 are as large as fairly-sized raisins, of an oblong shape, and probably of a 

 dark blue colour. Several berries which have been examined contained 

 not one, but three stones. For the purpose of examination they were 

 immersed in water for four days, and afterwards hot water was poured 

 on them, but they did not soften, nor present the fleshy and clammy 

 nature of softened raisins, and on being pressed crumbled like mouldy 

 wood, though the water in which they were soaked acquired a dark 

 chesnut-brown colour. The French chemist, Fontinelle, did not succeed 

 in finding sugar in the berries. 



No plant was more venerated than both the renowned species of 

 lotus (Nymphaea lotus, Linn., and N. ccerulea, Savig.) These were the 

 favourite flowers of the country. They are represented on almost all 

 monumental structures, and in the hieroglyphs they indicated the upper 

 country, or Southern Egypt. And it is well known what an important 

 part the water-lilies played in the religious ceremonies of the ancient 

 Egyptians. From the earliest time the root and seed served for food to 

 the inhabitants of North Africa, but in Modern Egypt they are not used 

 for this purpose. The ancient Egyptians called the lotus seschnin, and 

 with a slight alteration bischnin is the Arabic name of the plant. Many 

 fragments of the lotus have been found entombed, and two well-pre- 

 served buda are in the British Museum. 



Another aquatic plant related to the lotus is Nelumbium speciosum, 

 Willd., which must have also been extensively cultivated in Ancient 

 Egypt, as it is mentioned by ancient authors, and is represented on the 



