Rushes and Sedges 197 
matter that they are seldom eaten by grazing ani- 
mals. Indeéd, in the whole great family of two 
thousand species there are but three useful mem- 
bers. 
The chufa, a native of the Mediterranean shores, 
is sometimes cultivated for the sake of its small, 
sweet tubers. 
Another sedge, the Cyperus textilus, is used in 
India for making ropes and mats. It is nearly re- 
lated to the most useful and celebrated of all the 
sedges—the Cyperus papyrus, or paper-reed of old 
Egypt. The Hebrew name for this plant occurs 
in the Old Testament account of the hiding of the 
infant Moses, and has been rendered ‘‘ Bull-rush” 
in the English Bible. 
This sedge provided cheap and convenient writ- 
ing material for the ancient world. ‘« Papyrus,” 
says an excellent authority, ‘‘was made of the 
inner cuticle of the stalk, which was separated into 
thin strips. These were laid side by side, with 
another layer of strips crossing them at right 
angles. The two layers, thus prepared, were 
soaked in water, then pressed together to make 
them adhere, and dried. For books the papyrus 
was formed into rolls, by cementing together a 
number of sheets.” 
