290 ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



have been woven is worn out. The oldest paper made 

 from straw is Chinese-paper, made from rice straw. Now 

 straw of all kinds (Wheat, Rye, Barley, Oats) is used. 

 Wood must be a white, soft, fibrous kind, as that from the 

 Pines, Poplars, Maples, and Linden. The inner bark of 

 the Paper-Mulberry, Brovssonetia papyrifera (family Urli- 

 cacecB), a native of the islands of the Southern Ocean, is 

 now extensively used in paper-making. The bast is sepa- 

 rated from the tree in large, white, flexible pieces, which 

 can be separated into long, fine fibres, from which, in 

 Japan, paper, flexible like cloth, is made, which is used for 

 handkerchiefs, napkins, etc. The plant is now cultivated 

 in many countries. The Alfa, or Esparto Grass, is also 

 much used in paper-making. There are two species, Stipa 

 tenaeissima and Lygeum Spartum (family Graminece). 

 They grow wild on the high grounds of North Africa. 

 The cells are remarkably firm and short, and manifest a 

 tendency to curl. They have the merit over wood-pulp of 

 absorbing printing ink more rapidly. 



272. The Papyrus of the ancients was made by slicing 

 the pith of a Sedge, Cyperus papyrus, or Papyrits antiquo- 

 rum (family Cyperacece), and gluing the thin slices together 

 under pressure. The plant grows on the marshy banks of 

 rivers, etc., in Abyssinea, Syria, Sicily, etc. It has large 

 rhizomes, which grow in the mud, and send up triangular 

 stems six to ten feet high ; these are an inch or more in 

 diameter, and their " pith," or inner tissue, is snowy white, 

 and can be cut almost as readily as elder pith. The large 

 flower-cluster is highly prized by the natives for decora- 

 tion ; the pith is eaten as food. The stalks are used in the 

 manufacture of wicker-work, boxes and baskets, and from 

 the bark are made cordage, mats, and cloth. 



