STRANGE PLANTS AND THEIR WAYS. 35 



7. When finished, the papyrus sheets were rolled on a 

 wooden cylinder, the ends of which, projecting beyond the 

 papyrus roll, were beautifully decorated by painting and 

 carving. Such was the material on which the most impor- 

 tant results of ancient thought were inscribed. 



8. Papyrus was used for writing purposes at a very re- 

 mote period in Egypt, and during the time of Herodotus it 

 was an important article of commerce, which it continued 

 to be for seven or eight centuries. The Romans, it is said, 

 imported all their papyrus from Egypt, but improved the 

 manufacture of it. It was believed that nowhere else than 

 in Egypt did the plant grow in its full perfection and fine- 

 ness of fiber. During the early days of the Roman empire 

 a papyrus famine gave great alarm to learned men, and the 

 senate was obliged to regulate its distribution by edict. 



World of Wonders. 



A MIGRATORY ROSE. 



1. Strange as the heading of this paper may appear to 

 the reader, the flower is nevertheless an entity — a thing 

 that exists, and may he handled ; a plant almost as regular 

 as the swallow in its flittings to and fro; one that travels 

 many miles annually ; and, what is more, a fashionable 

 one — resorting to the sea-side during the hottest season, 

 to indulge in a swim among the cool billows of the Medi- 

 terranean. The name of this remarkable vegetable phe- 

 nomenon is the Rose of Jericho with the unlearned. Very 

 many superstitions are connected with this extraordinary 

 plant in the minds of Bedouins and other Arab tribes. 

 The ancients attributed miraculous virtues to it. 



2. To behold this little rose, it is not necessary to tell 

 you "to go to Jericho"; no such uncomplimentary jour- 

 ney is required. In the arid wastes of Egypt, by the bor- 



