128 



DOMESTIC BOTANY. 



Papyrus {Papyrus antiquorum). Supposed to be tho 

 " BuUrush" of the Nile, of which the " ark" of the chile 

 Moses, as also the vessels spoken of in Isaiah* were made, 

 but it appears to be of more ancient date, it being the plant 

 \from which the papyri, or paper, was made, and upon which 

 the records found in the Egyptian tombs were written. 



It grows in the Lake of Galilee and other parts of Syria, 

 and is "the paper reed by the brooks. "•[■ It has strong 

 roots or rather rhizomes, which grow in the mud and throw 

 up smooth, triangular stems 6 to 10 feet high, and about an 

 inch in diameter. The interior of these stems consists of 

 white pith, and they are terminated by a round head of 

 slender grass-like panicles of flowers. Good examples may 

 be seen in the hot-houses at Kew. 



Cotton grass {Eriophorum angustifoUum), and other 

 species, are common in wet places in this country. When 

 perfect its seeds are furnished with cotton-like down, which 

 is sometimes used for stuffing cushions. Carex arenaria 

 grows in tufts forming hillocks, and binds the moving sands 

 of the seashore. 



Nearly allied to Cyperacese is a small family called 

 Xyridacece, the chief distinctive character of which is that 

 their floral envelopes are more fully developed and coloured, 

 growing in terminal, scaly heads. Seventy species are 

 enumerated all widely distributed, being chiefly natives of 

 warm regions. They have no special uses. 



The Cat's-tail or Bur Eeed Family. 



(Typhace^.) 



Aquatic, marshy, perennial plants, having reed-like flower 

 stems, and narrow or broad sword-shaped leaves. Flowers 

 monoecious, produced in dense cylindrical heads consisting of 

 numerous florets each formed of hair or scale-like glumes. 

 Fruit a small nut. 



* Isaiah, chap, xviii. ver. 2. 



t Isaiah, chap. xix. ver. 7. 



