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the largest poppy-head, and it is divided by separations, in the 
same manner as the seed-vessel of the poppy ; hut the seed, 
which is like millet,* is more condensed. The Egyptians lay 
these seed-vessels in heaps to perish, and when they are rotten 
the mass is washed in the river, and the seed taken out and 
dried, which is afterwards made into loaves, baked, and used for 
food” (Theophrastus). “The seed-vessel is like a very large 
poppy-head, and the seeds are like millets, which the Egyptians 
dry and make into bread ” (Dioscorides). “ It has a seed-vessel 
in all respects like a poppy-head, and contains seeds like 
millet. The inhabitants lay these seed-vessels in heaps to 
putrefy, then wash away the filth, dry the seed, pound it, and 
make bread of it” (Pliny). 
Anyone acquainted with our native water-lilies will recognise 
this description of the poppy-like fruit and numerous seeds. 
Those who are not may consult the 53rd plate of the third 
edition of Sowerby’s “ English Botany.” This is still more 
corroborated by the remark of Theophrastus, that “ the nature 
of the stem is like that of the bean (Kyamos), and its spreading 
leaves are similar, except that they are less and thinner, and the 
leaf is attached to its foot-stalk in the same manner.” The 
nature of the stem and petioles, alluded to in the bean or 
Kyamos, will be described hereafter, and consists of internal 
cavities, or air-passages, to be seen also in the sections of the 
white water-lily in the plate of Sowerby’s c£ Botany ” already 
quoted. (PI. LXXIV., fig. 4.) 
There is one other part of the plant alluded to by the 
ancients which must not be omitted — the farinaceous root. 
“ The root also of the Lotos is eatable, and moderately sweet ; it 
is round, and of the size of an apple ” (Herodotus). “ The root 
of the Lotos is called corsion , which in its figure and size is 
like a quince : the colour of the rind is dark, like a chestnut, 
but the inside is white ; when boiled or baked it is like the yolk 
of an egg (this expression is doubtful as to its meaning), and 
agreeable to the taste ; it is also eaten raw ” (Theophrastus). 
“ The root, which in appearance is like a quince, is eaten both 
raw and boiled ; when boiled, in quality it is like the yolk of 
an egg ” (Dioscorides). 
From these descriptions it is evident that the Sacred Lotos 
of the Xile, the Egyptian Lotos of the ancients, was a species 
of Nymjphcea , common in the waters of that river. Plants, and 
animals also, submit so much to external circumstances, that 
the lapse of centuries may eradicate them from spots on which 
* The common millet of Egypt was the Dhoora, or Sorghum vulgare, the 
seeds of which are much larger than in the millets belonging to the genera 
Set aria, Panicum , or Paspalum. 
