August  24,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
167 
IN  WICKLOW. 
High  tide,  and  hundreds  are  disporting  in  the  briny,  where  the 
low  sea  wall  screens  the  railroad  as  we  run  to  Bray.  Bray,  “  Brighton 
of  Ireland,”  does  not  commend  itself  to  our  imagination  in  that  form  ; 
rather  does  it  seem  the  gate  to  the  glorious  scenery  of  Wicklow, 
whither  we  are  bound  this  day.  Bright  bunches  of  purple  Heather 
peep  between  big  boulders,  and  pink-flowered  Brambles  in  profusion 
hang  from  cliff,  and  cranny  of  the  rock-walled  railway  banks.  Our 
destination  lays  among  the  mountains  some  seven  miles  from  Bray,  a 
terra  incognita  to  us,  but  a  fellow7  traveller  says  he  has  often  “footed  ” 
it,  so  with  such  a  precedent,  plus  frugal  inclinations,  the  tramp 
commences,  in  spite  of  sundry  carmen  clamorous  for  prey. 
The  winding  road  to  Enniskerry  is  pretty  and  interesting,  the 
ground  rising  on  the  one  hand  to  fall  in  a  deep  declivity  on  the  other, 
up  from  which  comes  a  murmuring  of  waters  disclosing  the  half-hidden 
Pargle  river.  Equisetum  fluviatilis  grows  abundantly  on  the  high 
bank  above,  testifying  to  the  presence  of  water,  which,  here  and  there, 
trickles  in  tiny  streams  to  join  the  river  below.  This  great  Horse¬ 
tail  is  very  handsome,  growing,  as  it  does  in  places,  3  feet  high,  and 
ere  returning  we  commission  the  City  friend  who  is  rejuvenating 
among  the  mountains  to  rob  the  bank  for  additional  interest  at 
home.  From  Enniskerry  it  is  upwards  and  onwards  with  the 
Dargle  still  gurgling  at  hand.  On  the  left  lies  Kilcroney,  the  fine 
country  residence  of  Alfred  West,  Esq.;  on  the  right  stretches  the 
Powerscourt  demesne,  among  several  entrances  to  which  that  known 
as  “  The  Golden  Gate  ”  is  not  only  conspicuous  by  its  gilded  decora¬ 
tions,  but  for  fine  clumps  of  the  particular  variety  of  Phormium  tenax 
for  which  Powerscouit  is  noted.  From  far  up  the  ascending  road 
comes  a  signal  of  recognition,  and  we  wave  the  answer  back  thank¬ 
fully,  for  rest  and  refreshment  are  at  hand. 
How  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  lights  and  shadows  due 
to  a  fickle  climate.  This  is,  according  to  a  colloquial  designation,  a 
pet  day,  which,  alas  !  ended  pettishly.  Since  morning  black  caps 
covered  the  highest  points;  in  some  instances  fleecy  mists  have 
descended  midway  to  the  valleys,  the  great  Sugarloaf  alone  standing 
cut  rugged  and  unadorned.  Up  hpre  grows  many  a  wilding,  and 
purple  hoxgloves  abound.  Lastrea  dilatata  and  the  Lady  Fern,  with 
Polystichum  angulare  share  a  damp  bed  with  commoner  Lastreas  and 
Hartstongues.  “  \ou  must  see  the  Waterfall;  ”  but  there  are  gardens 
to  visit  hence,  we  are  fain  content  with  a  distant  view,  although  the 
roar  of  falling  waters  comes  over  the  intervening  mile.  This  is  the 
Powerscourt  waterfall,  madly  hurrying  through  a  mountain  gorge  to 
fall  in  silver  streaks  for  some  170  leet  down  almost  perpendicular 
rocks  to  the  valley  beneath.  Here,  but  a  week  since,  an  all  too 
adventurous  visitor  lost  his  life  through  that  British  craze  for 
climbing. 
Tea,  and  then  for  Charleville,  near  at  hand.  The  principal  features 
of  this  place,  *be  residence  of  Lord  Monck,  are  the  Coniferse,  of  which 
Mr.  Douglas  is  justly  proud.  An  avenue  of  Deodaras  stretching 
away  to  the  south-west  is  very  finp,  and  from  one  particular  point  of 
view  appears  to  be  shut  off  at  one  end  by  a  lofty  eminence,  known  as 
the  Joyce  Mountain.  Most  of  the  Conifers  here  have  been  raised  from 
seeds  saved  on  the  place  about  thirty  years  since,  and,  in  some  instances, 
a  good  deal  of  sportiveness  is  noticeable  among  the  types.  The 
Himalayan  Spruce,  Abies  morinda,  is  much  in  evidence,  appearing  to 
be  quite  at  home,  and  showing  markedly  distinctive  traits  of  character. 
Noble  specimens  of  Taxodium  sempervirens,  with  cinnamon  red 
bark,  sweep  the  ground  with  abnormally  protruding  lower  branches, 
lorming  a  dense  thicket  on  the  grass,  arid  Mr.  Douglas  points  out  a 
Wellingtonia  planted  by  him  when  commencing  his  duties  at  Charle¬ 
ville  thirty  years  ago ;  three  decades  tell  their  tale  on  both  the  plant 
and  its  planter.  Near  at  hand  is  a  tall  Pinus  insignis  planted  by  Mr. 
Gladstone  in  1877.  The  gardens,  in  which  are  several  long  ranges  of 
glass,  are  extensive,  but  of  recent  years  have  suffered  somewhat  from 
that  depression  which  few  large  establishments  in  Ireland  have 
escaped.  Some  massive  and  perfectly  kept  Yew  hedges  form  a  happy7 
connecting  link  with  these  and  the  grounds.  We  should,  however, 
have  sought  and  doubtless  found  many  of  those  charming  old-fashioned 
things  which  linger  lovingly  in  old-fashioned  gardens  had  not  night 
fallen  apace,  and  our  friend’s  horse  proved  restive  as  the  raindrops 
splashed  about  his  ears.  “  Wt’re  in  for  it,”  he  said,  and  we  were,  rain 
descending  in  torrents  as  our  cautious  coachman  made  for  Bray 
station,  where  only  a  slight  damping  of  the  roads  was  to  be  seen. 
A  week  later  the  same  ground  was  revisited  by  a  different  route, 
and  so  charming  was  the  inland  course  that  one  cannot  refrain  from 
mentioning  it.  This  time,  independent  of  trains,  we  were  early 
awheel  in  the  increasing  heat  of  a  cloudless  morning.  Across  country 
to  Stepaside,  a  fine  run  on  a  perfect  road  for  several  miles  leaves  the 
county  Dublin  behind,  and  the  pass  through  the  Scalp  brings  one  to 
a  long  winding  descent  into  Enniskerry.  Here  cycling  practically 
ceases,  for  it  is  uphill,  and  those  cyclists  who  would  return  this  way 
probably  find  walking  the  better  part  of  valour,  here  and  there  a 
notice  board  testifying  to  the  dangers  of  a  sharp  descent.  Thirteen 
miles  this,  the  nearest  wav,  and  seventeen  back  by  the  route  of  the 
Rocky  Valley,  skirting  the  Sugarloaf  mountain,  whose  summit  is 
aglow  with  the  last  rays  of  the  setting  sun  as  the  warm  hearts  of 
Wicklow  and  ils  superb  scenery  are  left  behind. — K„  Dublin. 
PAPYRUS  ANTIQUORUM. 
Your  clever  corresoondent,  “K.,  Dublin  ”  (page  99),  has  done 
well  to  direct  attention  to  this  noble  plant.  His  remarks,  however, 
seem  to  convey  to  the  mind  that  to  grow  it  successfully  abundance 
of  heat  is  required,  whereas  such  is  not  the  case.  It  may  interest 
readers  of  the  Journal  of  Horticulture  to  know  that  it  can  be  grown 
to  a  very  fine  specimen  in  a  cool,  lofty  conservatory  or  winter  garden. 
When  taking  over  my  present  charge,  about  seven  years  ago,  I 
found,  growing  in  the  conservatory  in  a  large  tub,  a  small  but  fairly 
healthy  plant  of  Papyrus  antiquorum.  The  following  year  it  was 
decided  to  have  the  whole  of  the  centre  large  bed  planted  with  Tree 
Ferns,  Palms,  and  Bamboos.  I  was  anxious  to  get  rid  of  the  rather 
unsightly  tub,  so  decided  as  an  experiment  to  plant  out  the  Papyrus 
in  the  same  way  as  the  Palms  and  Ferns.  The  soil  in  the  bed  con¬ 
sists  of  loam  and  peat  (equal  parts),  with  plenty  of  coarse  sand.  To 
our  surprise  it  grew  much  better  and  stronger  when  planted  out  in 
this  manner  than  when  growing  in  water.  Several  times  since  we 
have  had  recourse  to  the  spade  to  considerably  reduce  its  dimensions. 
It  is  usually  cultivated  as  an  aquatic,  but  the  plant  here  receives  no 
more  water  than  the  other  occupants  of  the  bed. 
When  at  Kew  recently,  I  was  much  interested  with  the  Papyrus 
antiquorum  growing  in  water  in  the  aquatic  house.  The  difference 
between  the  one  growing  in  water  and  abundance  ot  heat,  and  the  other, 
under  the  cool  treatment  I  have  described,  is  very  great.  The  stems 
of  the  former  are  very  slender,  and  appear  quite  unable  to  carry  their 
heads  erect  without  artificial  means  of  support,  and  the  plant 
altogether  is  very  much  smaller.  In  the  latter  case  the  plant  is  very 
strong  and  vigorous;  some  of  the  heads  grow  to  the  height  of  15  feet, 
but  the  majority  are  about  12  feet,  and  require  no  sunport  whatever. 
Aparf  from  its  wonderful  history,  it  is  one  of  the  finest  decorative 
plants  1  am  acquainted  with,  which  impart  a  unique  and  striking 
appearance  in  a  lofty  conservatory.  I  hope  these  few  remarks  will 
induce  others  to  grow  this  plant,  as  1  think  the  enclosed  heads 
clearly  prove  that  it  can  be  grown  successfully  in  the  manner  I  have 
described. — C.  B.  Elliott,  Luneville,  Torquay. 
[We  are  much  obliged  to  Mr.  Elliott  for  his  notes,  which  will  find 
appreciation  from  many  of  our  readers.  The  examples  sent  are  superior 
in  all  respects  to  any  we  have  previously  seen. 
In  Dr.  Hogg’s  “  Vegetable  Kingdom”  the  reference  to  Papyrus 
antiquornm  is  so  interesting  that  we  reproduce  it  in  full.  “The  cele¬ 
brated  Egyptian  Papyrus  (Papyrus  antiquorum),  or  Egyptian  Reed, 
from  which  the  ancient  Egyptians  made  their  paper,  still  grows  in 
the  marshes  of  Egypt,  or  in  stagnant  waters  of  the  Nile.  It  is 
also  found  in  Sicily,  Syria,  and  Nubia,  and  extends  even  to  Senegal. 
This  plant  rues,  with  a  triangular  stem,  to  the  height  of  8  or  10  feet, 
and  surmounted  with  a  large  compound  umbel  of  flowers,  having  long 
filiform  involucres,  the  lower  part  clothed  wilh  long,  hollow,  sword¬ 
shaped  leaves  of  a  brown  colour.  The  root-stocks  are  long  and 
tortuous,  4  or  5  inches  thick ;  when  young  they  are  sweet  and 
nutritious,  and  are  eaten  by  the  inhabitants  ;  they  also  yield  a  fecula, 
which,  with  the  base  of  the  stems  roasted,  they  use  as  food,  and  they 
suck  their  juice  in  the  same  way  as  they  do  that  of  the  Sugar-cane. 
When  old  the  root-stock  becomes  hard  and  woody,  and  was  converted 
into  cups,  moulds,  and  other  utensils ;  one  use  of  it  was  to  make 
covers  for  binding  the  leaves  of  the  books,  which  were  made  of  the 
stems.  The  whole  plant  is  used  for  making  boats  in  Abyssinia,  a 
piece  of  the  Acacia  tree  being  pout  in  the  bottom  to  serve  as  a  keel. 
The  leaves  and  the  stem  have  been  twisted  into  roj  es,  and  with 
the  vertical  fibres  cloth  is  made.  The  ancients  made  their  paper 
from  the  pellicle  found  between  the  pith  and  bark  of  the  thick 
part  of  the  stalk,  and  the  plant  being  called  babeer  in  Syria,  this 
word  furnished  the  appellation  Papyrus,  from  which  our  word  paper 
is  derived.  The  pellicles  were  peeled  from  the  stems  and  cut  into 
strips  of  equal  length  ;  the  strips  were  placed  side  by  side  on  a  board, 
in  sufficient  number  to  form  a  sheet  ;  other  strips  were  placed  side  by 
side  in  an  opposite  direction  over  them,  so  as  to  make  the  sheet 
sufficiently  thick  and  strong;  each  sheet  was  pressed,  dried  in  the  sun, 
and  polished  with  a  shell  or  some  other  substance,  and  twenty  sheets 
or  upwards  were  glued  together  to  form  a  roll.  The  breadth  of  any 
roll  depended  on  the  length  of  the  strips,  and  was  usually  from  10  to 
13  fingers  broad,  and  the  length  depended  on  the  number  of  the 
sheets.  With  the  rays  of  the  umbels  of  the  flowers  the  Egyptians 
made  chaplets  for  the  heads  of  their  gods.  Under  the  arm  of  a  great 
many  of  the  mummies  a  small  bunch  of  Papyrus  is  found.  It  was 
doubtless  of  this  plant  that  the  ‘ark  of.  bulrushes’  was  made  in 
which  Pharoah’s  daughter  found  the  infant  Moses.”] 
