Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1884-12-12

The Hebrew name for paper reed. or
paprriiS. is @no;uo. which our Uansla-
tors generally reader bulrush. Ii this
is So, then the infant Moses was laid IN
an ark Of papy-us. not bulrusheS, and
the people of Ethiopia must have made
their ships of the same.
The native country of the papyrus Is
Egypt. Ii is found all along the borders
of the Nile The appearance OF this
reed. growing in heavy clusters in com
pany with others. is very graceful, the
top resembling an elegant plume, but
the want of lower leaves takes some
what from its beauty when growing
alone.
These wavv. feather-l,ke tops of the
full grown tree. which often reach a
height of fourteen feet III favorable
situations, were used to crown the
statues OF the goddesses in MANY of the
temples of the East. The upright stem
was of service in the construction OF
light vessels, while the solid part, near
the root, was converted into soles for
sandals of the priests. as well As cups
and other ornaments. which were the
more valuable on account of the scarcity
of wood in Egypt.
Even the roots themselves appear to
have been used for food by the ancient
Egyptians, but those who professed to
chew it as 4 luxury doubtless miStook
the sugar-eane for the papyrus, as the
stem is neither juicy nor agreeable to
the taste.
But the chief and most important use
of this wonderful reed was that it fur
nished material for writing upon. Of
all the ingenious contrivances in earlier
days, there was nothing like the sheets
of papyrus. the original manufacture of
which is described as follows:
The reed was cut INTO strips, each
sufficient for page. and then carefully
peeled, at its entire length. as far in
ward toward the core as possible, So as
to make tolerably wide strip.
Several of these strips were laid to-
gcther, to make the breadth of page.
These pages were then covered over
with simple gum. animal glue or -four
paste.
Tie first layer of papyrus being dry,
a second layer was placed transversely
upon it, that the iibres might cross each
other like the threads of woven cloth.
The sheets were then beaten, and n
strong pressure applied to render them
smooth and ready for use.
Among the ancient Egyptians the
word for papyrus was 6ibioS, and is pre-
served in the name for the most vcncr-
able book in the world-the Bible.
The beautiful substance called ..rice
paper" of which artificial flowers are
made, and on which are sometimes
painted exquisite flowers in most deli
cate designs. is cut in the same manner
from the pith of rush growing in
great abundance in the waters of the
Ganges.
The fishermen there tie bundles of
these rushes together, and use them as
floats for their fishing nets.
The most ancient Italians as we'll as
East Indians appear to have used linen
cloth to write upon. so prepared as TO
retain the marks of the pen, and there
are ancient books in existence even
now written upon the folds of palm
leaves.
With regard to Egyptian rope, the
fibers at the bottom Of the palm furnish
a large proportion of it, but it was
probably the finer cord, twisted from
the papyrus. that was employed in the
curious lacing of those mummy eases,
of which we have so often read. where
the body was introduced after the ease
was ornamented. Only the very rich
could afford this expensive method of
erhbalming.
Important in every way as the papv-
rus was to this nation, in fit of com
mercial jealousy, one of the Egyptian
mOnarchs prohibited the expectation of
this kind of paper, and occasioned the
invention of parchment at Pergams, by
Attalus, its king.
And yet at 40 great distance from the
kingdom of Attala the papyrus grew in
great profusion, according to ancient
writers, from the very source of the
Jordan to the Lake of Tiberias. as well
as at the Tigris and Euphrates.
Not single plant exists that has not
at some time played an important
part in the great economy of nature
even to the very leaves. As an ex-
ample of this, we see what the papyrus
must have been to the ancient people
before the manufacture of modern paper
which is such desirable substitute for
Golden DAYS.
.