The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-11-10
The Paper Reed.

The Hebrew name for manor rood
Papyrus, IS gnome, which our transla-
Tors generally render bulrush. If This
Is so, then the infant Moses was laid in
an ark of papyrus, not buIrusbes and
the people of Ethiopia must have made
their ships of the same. 'S'O
Inc native country of the papvrus is
Egypt 1t 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
wnat from its beauty when growing
these waVy, feather-like tops of the
nil-grown tree, which often reach n
helght OF fourteen feet In 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
iight vessels, while the solid part, near
the root, was converted into soles for
sandals OF the priests, as well as Guns
ana other ornaments, which were the
more valuable on account of the scarcity
OF wood in Egypt.
Even the roots themselves appear to
nave been used for food by the ancient
Egyptians, but those who protested to
chew 1t as q luxury doubtless mistook
the sGgar-cane 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
nlshed material for writing upon. OF
all the ingenious contrivances in earlier
DAYS there was nothing like the sheets
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
gether, to make the breadth of page
These pages were then covered over
with simple gum, animal glue or flour
paste.
The first layer of papyrus being dry,
q second layer was placed transversely
upon 1t, that the tibres might cross each
other like the threads of woven cloth.
The sheets were then beaten, and a
strong pressure applied to render them
smooth and ready for use.
Among the ancient Egyptians the
word Tor papyrus was biLJOS, and is pre-
served in the name for the most vener-
able book in the world-the Bible.
The beautiful substance called ''ricc
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 a rush growing in
great abundance in the waters of tie
Ganges.
The fishermen there tie bundles ot
these PUSHES together, and use them as
floats for their fishing nets.
| The most ancient Italians rs well a>
East Indians appear to have used linen
| cloth to write upon. so prepared AS tt
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
tibers at the bottom Of the palm furnish
a large proportion of it, but il Wa
| 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, wher,
the body was introduced after the east
was ornamented. Only the very ricl
could afford this expensive method o
elnbalmin@.
Important in every way as the papy
rus was to this nation, i'll a fit of com
mercial jealousy, one of the Egyptian
monarehs prohibited the expectation o
this kind of paper, and occasioned The
invention OF parchment at Pergams, b,
Attalus, its king.
And yet at no great distance from tn
kingdom OF Alfalfa the papyrus grew il
great profusion, according to ancien
writers, from the very source OF thu
Jordan to the Lake of Tiberias, as wei
as at the Tigris and Euphrates.
Not single plant exists that has no
at some time played an importan
part in the great economy of nature
even to the very leaves. As an eN
ample of this, we see what the papyrn
must have been to the ancient peopl
before the manufacture of modern pape
which is such desirable substitute fO
all. - G0Idc,l Daps.
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