. Chambers's encyclopedia; a dictionary of universal knowledge for the people. 0 feethigh; with a very strong, woody, aromatic, crcej)-ing Ioot; long, sharp-keeled leaves; and naked,leafless, triangular, soft, and cellular stems, as thickas a mans arm at the lower part, and at their upperextremity bearing a compound uml)el of extremelynumerous drooping spikelets, with a general invo-lucre of 8 long filiform leaves, each spikekt con-taining 6—13 florets. By the ancient Egyptiansit was called papu, from which the Greek 2)apynisis derived, although it was also called by thembyblos or deltas. The
. Chambers's encyclopedia; a dictionary of universal knowledge for the people. 0 feethigh; with a very strong, woody, aromatic, crcej)-ing Ioot; long, sharp-keeled leaves; and naked,leafless, triangular, soft, and cellular stems, as thickas a mans arm at the lower part, and at their upperextremity bearing a compound uml)el of extremelynumerous drooping spikelets, with a general invo-lucre of 8 long filiform leaves, each spikekt con-taining 6—13 florets. By the ancient Egyptiansit was called papu, from which the Greek 2)apynisis derived, although it was also called by thembyblos or deltas. The Hebrews called it yome, aword resembling the Coptic ffom, or volume; itsmodern Arabic name is JJcrdi. So rare is the plantin the present day in Egypt, that it is sujjposcd tohave been introduced eitlier from Syria or Abyssinia;but it has been seen till lately in the vicinity of theLake Mcnzaleh, and specimens sent to England; and as it formerly was considered the emblem ofNorthern Egy])t, or the Delta, and only grown thereif introduced, it must have come from some country. Papyrus (P. antiquorum). lying to the north of Egypt. It has been found inmodern times in the neighbourhood of Jafifii, on thebanks of the Anapus, in the pools of the Liane, nearSyracuse, and in the vicinity of the Lake Thrasyme-nus. It is represented on the oldest Egyptian monu-ments, and as reaching the height of about ten was grown in pools of still water, growing ten feetabove the water, and two beneath it, and restricted tothe districts of Sais and Sebenuytus. The P. wasused for many purposes both ornamental and useful,such as crowns for the head, sandals, boxes, boats,and cordage, but principally for a kind of papercalled by its name. Its pith was boiled and eaten,and its root dried for fuel. The pajiyrus or paperof the Egyi)tiaus was of the greatest reputation inantiquity, and it appears on the earliest monumentsin the shajte of long rectangular sheets, which wererolled up at one end, and on
Size: 1243px × 2009px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookpublisherphiladelphiajblipp
