Page:A History of Art in Ancient Egypt Vol 2.djvu/147

The Egyptian Orders. 125 These seeds, which were eaten either green or dried, ^ were called Egyptian beans by the Greek and Latin writers because they were consumed in such vast quantities in the Nile valley.^ The seeds of the other kinds of nymphceacese, which were smaller (Herodotus compares them with those of a poppy), gave, when pounded in a mortar, a flour of which a kind of bread was made. Even the root was not wasted ; according to the old historians, it had a sweet and agreeable taste.^ The papyrus belongs to the family of Cyperacece, which is still represented in Egypt by several species, but the famous plant which received the early writings of mankind, the Papyrus antiquorum of the botanist, has also practically disappeared from Egypt, where it is only to be found in a few private gardens. The ancients made it an object of special care. It was culti- vated in the Sebennitic nome, its roots beinof arown in shallow water. Strabo gave a sufficiently accurate idea of its appearance when he described it as a " peeled wand surmounted by a plume of feathers." ^ This green plume or bouquet is by no means without elegance (Fig. 98). According to Theophrastus the plant attained to a height of ten cubits, or about sixteen feet.^ This may, however, be an exaggeration. The finest plants that I could find in the gardens of Alexandria did not reach ten feet. Their stems were as thick as a stout broom-handle and sharply triangular in section. The reed-brakes which occur so frequently in the paintings consist of different varieties of the papyrus (Fig. 8, Vol. I.). The uses to which the plant could be put were ver)^ numerous. The root was used for fuel and other purposes. The lower part of the stalk furnished a sweet and aromatic food substance, which was chewed either raw or boiled, for the sake of the juice.^ ^eils, mats, sandals, &c., were made from the bark ; candle and torch wicks ^ Herodotus, ii. 92. " For the different species of the lotus and their characteristics see Description de TEgypfe, Hist. Natiirelle, vol. ii. pp. 303-313 and Atlas, plates 60 and 61. — In the Recueil de Traraux, etc., vol. i. p. 190, there is a note by M. Victor Loret upon the Eg>-ptian names for the lotus. ' Strabo, xvii. i, 15. — Diodorus, i. 34. ^ Strabo, xvii. i, 15. Straho only speaks of ten feet, which would agree better with modern experience. •^ Diodorus, i. 80,