Even the sands of the desert, says Clarke, partake largely of the dew of heaven, and in a certain degree of the fatness of the earth. THE PRODUCTIONS OF EGYPT. Under this section of the "Physical History of Egypt," it will be sufficient to treat only of some of the principal plants indigenous to Egypt, and of the abundance of corn it produced. Linum.-This plant is an annual, and has been cultivated from time immemorial for its textile fibres, which are spun into thread and woven into cloth. It has a green stem, from a foot and a half to two feet high, and it puts forth a blue flower, which is succeeded by a capsule, containing ten flat oblong seeds of a brown colour, from whence an oil is procured, which is used both in manufactures and painting. We learn from Scripture that Egypt was anciently celebrated for the production of and manufacture of linen from this plant. It was one of the plants which the plague of hail destroyed. See Exod. ix. 31. The fine linen which was composed of flax is also spoken of in several passages. Joseph was arrayed in "vestures of fine linen" when he interpreted Pharaoh's dream, Gen. xli. 42; and Solomon makes mention of it in the book of Proverbs, ch. viii. 16. The prophet Isaiah also speaks of those that worked in "fine flax" of Egypt, ch. xix. 9; and Ezekiel, enumerating the luxuries of Tyrus, says, "Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail," ch. xxvii. 7. Το the same effect ancient authors write. Herodotus says, that, wrought into inner garments, it constituted the principal dress of the inhabitants, and the priests never put on any other kind of clothing. The mummy chests, also, which occur in the ancient tombs of Egypt in large quantities, and of many dif ferent qualities and patterns, appear upon examination, to be made with flax. In the ancient tombs, moreover, which are found in the neighbourhood of all the great cities of Egypt, the culture and manufacture of flax is a very common subject of the paintings with which their sides are covered; and it is clear that the Jews derived their fine stuffs from Egypt, and that from the variety of terms employed, fabrics of different qualities, and all highly appreciated by foreign nations, were produced by the Egyptian loom. The manufacture of flax, indeed, is still carried on in that country, the articles of which are represented as being of the most beautiful texture, and so finely spun that the threads are with difficulty observed. There appear to have been two kinds of flax, the Abestinum and the Byssus. Pliny holds the former in the highest estimation, and notices a remarkable property peculiar to itself, that of being incombustible; but this partakes of the fabulous, an error that too frequently mars the pages of ancient writers. This author says of the Byssus, that the dress and the ornaments were made of it, and this may have been the material of which "the fine linen with broidered work" was composed, as mentioned by the prophet Ezekiel. Papyrus.-This was the Egyptian reed, or the Cyperus Papyrus of Linnæus. It is described by two names in Scripture, which our translators render "rush" and "bulrush." It is distinguished by its cluster of elegant little spikes, which consists of a single row of scales ranged on each side in a straight line. These clusters hang in a nodding position, a circumstance alluded to by the prophet Isaiah, ch. lviii. 5. The root of the Cyperus is about the thickness of a man's wrist, and more than fifteen feet in length, and it is so hard that it is used for making utensils. Its stem is about four cubits in length, and being an esculent plant, was eaten in ancient days either raw, roasted, or boiled. It served also as a material for boats, sails, mats, clothes, beds, and books: our word "paper" is, indeed, derived from the Greek name of this plant: the delicate rind or bark of which was anciently used for the purpose of writing upon, an invention ascribed by Varro to Alexander the Great when he built Alexandria. There are two allusions in Scripture to the papyrus being used as a material for boats: the one records the fact that the infant Moses was saved in a vessel of this description, Exod. ii.; and the other speaks of ambassadors being sent from beyond the rivers of Ethopia "in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters," Isa, xviii. 2. The manner of constructing these vessels was simply by making the papyrus into bundles, and tying them together in such a manner as to give them the necessary shape and solidity. That vessels were made of this material in Egypt, is proved by the testimony of profane writers also: Pliny notices" ships made of papyrus, and the equipments of the Nile." Reeds.-This plant, of which there are many varieties, appears to have grown in immense quantities on the banks of the Nile. Hence it is, in connection with the well-known fragility of reeds in general, that they were adopted by the Assyrian general to symbolize the Egyptian nation. "Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him," 2 Kings xviii. 21. See also, Ezek. xxix. 6, 7. The Cucumber.-This well-known fruit is mentioned in Scripture, Numbers xi. 5, as a portion of the diet which the Israelites enjoyed so freely in Egypt, and over the loss of which they mourned as they passed through the wilderness. That country, indeed, as well as Arabia, produces many varie ties of the cucumber, some of which are softer and more easily digested than those with which we are acquainted; a circumstance attributable to the mellowing effects of the rays of the sun in those climates, which never can be compensated for by artificial heat. Hasselquist thinks that the cucumber referred to by the murmuring Hebrews was the cucumis chate, or "queen of cucumbers," of which he gives the following des cription" It grows in the fertile earth round Cairo, after the inundation of the Nile, and not in any other place in Egypt, nor in any other soil. It ripens like water-melons; its flesh is almost of the same substance, but is not near so cool. The grandees eat it as the most pleasant food they find, and that from which they have least to apprehend. It is the most excellent of this tribe of any yet known." An The Melon.-The cucurbita citrullus, or water melon, abounded in Egypt and the Levant in the days of the ancients, as it does at the present day. The fruit is about the size of the common pumpkin, the pulp of which is of a blooming appearance, and serves both for meat and drink. Dr. Shaw says, that it is, doubtless, providentially calculated for the southern countries, as it affords a cool, refreshing juice, assuages thirst, mitigates fevers and disorders, and compensates thereby, in no small degree, for the excessive heats. elegant writer also says of it: "A traveller in the east, who recollects the intense gratitude which the gift of a slice of melon inspired, while journeying over the hot and dry plains; or one who remembers the consciousness of wealth and security which he derived from the possession of a melon while prepared for a day's journey over the same plains-he will readily comprehend the regret with which the Hebrews in the Arabian desert looked back upon the melons of Egypt." The water melon is cultivated on the banks of the Nile, in the rich clayey earth which subsides during the inundation. This serves the Egyptians for meat, drink, and physic. It is eaten in abundance during the season, even by the richer This sort of people; but the common people scarcely eat any thing else, and account this the best time of the year, as they are obliged to put up with worse fare at other seasons. fruit likewise serves them for drink, the juice so refreshing these poor creatures that they have much less occasion for water than if they were to live on more substantial food in this burning climate. Garlic.-Discorides says that garlics anciently grew in Egypt, and that they were both eaten and worshipped; a circumstance to which Juvenal has alluded in one of his satires. "How Egypt, mad with superstition grown, Each clove of garlic is a sacred power. Religious nation sure, and blest abodes, Where every garden is o'errun with gods.-Dryden. Herodotus, moreover, asserts, that on the great pyramid in Egypt there was an inscription which recorded the expense of onions, radishes, leeks, and garlic, which the workmen had consumed during its erection, namely, 1,600 talents of silver. A variety of the species of garlic alluded to is at the present day cultivated in France, where it is called the "onion of Egypt." It is held in high estimation for the small bulbs that grow among the flowers, which are eaten like onions, and are very agreeable to the palate. It has been observed of this vegetable, that of all plants it has the greatest strength, affords the most nourishment, and supplies most spirits, to those who eat little animal food; a fact to which the poet Homer alludes: "Honey new pressed, the sacred flour of wheat, And wholesome garlic crowned with sav'ry meat. Hasselquist says that garlic does not now grow in Egypt, from whence he questions whether it grew there anciently. But such an argument is by no means sound: for in the physical history of our country, plants might be adduced which were formerly cultivated here, but which are now extinct, Leeks. Hasselquist, speaking of this plant, says that the karrat or leek, which is the allium porum of Linnæus, is surely one of those plants after which the Israelites repined; for it has been cultivated in Egypt from time immemorial. The inhabitants are extremely fond of it, and the poor people eat it raw with their bread, especially for breakfast, and would scarcely exchange their leeks and bit of bread for a royal dinner. Onions. The same author, speaking of onions with reference to Egypt, remarks, "Whoever has tasted onions in Egypt must allow that none can be had better in any part of the world; here they are sweet, in other countries they are nauseous and strong; here they are soft, whereas in the north and other parts they are hard, and the coats so compact, that they are hard of digestion. Hence they cannot, in any place, be eaten with less prejudice and more satisfaction than in Egypt. They eat them roasted, cut into four pieces, with some bits of roasted meat, which the Turks in Egypt call Kebah; and with this dish they are so delighted, that I have heard them wish they might enjoy it in paradise. They likewise make a soup of them, cutting the onions in small pieces; this is one of the best dishes I ever ate." Onions appear to have been a staple article of diet in Egypt in ancient times, as they are at the present day in warm countries. Most of the people of Western Asia are remarkably fond of onions, and the Arabs have a childish passion for them. Travellers also mention, that in Greece and Africa raw onions are excellent. Lentils. The lentil is the lens esculenta of some writers, and the Ervum lens of Linnæus; and it belongs to the leguminous or podded family, all of which are a sort of pulse; The stem of the plant is branched, and the leaves consist of about eight pair of smaller leaflets. The flowers are small, and prettily veined; the pod contains about two seeds; and it flourishes most in a dry, warm, sandy soil. Lentils are much used as food in Egypt, Barbary, and Syria. Dr. Shaw states, that the manner of dressing them in Barbary, is by boiling and stewing them with oil and garlic, which makes a pottage of a chocolate colour; similar, it is supposed, to the "red pottage" for which Esau sold his birth-right, Gen. xxv. 30-34. In Syria, they are eaten after having been simply parched in a pan over the fire. Three varieties are cultivated in France, "small brown," "yellowish," and the "lentil of Provence." Beans. In ancient times, according to Herodotus, the bean was held in abhorrence by the Egyptian priesthood. It is, however, at the present day, no inconsiderable part of the diet of the poor of that country; and Dr. Shaw states, that in Barbary, beans, after they are boiled and stewed with garlic, are the principal food of persons of all distinctions. The Nigella.-This plant forms a singular exception to the family to which it belongs. While they are poisonous in the highest degree, it produces seeds which are not only aromatic, but possess medicinal qualities of the most useful kind. Auso |