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STATE OF THE COUxNTRY. The MANNERS of the TNi .^,-, me INhAiJiTANTS, and fevfrr,! ^ • Profc(r„r„fCecon1my''if,hTu^/,'^/ ^ '^• TRANSLATED Into ftvo, . "*" ENGLISH Bv JOHNRErNHOLDpORSTER, F.AS Ennched with a Man fevpr-,! n . r , ' * THE SECOND EDITION. IN TWO VOLUMES, VOL. I. Pi-inted for T, L L O N D 0 VV N D E S, N*^ N. 77. in Fleet-ftreet. '/ / ti f- I i il i H III! W PA One Gr Ai M r- H tion, which protect Evi ally oi of yoi every happir and tc fonabI( TO THE HONOURABLE h i ! i 1 ,1 t^l . > PAINES BARRINGTON, One of his Majefty's Juftices of the Grand Seffions for the Counties of Anglesey, Caernarvon, and Merioneth. SIR, IPrefume to prefix vour name to a performance which will in fome meafure difplay to the Bri^i/h na- tion, the circumftances of a country which is fb happy as to be under its protection . Every lover of knowledge, efpeci- ally of natural hiftory, muft be fenfible of YOUR zealous endeavours to promote every branch of it. It was my great happinefs to fall within your notice, and to receive very fubftantial and fea- fonable favours from your patronage and ' .1, •!l iv DEDICATION. and recommendations. I /Lall ever re- main mindful of YOUR generofity and humanity towards me; but muft lament that I have no other means of expreffing my gratitude than by this publick ac- knowledgment. Accept then, Sir, my earneft wifhes for YOUR profperity, and think me with the trued cfteem, Your mofl: obh'szed and obedient humble Servant, July 25th, i;7o. John Reinhold Forfter- p p t lated ii whom tranflat Bar the Co made i ences i norther which Sweden colledli the Swi arts am pofal ju North u live uti tioned c then li fcribed \ that th plants, ters^ a! PREFACE. PROFESSOR AV/«^s Travels through l win- ters5 and what was more important, a great ^ many Ji 1 !■ 'I,"' f h> I*- !;, t ! I|: I ft W PREFACE. many Jmerkan plants promifed to be very ufe- ful in hufLandry and phyfic. Thus far this journey was a mere fcheme; but as Captain Triewald, a man well known for his abilities in England, gave his Obfervations on the Cultivation of Silk in a feries of Memoirs to the Koyal Academy of Sciences, and mentioned therein a kind of mulberry-tree, which was dif- covered by Dr. Linnaus, and which bore the ri- gours of the^ Swedifli climate as well as a fir or pine tree ; this circumdance revived the propo- ial of fuch a journey in the year 1745. Count 7#«, a nobleman of eflabliflicd merit both in the political and learned world, becoming prefi- dent of the Royal Academy, it was unanimoufly agreed upon to fend ProfefTor Kalm to North America, The expences were at firfl: a great ob- flacle; but the Royal Academy wrote to the three univerfitics to aflifl them in this great and ufeful^ undertaking. Aoho fent firfl her fmall con- tribution, Liind had nothing to fpare, but UMa made up this deficiency by a liberal contribu- tion. Count "Piper was intreated to give a family exhibition to Mr. Kalm, which he readily pro- mifed ; but as the Academy had obtained from the convocation of the univerfity of TJpfala and the magiftrates of Stockholm, another exhibition of the family oUlelmsfield ior Mr. Kalm, Count Piper refufed to grant his exhibition, as being contrary to the ftatutes of the univerfity and without any precedent, that one perfon fhould enjoy two exhibitions. The prefent kincr of Sweden being then prince royal, fuccefibr to'^the throne. preface: vit tlirone, and chancellor of the iiniverfit^. wrote to the convocation, and cxprefled his Wifhes to have from tho treafury of the Univcrfity for fc ufcful a purpofe, about i ooo plates, or about I col. 'u^il r. ""i^'^^Jfity complied generoufly with the defire of her chancellor, and^e or- ders that the money fhould be paid to t^e Roval Academy. The board for promoting manufac- tures gave 300 plates, or about 45I. Mr. Ka/m ipent in this journey his falary, and befides very near 1 30I. of his own fortune j fo that at his re- turn he found himfclf obliged to live upon a very fmall pittance. The reft of the exoences th« Academy made up from her own fund. ^J^^l ?""> r''^''^^ ^^''^ g^^^" ^^^'s detail from Mr. Ka/m s long preface, to fliew the reader with what public fpirit this journey has been fup- pe)rted m a country where money is fo fcarcc and wnat a patriotic and laudable ardor for the promotion of fciences in general, and efpecially of natural hiflory and hulbandry, animates the uni- verfities, the public boards, arid even the private perfons, in this cold climate, which goes fo far that they chufe rather to fpend their own pri- vate fortunes, than to give up fo beneficial and ™/ J";^^!^^- , ^^ ^'^^ ^^^ ^^"^« inftance in Dr. ilajjeiquijh who with a fickly and confump- ^'^l ^''^^'}''^^''''^ ^^"^ ^« -^f'^ ^^nor, Egypt. and Falefltne, and colleded fuch great riches in new plants and animals, that Dr. Linncem\ fyf- tern would never have contained fo many fpecies, had he not made ufe of thefe treafurcs, which the queen of SweJen generoufly bought, by paying the debts of Dr.JT-.//;/..;/? ..Ur. died in his attempt a2 to 11 . f 1:1 f ( ■ ■4 ■■'■■*!, 1 ■it < -■■it 1 f t :■ J* II I il ?n SHK -^■as-:,r7ww"S" vm PREFACE. iw to promote natural hiftory. The Reverend ?.1r, OJheck^ in his voyage to China, made an infinite number of ufcful and interefling obfcrvations at the expence of his whole fikry, and publiH-ied them by the contributions of his paridi. The Reverend Mr. Toreen died by the fatigues of the fame voyage, and left his letters publiflied along with Ojbeck, as a monument of his fine genius, and fpirit for promoting natural hiftory. We here look upon the cxpences as trifling, but they are not fo in Sweden, and therefore are certainly the bed monuments to the honour of the na- tion and the great Linnmis, who in refpedt to natural hiftory is the primum mobile of that coun- try. Professor Kalm having obtained leave of his Majefty to be abfent from his poft as profef- for, and having got a pafTport, and recommen- dations to the feveral SwediP^ miniflers at the courts of Londony Paris, Madrid, and at the Hague, in order to obtain paffports for him in their refpedive flates, fet out from TJpfala, the 1 6th of Odiober 1747, accompanied by Lars Tungfirccm, a gardener well fkilled in the know- ledge of plants and mechanics, and who h?d at the fame time a good hand for drawing, whom he took into his fervice. He then h\ fail from Gothenburgh, the 1 1 th of December, but a vio- lent hurricane obliged the fhip he was in to take fhelter in the harbour of Grcemfiad in Nor'way, from which place he made excurfions to Aren-- dal and Chrijii an/and. He went again to fea February the 8th, 1748, and arrived at Lp«^i f ': n U 1 ^/^ 1 f. . f J i , ; i / 1 MjJilU ^M. 1 li.l ■SBC * P RE F A C E. viewed ani navigated the great lake Ontario , znA faw the celebrated fall 2X Niagara: In his re- turn from his fumftftef expedition, he croffed the Blue mountains in a different place, arid in a OBober again reached 'Philadelphia. In 1 75 1, he went at Newcajile on board '-£. fhip for England, and after a paffage, fubjea: to many dangers in the mofl dreadful hurricanes, he arrived, March the 27th, in the "Thames, and two days after in London. He took palTage for Gothenburgb May the 5th, and was the 1 6th of the fame month at the place of his deftination, and the 13th of June he again arrived at Stock- holm, after having been on this ufeful expedition three years and eight months. He has tmct af- fumed che profeflbrfhip at Aoho, where, in a fmall garden of his own, he cultivates many hundreds of American plants, as^ there is not yet a public botanical garden for the ufe of the univerfity, and he with great expedation wi(hes to ite what plants wiil bear tile climate, and bear good and ripe feeds fo far north. He pub- lifhed the account of his journey by intervals, for want of encouragement, and fearing the ex- pences of publi/hing at once, in a country where tew bookfcllers are found, and wk<-re the author does very often embrace the bufmefs of bookfellcr, in order toreimburfe himfelf for theexpences of his publication. A paffage crofs the Atlantic ocean is a new thing to the Swedes, who are little ufed to it, unlefs they go in the few Eaji India fhips of their * ountry. Every thing therefore was new to Mr. Kalm, and he omitted no circumdanee unob- fcrved which are repeated in all the navigators from from th< would b give all t delcribin, bandry \ pafTage fr no circun to any ot From his ginal at ] trifling ci oyfters, t] fome mori Swedijh ge Mr. a; its foot is For his m ed the th< made ufe c ownmakin ing to the vided in thi names of p his diredio] tion of his 1 Vol. 2. £ plants, and to give then work. He gives day after dai ter, notwith of llyle, anc from the earii R E P A C E- down tS ij 1 . times aowii to our own would be a kind of injuftice to the public, to: g.ve al this at large to the reader. Allthat Vrr defcnb,ng 'E„gla„d and its curiofities and ffi paflage from £«^/W to Pe>,j^hama we abridged* nocrcuniftance mterefting to natural hifto^^or ■ to any other part of literature has been omSed 5 From h,s arrival at PMade/fbia. we give theS- • ginal at arge. ^except where we omitted fome trifling circumftances. viz. the way of ea?W fome more of the lame nature, which ftrufk that Wyif. gentleman with their novelty Mr. Kalm makes ufe of the SweJ,i meafure • us foot IS to the £V^ foot, as ,134 to iZ' !d\t ,?'"^°^°'°gi"l °bfervations It empC ed the thermometer of Prof. C/fius. genWlv made ufe of in W.„, and his was otCelZl own mabngj the interval from the point of f«ez- vided in this thermometer into 100 parts In the names of plants, we have chiefly emSed a^r h.s diredions the Li„„^an names, in fheS cZ Vol 1'' B?r;fr:rT' ^'. ^^^^^^ ^^--. Dlants ,nJ^- 1" '^^'^"P'i°"s of animals, plants, and minerals are very fhort, he promifes tojwe them at large fome time hence in'^a Sn He gives you his obfervations as they occurred day after day which makes him a faiLfdreS ter notwithftanding it takes away all elegance of ftyle, and often occaf.ons him to make^very T i • ' . ', ■ i . HI- i U Hi«', >lfli^ ts ■ i I i Mi »KI »!{ P R E F A C E. t;; fuddcn tranlitions from fubjedls very foreign to one another. At laft he arms himfclf with a very noble in- diffetence againft the criticifm of fevcral people, founded on the great aim he had in view by his performance, which was no lefs than puMic uti- lity. This he looks upon as the true reward of his pains and expcnces. , ^ The Map, and drawings of the American birds and animals, were not in the original, but copi- ed from original drawings, and real birds and ani- mals from North America, ' We find it neceffary here to mention, that as many articles in Mr. Kahh travels required il- luftrations, the publilher has taken the liberty to join here and there fome notes, which are mark- ed at the end with F. 7'he other notes not thus marked were kindly communicated by the pub- lilher's friends. P E T PETER Iwr join( ftill Gfa' La^Jpfiy was ,fo la weighed ; Thames hi Aug, 6 fumed ou we came \ turned int tijh coaft, pendiculai fome foil ; of flints, £ chalk-hill- delighted ii covered fo] ripening. At fix a little we] of a bay $ . Vol/I. m ill' PET E R K A L M's T R AVE L S. Auguft the 5th, 1748. 1WITH my fervant Lars Tungftram (who joined to his abilities as gardener, a tolerable Jkill m mechanics and drawing) went at i^rawfendon board the Mary Gaily, Captain Lmiifon, bound for Philadelphia; and though it was folate as fix o'clock in the afternoonT we weighed anchor and failed a good way down the Ibams before we again came to anchor. Aug. 6th. Very early in the morning we re- lumed our voyage, and after a few hours failine we came to the mouth of the rhames, where wl turned into the channel and failed along the Ken- tijh co^A which confifts of fteep and almoft per- pendicular chalk hills, covered at the top with lome foil and a fine verdure, and including ftrata rLii."K'„*'-"^{:"^"'""y '"^"""'^ '" 'lii^ kind of delighted in viewing on them excellent corn-fields. ri^nTn ^'^'"^ P*" "^'"^ wheat, then a little well known town, fituate at the entrance 01 a bay cxpofed to the foiithprn o„.-i »„/i...i.. • ^^'--I- B • winds! ' I ■■■: 5 1 1 1 1 ' i 1 i \ 1 . 1 ■ f 1 ■•# 1 i^ ■1 1 ! 1 1 ^ : Iff' i 'i Ilk 2 Augujl 1748. winds. Here commonly the outward bound fhips provide themfelves with greens, frefh viduals, brandy, and many more articles. This trade, a fifliery, and in the laft war the equipping of pri- vateers, has enriched the inhabitants. Aug. 7th. When the tide was out, I faw numbers of fifhermen reforting to the fandy ihal- low places, where they find round fmall eminen- ces caufed by the excrements of the log worms, or fea wormsy (humbrici marini Linn.) who live in the holes leading to thefe hillocks, fometimes eighteen inches deep, and they are then dug out with a fmall three-tacked iron fork and ufed as baits. Aug, 8th. At three o'clock we tided down the channel, paiTed Dover, and faw plainly the opinion of the celebrated Cajnden in his Britan- nia confirmed, that here England had been for- merly joined to France and Flanders by an ifth- mus. Both fhores form here twooppofite points; and both are formed of the fame chalk hills, which have the fame configuration, fo that a perfon acquainted with the Englijh coafts and ap- proaching thofe of Picardy afterwards, without knowing them to be fuch, would certainly take them to be the Englijh ones.* Aug, (^th — 1 2th. We tided and alternately failed dp^^n the channel, and pafled Dungnefst Fairligbt, the IJle of Wight, Port/mouth, the Pe- ninfula of Portland 2iVid Bolthead, a point behind which Plymouth lies 3 during all which time we had very little wind. * The fame opinion has been confirmed by Mr. Buffon in hia Biji. NaturelU, ' " Aug* % Aug, the Efjg mcreafec rally rei greateft fize of tl ace com r have a h and the 1 and brok Whei /hip, the of meat then kee] Aug, I continuec a foam fv in calm v fome day; Aboui up, and ii gave us a td the V and the n( thele wav( dafhing of more tha; we pafled could not Aug, li continued for the caf mon to m The Channel. i ^ug. 13th. Towards night we got out of the Efigiifh channel into the Bay of Bife Aug. 14th. We had 'ay* thi " ' - - contrary wiuu, ctuu uus increafed the rolling of the fhip, for it is gene- rally remarked that the Bay of Bifcay has the greateft and broadeft waves, which are of equal lize of thofe between America and Europe ; they ace commonly half an Englifi mile in length, and A k ^^^ proportionable to it. The Baltic and thQ German ocean has on the contrary £h6rt and broken waves. Whenever an animal is killed on board the imp, the failors commonly hang fome freOi pieces ot meat for a while into the Tea, and it is faid, it then keeps better. Aug, 15th. The fame fwell of the fea ftill continued, but the waves began to fmooth, and a toam fwimming on them was faid to forebode in calm weather, a continuance of the fame for fome days. About noon a north-eafterly breeze n^run^ up, and m the afternoon it blew more, and thil gave us a fine fpe^acle ; for the great waves roll! ed the water in great fliects, in one direction, and the north-eaderly wind curled the furface of thde waves quite m another. By the beating and dafliing of the waves againfl one another, with a ^r.£T ''^ '^?^'"'^' ^^ ^*°^^^ ^^^ that could not ;' '"'''"'' '"^"^^ ^^^^'^^^^ '^' ^^Pt^i^ touia not a. -mine. conf Lh^/''""'^-''^"' ^^'^'^ f^^°"^^W« breeze Gon inued to our great comfort and amazement, for the cantain obfbrved that it was verv uncom- mon to meet .u - as very wua an eaiteriy or north B 2 -eafterly wind ii ■t ,/ '!^ a !• >■' 1 ,1 4 M :i; ! I f J' i y 'fr .i t 7 i I t i !;' W !fj NjI 4 Augujl 174^. wind between Europe and the Azores (which the failors call the Wejlern IJlands) for more than two days together; for the more common wind is here a wefterly one: but beyond the Azores they find a great variety of winds, efpecially about this time of the year j nor do the wefterly winds continue long beyond thefe ifles ; and to this it is owing, that when navigators have pafTed the Jzores, they think they have performed one half of the voyage, although in reality it be but one third part. Thefe ifles come feldom in fight j for the navigators keep off them, on account of the dangerous rocks under water furrounding them. Upon obfervation and comparifon of the journal, we found that we were in forty-three 6Qg, twenty-four min. north lat. and thirty and a half degrees weft long, from London, Aug. 2 2d. About noon the captain aflured lis, that in twenty-four hours we fliould have a fouth-weft wind : and upon my enquiring into the reafons of his foretelling this with certainty, he pointed at fome clouds in the fouth-weft, whofe points turned towards north-eaft, and faid they were occafioned by a wind from the oppofite quarter. At this time I was told we were about half way to Fenfyhania, Aug. 23d. AsouT feven o'clock in the mor- ning the expedled fouth-weft wind fprung up, and foon accelerated our courfe fo much, that we went at the rate of eight knots an hour. Aug. 24th. The wind ftiifted and was in our teeth. We were told by fome of the crew to expea a little ftorm, the higher clouds being very thin and ftriped and fcattered about the fky like like pai of yarn ftriped the dire night t calm, T Aug. up and the wai Aug. wind, \ compafs towards Our on long changed cially in ever was paftage ; ing fhor Befides 1 fummer may rag miles of be felt, exteniive reigns on while, ar mer. Aug. 3 fore fom( any fubfe pur capta for it. 3 .« Sea between Europe and America. # like parcels of combed wool, or fo many fkains of yarn, wh.ch they faid forebode a ftorm. Thefe ftnped douds ran north-weft and fouth-eaft. in the d>rea,on of the wind we then had. Towards n.ght the wind abated and we had a perfedt cahij. which IS a fign of a change of wind. ^ug 25th and 26th. A WEST wind fprune up and grew ftronger and ftronger, fo that at laft the waves wafhed our deck, wdF K^'u" ^'^ 'H' '"°?'"S ^^ 8°' ^ better wind, which went through various points of the compafs and brought on a ftorm from north-eaft. towards night. ' Our captain told me an obfervation founded on long experience, -viz. that though the winds changed frequently in the ^/to//ocean, ^Ae! ciaJly in fummer time, the moft frequent how- ever was the weftern ; and this accounts for the pallage from America to Europe commonly be- ing ftorter, than that from Europe to America. Befides this, the winds in the Atlantic during ^mmer are frequently partial, fo that a ftorm may rage on one part of it, and within a few miles of the place little or no ftorm at all may be felt. In winter the winds are more conftant. exteniive and violent -, fo that the fame wind reigns on the greater part of the ocean for a good While, and caufes greater waves than in fum- mer. fnrf T" ^^'i- ^' \ ^^^ "^^^"^^^ the night be- fore W ftrong flaflies of lightening without 2 fubfequent ckp of thunder. I enquired of our captain^ whether he could aflign any reafons lor It. He told me thefe phcenomenn «,.,-. B pretty K\^h -I .? j 1 ( I < ^ September 1748. pretty common, and the confequence of a n, -eding heat in the atmofphere 5 but that wh i'.' a pre- i;^u#.^^- ^"-.^-j^..wv, , i^uL njat when Jightenings were obferved in winter, prudent navigators were ufed to reef their fails, as thcv are by ,h,s fign certain of an impendent ftorm , and lo hkewife in that feafon, a cloud rifinij irom the north-weft, is an infallible forerunner of a great tempeft. Sept. 7th. As we had the firft day of the month contrary wind, on the fecond it fliifted to the north, was again contrary the third, and tair the fourth and following days. The fifth we were in forty deg. three min. north lat. and f^onis- *'" ''"' '''^-'°"^ '^^- -^« '-S. Besides the common waves rolling with the wind, we met on the 4th and 5th inft. with waves coming from fouth-weft. which the cap- tain gave as a mark of a former ftorm from that quarter m this neighbourhood. ^t. 8th. We croffed by a moderate wind, a fea with the h.gheft waves we met on the whole paffage, attributed by the captain to the ^mmguK; andfoon after we met with waves greatly inferior to thofe we obferved before. ;n fjf '■ ^, ■ ¥ ^^"^ ^fte'-noon we remarked that in fome places the colour of the fea (which had been hitherto of a deep blue) was changed i^o a paler hue ; fome of thefe fpots were narrow ftnpes of twelve or fourteen fathoms breadth^^ caSd fX fT' ^^''^^ '' ^"PP°-'"^'J t° b« 5"; and a we fu was V arriva heard fame ; Sep bedfo of an in all mate \ ors coi nor h redly the mc lead, a mate h fourtee ftruck by four was inc for thei the ihif got off break, dent hi the con before t cr up c( the land Marylan lat. We c Ocean between Europe and America. f S»pt, 1 2th. We were becalmed that day, and as we in this fituation obferved a (liip, which we fufpedled to be a Spanijh privateer, our fear was very great ; but we faw fome days after our arrival at Philadelphia the fame {hip arrive, and heard that they feeing us had been under the fame apprehenfions with ourfelves. Sept, 13th. Ca?t Alii Law/on, who kept his bed for the greater part of the voyage, on account of an indifpofition, aflured us yefterday we were in all appearance very near America: but as the mate was of a different opinion, and as the faiU ors could fee no land from the head of the mart, nor find ground by the lead, we fleered on di- redly to\yards the land. About three o'clock in the morning the captain gave orders to heave the lead, and we found but ten fathom ; the fecond mate himfelf took the lead and called out ten and fourteen fathoms, but a moment after the fhip ftruck on the fand, and this fhock was followed by four other very violent ones. The conflernation was mcredible ; and very juftly might it be fo ; for there were above eighty*^perfons on board, and the fhip had but one boat : but happily our fhip got oiF again, after having been turned. At day- break, which followed foon after (for the acci- dent happened half an hour pad four) we faw the continent oi America within a Swedijh mile before us : the coafl was whitifh, low, and high- er up covered with firs. We found out, that the fand we flruck on, lay oppofite Arcadia in Maryland, in thirty-feven deg. fifty min. north latf We coafled the (hot ts q£ Maryland 2:}A the day, B 4 but ! I '• il > il 1 11; III m\ (. - 8 ^he Bay. of Delaware, but not being able to reach cape Binlopen, where we intended to take a pilot on board, we cruized all night before the bay oi Delaware, Thedark- nefs of the night made us exped: a rain, but we found that only a copious fall of dew enfued, which made our coats quite wet, and the pages of a book, accidentally left open on the deck, were in half an hour's time after fun-fetting like- wife wet, and we were told by the captain and the failors that both in England 2indi America 2l copious dew was commonly followed by a hot and fultry day. Sept, 14th. We Taw land on our larboard in the weft, which appeared to be low, white, fandy, and higher up the country covered with firs. Cape Hinlopen is a head of land running into the fea from the weftern (hore, and has a village on it. The eaftern fhore belongs here to New Jerfey, and the weftern to Penfyhania, The bay of Delaware has many fands, and from four to eleven fathom water. The fine woods of oak, hiccory and firs co- vering both fhores made a fine appearance, and were partly employed in (hip-building at Pbila- delphia-y for which purpofe every year fome Eng- iiflj captains take a pafl'age in autumn to this town, and fupcrintend the building of new fhips during winter, with which they go to fea next fpring : and at this time it was more ufual than common, as the French and Spani/h privateers had taken many Englijh merchant fhips. A LITTLE after noon we reached the mouth of Delaware river, which is here about three Engli/h miles broad,- but decreafes gradually fo '.' - much. Ocean between Europe and America. 9 much.^ that it is fcarcdy a mile broad at PMh. Here we were delighted in feeing now and then between the woods fome farm-houferfur SfttlTtd'^-'/'^^' P^«"^« -" ft-ked with cattle, and meadows covered with fine hav • wften the wind brought to us the fineft effluvia freA m±°r ''''".*%'"'^ *'°^^^"' °^ '^at of the the fil r ^^ '■ ''Y^ 'Sreeable fenfations and the fine fcenery of nature on this continent fo H^^r; '°,r'""^'^ ^'" '^ S-- q"««= dark ' a "ort view'of .h""'"- ° ^"' ^"'^ ^'^^ '^e reader L IV,/ T £^'= "'"""^ occurrences belongine Oce^n " " "''^°^^' '^"™« °"' croffing Vhf were oflh/r""'""/ 'Jf^^iog^h^O thefe bunches C nS ^r °^ '^' ^i^' ='"'1 °f =» white CO. Jour. Near the coaft of America within the w s cXd K f::y''\^^- fpecies of which Cked Se ^ ft '°r '•^^^-'"^^'/i another kind whire ho! f r'"S ,°^ P"""''' ''"'^ ''"°'her was whitt, about a foot long, narrow, every whrr^ equally w.de and quite /frait. From l^^^ th" name of G«//wf^, becaufe they are fuDDofed tr, atrHel ifh' ^°'""'»r-«"g»l''ted, and of them \^ •'^n I J .1 t ; 'M ;'l M ml § ■ to Ocean between Europe and America. them has numerous leaves dL\(^okd. in a row; they are extremely thin, are ferrated, and are a line or a line and a half wide, (o that they bear a great refemblance to the leaves of Iceland-mo/s j their colour is a yellowilh green, lis fruit in a great meafure refembles unripe juniper berries, is round, greenifh yellow, almoft fmooth on the outfide, and grows under the leaves on (hort footftalks, of two or three lines length ; under each leaf are from one to three berries, but I never have feen them exceed that number. Some berries were fmall, and when cut were quite hollow and confifted of a thin peel only, which is calculated to communicate their buoyancy to the whole plant. The leaves grow in proportion narrower, as they approach the extremities of the branches ; their upper fides are fmooth, the ribs arc on the under fides, and there likewife appear fmall roots of two, three, or four lines length. I was told by our mate that gulf-weed, dried and pounded, was given in America to women in childbed, and befides this it is alfo ufcd there in fevers. The whole ocean is as if it were covered with this weed, and it muft alfo be in immenfe quantities ii .h:, gulf of Florida^ from whence all this drivirp f^a t' e ocea.: is faid to come. Several little JJoells pointed like horns, and Efchara or Horn wracks are frequently found on it : and feldom is there one bundle of this plant to be met with, which does not contain cither a minutQ firimp, or a fmall crab, the latter of which is the Cancer minutm of Dr. Linnaus, Of thefe I Gollefted eight, and of the former three, all which 1 nnt in a cxl-^is with water i , ._. ^ — — „ _j-_ , thcs the littli round th flow, an( at the bo crabs apj killed an careful tc fhape of I on one fi( ternately. paws ent in contin fhrimps i I found 01 eaten by t alive witi Sometime of the gla that of a came in a In fwimm fometimes do, fometi foon as the ways funj fhrimps I j little crabs which are bundles of icription oj another W( places we fa ^ing by th Oceaa betweeu Europe and America. 1 1 the little {hrimp moved as fwift as an arrow round the glafs but fometimes its motion was flow, and iomctimes it flood flill on one fide or at the bottom of the glafs. If one of ,h li'tt^ crabs approached, it was feizcd by its forepaws kdled and fucked; for which reLn thcTwerc careful to avoid their fate. It was quite of the fhape of a fhr.mp; in fwimming it moved alwly! on one fide, the fides and the%ail moving T ternately. It was capable of putting its fore- paws entirely mto its mouth : its antlnna; were m continual motion. Having left thefe little flinmps together with the crabs during n iht eaten by the fhrimps. The former moved when ahve with ircredible fwiftnefs in the Jate" Sometimes when they were quite at the bottom of the glafs with a motion fomething like t^ that oi^Pucercr, o, Podura oi LinnL ,tC came in a moment to the furface of the water In fwimmmg they moved all their feet very clofe fometimes they held them down as other crabs' do. fometimes they lay on their backs, but as foon as the motion of their feet ceafed, they al- ways funk to the bottom. The emaini„; fhrimps I preferved in fpirits. and the lofs of my little crabs vyas foon repaired by other fpecimens which are lo plentiful in each of the flo^fn^ bund es of gulf-weed Fnr o o,^ ■ "°*""S Or.-.,,- / 1 . , . ^*"^ 3 "lore minute de- icr.pt.on of wh.ch I mufl refer the reader ta another work I intend to publifh. In fome places we faw a crab of the fize of the fift. fS! ri 'r '.''^/■°']''"-l motion of its feet,' S "-"■■s « icit, tne wimal began immediately to ^ fink. n 1 1 M f*l ,' I M ti i . . ^ ■* i ( (i. il i!^' 12 Ocean between Europe and Amerkd. fink. And one time I met with a great red crawfijh, or lobjiery floating on the furface oS. the fea. Blubbers, or Medufa Linn, \ve found of three kinds : the firft is the Medufa aurita Linn, it is^ round, purple-coloured, opens like a bag, and in it are as \i it were four white rings -, their fjze varies from one inch diameter to fix inches ; they have not that nettling and burning quality which other blubbers have, fuch for inftance as are on the coafl: of Norway, and in the ocean. Thefe we met chiefly in the channel, and in the BayofBifcay, After having crofTed more than half of the ocean between Europe and America^ we met with a kind of blubber, which is known to failors by the name of the Spam,fh or Portugueze Man of War, it looks like a great bladder, or the lungs of a quadruped, comprelTed on both fides, about fix inches in diameter, of a fine purple-red co- lour, and when touched bv the naked flcin of the human body, it caufer a greater burning than any other kind of blubber. They are often over- turned by the rolling of the waves, but they are again /landing up in an inftant, and keep the fiiarp or narrow fide uppermoft. Within the American gulf we faw not only thefe Spanijh Men of War, but another kind too, for which the failors had no other name but that of a blubber. It was of the fize of a pewter plate, brown in the middle, with a pale margin, which was in continual motion. Of the Lepas anatifera Linn, I faw on the 30th oi Augufi a log of wood, which floated on * ' the the chai Wight { Fapilio '. by their land the Some during t be deter America^ European Of Cl feme fai Bhoc^ena they cor Azores, meet wit dom leer America v mouth of ed in (hoj of an hiin very fwift fide of our noife cawii • The natr copej'ce^ given th=^t almoft a Sea-hogs^ the! S'u.edijh, and roved their M J. e a S'-wine- their Siuinia j rooting the fai: Sea-worms lik in? their bodif Ocean between Europe and America. i , the ocean, quite covered. Of infeBs I faw in the channel, when we were in fight of the Ilk of Wight feveral white butterflies, very like to the PapthoBraJica Linn. They never fettled, and by their venturing at fo great a diftance from land they caufed us juft aftonifliment. Some common fiics were in our dabbin alive during the whole voyage, and it cannot therefore be determined whether they were originally in ^rtca, or whether they came over with the Europeans. Of Cetaceous fjh we met with Porpeffis, or as feme failors call them Sea-hogs * YDelpMn^ Phoc:ena Lmn.J firik m the channel, and then they continued every where on this fide the iZ7'-Z u "I'y ''" *^^ °"ly fi* navigators meet with ; but beyond thefe ifles they are fel- dom leen. tdl again in the neighbourhood of f!Tc'n7 ^^^"^ ^1"^"y frequent to the very mouth of Delaware river. They always appear^ ed .n flioals. fome of which confifted of upwards of an hundred individuals , their fwimminrwas lideofour'fliip, being taken as it were with the noife caufed by the ftip cutting the waves, thej th=^t almoft all the /r„. * ^ - Jt^/i^nf ; and it is remarkable 5^-%rL na^ebewTnT""' T^^^'f >"" ""^"2 them their S-winia Morr^ava \\\!lu 1- *^'^'^^»'^« nations have rooting rhefa^vd at Se hntlr'u^'^ '^"^""' ^'''^'' ^'^^ their in? their hn!Jr-. ;. "^.°':i°"' ^J?* ^^^ ^«^°tity of lard furround. howevi er :f': : iff " lA f iJj i ^« U( |((r 1' 1 i I!! : ; \i i ■ I 14 Ocean het'Wein Europe dnd America, however foon outwent her, when they were tired with flaring at her. They are from four to eight feet long, have a bill like in {hape to that of a goofe, a white belly, and leap up into the air frequently four feet nigh, and from foUf to eight feet in length 3 though their fnoring indi- cates the effort which a leap of that nature cofls them. Our failors made many vain attempts to flrike one of them with the harp iron from the forecaflle, when they came within reach, but their velocity always eluded their flcill. Another cetaceous fifh, of the Dolphin kind, * with which we met, is called by the failors Bottle-nofe ; it fwims in great fhoals, has a head like a bottle, and is killed by a harpoon, and is ibmetimes eaten. Thefe fifh are very large, and fbme fully twelve feet long 5 their fhape, and manner of tumbling and fwimming, make them nearly related to Porpeffes. They are to be met with every where in the ocean from the channel to the very neighbourhood of America. One Whale we faw at a Jiflance, and knew it by the water which it fpouted up. A Dog-Jljh of a confiderable fize followed the fhip for a little while, but it was foon out of fight, without our being able to determine to which fjpecies it belonged ; this was the only cartilaginous fifh we faw on the whole pafiage. • Mr. Kalm is certainly miilaken in reckoning the Bottle-nofe amongft the Dolphin kind ; it has no teeth in its mouth as all the £(h of that clafs have, and therefore belongs to the iirll order of the Whales, or thofe that are without teeth. See Mr. Pennant*s Briti(h Zoology, Vol. 3. p. 43. where it is called the beaked Whale, and very well defcribed ; a drawing is feen in the cxpla- .. »L1- _ T Tl— 1 '.^ 1J .. 1 : i.^ ^»11 If- Jialtena amtullata* F. Of Ocean between Europe and America. i r Of the 6ony fifli, we faw feveral beyond the Jzores, but never one on this fide of thofe ifles ; one of them was of a large fize, and we faw it at a diftance j the failors called it an Albecor, and it is Dr. Linncem'^ Scomber Thynnus. The Dolphin of the Englifh is the Dorado of the Portuguezey and Dr. Linnaus calls it Cory^ phana Hippuris -, it is about two feet and a half long, near the head fix inches deep, and three inches broad i from the head the Dolphin de- creafes on all fides towards the tail, where its perpendicular depth is one inch and a half, and Its breadth hardly one inch. The colour of the back near the head is a fine green on a filver ground, but near the tail of a deep blue ; the belly is white, and fometimes mixed with a deep yellow, on the fides it has fome round pale brown fpots. It has fix and not feven fins as was imagined ; two of them are on the breaft, two on the belly, one at the tail extending to the anus, and one along the whole back, which is of a fine blue : when the fifli is juft taken the extremities of the mofi: outward rays in the tail \yere eight inches one from another. Their mo- tion when they fwam behind, or along fide of the ihip, was very flow, and gave a fliir oppor- tunity to hit them with the harpoon, though fome are taken with a hook and line, and a bait of chicken bowels, fmall fi{h, or pieces of his own fpecies, or the flying fifh, which latter arc their chief food : and it is by their chafing them, that the flying fifh leave their element \o find ihelter in one to which they are Grangers. The Dolphins fometimes leap a fathom "out of the water^ •ii fi. } ^' h|'!i i|Ef| < . !' '" lii 1 6 Odean between Eurtpe and America, water, and love to fwim about cafks and logs of wood, that fometimes drive in the fea. They are eaten with thick butter, when boiled, and fometimes fried, and afford a palatable food, but rather fomewhat dry. In the bellies of the 'fi/h of this fpecies which we caught, feveral ani- mals were found, viz. an OJiracion-y a little fifh with blue eyes, which was yet alive, being juft the moment before fwallowed, and meafuring two inches in length ; another little fifh 5 a curious marine infeft, and a flying fifh, all which not yet being damaged by digeftion, I preferved in fpirits. The Flying Ftfi fExocoetus 'voHtans Linn. J are always feen in great (hoals, fometimes of an hundred or more getting at once out of the water, being purfued by greater fi(h, and chiefly by Dolphins 5 they rife about a yard, and even a fathom above the water in their flight, but this latter height they only are at, when they take their flight from the top of a wave ; and fome- times it is faid they fall on the deck of fhips. The greateft diflance they fly, is a good mufket- ihot, and this they perform in lefs than half a minute's time -, their motion is fomewhat like that of the yellow-hammer, (Emberiza Citrinella Linn.) It is very remarkable that 1 found the courfe they took always to be againfl: the wind, and though I was contradided by the fiilors, who aiRrmed that they went at any dirediion, I neverthelefs was confirmed in my opinion by a careful obfervation during the whole voyage, according to whidi they fly conftantly either diredly diredlly oblique d We i (Scomber ihoals, hi caufed a \ they wen they alwa poons. Of (tm^ twice wit! the other ^ip; botl Birds j though A Land Bird] The Pe, our'«compa of America about our which beir fjrface, wl though alw examine evt the fliip, o feem to be t filent, in tli to forebode difliking th with the na • In Mr. Pent account of this illuftrated by />/, and exaft drawin .yfOnt, the lower Vol. I, Ocean between Europe and America. 1 7 2uf d a r/'^flf"""' l!''"^; ^'^' «'W-h chace thev were In / • '° • '^^ ?^/ "^<^^'^^' ''^^«"<"e they were al fw.mmmg cJofe in a body ; but they d ways kept out of the reach of our har- Of amphibious animals, or reptiles ; we met «^e other fwam without taking notice of o,^ ft.p ; both were of two feet diameter The Petrel (Procellaria Pehgica Linn ) was wr America. Flocks of this bird were aK>roT.c about our fhip, chiefly in that part of the ftf uriace. where they frequently feem to fettle though always on the wing. They pick ud n^ examine every thing that falls acciSyTrom the fli.p, or js thrown over board ■ little tn. S:^t ' in' thet f f ''^' ■' '" ''i i-'hey S "lent, jn the dark clamprous : thev are teL.^A SflSth:ir'r' '-' ^""^ -^n tSS w h Ihi company, complimented them With the name of etches ■. but'^they are as fre^ ./^Ht, "«c lower iideways. F '* a— - -v^'v-icniuig u i^ Vol. I, ' ' p quent I V\ .1 1 1. « lii Hi i Ill \\ . ! - ' . . i r Mi <> ft iiii » 1 1 h I M J 1 8 Ocean between Europe and America, quent in fair weather, without a ftorm following their appearance. To me it appeared as if they flayed fometimes half an Iiour and longer undei the waves, and the failors aflured me they did. They look like fwallows, and like them they ikim fometimes on the water. The Shearwater (Frocellaria Ptiffinus Linn,) is another fca-bird, which we faw every where on our voyage, from the channel to the Ame- rican coafts ; it has much the appearance and fize of the dark grey Sea-gtill, or of a Duck ; it has a brown back, and commonly a white ring round its neck, and a peculiar flow way of fly- ing. We plainly faw fome of thefe birds feed on iifli. The Tropic bird (Phaeton athereus Linn, J has very much the fliape of a gull, but two very long feathers, which it has in its tail, difliinguifh it enough from any other bird ; its flight is often exceedingly high : the firfl: of this kind we met was at about forty ditg, north lat. and forty-nine or fifty deg. wefl: long, from London, Common Gulls (Larus canus Linn,) we faw, when we were oppofite the Land's End, the moft weflerly cape of England, and when, ac- cording to our reckoning, we were oppofite Ire- land. Terns (Sterna hiriindo Linn,) though of a fomewhat darker colour than the common ones, we found after the forty- ^rft deg. of north lat. and forty- feventh deg. weft long, from London, very plentifully, and fometimes in flocks of fome hundreds; fometimes they fettled, as if tired, on our fliip. Within Wit a fea-b which t Lanj and fom fo that i appearan 1 8 th, w( and was major Li) behind tl: flying abc Martins ( fettled on a greyi/h 1 white, an fliowcr of September fhip, and feemed to proached c to take fh about fortj i^ven and don, and al. than nine any land w Sept, loti large bird, wife a little Sept. i2t] "gging: its feemed extrc did. Ocea» baleen Europe and Anerlca, ,9 wh.ch the failors called a Sea-hen ^^' Land-birds are now and then feen at fea tthT-T-"""'/' 'F""^ '^'■'^''"« ffoni "ny land fo that It IS often difficult to account for Zt appearance in & uncoinmon a plTce XJ ,he fto v!'r !7 *','' ^O'newhat furcated; a heavv Zd .n^ r * ^"^'^''^"'^ ^""ered about the P-ached ourcaK 'ndows7s'Sit"r '•>rP" to take flielter there Theft Z r t "^'"'"^ - bird 11 ■ m < I if r 3 ri f- 1 Hi. ('■ f I. * ii-' ( I r I ..; I fit ill 20 Ocean between Europe and America, bird of the pajjerine clafs^ endeavoured to take fhclter and reft on our fliip. Before I entfrely take leave of the fea, I v^rill communicate my obfervations on two curious phaenomena. In the channel and in the ocean we faw, at night-time, ^^r^j, o/^'-r, as if flowing on the water, efpecially where it was agitated, fome- times one lingle fpark fwam for the fpace of more than one minute on the ocean before it vanifhed. The iliilors obferved them commonly to appear during, and after a ftorm from the north, and that often the fea is as if it were full of fire, and that fome fuch fhining fparks would likewifc ftick to the mails and fails. Sometimes this light had not the appearance of fparks, but looked rather like the phofpho- refcence of putrid wood. The Thames water which made our provifion of freOi water, is reputed to be the bed: of any. It not only fettled in the oak caflcs it is kept in, but becomes in a little time (linking, when flop- ped up ; however, this naufeous fmell it foon lofes, after being filled into large flone jug?, and expofed to the open fre(li air for two or three hours together. Often the vapours arifing from a calk which has been kept clofe and flopped up for a great while take fire, if a candle is held near them when the caik is opened ; and the Thames water is thought to have more of this quality than any other ; though I was told that this even happened with any other water in the fame cir- cumflances. Now I can rcfume my narrative, and there- fore fore ob river wi the daw a little Delawai hardly k through faid to h which is the cour phia, E pared wi li tuation one of w before it and go 01 it is almo navigatior ther. Bi farther uj people br Newcaftle I MEN! dations oi time whe Sweden, by degrees who had They fucci not being came to a ter. But 1 viwed.fi brothers called ^Ws-^^TfSo* of SvenJ who had fettled in it. They wTth difficul ty left the place, the fituation of which wafverv advantageous. But at M they were plrfuS to \a ! \ i ^1 f 1 ■ y I . irfi 1: i| € 26 September 1 748. 11 .i i!: 1' I to it by Pen, who gave them, a few £//^/^ milei from that place, twice the fpace of country they inhabited. However Pen himfelf, and his de- fcendants after him, haveconfiderably leflened the ground belonging to them, by repeated menfu- rations, under pretence that they had taken more than they ought. But the inhabitants could not be got in fuf- ficient number to fill a place of fuch extent. The plan therefore about the river SJ^uIki// was laid afide till more favourable circumftances (hould occur, and the houfes were only built along the Delaware. This river flows along the eaftern fide of the town, is of great advantage to its trade, and gives a fine profped. The houfes which had already been built upon the Skulkill were tranfplanted hitherto by degrees. This town accordingly lies in a very pleafant country, from north to fouth along the river. It meafures ibmewhat more than an Englijh mile in length ; and its breadth in fome places is half a mile or more. The ground is flat and conflfts of fand mixed with a little clay. Experience has ihewn that the air of this place is very healthy. The ftreets are regular, fine, and moft of them are fifty foot, Englijh meafure, broad ; Arch-Jlreet meafures fixty-fix feet in breadth, and Market- fir eet ax the principal ftreet, where the market is kept, near a hundred. Thofe which run lon- gitudinally, or from north to fouth are i'^stv\, exclufive of a little one, which runs along the river, to the fouth of the market, and is called Water-fireet, The lanes which go acrofs, and were intended to reach from the Ddaware to the SkuikiU, quite frc that din are near and mak are pavec cefTary, : foon abf< is a pave laid befo fide thre roofs are with pip( under thi melts, n( from the The h quently i bricks or < monly u: town, an( been emf is a mixtu in undula fmall grail tween the of a grey fingle grai mer makcj mixture is relate here; toher. T\ ties in the SkuML I JL- J 3<5 September 174S. II ^}:i i 1111 i w LuTheranrL J K^''^ clergyman which the l^therans had >n this town, was the rev. Mr Muhlenberg, who laid the foundations of S church ,n ,743, and being called to anoAer pkce afterwards the rev. 4. £«,„&& from SUfmck was h.s fucceffor. and is yet here. BoA thefe Gentlemen were fent to this place from Hall in W, and have been a great advantage S it by theirpccuhar talent of preaching in an edtfV- ing manner A little while befor! this" chS was budt MC.C Lutheran Germans had no clergy- man for themfelves. fo that the every-where be loved S-wem, minifter at JVeekacko, Mr. ' Dvlm^. der, preached likewife to them. He therefora eariytthf"^ ^!™°- ^^X Sunday , the S TJl 'V^';'""''""!^ *° ^^^ Germans; the fecond V^l 7t'' ""/.'^^ '^''^ '" '^"^ afternoon "o th^EngltJb, and befides this he went all the week into the country and inftrufted the Ger- mam who hved feparately there. He therefore frequently preached fixteen fermons a wJk And after has death, which happened In Ntmem- ier *74 1, the Germans firft wrote to Germany for a c ergyman for themfelves. This congregTtion fhf .r 'k'-"""^ ""'"''^°"'' ^ '^"^^ ^4 Sunday the church IS very much crowded. It has two gafees, but no veftry. They do not fin^ the eollcdts. but read them before the altar. * 4- The old Prtjbyterian church, is not far from the market, and or, the fouth-fide of AS^i,,. Jreet. It ,s of a middling fize, and buHt in th, Ifl T<^' ^ '''?.j"^ription on the northern pe- diment Ihcws. The roof is built almoft hemi. ipherical^ fpherica! building byterian! ther thei of the h( the year I ern part( are undej ent religi< Whitefieh likewife i mod: all extraordir adapted tc fo popula two firft 3 thoufand 1 thefe travi phans hofj He here fi ling at on< he preachc day, at Pi pounds. T mentioned of prefby te ginally a c he deviated and on ar New Engla about theii entirely em great dilpui Penfylvania, Philadelphia: 31 &• ""' A°' ^' ^?^ ^°™' * ^^''g""- The whole bu Iding ftands from north to fouth, for the pref- bytenans do not regard, as other people do. whe- ther the.r churches look towards a certain point oi the heavens or not. , 5- The „ev> Frejbyurian church was built in theyear 1 750. h^t\,^New.lights in the north-weft- ern part of the town. By the name of Mw-Z/V^/r are underftood the people who have, fromdiffer- Whtefidd who in the years 1739. 1740. and i.or'n"l'7^'^f ? '745. travelled through al- moft all the Engbjh colonies. His delivery, his extraordinary zeal, and other talents fo we adapted to the ,ntelleagiftrates. and dedded fn hadTee^'at^r ""'• """'''''' ''' P^^^ ^^^ uJi' jI"^^ "T '■«'»'■«"' ^iarcB, was built at a ittle diftance from the old one by the par y of the clergyman, who had loft his caufe. This Ln however had influence enough to bring overto fj^s new cth -n f'^'^' '^So, and therefor, mis new church will foon be ufelefs. In thf ■ "^i"^ ^""^""i ^"""^ t^° meetings, one partoft^'f''' '"^- '^^°'^'' '" thenfrhem cuftom of this people, neither altars, nor puloits! nor any other ornaments ufual in churches, C only feats and fome feonces. They meet hricc every Sunday in them, and befides fhat at ceS time, every week or every month. 1 (hall So" more about them hereafter. mention nor'ttr"^"^ ^f^l^' have their fe.vice, in th* northern part of the town. weft n J"f ^,"^'' ^"^'^i'^ksh^^t in the fouth^ weU Tdo nf/^ -.V ^" \r'' ^°"^^* ^hich is we 1 adorned wiilj.n, and has an organ. greathoufe l^'""''''"^ ^'''^"''" ^^"^ hired a ' I , i !J if Lit iH ■m D which n i 34 September 174^. ■ h ^ ''! 1: ; ^ 1 i H| [i ■1 ' which they performed the fervice both In Qermati and in Englijb; not only twice or three times every Sunday, but likewife every night after it i'a grown dark. But in the winter of the year 1750, r they were obliged to drop their evening meetings,* ( fome wanton young fellows having feveral times difturbed the congregation, by an inftrument founding like the note of a cuckoo; for this noifc they made in a dark corner, not only at the end of every ftanza, but likewife at that of every line, whilft they were finging a hymn. Those of the Engitfh church, the New-lights, the Quakers, and the Germans of the reformed religion, have each of them their burying places on one fide out of town, and not near their churches, though the firft of thefe fometimes make an exception. All the others bury their dead in their church-yards, and the Moravian bre- thren^ bury where they can. The Negroes are bu- ried in a particular place out of town. I NOW proceed to mention the other publick buildings in P/>/W^/y a;^?; . ^. ^ The Town-hall, or l >lace where the aflem- bhes are held, is fituated in e weftern part of the town; it is a fine large build. -. having a tower With a bell in the middle, and . ^he greateft or- nament to the town. The deputies of each pro- vmce meet in it commonly every OSiober, or even more frequently if circumftances require it, in order to confider of the welfare of the country, and to hold their parliaments or diets in mini- ature. There they revife the old laws, and make new ones. On one fide of this building (lands the Li- brary, brary, on a p ccutio] perfua( town t terwari curreni books. the hoc borrow a pledg volume for all tjpie, a lume, : fined. ployed chafing ledlion ( many J languag to orde lend mc out req open ev( the aftei matical colledio it. Sevei Jown on The( ket'Jireei building bell. B market \\ Penfyhanta, Philadelphia. 35 ■ . ' ** brary^ which was firfl: began in the year 1742, on a publick-fpirited plan, formed and put in ex- ecution by the learned Mr. Franklin, For he perfuaded firft the moft fubftantial people in town to pay forty fhillings at the outfet, and af- terwards annually ten (hillings, all in Pcnfyhania currency, towards purchafing all kinds of ufeful books. The fubfcribers areintitlcd to make ufe of the books. Other people are likewife at liberty to borrow them for a certain time, but mufl leave a pledge, and pay eight-pence a week for a folio volume, fix-pence for a quarto, and four-pence for all others of a fmaller fize. As foon as the t.ipie, allowed a perfon for the perufal of the vo- lume, is elapfed, it muft be returned, or he is fined. The money arifing in this manner is em- ployed for the falary of the librarian, add for pur- chafing nqw books. There Is ake^^dy a fine col- ledion of excellent works, moft of them Engli/h, many French and Latin, but few in any other language. The fubfcribers were fo kind to me, as to order the librariaru during my ftay here, to lend me every book, which I fhould want, with- out requiring any payment. The library was open every Saturday from four to eight o'clock in the afternoon. Befides the books, feveral mathe- matical and phyfical inftruments, and a large colledion of natural curiofities, were to be feentii It. Several little libraries were founded in the towaon the fame footing or nearly with this. The Court Houfe ftands in the middle of Mar- ket^JIreety to the weft of the maiket ; it is a fine building, with a little tower in which there is a bell. Below and round about this building the market is properly kept every week. - kj 3, 'iHE i I ,IM m i i . ^ i !': ' 'I ( • !1: 1 J S ' ' i 1 ' i ! i \ 1 \ ■ '■ ' ' ^ : f i flit liir ii.» 36 September 1 748, The butldtng of the Academy is In tha weftern part of the town. It was formerly, as I have be- tore rncntioned, a meeting-hoiife of the followers of Whttefield, but they fold it in the year irco, and It was deftined to be the feat of an iiniverfity, or to exprefs myfelf in more exad terms, to be a r^^lr^y- ^^' therefore fitted up to this pur- pole. The youths are here only taught thofe things which they learn in our common fchools; but m time, fuch ledtures arc intended to be read here as are ufual in real univerfities. At^ the clofe of the laft war, a redoubt was creaed here. On the fouth fide of the town, near the river, to prevent the frencb and Spamjh pri- vateers from landing. But this was done after a very flrong debate. For the quakers oppofed all fortifications, as contrary to the tenets of their religion, which allow not chriflians to make war cither ofFenfive or defenfive, but dired them to place their truft in the Almighty alone. Several papers were then handed about for and againfl the opinion. But the enemy's privateers having taken feveral velTels belonging to the town, in the river, many of the quakers, if not all of them, found It reafonabJe to forward the buildino- of the fortification as much as pofllble, at leaft %y a lupply of money, "^ Of all the natural advantages of the town, its temperate chnate is the moft confiderable, the wmtcr not being over fevere, and its duration but Ihort, and the fummer not too hot ; the country roundaboutbringingfbrth thofefruits inthegreat- eft plenty, which are raifed by hufb^ndry. Their September and OMer are like the beginning of the the Si Februc April s their c feverer in the 1 ern one Thi likewif are no ; in ever3 afford e \ng, anc with at the rive ing the which i water, v quel ta about it The trade. It is three miles at ters of J within n the fea, Delawciri name. five or fi^ can fail q f round in ridge. 1 tafte, ^nd P'njyhania, PhUadelph'w. in thcmiddlemoft n/rts oftX i^" -« crn ones oi Finland. ^"^ ^°"^^" likrwifeS^/iinr" •r'^'^''^^« - are no fountains „the"o|n'- ^"'^ ''^""g^ .here in eve^ houfe. and i^nVe" ret'd^ ^ K^f afford excellent waf^r f^ri -i- , 5^^* ^" w^^ch ing. and otWufo t£ t^aStf "''"^^^^^^ with at the depth of forTy fee %r°"'^ "''^^ the river Delaware^ likewife?o;d B.l"^'''' ,°^ me the wells a fi.nii- . ^"^gooa- iJutinmak- wfich irfeveral i^^^ fT'"''^ committed, -ater. whicllslt: L 1, ^ ffirt '^ quel^take an ^,<.J^ ^^t J^ItlJ^^^tl^eVS^ ^°"T'^"' ^- mdes at the town of mimi«^l "°"*' two ■"Of. mil. .. wix-'jjf-'-'- groundin five fL^ r '^" ''"'^ '"^''"■- «good Bridge The wa terT r'^'' °" '''^ '■■'^« °f 'he •nu wcreiore all deftruftive worms, wTiich D <4R 3 v.** 'r ^ IJ I ' r ^ •I I ! i I ^ ^;iil 1 '•: ''In ^ I hi 11 t lit! i if! ' i • r' 9 September 1748. have fartencd thenifclves to the (hips in the fea, and have pierced holes into them, either die, or drop off, after the fliip has been here for 4 while. The only difadvantage which trade labours under here, is the freezing of the river almoft: every winter for a month or more. For during that time the navigation is entirely ftopped. But this does not happen at Bojioriy New Tork, and other towns which are nearer the fea. The tide comes up to Philadelphia^ and even goes thirty miles higher, to Trenton. The differ- ence between high and low water is eight feet at Philadelphia. The catarads of the Delaware, near Trenton, and of the Skulkill, at fome diflance from Pbila- delphiay make tbefe rivers ufelefs further up the country, in regard to the conveyance of goods either from or to Philadelphia, Both mufl: there- fore be carried on waggons or carts. It has therefore already been thought of to make thefe two rivers navigable in time, at leaft for large boats and fmall vefTels. Several fhipsare annually built o{ American oak, in the docks which are made in different parts of the town and about it, yet they can by no means be put in comparifon with thofe built of European oak, in point of goodnefs and dura- tion. The town carries on a great trade, both with the inhabitants of the country, and to other parts of the world, efpecially to the Weft Indies, South America, and the Antilles 5 to England, Ire- land, Portugal, and to feverarJE;?^/^ colonies in North North u aJlowed Phii its trad( bitants butter, and the gar, moi goods, c which g cut dow Thei own pre ibrts of ^ planks i and tar. New Je confeque money ii whence i manufad iron wan India goo land fupp and mam A GRE to Irelan which arc iJour, anc fometimef which is I mediately goods wh f^ms a^e : . « Pen/yhanla, Philadelphia. y^ North ^merica. Yet none but Englijb fliips are ajlowed to come into this port. P"'i-^OEi-PHiAreap3thegreateftprofitsfrom US trade to the Weft Indies. For thither the inha- mtants fliip almoft every day a quantity of flour, butter, flerh and other viduals; timber, plank, and the hke. In return they receive either fu- gar, molaffes, rum, indigo, mahogany, and other g«Qds. or ready money. The true mahogany, whiph grows in Jmmica, is at prefent almoft all cut down. Thev fend both Wejl India goods, and their own produftions to England; the latter are all forts of woods, efpecially black walnut, and oak planks for fliips; fliips ready built, iron, hides, A, ^t 7'' ,'^'' '"""'■ '' Pfoperfy bought in New Jerfey, the forefts of which province arc confequently more ruined than any others. Ready money ,s likewife fent over to England; from whence in return they get all forts of goods there manufadurcj, viz. fine and coarfe cloth, linen, iron ware, and other wrought metals, and Eali Indta goods. For it is to be obferved, tl>at Eng- land fupphes Philadelphia with almoft all fluffs and manufadured goods which are wanted here A GREAT quantity of linfeed goes annually io Ireland, together with many of the fliipg which are built here. Portugal g^tB wheat, corn, flour, and maize which is not ground. Spain fcmetimes takes fome corn. Buf all the money, which IS got in thefe feveral countries, muft ini- mediately be fent to England, in payment for the goods which are got from thence, and yet thofe lums are not fufficient to pay all the debts. D4 B(,j. I I r' ' * \ .1' ' iH M I Iff- fi ! M ! l<-::j;! i f,> iifJl I if ' )l: \ 'l'«l:i 4'bp Septemher 1 748. But to fhew more exaaiy, what the town and province have imported from England, m different years, I fhall here infert an cxtrad: frOm the ^«^P cUflom-houfebooks/^hich I gdtfrom the engineer Z,tfw/i £^a/f/, at PUkdelphia. This gentleman had defired one of his intnArxvi London to fend him a complete account of all the goods ihipped from J^ngland to Penfyhmiia in feveral yearj. He got this account, and though the goods are not enumerated in it, yet their value in money is calculated. Such extrads from the cuftom-houfe books have been made for every North' Jmerf can province, in order to convince the £;?g-//y^ Parliament, that thofe provinces have taken greater quantities of the goods in that king- dom ever fmce they have turned their money into pills. ^ I HAVE taken the copy from the original it« m-, and It IS to be obferved that it begins with -the Chriftmas of the year 1722, and ends about Jhe fime time of the year t y^y. In the firft cO- Jumn IS the value of the foreign goods, the duty for which has already been paid in England, The fecpnd column (hews the value of the goods ma-, nufadured in Efjgland and exported to Penfyha^ ma. And in tlw Jaft column th tfe two furtis are added together, but at the bottom each of the foiumns is caft up. But this table does' ^ot include the goods which are annually fhipped in great quaiSities to Pen^hama from S:dmfahd'2.tiA Ireland^ amone Wf?l?>s agreat^uantityoflinen, ^ *. f -. * ..^^ ^m The Val ■4 Forei whic] alrea( & wh only ceipti /. The whol he'comprehe annually arri^ to infert hei liave taken f !hips comin| Penfyhanta, Fhtlddelpbk. 1 W ^alueoj U.e Good, „,„j^,Uy De 22 25 35 29 From the ' that the dife confumptioni haemorrhages The numl determined, ] obferved with who are the t baptize their ( cxa' ^"=8^" 'o eftbis fori LSanSt r^//''- ^^^^^^J trees Vol. I. P^^'^'^d^t Lheljea. m^, London, and I I 1 1 ■ ■] ( . M f 1: til I lis ^1 1 ill !i # s^ September 174S. i and they now, in point of height, vie with the tafleft oak. Sept, 1 8th. In the morning I went with the Swedifl) painter, Mr. Heffelius, to the country feat of Mr. Bartram, which is about four Eng- lifi miles to the fouth of Philadelphia, at fomc diftance from the high road to Maryland, Vir- gifiia, and Carolina, I had therefore the firfl opportunity here, of getting an exadt knowledge of the (late of the country, which was a plain covered with all kinds of trees with deciduous leaves. The ground was fandy, mixed with clay : but the fand feemed 10 be in greater quan- tity. In feme parts the wood was cut down, and we faw the habitations of fome country peo- ple, whofe corn-fields and plantations were round their farm-houfes. The wood was full of mulberry-trees, walnut-trees of feveral kinds, chefnut-trees, fafTafras, and the like. Several forts of wild vines clafpcd their tendrils round, and climbed up to the fummits of the highefl trees ; and in other places they twined round the enclofures, fo thick, that the latter almoft funk down under their weight. The Perjimoity or Diojpyros Virginian a Linn, fp. pi. p. 1510, grew in the marfhy fields, and about fprings. Its little apples looked very well already, but arc not fit for eating, before the froft has afFe(5led them, and then they have a very fine tafte. llejfelim gzlthered fome of them, and delired m/ fervant to tafte of the fruits of the land ; but this poor credulous fellow had hardly bit into them, when he felt the qualities they have before the -frofti his moutJ had a vc him fo n: fuaded to in Americ. dity, and 2 and towan fellow alw eat them e retain the \ To fatisj mg to knov and whetht with thofe fmall catal( neouily in ti delphia, Bi attain any c tree firft in < on with the i found but fir laft. '• ^ercus ground. 2. ^lercus 3- ^ercus. of the precedi 4- Juglans tfee, of whici met with. 5. Rukus oCi ihrub. J '•<[ \ the I the in try ^ng. fonic Fir- firfl edge )lain uous with uan- )wn, peo- tverc ill of nds, /eral und, ;hell Ithe funk finfylvania, PhiUelphta. hfmtrrr? tr^- ,/r t^ contra JI had a very di%?eeaL tafte t^^^^ ^^^ I'im fomuch that he was with ^.r ? ^ ''^ and whether or^o fL, • °^ '" '"^^ ^""""7. with thofe fou" d ° ^TS'rr "'^'"^'"^ fmall catalogue of thnr. u- ', ^ ''"^ '"^«" » neoufly in he wood, wht n""^"'* ^^^ ^ponta- attain any conLrat e JS "^itl '° .""' tree firft in order whw-h-^ \ ," P"' ''^•'" on with the reft and /h T°'^ P''"''^"'' ""^ ^^ found but finlle thn f °'' '1'" ''^'"^ ^ ''ave j^^^ Dut hnglc, though near the town, will be 1. j^ercus alba, the white oak \n ^ i ground. °^^» ^^ good 2. |//^rm r«^r^, or the black oak I of ^he^^^di'f''"'-'*^^^-^-''- variety 4- y^glans aiba, hiccorv a Irmr^, ^r i tfee, of whirK tf^Lo /' Kind of walnut- Irnet wTth ''' ""' ^^"' ^^^^^^^^^ ^^« to be l^^^^i <.avi^/v;^ or Amerfcdn bfackfery E 2 6, j4> j^Cff I 11 .* ^:fd ^ f i I] m ^i^mm (i i/i II IS \ w 1 .-^^ (J 52 Sfplember 1748. iff 6. ^cer rubrum, the maple tree with red flowers, in fwamps. 7. Rhus glabra, the fmooth leaved Sumach, in the woods, on high glades, and old corn-fields. 8. Viiis labrufca and Vulpina, vines of feveral kinds. .9. Somhucus CanadenfiSt American Elder tree, along the hedges and on glades. 10. ^ercus phellos, the fwamp oak, in mo- rales. 11. Azalea luUa, the American upright ho- ncy-fuckle, in the woods in dry places. 12. Cratagus Cms galli, the Virginian Aza- role, in woods. 13. Vaccinium < — ., a fpecies of whortle- berry (hrub. 14. ^uercm prinus, the chefnut oak, in good ground. 1 5. Cornus Jlorida, the cornelian cherry, in all kinds of ground. 1 6. Liriodendron Tulipifera^ the tulip tree, in every kind of foil. 17. Prunus Virginiana, the wild cherry tree. 1 8. Vaccinium , a frutex whortleberry, in good ground. 19. Prinos verticiliatiis, the winterberry tree, in fwamps. 20. Piatanui occidentalism the water-beech. 2 1 . Nyjf'a aquaticay the tupelo tree, on fields and mountains. * 22. Liquid • Dr. Linnaus mentions only one fpecies of Nyffa^ namely Njjfk aquatica ; Mr. Kalm does not mention the name of the fpecies ; but if hi» is npt a different fpecies, it muft at Icail be a variety, , » fince 22. I near fpri 23. h dijhi it 24. I^ fields, p; 25- .7 the fame 26. / climbed : 27. Ai moraiTes 28. P; 29- ui 31. Lc loofc foil ] 32. Rii low placei 33- -R^ places, 34* Sm with the b clofures. 35- -^^ r^l on the hills, and r 3,7' RAu Wet places. ,. 3«. %^/ liar variety. fince he fays it W'aier. F, • 1 Pcnfyhania. PhikdetpMa. ne'r^J^:'''^'^'"^^^'--^'" ^-et gun, tree. 29- i>/iw«/ Americana, the white eJm 30. Prunusfpi„ofa, floe fhrub In W places Iool';iS^fe„f ^^^^^- -'in * I«^^ plaSlteaSer^-' ^-' H- in plaS. '^""""' '<^^^'-' ^'^'^ ^^ — . i" lo^v witi^-thfCleS'tt' f' r^ ^'""^ --'1 clofurel ^ ' " *°°'^' """^ <»" P»'« or en- rel^o'n'!?^'"''' ''f^'^'^' *^^ ^'«^^'^''« dwarf laul ,6 ;S^ "°"z'''" '^''^ of mountains. hi£;S^;rfCh?ure*^^ ^^-' - '^^''^'' wetplaci' ''''-"'^'•'^he poifonou. Sumach, in liJ^^'"'"^''''^' '^'^O'^- buta pecu. wat'' t " 8"*« '«' •■"". wherea. .he .,„,,„, g„„, .„ ,^^ ^ 3 39. /T^rf f . 1 1 1 ii 'f- ,ii" !;: ! f i ! 1 1 1 ■ : ■; 1 1 1 . 3 ' ' ■.('■'' [|, ■ '; / . . . 1 1 M 'i i !i 1 f^ !"■ ■ i i 1 '. J r! III'! i will f 54 September 1748^ Jit 39. Hamamelis virgjnlca, the wkch hazel, 40. Diofpyros virginianay the perfimon. 4 J. Fyrus coronaria, the anchor tree. 42. Juniperus virginianay the red juniper, in a dry poor foil. 43. J^aurus (eftivalis, fpice-wood, in a wet foil. 44. Carpinus ojlrya, a fpecles of horn beam, in a good foil, 45. Carpinus betulus, ^ hotn beam, in the fame kind of foil with the former. 46. Faguf Jj'Ivahca, the beech, like wife in good foil. ; . 4-7/ y^g^afi^' ' , a: fpecies of walnut tree, on hills near rivers, * called by the Swedes But- iernvfirce, 48. Pinus Americana, Penfyhantaniiv-Xx^Q, on the north fide of mountains, and in vallics.-j- 49. Betula lenta, a fpecies of birch, on the banks of rivers. ...;,^,.. 50. Ctphalanius occidentalism button wood, in wet places. . ' : 51 ; Pinus tceddy the New Jerfey fir triee, on dry fandy heaths. 52. Cercis Canadenfis, the fallad tree, in a good foil. 53. Rohinia pfeudacacia^ the locufl tree, on the porn-lields. 54. Magnolia glauaa, the laurel -leaved tulip tree, jn marfliy foil. ^^ ''^ ^^. Tilia Americana^ the lime tree,- in a good foil, :.. • • Quere. Is thh the yug/am S.terata of linnafusf F. t Thb fpecies k not to be met with in Linn.fpec, plant, F. 56, Gkdltjia si. c or three 57. C fields, fruitful f We vi here, anc them fA, Hone, tw it. We flayed ov countrym tumn, th; already rij yet as gre vered witl fands of fi marfhes a hoppers m was hard!) another, birds, whi delighted 1 their tunes The ore were only c tained all k firfl very m hedge into greeable fru fHll greater, warden wi^vf Penfyhanta, PbiMlpSta. jr 56. Gkma triacanthot, the honey locuft tree, or three thorned acacia, in the fame foil. .y ■ ^^^'" ""'^n^'^ii^' the nettle tree, in the fruitful iT"" '""""""' '''' ''"'^'"^ ^Pf*'"' '" » We vifited feveral S-wedes, who were fettled t^"' T. ;" ^^'■y Sood circumftances. One of them (Andrew Rmnbo) has a fin*, houfe built of Itone two ftories high, and a great orchard near It. We were every where well received, and flayed over night with the above-mentioned countryman.^ We faw no other marks of au- tumn, than that feveral fn,its of this feafon were already npe. For befides this, all the trees were yet as green, and the ground ftill as much co- vered with flowers, as in our fummer. Thou- fands of frogs croaked all the night long in the marfljes and brooks. The locufts and grafs- hoppers made likewife fuch a great noife. that it was hardly poffiWe for one perfon to underftand another. The trees too were full of all forts of birds which by the variety of their fine plumage delighted the eye. while the infinite variety of their tunes were continuallyre-echoed. " The orchards, along which we palled to-day. were only enclofed by hurdles. But they con- tained all kinds of fine frjjit. We w' cou^trynian had an or- Chard fup. of peach trees, which were covered with with fuc icarcely \ upon thoj of which only part confiimcd this fine fr This i winter ufe ncr. The thrown a^ on which 1 open air, ai^ then pi manner of i the rain of trifies them For this rej others, whi peaches are ^QVi either hoard, and fliines. Bej loft their ju an oven, ou been taken, t\\&y are foon Jiir * and aftc oven, and th are as dry as dried up at o "P too mud They are the; ^«ivv rfic eui Penfylvania, Philadelphia. ^ this fine fruKLfi'^"''- ^""^ers. Nay. Thi.! frnJf • ^f.^1"^n% given to the fwine wi"U™ 4,^7-- ^nr">^p "^' ner. The fruit fs cKo f. '^"''"""^ man- thrown away, and ThVf w"'' P'"'' ^^'^o"* on which they are e?n^/!r; ^T "P°" * t^^^ead. open air, til? AevT '^^l' .''^^«'nfl>'"« in the aS then p„ in'S v ffef"?'""^ '^'^^ ^hey manner of dryinl them:! / '^'"'"■- ^ut this the rain of tTiSrj ' "?J ^^^' ^'^^''^'e trifles th=;. tww Thevir"'^ ^P^"^ ^"-^ P"" others, which is by fir th^S r ^m°^^''* ''^ peaches are as before cut ,W /«'"'• '^^^ then either put uoon a ,1 i^ four parts, are board, and tiXll^^'t' "' If''' VP°" ^' (hines. Bein^ dried ^l ? ^" '^''^" 'he fun Joit their juic! b^ thi^m^^nr^h '^^^^ °' ^'^'^^ an oven, out of VhlhThe 1 7^ T' '"'^ been taken, and are Tif, ■ • r"'' '''' ''"' J"ft- they are foo'n takl ' ll^V' ^"I " ^'^''^^ ' «« *ir, and after £ , l!" ■'."•""ght into the frefh oven, andtWsis eoeat/r "'^r-P'" '"'° ">« ^- as dry as they oEtt'^r ™?V"" '^^^ dried up at onee in f k» , ^°'' ''^ '''^y were "P too much 'and !r'"' "'7^°"''^ "^"-«' They are then ,^.. °^* Z^" °^ 'heir flavour. -■e^ ^re euner baked into tarts and py^r,;; boiJe(J iiiii< ■f '.' J ^^■% ^•■'^ ilrf t i 1 j; f •i' 1 i If ! I, i fi t 58 Sepi ember 1748. W'- ; 1 1 I! ! ii 1:? ; \t i .h boiled and prepared as dried apples and pears arc in Sweden* Several people here dry and pre- fcrve their apples in the fame manner as their peaches. The peach trees were, as I am told, firft planted here by the Europeans, But at prefent they fucceed very well, and require even lefs care, than our apple and pear trees. The orchards have feldom other fruit than apples and peaches. Pear trees arc fcarce in this province. They have cherry trees in the or- chards, but commonly on the fides of them to- wards the houfe, or along the enclofures. Mul- berry trees are planted on fome hillocks near the houfe, and fometimes even in the court-yards of the houfe. The black walnut trees, or Juglans nigra, grow partly on hills, and in fields near the farm-houfes, and partly along the enclo- fures i but mod commonly in the forefts. No other trees of this kind are mude ufe of here. The chc ^nuts are left in the fields 5 here and there is one in a dry field, or in a wood. The Hibtfcus efcukntus, or Okra, * is a plant which grows wild in the We/t Indies^ but is planted in the gardens here. The fruit, which is a long pod, is cut whilil it is green, and boiled in foups, which thereby become as thick as pulfe. This difli is reckoned a dainty by fome people, and efpecially by the negroes." Capsicum annuum, or Guinea pepper, is like^ wife planted in gardens. When the fruit is ripe it is almoft entirely red, it is put to a roafted or • In Millerh Gardener's Diftionary, it is called Ketmia Indica folio Jicust fruau peaiagonoy recurvo^ efcuUnto, graciliori, et longiori. this fpice u or fried fii But the fru pepper. , This co plant, whic mofl: commc lanceolatis n 1^^^ Englifi Swedes here therefore m; berries or fn for^dying, ar This tree is a corn-field years togethc] berries are ipi when the grc ftop the plou| the fhrub du leaves drop vc turned reddifli tain a(h. Th afford a black the berries, t\ after the repai Ireidom grow j ting the ftem, T • « boiled Ibut niffi T U Penfyhank, Phiiadelpbia. -- boiled piece of meat, a little of it beino ftrewed upon It. or mixed- with the broth. Befide thk , cucumbers are pickled with it. Or the podsar: .hlsfpicTt ft UKToil" \'°; t ■' ^"' or frfeH fin. ! j • roalted or boiled meat, iBut'lhe'fru^t' StfKtlt- ""^ '"^ '^'^- pepper. ''y"'«» « « biting as common I ■, "^"^ /:°!'"t'"y contains many fpecies of th« plant, which Dr. Linn^us calls iw and th= moft common is the Rhu> filiis pin^isfrral E^.fhff hi n*" P-^"! '"""''■ B"''"= oic-eww nere have no particular name for it anrf , ; !^^ ^ weed jn this countrv fnr if a corn-field ,s left uncultivated for fS^e fe^ he.fhmb during the whole winter. But the leaves drop very earl^r in autumn, after fhe/are turned reddifli, like thofe nf ™,/c jvi ' "^ tain arh Ti.'. bra^^es b ,ed ^^12 E afford a black ink like tindure. Th b^ "« ter thrr;n*r^"Su"° '•='"2^^ of fallinf fi^k* after the repaft ; but they are very four Thev b.f ni?K "^TL /PP^^« *''f' contains nothing j - r-"" - .«vc wui leverai in this manner, and 2 f0up4 t, ; m: u '. 1 i fi- ll II, ; :^:im ^ ' 1 -1 ' -^ 6o September 174S. found that fome were ten years old ; but that moft of them were above one year old. When the cut is made, a yellow juice comes out be- tween the bark and the wood. One or two of the moft outward circles are white, but the in- ncrmoft are of a yellowifti green. It is eafy to diftinguifli them one from another. They con- tain a very plentiful pith, the diameter of which is frequently half an inch, and fometimes more. It is brown, and fo loofe that it is cafily pufhed out by a little ftick, in the fame manner as the pith of the elder tree, rafpberry, and blackberry buflbes. This fumach grows near the enclofures, round the corn-fields, but efpecially on fallow ground. The wood feemed to burn well, and made no great crackling in the fire. Sept, 20. In the morning we walked in the fields and woods-near the town, partly for ga- thcring feeds, and partly for gathering plants for my herbal, which was our principal occupation; and in the auturnn of this year, we fent part of our colloaion to England and S'meden, . A SPECIES of Rhus, which was frequent in the marfhes here, was called the poifon tree by both Englijh and Swedes, Some of the former gave it the name oifwamp-fumach, and my coun- trymen gave it the. fame name. Dr. Linnaus m his botanical works calls it Rhus Vernix. Sp. pi. I. 380. Fkr. Virgin. 45. An incifion be- 1 mg made into the tree, a whitifh yellow juice, which has a naufeous fmell, comes out between | the bark and the wood. This tree is not known 1 for Its good qualities, bat greatly fo for the effed ©fits poifon, which though it is noxious to feme peopk Ptnfykania, Philadelphia. g, people, yet does not in the leaft affcft others And therefore one perfon can handle the tree as he pleafes, cut it. peel off its bark, rub it or the wood upon his hands, finell at it, fpread the jmce upon his ikin. and make more experiments with no inconvenience to himfelf ^ another ner- lon. on the contrary, dares not meddle with the tree, while its wood is frefh, nor can he venture to touch a hand which has handled it. nor even to expofe himfelf to the fmoke of a fire which is made with this wood, without foon feelin? its bad effefts ; for the face, the hands, and fre- quent^; the whole body, fwells exceffively. and IS affedted with a very acute pain. Sometimes bladders or blifters arife in great plenty Tnd Ta let?' rr '°°'' '' •' '^^ ^^^^^^ by a leprofy. I„ fome people the external thia fkin, or cuticle peels off in a few days, as is the cafe when a perfon has fcalded or burn any part of his body. Nay. the nature of fome peTns Srll'?" '"°^ '^'^ '° ^PP^'^^'^h the place where the tree grows, or to expofe themfelves to the wind, when it carries the eiBuvia or exhala- lons of this tree with it. without letting them feel the inconvenience of the fwelling. ihicU havejuft now defcribed. Their eyes^are fome- times fliut up tor one. or two and more days to- gether by the fwelling. I know two brother" trTe L wt '°"'' "'^"' ^^^^ J'^ndle th !l% h^ '"^""" ^^ P'^^'^d. whereas the other could not come nea? it without fwellint iched"thtr''r '^"l "°' ^"""^ '^'^ « near it tl P°t"T P^'"*' "' '^^' ^^ ^as been near it, before his face and hands Ihew it by. their i»i 1 , .i ■ I t' ; ' i ^. . '/.:' 62 iffiii Septgmter 1748. iiili their fwelling. I have known old people wh» were more afraid of this tree than of a viper ; and I was acquainted with a perfon who, merely by the noxious exhalations of it, was fwelled to fuch a degree, that he was as flifF as a log of wood and* was turned about in his bed. ' On relating, in the winter of the year 1750, the poifonous qualities of the fwamp fumach to my Tungftroemy he only laughed, and looked upon the whole as a fable, in which opinion he ivas confirmed by his having often handled the tree the autumn before, cut many branches of it, which he had carried for a good while in his hand, in order to preferve its feeds, and put many into the herbals, and all this, without feeling the leaft inconvenience. He would therefore, being a kind of philofopher in his own way, take nothing for granted of which he had no fuf- ficient proofs, efpecially as he had his own expe- rience in the fummer of the year 1749, to fup- port the contrary opinion. But in the next fum- mer his fyftem of philofophy was overturned. For his hands fwelled, and he felt a violent pain and i. ching in his eyes, as foon as he touched tiic tree, and this inconvenience not only attended him when he meddled with ihis kind of fumach, but even when he had any thing to do with the 'Rhus radicam, or that fpecies of fumach which climbs along the trees, and is not by far fo poi- sonous as the former. By this adventure he was fo convinced of the power of thcpoifon tree, that I could not eafily perfuade him to gather more feeds^ of it for mc. But he not only felt the xloxidus^ efe(a$ of it in fummer, when he was very very hot, the wood though a this poifo time, he r pie of a w I HAV] kind with fpread its its branch( hands witJ my bare h; without fet annexed to that the pi without efi mer, as I v cut a branc hand for ab at it now j till in the e with a vioh parts thereal I could hard after I had very cold w I ftiff all that cd; and in \ ill as the mc remedy again moft for a w were very rei ficulty moved ceafed entire; ■j and ely by ofuch wood, Penfylvaim, Philadelphia. 5. very hot, but even in winter, when both he and the wood were cold. Hence it appearsV that th,s pmfon for fome time, yet, that in length of t.me he may be affefted with it. ^s well as^peo. pie of a weaker conftitiition. ^ kin^d wlJh .^'"''v '""^ «^P«riments of every kind with the poifon tree on myfelf. I have ipread .tsjmce upon my hands, cut and broke tnllZ^^' P^/'^^ff^^bark, and rubbed S hands with It. fmelt at it, carried pieces of it in my bare hands, and repeated all thrfrequen Iv annexed to t ; but I however once experienced that the poifon of the fumach was not enUrelv without effea upon me. On a hot dj in fuS cu ; br nlr ? u""' '^'Sree of perfpfration I cut a branch of the tree, and carried it in mv hand for about half an hour together and fm?!^ at It now and then. I felt I elds from ' nil ,n the evening. But next morning I awoke ni ,Vr' "'^'^'"S of my eye-lidsf nd 1 parts thereabouts; and this was fo painful, that could hardly keep my hands from i^. ft eS erv cold tlf '\'"y 'y"" ^"^ ^ ^'^■•<=' "'"h ./ate !:i^x^-^ emU a^nft-? ^'r?'"' '"^ ^ "'"«'* '^e fame mTft fnrf K , • ^r^"^^' »' continued al- S^ verv rS 7'''' '°«^'^^'-' «"d my eyes &^hJ2 a' j"^ ""y ^y^-^'^' «'«« with dif. ceafed entirely afterwards. A bout the fan^ time. f J I ! ^* M f ■ I 1. 1 i; i I; < i r t 1 1 1 ■ V / i l : 1 1 i ' ! ■ -li- .iii I li II! It I '-ir m J J !l? 64. September 174S. time, I had fpread the juice of the tree very thick upon my hand. Three days after they occafion- cd bhflt rs, which foon went off without affea:- ing me much. 1 have not experienced any thing more of the effe<5ls of this plant, nor had I any dcfire fo to do. However, I found that it could not exert its power upon me, when I was net pcrfpiting. I HAVE never heard that the poifon of this Su- mach has been mortal -, but the pain ceafes after a few days duration. The natives formerly made their flutes ofth^s tree, becaufe it has a great deal of pith, oome people afTured me, that a perfon fuffering from its noifome exhalations, would ea- fily recover by fpreading a mixture of the wood, burnt to charcoal, and hog's lard, upon the fwelled parts. Some afTerted that they had really tried this remedy. In fome places this tree is rooted out on purpofe, that its poifon may not afFedt the workmen. Ireceived,asaprefent, feveral curiofities belong- ing to the mineral kingdom, which were colleded in the country. The following were thofe which were moft worth attention. The iirll was a white, and quite tranfparent cryftal. * Many of this kind are found in Fenfyhaniay in feveral kinds of 1 ftone, efpecially in a pale-grey limeftone. The pieces are of the thicknefs and length of the little finger, and commonly as tranfparent as poflible.l But I have like wife got cryflals here, of the • mtrum Cryftallus mcntana, Lhin. Syft. nat. 3. p. 84.. Cn. ftallus hexetgona pellucida non colorata, WalUrius'i Mineralogy, p. 1 100. Cryjiallus Montana, coiourlefs cryftal. /'cr^fr's Introd. to A^weralo^y, p. 13, -^ ' length] P"'fyhmla, Philadelphia. St?st' \t' '^^ thicknefs of a middle! the former! ^' ^'^ "^''^ "°' ^° 'ranfparent as of^v^r/^tSt^tf/fr-^^r^'^-'* -s dentin fir! fo • fn ^" "« cubes were dif- of the fides ;nt "nSun.e°I "' '"''"' "'^ P'^'"" inch, but in £ bS°ercub ' T''^' "' =>" t>vo inches. Some wf?. i^ /•'' ^''^^ ^^^^ f»Il that it ,vas ^tvT^lh^X ^>^ceedmgl3, gUfrering. fo nftcdoffu,;,7ar2siritrB:r'r^'^^^'-- two fides only glittered fo n '" °"''^' °"= O' were dark-bro^wn Yef ,i.rr' u"^ '''= °*ers h-. this fame col" ur":" Xl" fit'^ T^'V ing them they (hewprl .K ^* ^" ^^^ak* are found neir i^^^ P"ff. PF"- They fometimes lie quite abov^ I "' P^vince. and ™only they are'fou?d t j,edcS^- k'V^"'"- raore from the furface littT^ of e.ghtfeet or wells and the like Mr « ^/•^T".''' °" '^'■gg'"g of this kind of ft;ne 'Sft"L ^^^ ^^'^'^^ P'«"! i'is work. HefiS'urnthem^r''^ "4^. '" ground them to a nnL ' i^^" Pounded or them ftill finer LheurJ' '""^ f '*" --"bbed him a fine reddlll^totf S^"^ ''- ^^-^^^^ whlro„'tt'ot^h\'!i'°-f> ^^^ province. * Pyrites cryjiallinus, Linn <:vft ' OX., I, p good 0 1 1 ,. f; -.1- Ml ' f ^1 ; ( . t ^ if '■'il 66 September 1748. i v^ good for working, though it is not one of the linefl: kind of marbles. They make many tomb- flones and tables, enchafc chimneys and doors, floors of marble flags in the rooms, and the like, of this kind of marble. A quantity of this com- modity is (hipped to different parts oi America, Muscovy ^At/},* is found in many places here- abouts, and fome pieces of it are pretty large, and as fine as thofe which are brought from Ruffia, I have (ttn fome of them, which were a foot and more in length. And I have feveral in my col- lection that are nearly nine inches fquarc. The Swedes on their firft arrival here made their win- dows of this native glafs. A PALE grey fine limeftone,-)- of a compadt texture, lies in many places hereabouts, and af- fords a fine lime. Some pieces of it are fo full of fine tranfparent cryllals, that almoft half of the (lone conlTfts of nothing elfe. But befides this limcflone, they make lime near the fea-(liore from oyller (hells, and bring it to town in winter, which is faid to be worfe for mafonry, but better for white-wafliing, than that which is got from the lime (lone. Coals have not yet been found in Penfyha- via ; but people pretend to have feen them higher up in the country among the natives. Many peo- * Micamemhrauacea, Linn. Sylh uat. 3. p. 58. I\licu McmLranacea fellucidijjima jiexilis alba, Walkrius'i Min. ]\iijJian^\zXf>, Mi/fcovy glaf'!, Tfinglafs, Vitrum rtithenicum, Vitruri} Mari-r. Vcrjier^ Introd. to Mineralogy, p. 18. t M ■rmor ruJe, Linn. Syft. nat. 3. p, 4I. Ctdcnr:us pariiculis fcintillavtibtts. Wall. Min. p. 39. Cdcy.rcns fcintillaiis, glittering limeitone. Fcrjler's Introd. tf Mineral, p. y. 5 P^e pie how ^uantitj The of the J a currants kind are ceed ver) been in i grew wi They lil which gn fourer th hlackberrii made ufe where abc thirties ir tafte. In . grapes, w vince. Raf ^^ purpofe ford a vcrj an account "^in^, for ir tion than i Sept, 2ii '^ndgare Lin cts and v/oc it belongs t which the I *Th\^ has b« t^tEngliJh; and the whole ifls, an that this ifle wili ''ernment will fin ! oi the nation, F, ^enfylvania, Thiladilphia. 67 fourer fhin f hf c 5 ^ '>' '" '''^ ^"O''^' but are madeufeoffortSourn'or'^'r^i' ''^^ ''''^^'^'= where about the fie r^?'/"' 'f'^X 8^°^ every thirties r wi t/ ;:'°^ ^' '''""'^^"^'y ^^ tafte. l^MZtnd T ^^^^ ^ ^=^7 agreeable ..pes w£fX inTe ^to^f ^f.^^^ l^;;^ aa account of thr.m„ner of ""r''^''^ '° S'^'^ wine, for i„ CdTZlr^T l^ ^ '^"'■^^"' tion than i„ M^ri^^'^ '" '^■S'-^ P"fec- it belonJsto Ihf ; i^'""°' '^^'""'"e wh.ether which the MT?^^'"""'/''"'^' °^^° 'hofe ine i./,^/j« i,a,,e introduced, the fruits of >!>« thU ifle will afford ,W„?. "r '' V ,'"= ''''" *"^''' ''■' wrnment will /i„d ;, ,„ ™^ tr^jfures of coals, wiien the po. •f the „„io„. r " "^''°''<^'"^" to have them dug for the bJkt F2 I J s i J ■J ' , '1 f tl 1 i ■ ! i ! ij if 1 -; '•> 'I which I s i ill 68 September 1748. m^^ I ! >! 1. which the birds may have difperfed every where. Theenclofures and pales are generally made here of wooden planks and pods. But a few good cEcono- mifls, having already thought of fparing the woods for future times, have begun to plant quick hedges round their fields; and to this purpofe they take the above-mentioned privet, which they plant in a little bank, which is thrown up for it. The foil every where hereabouts is a clay mixed with fand, and of courfe very loofe. The privet hedges however, are only adapted to the tamenefs of the cattle and other animals herej for the hogs all have a triangular yoke about their necks, and the other cattle are not very unruly. But in fuch places where the cattle break through the en- clofures, hedges of this kind would make but a poor defence. The people who live in the neigh- bourhood of Philadelphia^ are obliged to keep their hogs cnclofed. In the afternoon I rode with Mr. Cockt to his country feat, about nine miles from the town, to the north-weft. The country on both fides of the road was covered v;^ith a great foreft. The trees were all with annual leaves, and I did not fee a fingle fir or pine. Moft of the trees were different forts of oak. But we likewife faw chefnut, walnut, lo- cuft, and apple trees, with hiccory, blackberry buihes, and the like. The ground ceafed to be fo even as it was before, and began to look more like the EngliJJd ground, diverfified Vv^ith hills and vallies. We found neither mountains nor great ftones, and the wood was fo much thinned, and tiie ground fo uniformly even, tlut we could fee n err eat a great ^ rode wit no bu(h( foil was that kin rally buii As wc faw, at rr been cle-a farm. 1 and a wa the high brick,' or with. E the poore peaches, and fuch climbing quently p tained a ci the road, grain befic The form in greater and to a g to ten fee leaves. Bu iT^ouy and ning to re£ particular kinds of cc After to German but is near ill. ■V ( Penfyhania, Germanttmn. 69 a great way between the trees, under which we rode wuhout any inconvenience , for tWe weTe no bufhes to ftop us. In fome places, where the In ,K "u T-^"=t' '•'^ '^°"f« here are fo gene- rally bu.It. Lntend todefcribe themin thefequd As we went on in the wood, we continuallt farm. Thefe fa:!;: ^^ co^^^^tif ^ ;^;-- ine nign-ioad. The houfes were all hnJIf .^ witn. livery countryman, even though he wer^ the pooreft peafant. had an orchard SapXs a, d'f'l ;''?'^^"''' "'^'""^^' cherries. qSe* and fuch fruits, andfometimes we faw tL Wnes chaibing along them. The vallie^ were frf quently provided with little brook wSeJr tamed a cryftal ftream. The corn, on theldes of the road was almoft all mown, and no oth- i ne tormer was to be met wicli near each farm n greater or leffer quantities , it grew very wdi and to a great length, the ftJks being fromfil ' to ten feet high, and covered with fine Treen leaves. Buckwheat likewife was not verTuncor >non. and ,n fome places the people w7rebe2' mng to reap it. I intend, in the fejuel to be £1" to %lZntott'' ,f •'"'^ ^"^¥' '"''^^' ^^ ^^^^-■ ^oj^ermantown; this town has only one ftreet but IS near two J7^„i:n. __-i_ , "V. "■"= "reet, •wo ^,.j^,,ju niucs long, it is for the ^ 3 greateft V\ . \\m% \ 1 t < ; ■ b , -f 1 - 1 ' ; 1 ' i 1 1 i n 1 |i|. ^i J' i f ill I' I 70 mm September 1 74^. greate/l- part Inhabited by Qermam, who from time to time come from their country to Narth Mmertca, and fettle here, becaufe they enjoy fuch ^^r l^f^' as they are not poffeiTed of any where clle. Moft of the inhabitants are Manufafturers, and make almoft every thing in fuch quantity and perfedion, that in a fhort time this province will want very little from Englafid, its mother country. Moft of the houfes were built of the Itone which is mixed with glimmer, and found every where towards Philadelphia, but is more Icarce further on. Several houfes however were made of brick. They were commonly two (lories nigh, and fometimes higher. The roofs confift^ euoflhinglesofthe white cedar wood. Their fliape refcmbled that of the roofs in Sweden, but the angles they formed at the top were either ob- tufe, nght angled, or acute, according as the Hopes were fteep or eafy. They fometimes formed ei- ther the half of an odagon, or the half of a do- iiecagon. Many of the roofs were made in fuch a man- ner, that they could be walked upon, having a balullrade round' them. Many of the upper To- ries had balconies before them, from whence the people had a profped: into the ftreet. The win- dows, even thofe in the third flory, had fhutters. Each houfehad a fine garden. The town had three churches, one for the Lutherans, another for the reformed Proteftants, and the third for the Qua- kers. The inhabitants were io numerous, that the Hreet was always full. The Baptifls have like-wife a meetlng-houfe. Sept, 22d. After 1 had been at church, I employed employe with the had livet into the ' Mr. I it came enough c this fprin thofe ab which we full of mi during th attended i I AFT] were fitua were defli fclds and planks hi perceived The encio people hei height, an fo that the between th vice as tv fcarce fufiii ground, at each Other, planks, wl: a foot broac pcil to the looked at a we enclofe Penfyhanta, Cenmntoisn, 71 employed the remainder of the &■^y in converfing with the moft confiderable people in town, wlio had lived here for a long while, and I enquired into the cunofities hereabouts. Mr. Cock had a fine fpring near his houfe; It came from a fandy hill, and afforded water enough conftantly to fill a little brook. Juft above t his fpnng Mr. Cock had erefted a building from thofe above-mentioned glittering ftoncst into which wereputmanyjugs, and other earthen vefl-els lull ot milk : for It kept very well in cold water during the great heat with which the fummer is attended here. I AFTERWARDS met vvith many houfes which were fituated like this, on fprings, and therefore were deftined to keep the me.it and milk frefh. Almost all the enclofures round the corn- iields and meadows hereabouts, were made of planks faftened in a horizontal direftion. I only perceived a hedge of privet in one fingle place. 1 lie enclofures were not made like oursj for the people here take pofts from four to fix feet iti ftcigin, and make two or three holes into them. o that there was a diftance of two feet and above 1-etwecn them. Such a poll does the fame fer- Vice as two. and fometimes three poles are fcarce fuftcient. The pofts were faftened in the ground at two or three fathoms diftance from each ouier and the hole, in them J:ept up the planko which were nine inches, and fometimes a fc)Ot broad, and lay above each other from one pel to the next. Such an enclofure therefore iooKed at_ a diftance like the hurdles in which we enclole the flieep at night in Sweden. TW., vm i ^ ^; •1 , ( ! ; I! I F v/erc ffwi ( ■ ill ) j i I 72 September 174S. were really no clofer than hurdles, being only dcftined to keep out the greater animals, fuch as cows and horfes. The hogs are kept near the farm-houfes every where about Philadelphiay and therefore this enclofure does not need to be made clofer on their account. Chefnut - trees were commonly made ufe of for this purpofe, becaufc this wood keeps longefl againfl putrefadion ; and an enclofure made of it can ftand for thirty years together. But where no chefnut wood was to be got, the white, and likewife the black oaks, were taken for that purpofe. Of all kinds of wood, that of the red cedar holds out the long- eft. The greateft quantity of it is bought up here ; foi near Philadelphia it is not plentiful enough, to be made ufe of for enclofures -, howe- ver there are many enclofures near the town made of this wood. The beft wood for fuel, in every body's opi- nion, is the hiccory, or a fpecies of walnut j for it heats well, but is not good for enclofures, fince it cannot well withfland putrefadion when it is in the open air. The white and black oaks are next in goodnefs for fuel. The woods with which Pkilcdelphia is furrounded, would lead one to conclude, that fuel muft be cheap there. But it is far from being fc, becaufe the great and high foreft near the town is the property of feme people of quality and fortune, who do not regard the money which they could make of them. They do not fell fo much as they require for their 1 own ufe, and much lefs would they fell it to others. But they leave the trees for times toj come, expecting that wood will become much I 4 niore \ more fcar< coach-mal bitantly i eight foot I pieces ben prefent ei rency. B to twelve prefent, tc rants, whc town. E^ the fpace many time to account given : Th as to be fo pulous thai it to be, w kilns have a great qua] wife more ( fequently g that purpof likewife co they melt i about the t without ini concluded, obliged to p The win fine tafte js juice of the into a veiiel equal quanl Penfyhania, Germaniown. . 7J more fcarce. However, they fell it to ioiners coach-makers, and other artifts. who p4 exor-' e,ghtfoo,n length, and four in depth, and the pieces be.ng hkewife four foot long.\h;y paid at prefent eighteen fliillin!"! of V.fri JfP'""'" rev.c^r Ruf »),<. ^ """"gs « Fenfyhaiiiati cur- rency, liut the fame quantity of oak onlv ram^ to twelve fliillings. The Deonle wh?^ nrpfpnf tr, r„ii . J • , P^°P'^ ^^"o came at prelent, to fell wood in the market, were oea- .ants. who lived at a great diftance fro n'^the 7X.^"%- Y^ ^'""Pl-ined. that fuel. Z the fpace of a few years, was rifen in price to many times as much again as it had been , and to account for th <; thp f^iu,.,- r ' aiven • Th. L ■ '^oJjowing reafons were given The town is encreafed to fuch a degree as to be four or fix times biVger and LTr. pulous than what feme old SetavTkno'wn- It to be. when they were youngf Many brkk- kilns have been made hereabouts, which require a great quantity of wood. The country isTke! \ wife more cultivated than it ufed to be. and con- fequently great woods have been cut dowr for hat purpofe ; and the farms built in thofe d a-es cewife confume a quantity of wood. Laftlv they melt iron out of the ore. in feveral place about the town, and this work always goes on without interruption. For thefe reafo-T it I obliged to pay a great price for wood. The wme of blackberries, which has a verv fine tafte ., made in the following manner The juice ot me blackberries is preffed ^t a"d nut into a vcilel, with half a gallon of th; juice ^an equal quantity of water i1 well mixed.-" Thre" pounds I ft! Wli I : il (I ■ I'.' ,1 " !.■ V : 1 i i i V i '' i 1 { ill hi ^ 1: i ^,j.-'il. V ,'4^ f^-H-*-: lilN'jiii M 74 September 1748. pounds of brown fugar are added to this mixture, which mufl: then ftand for a while, and after that it is fit for ufe. Cherry wine is made in the fame manner; but care miUfl: be taken that when the juice is prefTedout, theflones be not crufhed, for they give the wine a bad tafte. They make brandy from peaches here, after the following method. The fruit is cut afundcr, and the ftones are taken out. The pieces of fruit are then put into a vefTel, where they are left for three weeks or a month, till they are quite pu- trid. They are then put into a diftilling veflel, and the brandy is made and afterwards diflilled over again. This brandy is not good for people who have a more refined tafte, but it is only for the common kind of people, fuch as workmen and the like. Apples yield a brandy, when prepared in the fame manner as the peaches. But for this pur- pofe thofe apples are chiefly taken which fall from the tree before they are ripe. The American Nigbt-Jhade, or Phytolacca de- candra Linn. S. N. grows abundantly near the farms, on the high road, in hedges and bufhes, and in feveral places in the fields. Whenever I came to anv of thefe places I was fure of finding this plant in great abundance. Mod of tnem had red berries, which grew in bunches, and looked very tempting, though they were not at all fit for eating. Some of thefe plants were yet in flower. In fome places, fuch as in the hedges, and near the houfes, they fometimes grow two fathom high. But in the fields wxre always lowj yet I could no where perceive that the cattle had eaten lof It. A G tioner told of this plan : Here ; \ ground Sqiii [^commonly I pretty: but \gr eater Sqii ^frequently < tations, bu they climb and eat only [' quite in the dreds upon whole crop c land therefc bring four i the furveyor every body t apiece for t : the heads. a dainty. 1 efteemed. Sc tie-fnake anc fancy with tJ rattle-fnake ; upon a fquin cinated, and mofl: branch( by degrees, 1 The fnake t times, and n that it may g iwallows the (ill Peiifyhama, Germanto-wn. ~. of It. A German of this place who was a confec- t,oner told me that the dyers gathered the roots oahis plantand made a finered dyeof them Here are feveral fpecies of Sjuirre/s' The 'ground ^utrrels, ox Sciurusjlrktus Linn. ^ N ar! commonly kept in cages, becaufe they are 'verv pret y : but they cannot be entirely tamed. The greater Squirrels, or Sciurus cinereus Linn S N /rcquently do a great deal of mifchief in the pian- tations but particularly deftroy the maizef For they chmb up the ftalks, cut the ears in pie«/ and eat only the loofe and fweet kernel, which iL quite m the mfide. They fometimes comeby hun dreds upon a maize-field, and then deftroy the whole cropofacountryman in one night. InMarl land therefore every one is obliged annually o bring four fquirrels. and their hefds are ?iven to the iurveyor to prevent deceit. In other pfovinces every body that kills fquirrels received twop nc" iTheat *l^/--i,he public, on deliv'erLg me heads. Tneir flefh is eaten and reckoned a damty The ildns are fold, but are not much cftcemed. Squirrels are the chief food of the rat tie-fnake and other fnakes, and it was a common fancy with the people hereabouts, that when the rattle-fnake lay on the ground, and fixed its eyes upon a fquirrel the latter would be as it werelf! anated. and that though it were on thrupptrl moft branches of a tree, yet it would come down by degrees, till it leaped into the fnake's mouA rhe make then licks the little animal Wai .mes, and makes it wet all over with its fphtle ha u may go down the throat eafier. iTlhtk Iwallows the whole fquirrel at once. When the fn ake 1 1 ,1 f' < t- I J \ fi; fi 76 w September 1748. fnake has made fuch a good meal, it lies down to reft without any concern. The quadruped, which Dr. Lkncetis, in the memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences, has dcfcribed by the name of Urfus Cauda ekmata, and which he calls Urfus Lotor, in his Syifenia datura:, is here called Raccoon. It is found very frequently, and deftroys many chickens. It is hunted by dogs; and when it runs upon a tree to lave itfelf, a man climbs upon the tree after it and fhakes it down to the ground, where the dogs kill it. The flcfh is eaten, and is reputed to tafte well. The bone of its male parts is made ufe of for a tobacco-ftopper. The hatters purchafc their ildns, and make hats out of the place, and they had i others coi ihey were into one pi Every hair, which are next in goodnels to beavers. The tail is worn round the neck in winter, and there- fore is likewife valuable. The Racoon is fre, quently the food of fnakes. Some Englijhnen averted that near the river Foimack in Virginia, a great quantity of oyfter- fliells were to be met with, and that they them- lelves had fcen whole mountains of them. The place where they are found is faid to be about two Engtijh miles diftant from the fea-lhore. The proprietor of that ground burns lime out of them. Ihis rtratum of oyfter-fl:iells is two fathom and more deep. Such quantities of fhclls have like- wife been found in other places, efpecially in Nck. Tork, on digging in the ground 3 and in one place, at the diftance of feme Englijh miles fron I ^^^> ^/aft quantity of oyfier-fhells, and 0 other iht\\% was found. Some people conieau- red that the natives had formerly lived in thai placej vages were were not at his word a come to vifj and greatei could have Mr. Cock I proof of th an Englijh r %t%t in orde other goods murderer*s ] after, the fa mongft then up, bound \ him with a ^ and fent hin acknowledge ed towards ai and therefore him, and tha vernor, to be of England di Jianged at Ph Their goc following ace given me as a smbaiTadors tc down in the es, has ^ilenia id very It is tree to fter it re the ^puted •arts is matters of the . The there- is fre- river )yfl:er- them- Thc about .The them, n and like- n onel from] ind of] iedu- 1 that place* Penfyhama, Germantown, jj place and had left the fhells of the oyfters which they had confumed, in fuch ^reat hean. « . others could not conceive how' it h^ ;d tha they were thrown in fuch immenfe quant^^^ie al into on^ place. M"'*"uncs au Every one is of opinion that the American fa vages were a very good-natured people Tthev were not attacked. No body is fo UXt t • ^ his word as a favage. If Lf ^^e^f hirTef Mr r^.h ''^'"■'^™ /rom his own countrymen Ux.Cock gave me the followins relation ,! proof of their intesritv AK„ . / ' ^* * on Tf„^rtu '""^g"ty. About two years am an £»^/?/i5 merchant travelling amon.ft the favf ges, in order to fell them nec?flarie, 1., "f I other goods was fecretly k iTjw £ ? Z murderer*s be n? found mif p \ runout the after, the favagef found out the ."ui?."' r ^''' mongft themfelvpo ^^ - ^""^^^ P^^^O" a-. vernor, tobepunlLd fS vm • ^ '° u'";S°- of £«^Wdirea; Thtlndirn '"^ 'r"'"'"^^ 'hanged at Philadelphia " ""'' ^^'^'""^'^^ ^ ™r2rm\vri^^h^ .given me as a true on^ wu ^i. ^ P^^ ^^^® fettle 1 1 Mif ri '1 ■ *'■ i> 5 1 . ■ i ill ;'l f/ I 6 1 :f9| I' I ill :li!f !. J u>. 7? 'Ml jfi 1 5 . • 1 i 1 s . September 1748. fettle things of confcquence with the governor they fit down on the ground, as foon as they come' to his audience, and hear with great attention th governor's demands which they are to make an anfwer to. His demands are fometimes many Y« they have only a ftick in their hand, and mak" their marks on it with a knife, without writin. nex day to give in their refolutions, they anfwer ^wuF^JT^ '"'^'« '" tf^*: fame order, i„ which he delivered them, without leaving on" out, or changing the order; andgivefuch accurate ^ifwers. as if they had an account of them at fS iength in writing. Mr. Sleidorn related another ftory, which gave r.!.r''/'r'!"'^ "<= ^'^ ^^ ''«'» been at Ne-^ rori and had found a venerable old ^merie.n lavage amongft feveral others in an inn. This old man began to talk with S/eiJorn as foon as the liquor was getting the better of his head, and boafted that he could write and read in Englifi 5^,^r, therefore defired leave to afk a queftion, which the old man readily granted. 5/«L«th=„ afked hm. whether he knew who was firft cir- cumcifed ? and the old man immediately anfwer. ed, Fal&er Abraham; but at the fame time afli- ed leave to propofe a queftion in his turn, which Sktdorn granted J the old man then faid, who was the firft quaker ? Skidorn faid it ,was uncertain, that forae took one perfon for it, and fome ano- !rfn:-A"i* ''^%^"""ing °1'1 fellow told him, you ?" r. ""u" ^'' Mordecaiv,^, the firft quaker, fo, he would not take off hishat to Uaman.M^::. of the ravages, who are yet heathens, are faid to have fome obfcjre notion of the del.,<,P B"- 1 -^m - '^ ^"^ Sj'vsv i alii convinced cor vinced are not at a I MET V [giants had following p jnion. A f( the ground, iman bones ( Itohave been \xo have me; wife ^^id to the reih B I yet been fou have feen tl 'were human fent to Ham. tural curiofi i neighbourhoi found, there many genera in this neigf there lived a times, who cj back, and wj ry deep. E^ vice gave hir mals, or the hood by this j man of thole The foil h fiind, which is the fand and i hricks. 1 o ju none of the b( -'crnor, ^comc on the ike an y.Yct make Titing rn the mfwcr 'er, in g one curate it full igavc New ertcan This 'on as J and \glijh, ftion, then : dr- awer- ^hich ) was "tain, ano- you iker, Tanyj id toi " am need Penfyhama, Gfrmmtown. j^s corvlnced from my own experience, that thev are not at all acquainted with it ^ I MET with people l)cre who maintained that giants had formerly lived in thefe parts, and he following particulars confirmed them in this opi- men. A few years ago fome people A\JuT,n theground, met with a grave which con tahfedhu^ man bones of an aftonirhingfize. The TibLTm to have been fourteen feet long, and the osfimrt to have meafured as much. >he teeth ar"e Ike! trT 'b.u " '7 ^' ' '^'^ proportion do the reih But more bones of this kind have not nave leen thele bones, have declared that thev tura curofities. Among the fava^jes in th^ n.Jbourhood of the plac^e whore thf bones were found, there is an account handed down throZh many generations from fathers to children tif.t m this neighbourhood, on the bank of d there lived a very tall and ftrong man, in ancTent rv d;eo F u 1^'' ^'^^^' ^^°^gh it was ve^ mai6, or the like. In fine, he irot his livplJ T.! '^^;t^^^^^ ^^"ted to pafs the river. ^ 1 HE foil here confifts for the greateft nnrt of tfta^d'Sr^r^l '''''''^'''' -^thX' Both' niof tleS' ^y/PPearance the ground Ls «oneoi thebelb and this conjecture was verifi- ed m I ii '.St' m- IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) %./* '^ III 1.0 I.I 1.25 ■-IIM ■ 50 •^ IIIIM IIM 1.8 B.4 IIIIII.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. M580 (716)872-4503 0 ^ 80 September 1748. «i:i % 4 ed by the inhabitants of the country. When a corn-field has been obliged to bear the fame kind of corn for three years together, it does not after that produce any thing at all, if it be not well ma- nured, or fallowed for fome years. Manure is very difficult to be got, and therefore people ra- ther leave the field uncultivated. In that interval it is covered with all forts of plants and trees j and the countryman, in the mean while, culti- vates a piece of ground which has till then been fallow, or he chufes a part of the ground which has never been ploughed before, and he can in both cafes be pretty fure of a plentiful crop. This method can here be ufed with great convenience. For the foil is loofe, fo that it can eafily be ploughed, and every countryman has commonly a great deal of land for his property. The cattle here are neither houfed in winter, nor tended in the fields, and for this reafon they cannot gather a fufficient quantity of dung. . The cattle were originally brought from Eu- rope, The natives have never had any, and, at prefent, few of them care to get any. But the cattle degenerate by degrees here, and become fmaller. For the cows, horfes, Iheep, and hogs, are all larger in England, though thofe which arc brought over are of that breed. But the firft generation decreafes a little, and the third and fourth is of the fame fize with the cattle already common here. The climate, the foil, and the food, altogether contribute their fhare towards producing this change. It is remarkable that the inhabitants of the country, commonly fooner acquire underftanding, but Penfyhank, Germantowrt. %t but likewife gfow fooner old, than the people in Europe. It IS nothing uncommon to Kt k children, gjvmg fprightly and ready anfwers to q.eft.ons that are propofed to them' fo thlt l,ey feem to have as much underftanding as old S But they do not attain to fuch an a|e as the^l ropeans; and it is almoft an unheard-^f thing St a perfon. born in this country, fhould lite^ ot eighty or ninety years of age. But I only fpeak ofthe£«r<,^,«;,, that fettled here. For the ra- vages, or firft inhabitants, frequently attuned a great age, though at prefent fuch examjes are uncommon which is chiefly attributed to the great ufe of brandy, which the favages have learnt d the Europeans. Thofe who ar! born „ £„"' npe attain a greater age here, than thofe who are were bv L?rr^ '"l'* *5^ "^"^ ^'»^"^«« were by far lefs hardy than th^ Europeans, in ex- fn nuT; '^'/' •'"'^ '°"S fea-voyages. a;d died n numbers. It is very difficult for them to ufe themfelves to a climate different from thdr ow„ mJiurope. They feldom or never have children after they are forty or forty-five years old and fome leave off in the thirtieth ye[r of thei aTe lenquired into the caufes of L, bu no o^'c could give me a good one. Some fa d it was oT- ng to the affluence in which the people iL he e ablenefs of the weather, and believed that there ft wer^^" "fr '" ' ^'y ^' " "^o" here. For If U were ever fo hot. one could not be certain ^ whether ''T -" i 1 .-fc- 1 • i''* /J i^H < I' ^ u ■i ' *■ I ^1 •?• j] •1 iS I if^^J: 11 i't 82 iiii 1 1 Vl ■ill September 1748. whether in twenty-four hours there would not be a piercing cold. Nay, fometimes the weather will change five or fix times a day. The trees in this country have the fame qua- lities as its inhabitants. For the (hips which are built 0^ American wood, are by no means equal in point of flrength, to thofe which are built in Europe, This is what nobody attempts to con- tradidt. When a ihip, which is built here, has ferved eight or twelve years, it is worth little ; and if one is to be met with, which has been in ufe longer and is yet ferviceable, it is reckoned very aflonifiiing. It is difficult to find out the caufes from whence this happens. Some lay the fault to the badnefs of the wood : others condemn the method of building the (hips, which is to make them of trees which are yet green, and have had no time to dry. I believe both caufes are joined. For I found oak, which at the utmoft had been cut down about twelve years, and was covered by a hard bark : but upon taking off this bark, the wood below it was almoll entirely rotten, and like flour, fo that I could rub it into pow- der between my fingers. How much longer will not our European oak fland before it moulders ? At night we returned to Philadelphia, Sept, 23d. There are no Hares m this coun- try, but fome animals, which are a medium be- tween our Hares and Rabrets, and make a great devaftation whenever they get into fields of cab- bage and turneps. Many people have not been able to find out why the North American plants, which are car-l ried to Europe and planted there, for the greatelll parti Penfylvama, HlUelphU. g, £e thefrn/° '^'^V='"'^/'° "°t g=' ripe fruit be- fore the froft overtakes them, although it annear, from feveral accounts of travels, thaf th" u^rters ^^Penfyhania, and more fo th^fe in ^cIto^ M«- £«^^W._and Canada, are full as feverel' our W?/i5 winters, and therefore are much fe fonloT^aSKittt^^^^ Tanti^tf "^. " V- ^ ^^''SeXf an anlwer, rather g,ve a few remarks which I SwlE^tclutir "^ "^''^^^ ^' "^-^ ,„/■ ^\" "■"^' ^''^^ '^'^ "'inters in Penfvham^ grees more foutherly than feveral L.^ • ' S'weJeH thaftu^^u^ leveral provinces m 'pent here, were none of the coldeft Z/ i , common ones, which I co, IH 1 ^ r ' ?"'>' from the i).W?not 1 T '°"''"'^'= knoiio-h f^ k . ' ''^'"S frozen ftron..- - |/ «, and the difference between high and low ^ water. i ' ■ ' ' : , 1 ^ j I'l-' " : i 1 ; ■ 1 f ■■1 '1 1 t ■' M ''■^1 ■ •. i 'i ■if , ' ;-'g 1 ^^^1 i r ■;<* ■ *(■' ■ 1 '; '!■ 1 '>!■ II ;rf^|1 m if4 ' '1! Ill mi iliil H September 1748. water, which Is eight Englijh feet; it will pretty plainly appear, that a very intenfe frofl is required to cover the Delaware with fuch thick ice. 2. But it is likewife true, that though the winters are fevere here, yet they are commonly of no long duration ; and I can juftly fay, that they do not continue above two months, and fometimes even lefs at Phiiadclpbiai and it is fomething very uncommon when they continue for three months together, infomuch that it is put into the gazettes. Nearer the pole the win- ters are fomewhat longer, and in the quite nor- thern parts they are as long as the Swedijh win- ters. The daily meteorological obfervations which 1 have made during my flay in Americay and which are annexed to this work, will give more light in this matter. 3, The heat in fummer is exceflive, and without intermiflion. 1 own I have feen the ther- mometer rife to nearly the fame degree at Aok in Finland, But the difference is, that when the thermometer of profeifor Celjius mit to thirty de- grees above the freezing point, once in two or three fummers at Aoboy the fame thermometer did not only, for three months together, ftand at the fame degree, but even fometimes rofe higher, not only in Pen/yharJa, but likewife in New Tork, Albany^ and a great part o^ Canada. Dur-, ing the fummers which I fpent at Philadelphia, the thermometer has, two or three times, rifen to thirty-fix degrees above the freezing point. It may therefore with great certainty be faid, that in Penjyhania, the greateflpart oi April, the whole of coming up Why do n Amarella, a common gc before the ( mon noble wild violets Penfyhania, Philadelphia, S^ of May, and all the following months till O^oher are like our Swecii/h months of Jme and Ju/y So exceflive and continued a heat muft certainlv have very great effbais. I here again refer to my meteorological obfervations. It mufl likewif;^ be afcribed to the effects of this heat that the com- men melons, the water melons, and the pum^ pions of different forts, are fown in the fields without any bells or the like put over them, and yet are ripe as early as Ji^/y ; further, that cher- ries are ripe at Philadelphia about the 2cth of May, and that in Penfyhania the wheat is fre^ quently reaped in the middle of 7^77^. 4. The whole of September, and h:ilf, if not the whole of O^^^^r, are the finefl months in Pen^ fylvanta; for the preceding ones are too hot. But thefe reprefent our July and half of Aimt/l. The greate/l part of the plants are in flower in Sefytem^ ber, and many do not begin to open their flowers before the latter end of this month. I make no doubt that the goodnefs of the feafon, which is enlivened by a clear iky, and a tolerably hot fu'i- Ihiine, greatly contributes towards this ha- effort of Flora. Yet though thefe plants come out fo late, they are quite ripe before the middle of O- tob^r. But I am not able to account for thtir coming up fo late in autumn ; and I rather afk. Why do not the Centaurea Jacea, the Gcntiana, Amarella, and Centaurium, of Linnceus, and tlie common golden rod, or Solidago Virgaurea, flower before the end of fummer ? or why do the com- mon noble liverwort, or Anemme Hepatica, the Wild violets (Viola mania Linn,) the mezereon ^3 (Daphne m IS \\\ \!\ ( ; ( 1 ^ *' i J! ' 1 1 ^ K^ 'I'i* 4 I I mm 86 September 1748, I'. ( Daphne Mezereum Linn,) and other plants, Hiew their flowers fo early in fpring ? It has pleafed the Almighty Creator to give to them this dif- pofition. The weather at Philadelphia during thefe months, is fhewn by my meteorological tables. I have taken the greate ft care in my obfervations, and have always avoided putting the thermome- ter into any place where the fun could fhine upon it, or where he had before heated the wall by his beams ; for in thofe cafes my obfervations would certainly not have been exad. The weather, during our September and OBober, is too welj known to want an explanation.* 5. However there arefome fpontaneous plants in Penjyhania, which do not every year bring their feeds to maturity before the cold begins. To thefe belong fome fpecies o^Gei7tianayoiAJlerSi and others. But in thefe too the wifdom of the Creator has wifely ordered every thing in its turn. For almoft all the plants which have the quality of flowering fo late in autumn, are perennial, or fuch as, though they have no feed to propagate themfelves, can revive by fhooting new branches and ftalks from the fame root every year. But perhaps a natural caufe may be given to account for the late growth of thefe plants. Before the Europeans came into this country, ity/as inhabited \>y fayage nations, who practifed agriculture but * The EvgHJh reader, who is perhaps not fo well acquainted with the weather of the Sivedijh autumn, may form an idea of it, by having recourfe to the Calendarium Flora:^ or the botanical and peconomical almanack oiSn^eden, in Dr. Linn^us's Amoen. Aca- dem. and in Mr. Stillingfieet^ S%vedijh trafts, tranflated from the Afn(Bn. Acad. 2d edition. F. % little, Penfyhania, Tbiladelphta. 87 little, or not at all, and chiefly lived upon hunting and firhing. The woods, therefore, have never been meddled with, except that fometimes a fmall part was dcftroyed by fire. The accounts which we have of the firfl landing of the Europeans here, /liew that they found the country all over covered with thick forefts.* From hence it follows, that excepting the higher trees, and the plants which grow in the water or near the fiiore, the rcfl: mufl, for the greateft part, have been obliged to grow, perhaps for a thoufand years together, in a fliade, either below or between the trees, and they thcre^ fore naturally belong to thofe which are only oe- cuhar to woody and Oiady places. The trees in this country drop their leaves in fuch quantities in autumn, that theground is covered with them io the depth of four or five inches. Thefe leaves iie a good while in the next fummer before they moulder, and this muft of courfe hinder the growth of the plants which are under the trees at the fame time depriving them of the few rays' ot the fun, which can comedown to them through the tnick leaves at the top of the trees. Thefe caufes joined together make fuch plants flower much later than they would otherwife do. May it not therefore be faid, that in fo many centuries thcfo plants had at lafl contradled a habit of comino- up ■ very late, and that it would now require a 4ifc ipace of time to make them lofe this habit,''and ule them to quicken their growth ? ^ept. 24th. We employed this whole day in ga- • Vide Hacklujt's collet, voy. m, 246. ^4 thcring ■ V I.' 'i I ■nil I gn t: I Hill wm .ji: i- ill 88 September 1748. thering the feeds of plants of all kinds, and in putting fcarce plants into the herbal. Sept, 25th. Mr. HeJp'Iius made me a prefent of a little piece of petrified w»od, which was found in the ground here. It was four inches long, one inch broad, and three lines thick. It might plainly be feen that it had formerly been wood. For in the places where it had been poliflied, all the longitudinal fibres were eafily diftinguifha- ble, fo that it might have been taken for a piece of oak which was cut fmooth. My piece was part of a ftill greater piece. It was here thought to be petrified hiccory. I afterwards got more of it from other people. Mr. Lewis Evans told me, that on the boundaries of Ft'rgima, a great petri- fied block of hiccory had been found in the ground, with the bark on it, which was likewife petrified. MK.JohnBartram, an Englijhman, who lives jn the country, about four miles from FhiladeU phia, has acquired a great knowledge of natural philofophy and hiftory, and feems to be born with a peculiar genius for thefe fciences. In his youth he had no opportunity of going to fchool. But by his own diligence and indefatigable application he got, without inftrudtion, fofar in Latin, as to underftand all Latin books, and even thofe which were filled with botanical terms. He has, in fe- yeral fucceffive years, made frequent excurfions into different diftant parts of North America, with an intention of gathering all forts of plants which are fcarce and little known. Thofe which Jie found he has planted in his own botanical garden, and likewife fent over their feeds or frcfh rPQtS Tcnfyhonia, Philadelphia. ?» roots to England. We owe to him the know- ledge of many fcarce plants, which he firft found. and which were never known before. He has /hewn great judgment, and an attention which lets nothing cfcape unnoticed. Yet with all thefe great qualities, he is to be blamed for his negligence; for he did not care to write down h s numerous and ufeful obfervations. His friends at London once obliged him to fend them a fnort account of one of his travels, and they were 17k Tl^'-^"''. =» good intention, though not with fuflicient judgment, to get this account harm than good j for as he is rather backward in writing down what he knows, this pubSon was found to contain but few new obfervations h would not however be doing juftice to Mr! Bartra>ns merit, if it were to be judged of by th[; performance He has not filled it iithaThou. 6ndth part of the great knowledge which he hL acquired, m natural ph.lofophy and hiftory. cfS cially in regard to Nonh America. I hav^c oftea whe"„ce h: 1° t '" '"^""t "' "'^ ^— • ^- wnence he got many things which came to his knowledge I likewife ole him many thhe cadn^ Pf '^^t «'>«,gr-t quality of communt in hff3 V "^ ^\^''''^- ^ ^='"' therefore. Fo I £l' ^"■'^"^''^ '"'"''°" '^^' gentleman om;;.K ""^' forgive myfelf. if I were to a" a m"v?' °^ '^' ^'^ '"^^"*-- ''"dxlaiS another ;rr """"°" "''^'^ ^ '"''" fr°- be met with on the north-weft fide of th^ town! in ! ( W ^ ! ( r h; i' 'i 'i I •' ' .it; '^^: : ^.^ ■ ' ^'^l i'^ ■ 1 1 '( / ■ ^ i ■ ^6 Sepietrtber 1745. in t!ie clay-pits, which were at prefcnt filled with water from a little brook in the neighbourhood. Thefe mufcles feem to have been wafhed into that place by the tide, when the water in the biook was high. For thefe clay pits arc not old, but were lately made. Poor boys fometimes go out of town, wade in the water, and gather great quantities of thefe (hells, which they fell very eafily, they being reckoned a dainty. Tfie Virginian j^zarole, with a red fruit, or Linfiaus's Crataegus Crus gallic is a fpecies of haw- thorn, and they plant it in hedges, for want of that hawthorn, which is commonly ufed for this purpofe in Europe. Its berries are red, and of the fam« fize, (hape, and tafte, with thofe of our haw- thorn. Yet this tree does not feem to make a good hedge, for its leaves were already fallen, whilfl: other trees dill preferved theirs. Its fpines are very l(»ng and fharp -, their length being two or three inches;, Thefe fpines are applied to fomc inconfiderable ufe. Each berry contains two flones. Mr. Bar tram afTured me, that the North Ams' rican oik cannot refift putrefaction for near fuch a fpace of time as the European. For this rea- fon, the boats (which carry all forts of goods down from the upper parts of the country) upon the river Hudjhn^ which is one of the greatefi in thefe parts, are made of two kinds of wood. That part which muft always be under water, is made of black oak; but the upper part, which is now above and now under water, and is there- fore more expofed to putrefadtion, is made of red cedar, or Juniperis Virginiana, which is reckoned the Fenfyhania, Thlladelphia. 91 the moft hardy wood in the country. The hot torn .s made „f black oak, becaufe^tha wood ; very tough. For the river being full of ftone d-'e hckoafc '"'^"""^ ^"r'"g againi t: fiv crack T^Z^^' f^ "'^'•^*"°^' docs no calily crack. But the cedar would not do for tins purpofe becaufc it is hard and brittle Th„ oak hkew.fe is notfo much attacked by utrefac t.on when u is always kept under waU ' bu everri!' '°"^t ^'^?y»g<='good pears here; but every body acknowledged that this fruit would not fucceei well i„ the country ' lities'of 2 S7'r °r ""'' 'y^^'kson the qua- lities ot Xh^Rattle-fnake, are inferred in the Me r yeaf At W^ Academy of Sciences.^; me year 1752. p. 3.6, and for the year i7r, p. 54. and thither I refer the reader * ^^^' iiEARs are very numerous hiaher un in ff,, country, and do much mifchief.^ Mr L"/,?" ff rthffS^" "" "^^^ "'^''- ^ --. heS iicr in the iollowmg manner : he bite*; -x l,^i- f ° ;f ^^''■d-. -d bfows with all his power So . till the animal fwells exceffively and dies for Ji'de. t An old ^«,.^,, called Nik Gujave'sfon. who , • Vide Medical, &c raff* an^ - theW^^,^,^.;,;^ p 282 *p^P'""''"^*' tranflated from Nsrer with the^obferva io„Vor t''^'^" ^'^]^' bein^. cnrnivoro-n, I t-^riy the fafl. p,''''^^'^^"^ ^^ 'he moil judicious travellers, whq U carnivorous, the other llvl, o .^'^"' ""^ O'ecies of which f- Specie, wi. ^^^^ - v^e..„ : ^.e ,.,. I"0US, HI if ! ', M' X i f , 1 "^ r ft" ' 1 'II t % i ; i m^Jk'AmmmtmBmiMi^ i; 11 «f 11 ,i 1 ii' 5 i J i I ill If;: gZ September 1748. who was ninety-one years of ag'^, fald, that m his youth, the bears had been very frequent hereabouts, but that they had feldom attacked the cattle : that whenever a bear was killed, its fieih was prepared like pork, and that it had a very good tafte. And the fleih of bears is dill prepared like ham, on the river Morris. The environs of Philadelphia, and even the whole province of Penfyhania in general, contain very few bears, they having been extirpated by de- grees. In Virginia they kill them in feveral dif- ferent ways. Their flefh is eaten by both rich and poor, fince it is reckoned ec^ual in goodnefs to pork. In fome parts of this province, where iio hogs car, be kept, on account of the great numbers of bears, the people are ufed to catch and kill them, and to ufe them inflead of hogs. The American bears, however, are faid to be lefs fierce and dangerous than the European ones. Sept, 26th. The broad plantain, or Plantago fnajor, grows on the high-roads, foot-paths, meadows, and in gardens, in great plenty Mr. Bariram had found this plant in many places on his travels, but he did not know whether it was an original American plant, or whether the Eu^ ropeans had brought it over. This doubt had its rife from the favages (who always hod an extensive knowledge of the plants of the country) pretending that this plant never grew here before the rrrival of the European.* They therefore gave it a name which fjgnitiec, the Englijhman% rous, the bkck fpccies is, merely phytivorous. In cafe therefore both fpecics are found in Isierth America^ it would be very eafy to account for thieir being both carnivorous and not. 'h\ foot'. foot \ fo walked, fleps. The nuated L But it i ftreets, < feems to but has I from Em that the ^ grows hei and near The c verbena 01 tramy not Philadelph had found fuppofe it European \ Mr. Be in Philade^ fiderabJe d out. I he upper loof( a dark bro\ clay, fo mi greater quj ftratum wa brick colou Httle pebbl ilones copf 1! Pmfylvama, PbikdeipMa. 9, >/ , for they fay that where a European had walked, there this plant grew in his foot- THzChenopodium album, or Goofefoot with fi- nuated leaves, grows in plenty in the gardens. But t IS more fcarce near the houfesf in the ftreets. on dunghills, and corn-fields. This hTL'X"\ "'"l" '' "°' ^ "^'i"^ oi America. from P !" brought over amongfl other feeds ZftV^'-r ^^J^^ ^'""^ '»^""^'- " i^ thought that the Ta>,/ey (ranacetum vulgare Linn.) which fnZear 't '"r ''"''" '" '^^ "^^^es. on the roadj and near houfes, was produced from European The common vervain, with blue flowers, or jrbena oficmahs, was Ihewn to me by Mr. Bar- pT;'f?\^ ^T ^'' ''™^^' '" ^ ««le plain near K i't'?- . It w^^s the only place where he tnnf""f " '".-*«^'-^'^- And for this reafon I %pofe It was hkewife fown here amongft other European feeds. ° .-n Sv 511/'^"'' '^'/,'" '•''' '''"^ ''"'Iding a houfc '^^htladelpha, and had funk a cellar to a con- fiderable depth the foil of which was thrown out. I here obferired the following ftrata : The upper loofe foil was only half a foot deep, and of a dark brown colour. Under it was a ftratum of clay, fo much blended with fand. that it was ia greater quantity than the clay itfelf j and this ftratum was eight feet deep. Thefe were both httle pebbles mixed with a coarfe fand. The flones confifted either of a clear, pr of a dark UirtA; J m Im ■■iJi^ i i ■ ■■ i 1 f ■ '{> - inil '■il 1 |i!J. If - .^suu.M^Ssmgi\: tnii»,t«MmmmiimismmimiiiM»MM, i i 94 Seffemier 1748. Sluartz ; * they were quite fmooth and roundlfli on the outfide, and lay in a flratum which was a foot deep. Then the brick-coloured clay mix- ed with fand appeared again. But the depth of this ftratum could not be determined. Query, Could the river formerly have reached to this place and formed thefe ftrata ? Mr. Bartram has not only frequently found oyfter-fliells in the ground, but likewife met with fuch fhells and fnails, as undoubtedly be- long to the fea, at the diftance of a hundred and more Englijh miles from the fhore. He has even found them on the ridge of mountains which feparate the Englijh plantations from the habitations of the favages. Thefe mountains, which the Englifi call the blue mountains^ are of con(iderable height, and extend in one continued chain from north to fouth, or from Canada to Carolina. Yet in fome places they have gaps, which are as it were broke through, to afford a palTage for the great rivers, which roll down into the lower country. The Cajfia Cham^crifta grew on the roads through the woods, and fometimes on iiinculti- vated fields, efpecially when (hrubs grew in them. Its leaves are Hke thofe of the SenfitiiJe plant or Mimcja, and have likewife the quality of contracting when touched, in common with the leaves of the latter. • ^uartKum hyaJinum, Linn. Syft. nat. 3. p. ()^% ^artxum fohdum pelluciduniy Waller it Miner. 91* Tbt common ^artz, /"or/y^r's Mineraloj^y, p. i6< And ^artKum coloratum, Linn. Syft. nat. 3. p. 6^» l^artzum J'olidum opacutn coloratum^ Wall, Mint 99. f^hf impun ^ariK, Forji. Min. p. 16, Thb Penfyhama, Philadelphia. , rt The Crows in this country are little differen* from our common crows in Sweden t^ • r * ^ v4 -% 7.''X*:ta'"J,£' I/W«/s Con,usfrug,7eg^' ^ *' "'°''' ">' great l^oles in tL-'mounS o^'.t'Srof rivers, which, according to his defrWn.- °/ exaaiyhave been fuch Jwfl j/ f ff °"' "f met with in W.«. afd Sh I hav dIfcLl in a particular difTertafmn r^o^ • l ^ aelcribed # Academy of "c Ses ^ '^^/^^ likewife addreffed fom^lcuer,f'\u''T'''", ^"^ their co^r„; and Vtfe Tfee Sf ^2''''' But he wrote a?ai*nn-fK;o^ • • ^^^^^s in them. ' for the originKeiL'carri; th ^ ""^^ , manner : When the ice fl.L f°"owing i ffick in it. In fpr J" when I 'r ""'"^ P^^"=^ , vmer in the riveH;,^tht 'ZTtt' f^ ! above the place where thefe Sare 11 f i |.^-hepebbl.,tich"i?:-Ltd^te « ha. made, are called S,,^f'"?.'^f ••'e "hirling „f ,,,. „,. fince I- 1,1 H \ \m i t ;''':! il ' ' i \n m, \i r 1' W'\K if!"! :M: 1; "' :: ^ 1 11 . i !f.. / i:! . "! A' i \'M\i 1 rll V ( i. I m 96 Beptmber 1748. iince autumn, when it firft fettled on the banks oi the river, fall out of the ice upon the rocky bank, and are from thence carried into a cleft or crack by the water. Thefe pebbles are then continually turned about by the water, which comes in upon them, and by this means they gradually form the hole. The water at the fame time poliihes the flone by its circular motion round it, and helps to make the hole or cavity round. It is certain, that, by this turning and toiling, the ftone is at laft unfit for this purpofe : but the river throws commonly every fpring other flones inftead of it into the cavity, and they are turned round in the fame manner. By this whirling, both the mountain and the ftone afford either a fine or a coarfe fand, which is wafhed away by the water, when in fpring, or at other times, it is high enough to throw its waves into | the cavity. This was the opinion of Mr. Bar- tram about the origin of thefe cavities. The Royal Society of Sciences at Londoriy has given a favourable reception to, and approved of them. * The remarks which I made in the fummer of the year 1743, during my ftay at LanS^-Ort, in my country, will prove that I was at that time of the fame opinion, in regard to thefe holes. I have fince further explained this opinion in a letter to the Royal Academy of Sciences ; and this letter is ftill preferved in the Academy's Me- moirs, which have not yet been publifhed. But • How far this approbation of the Royal Society ought to be credited, is to be underftood from the advertifements publifliedatl the headof eachncw volume of the Philofophical TranfaaioBi.f the i9| ^enfyivania, ntladelphia. there is great reafon to doubt, whether .11 • Here are difTerent fnecieq of ;i^ n b..t that they wi': roreTa^r ^"K"'^' and ieveral other peoole of »K-' ^'^ '"'"' they did not fet un fi k ^r ''°""f'')'' '"^Y berries fall nnon thT^ 7 ' , ^^^" 'he compaa, butTofe th!Jr°""'^' ^^^""^ '' '* "°t delicate flwots R„?f^ "'" ?•"', ""^ ^«^^''='' fine t«res here, becaufe labour is fo Sear ^''^''^'^' gets from eighteen pence to thrl = '«^es Dr.Z).%««^ butfw^:,tmfn"^;j'- plant to where he.fljould ran^ -f r^^*" ^'^ "ot know good traumatic, and tM, „ n ■'eckoned a very himfelf experienced fSt?"^"'/ ^'- ^<"-'ral ed by a vicious horfe X^f '""^^ '"'^ ^''^k- both his thighs geXh-i rr''''^f°have r<./^r^. and a|plied7t 2^u- "' ^^ '"'"^'^ fJ^^ &- immediately ^iSaftd f,^" '^°''"'''- ^^ "«' ^nfy had been VSt butT"',^'""'^'' ''^f-^ , I<^rrf /^.. from iJrkaS'f." ^''^ ^ ParticuJaf Mr. 5<.r/r«« wh«Whe » ' ^^'^'''' ^ "^^^^ it? heanfwered, that he hT^'/^^"''"''"^ ^■'"i Mr. a///«/,«, t^,;"?' J^ had fent it himfelf to parts of Ne^ fer}/ °fjTu 'u" '^' ^^^^m itJnnoother£„.S'i«- ''"^'^ «« '^"h the other fpeciesTiiSIIL"- • ^' '^''^^^^ f'°'" Iniuch lefs/ I afterwwfV "i'."" "^""^ being f I'nty in Ca„Ja ''''"^' ^'"^ 'hi. tree in greaf I Mr. Bartram wa"t he looked upon oeLh! '^"'"^ '^err arrival. ^«« fruit, and a^growW ''.^, ?". °"ginal Ame- art oi America. SS.? '^ '" '^' g^^^^t f« they were fi^ft b ouX'" "'"'1'*^ ^P'"'"". I?^''*^. But an the SS in -' ^"'' ^"^ h °" the banks of r^^t^^^^^^l ^S^d. 1^ ^ -- -^-u/u'i'fh and in. the <:' ii i: > * .i| >i i; ^^il ^lili^i^^i^^ "**ntBaMiT"'- ■ 100 September I74^« tij ii . the country thereabouts, peaches were found growing wild in great quantity. * Sept. 27th. The tree which the EngliJJ^ here call Perfimm, is the Diojpyros Virginiana of Lw- naus. It grows for the greateft part in wet places, round the water pits. I have already mentioned, that the fruits of this tree are ex- tremely bitter and fharp before they are quite ripe, and that, being eaten in that ftate, they quite contradt one's mou^h, and have a very dif- agreeable taftc. But as foon as they are ripe, which does not happen till they have been quite foftened by the froft, they are a very agreeable fruit. They are here eaten raw, and feldom any other way. But in a great book, which contains a defcription of Virginia^ you meet with differ- ent ways of preparing the Perfimon, under the I article of that name. Mr. Bartram related, that they were commonly put upon the table amongil the fweet-meats, and that fome people made a tolerably good wine of them. Some of thefe Perfimon fruits were dropped on. t^i^ ground in his garden, and were almoft quite ripe, having been expofed to a great degree of the heat of thel fun. We picked up a few and tailed them, andl I muft own that thofe who praifed this fruit asl an agreeable one, have but done it juftice. Itl • Thomas Herriot, fervant to Sir Walter Raleigh, who was m\ ployed by him to examine into the produftions of l^orth Amerkl makes no mention of the. peach among the other fruits he dtf cribes ; and M. du Prutx, who has given a ver^ good account 0 Louijiana and the Miftfifpi, fays, tliat the natives got thei peaches from the Englifi calony of Carolina, before the Fm\ fettled there. P. real! P^n/yhama, nUadelphia. roughly conquered its acrimony. ^'^ "'°- /.« growTtl::^; " W -^'^' ^'''- on dry fields? !nd hth LL°H '""^^''c '" ^'^^''' mixed with fand X ^ v u °^ * S^""""* not knoi whSef or no Z'^fr '^^' '""'^ ^'^ this plant inftead oftlcco "Trr"r'"^'^ ufed to tie the leaves ronnT:., • / ^'^"''' *■•« when they have the aeue S„ '' ^'f T^ ''^^ pared a tea from tJe £ foTh" f r'''"" P'^" fe^^ Sept ember 1748. a \i w\ y^hich an European feels at the fight of our ver, dant, odoriferous meadows. The American Night/hade, or the Phytolacca 4ecandr(i, grows abundantly in the fields, and under the trees, on little hills. Its black berries are now ripe, We obferved to-day fome little birds with a blue plumage, and of the fize of our Hortulans and Yellow Hammers (Etnheriza Citric ndla and Emheriza HortulanusJ flying down from the trees, in order to fettle upon the njghtfhade and eat its berries. Towards night I went to Mr. Bartram\ country feat^ $ept, 29th. The Gnaphalium margaritaceum grows in aftonifliing quantities upon all unculti- vated fields, glades, hills, and the like. Its height is different according to its difl^erent foil and fituation. Sometimes it is very ramofe, and fometlmes very little. It has a ftrong, but agree- able fmell. .The Englijh call it laife everlajiingy for its flowers, which confift chiefly of dry, Ihining, filvery leaves (Folia calycina) do not change when dried. This plant is now every where in full blofifom, But fome have already loft the flowers, and are beginning to ^rop the feeds. The Englijh ladies were ufed to gather great quantities of this Lifi everlapng, and to pluck them with the ftalks. For they put them into pots with or without water, amongft other fine flowers which they had gathered both in the gardens and in the fields, and placed them as an ornament in the rooms. The Englijh, ladies in general are much inclined to have fine flowers all the fummer lonp-. in or unon th** rhimnevc fometimes Penfylvania, Philadelphia. ,o, fometimes upon a table, or before the windows. [he MeVfT"'r°^''^''; ^""^ appearance, or for the lake of their fweet fcent. The Gnabhalium abovement.oned. was one of thofe which thev kepnn their rooms during the winter, becaufe Its flowers never altered from what their were when they flood in the ground. Mr. Bartram told me another ufe of this plant. A decoftion of the flowers and ftalks is ufed to bathe any l'nf.nf •"!["'' P.""' "' " '' '"'>bed with the plant itfelf tied up in a bag. Instead of flax feveral people made ufe of a kina ot Dogs bane, or LinnausS Apocymm can- nabmum. The people prepared the ftalks of this plant, in the fame manner as we prepare thofe of hemp or flax. It was fpun, and feveral kinds of fluffs were woven from it. The favages are faid Lrn'^'^r """^'"''"■"g ''^g^' fi'hing-nets. and the like, for many centuries together, before the arrival of the Europeans. I ASKED UuBartram, whether he had ob- lerved in his travels that the water was fallen and that the fea had formerly covered any places winch were now land. He told me, that from what he had experienced, he was convinced, that the greateft part of this country, even for feveral miles together, had formerly been, under water. Ihe reafons which led him to give credit to this opinion were the following. I. On digging in the blue mountains, which are above three hundred £««/,>7j miles diftant trom the fea. you find loofe oyfter and other forts ot (hells J and they are alfo likewife to be met With in the valiies formed by thefe mountains, f^ 4 ' 2. A % A "^'X If . : ill ' II J r.l!' i ^ *3ined in the water, and which hiid fubfided to t't ^ am of the lake, was the rich foil which ib ac prefent in the vallies, and the caufe of their great ferti- lity. But fuch vallies and cloven mountains are very freniienfin the country, and of this kind is the p:;c=.i^!iar gap between two mountains, through whi^h a fiver takes its courfe, pn the boundaries of Ke-Ji) Tork and Penfyhania, The people, in a y ill in Penfyhania, FbUade!phia. jcft, % that this opening was made by the De ' tain; pJwyle:'''tCT°^ "'^ ""•= '»°""- vered apart of them 'p' "''= "^^'^^ formerly co- fou^d on ,:=^hi!hT '^^ -'"^ ^''"^ '^^'J' =>« thercc there So„ ,7^"?-'""'^''"'^ "^^' f™"* formerly hav'J «tndS 'f til ^^^ '"""•'* part flown over th^m .u 1- ' ^"'' ^*'«'> "» "ot new to Ih m Z; fr '"^^'' i''" '"^'^ " .heir anceftors amintThemThiT^^^ 'T furrounded thefe mountai!,/. "'<= ^^^ ^^^'nerly decLfel^Mlirwilch 7'!'"'^ '"■°°''^ '"'^^if* on rivers, and It'tS? '^''^^ y«« ago were built of water a'lmoft a ft v«r lo ' \^"'^"^'" ^"PP'^ 'ittle, that they c nnot^be u?eT^''?'P'''{^"'^'' ,-in, or whenVrowmeSin r^^'^'^^fy I decreafe of water, in Zt^Iac r*""^; ^'''* quantity of land which "^ ni' ^T ""'S''^'" from the extirpation of ; "o^r cultivated, and pofe. """'P^'on of great forefls for that pur- lArown on Ihor™ fro„??h u^°^ '*"'' continually the waves. "' ^''^ ^°"om of the fea, by en^fo'ftSTeSi: fat fome peculiar at- h thefe obfervatfo^, tV T\^ ''''"S ^^J«ing fruch kind 1 °.^ "°'""^"" mountains, are of I ""''^"-"'^"''^^^nottobeaotinthe fea. \% % ,'ii i«'ri !| )u>«=iBifam«tifaM,v,->- J 06 September 1743. fea. In the fame latitude, and they are not fi(hed on the (liore, till you come to South Carolina, Mr. Bartram from hence took an occafion to de- fend Dr. 'Thomas Burnet's opinion, that the earth, before the deluge, was in a different pofition to- wards the fun. He like wife afked n-hether the great bones, which are fometimes found in the ground in Siberia^ and which are iuppofed to be elephants bones and tufks, did not confirm his opinion. For at prefent thofe animals cannot live in fuch cold countries; but if, according to Dr. Burnet, the fun once formed different zones about our earth, frv-.n thofe it now makes, the elephant may eafily be fuppofed to ha\-. lived in Siberia.^ However f I : ' ! 11 • The bones and tulks of Elephants are not only found in Ruf. fiat but alfo in the canton of Bajil in SiviJeAand, in the domini. ons of the Marquis of Bcreith in Franeonia. und more inftances are found in the Protogaa of the celebrated leib.titx. Lately, near the river Ohio, have been difcovered, a great nuavber of (keletons of Elephants, with their tuflcs, and very ren-aricable grinders, ftill flicking in their jaw bones, were fent to the Jiiitijh Mufeum ; the late Dr. Uttletm^ Biftiop of Carlijle^ alfo lodged fome teeth, Hick- ing in their jaw bones, in the Mufeum of the Royal Society, which were brought from Peru. The rivers Chatunga and Indt- ghirkay in Siberia^ are remarkable for afFording, on their banks, great quantities of bones and tnflcs of Elephants, which being preferved there by the great froft, and in the (hort fummer of a few weeks, the rain being rare, thcfe tufks are commonly fo freih that they are employed in Rujfia as common ivory, on account of the great quantity brought from thefe pUces to Ru£ia\ fome of them were eight feet long, and of three hundred pounds weight. There have been found grinders of nine inches diameter. But the Jimerican grinders of Elephants from near the Ohio are. yet more re- markable, OK account of their being provided with crowns at their tops, fuch as are only found in the carnivorous animals, and fuchai feed on hard bones or nuts. Whilft, on the contrary. Elephants, at prefent feeding on graffes and foft vegetables, have no fuch crowni at the tops of their grinders. Livy, it is true, makes a diftinftion fc^»...^„n .Via 4p«t:, nr 7^j:^- P.Ipr>hant«. and the African onesil and remarks the latter to be inferior to thw former in fize and vi- gourij Penfyhania, Philadelphia. However it feems that all which we have h;ft,» . mentioned, may have been theefeftof y which thefe animals earned them thither : nor s it confr^v tH ' V'^l?" P^'^^^P^ ^a, la .on, to believe thefe ikeletons to beThi ' '"*^°"* ^'"o^/ or reve- »vhich hved on the furface of tSs I Ion/'"'''"'^'" °^ ^"i'"^'^ creation ; which may be confider.H .^ i ^^ ^"'*"°'" ^° ^^^^ Mofaic the creatures living on this S^^"' ^ "<^^ modification of tier which it will rfma"n t IJ? ?. ' f'^'^^ '° "« prefent ftate Inl -e/Tary. and thenT Pfc^iT^rv? "'" "''^^ anewch'angc t'on, appear more adapted to iTs ft../ ^u ";'*"°" °^ ^«voli I «'^;n''nals more fuitabfe to ?h rifa'e ' 'r^ ^' ^"^'^^'^ ^"^^ ^ ^« Jofophy and reafonina will finS 11 .-^''^''y ™^"' "'"^d to phi- of the Creator, his c^Lomyt J ^.'' '^'' P'*" ^'^^ « g^^-^^l »de» |n.oreover, itisconf^S^^o^u, ^^'*?"'"«"t°f theuniverfe: and writer, who fay," P^f l? '° '*^ meaningof the words of a facred (rn.al]andgreae'beaft w:;.:L^°;/^-^^^^^^ 1;^* on ;he above.ii;:n^;;^^^^^r:];^^Dr. ^^ — » •» . --^-^ ^,jj X ran/, % remained 1 ! 1 Jr , f. ' ,r;;fi.-^ -' fi ■i 1 ■1^ fi I ( ^H i| '■) ■■ ■ ;> ■ • 1 • ■ ,' '^^H ^ jfi .;•■ ^ ll Ui' - ^ -. ! ! . i iH f ■ ■1 !n( ^mmmk ;kil."llJVSi!M. ...jA. It'l f 108 September 1748. remained in a cleft of the rock, and to have been turned round by the violence of the water, till it had formed fuch a cavity in the mountain. For on putting our hands into one of thefe cavities, we found that it contained numerous frnalf peb- bles, whofe furface was quite fmooth and round. And thefe ftones we found in each of the holes. Mr. Bartram fhewed me a number of plants which he had collected into a herbal on his tra- vels. Among thefe were the following, which likewife grow in the northern parts of Europe , of which he had either got the whole plants, or only broken branches. Hi' : 1 i! il i !■ ! 1 ■ '. 1 li \M. 1 . Betula alba, the common birch-tree, which he had found on the cats-hills, 2. Betula nana. This fpecjes of birch grows in feveral low places towards the hills. 3. Comarum palujire, in the meadows, between the hills in New Jerfey. 4. Gentiana lutea, the great Gentian, from the fields near the mountains, it was very like our variety, but had not fo many flowers under each leaf. 5. Linneea borealis, from the mountains in Ca- nada. It creeps along the ground. 6. Myrica Gale, from the neighbourhood of the river Sufquehanna, where it grows in a wet foil. 7. Potentillafruticoja, from the fwampy fields and low meadows, between the river Delaware^ and the river New Tork. 8. Tr ten talis Europcea, from the cats- hills, 9. T^riglochin maritimum, from the fait fpringsl wards the country of the five nations. 3 .. ^^^' Penfyhanla, Philadelphia. joo Me . Bartram fliewed me a letter from Eali 7«-« fy, m which he got the following account ofthe difcovery of an Indian grave. In the ^pri/ of the year 1744. as fome people were digging a cellar, they came upon a great ftone. like! tomb-ftone. which was atlaft got out with great difBcuIty 5 and about four feet deeper under it, they met with a largequantity of human bones andii cake of maize. The latter was yet quite untouched, and feveral of the people prefent tailed it out of curiofity. From ribefe circumftances it was concluded, that thi. ^s a grave of a perfon of note among the favages. deceafed, nieat. and other things which he liked £L ^ ftone was eight feet long, four feet broad, and even fome inches more, where it was broadeft, and fifteen inches thick at one end but only twelve inches at the other end. It con- fifted of the fame coarfe kind of ftone that is to be got m this country. There were no letters nor other charafters vifible on it i, iTJ"-"" "^^^ *^ ^'"^''^' 'Chiefly cultivate I'l'^^"'^^' or Zea Mays, Linn.ihcy have h? th.'v iJ'^'-^ ^' P"^P°^^- But befides tl'J ^ I'kewife plant a great quantity of iguajhes, a fpeciesof pumpions or melons, which hey have always cultivated, even in the remoteft £r ^^f ^"'■f^ons fettled in America got the feeds of this plant, and at prefent their gfr- dens are full of it; the fruit has an agreeable t!fte S LVM" """ ^l^^r^- They ar'-e commonly boiled, then cruflied (as we are ufed to do with turneps when we make a pulfe of them) and fome pepper ( : 1 { ■ \^i ■4 1 ■ ) I I ! !J j ?■ ';s 1* j|-i|'i^^f ■'< 'i ■a/mMSfim,!*'^. ^sa 110 Septemkr 174S4 H! pepper or other fpice thrown upon them, and thd difh IS ready. The Indians hkewife fow feveral kinds of beans, which for the greateft part they have got from the Europeans. But peafe, which they hkewife fow, they have always had amongft them, before any foreigners came into the coun^ *'*y\., ^!/^"^^*^sof^he Indians, which now are Iikewife cultivated by the Europeans, belong to thofe kinds of gourds (cucurbita) which ripen before any other. They are a very delicious fruit, but wi not keep. I have however feen them kept till pretty late in winter. Sept, 30th. Wheat and rye are fown in au- tumn about this time, and commonly reaped ^Z^7't^}\^ ^^^ of >;7^, or in the beginning of July, Thefe kinds of corn^ however, are fometimes ready to be reaped in the middle of "June, and there are even examples that they have been mown in the beginning of that month. Barley and oats are fown in April, and they commonly begin to grow ripe towards the end of >A, Buck- wheat is fown in the middle or at the end of July, and is about this time, or fomewhat later, ready to be reaped. If it be fown before the above-mentioned time, as in May, or in June, it only gives flowers, and little or no corn. .Mr, Bartram and other people affured me, that moft of the cows, which the Englijh have here, are the offspring of thofe which they bought of the Swedes, when they were maf^trs of the country. The Englilh themfelves are faid to have brought over but few. The Swedes either brought their cattle from home, or bought them of the Dutch^ who were then fettled here. EAR ■■ r' »■ .... ■ ■Ciiav- .. .•^tesq;?.M.^ ^ : nw-i^^^onvsiA, or!:: iXlOli : ' ;1 v^fli ,v/c i ■ ■ ' ■ ■■: ojni^^ • • ■ i iO 2^01 - ■■ ^ ■J Li>)^' ■ • ;uuiv, . « 1 - * '^n lib .-; - •. .-i^'/C I I ' t:t 1 lMOfr-'.:^j'-. ;:J ( 'f : i:. li .-it- ,^^-.. »;- j:.. f . '■■•■• • , ; ■■■-■'i^j iv'> ''^ . ' '^'i.jli-t'ni ■ .■ . ' ■ ; , ■■ '>^^H*':^ - -bumdi ^y^v. ^ /l^fiTff ii^'^^^ii :Mj- ■ : ■■ -^-r^" . ■ ■■ ::iVOliitiL. ■ . rnijrii Ulj4Ui,.d;io ,^ii3un . f'dni ^tnsrf'bdli^ns/..' i . . !; 1 i i i f > ( ■ 1' ■ ntv '^^'« iiS!iWT ! i I {| IP 'b IH ' 112 OSifoief' 1748, Penfyhania, under forty dcg. of lat. and becomes a pretty tall and thick tree, was fo little at Ofwego and FortNicholfon, between forty-three and forty, four deg. of lat. that it hardly reached the height of two or four feet, and was feldom fo thick as the little finger of a full grown perfon. This was likewife the cafe with the TuUp tree. For in Tenfyhania it grows as high as our talleft oaks and firs, and its thickncfs is proportionable to its height. But about Ofwego it was not above twelve feet high, and no thicker than a man's arm. The Sugar Mapie, or jicer faccharimm, is one ®f the moft common trees in the woods of Canada^ and grows very tall. But in the fouthern provinces, as New Jerfey and Penfyka- may it only grows on the northern fide of the blue mountains, and on the ftecp hillfe which are on the banks of the river, and which are turned to the north. Yet there it does not attain to a third or fourth part of the height which it has in Canada. It is needlefs to mention more exam- ples. 055. ift. The gnats, which are very trouble- fome at night here^ are called Mufquetoes, They are exadly like the gnats in l^weden^ only fomc- what lefs; and the dcfcription which is to be met with in Dr. Limauss Syfiema Natura, and Faum Suea'ca, fully agrees with them, and they are call- ed by him Culex pipiens. In day-time or at night they come into the houfes, and when tlie people are gone to bed they begin their difagfeeable hum- ming, approach always nearer to the bed, and at laft fuck up fo much blood, that they can hardly fly away. Their bite caufes blifters in people cf a uvit Penfylnldma, Phihidilphia. 113 a delicate Gomplexion. When the weither has been cool for fome days, the mufquetoesdifappear. But when u changes again, and efpecially after a ra.n they gather frequently in fuch quantities about the houfes. that their numbers are^flonifl'! ing. The chimneys of the Englijh, which have no valves for (hutting them upf afford the .nals a free entrance into the houfes. In fultry eU- ings. hey accompany the cattle in great Avarm.. from the woods to the houfes or to town, Tnd when they are drove before the houfes, the gnats fly in wherever they can. In the greateft hS of fummer. they are fo numerous in fome places tha the air feems to be quite full of them; efw X^^Lr^"'"' ? ^T >'-fiy- The inhabi- xoel )^ltTc '""''tf ^'^ '"=f°^= their houfes, to expel thefedifagreeableguefts by thefmoke. The b en r K '""' ^^"^ ">« g"'" had former^ been much niore numerous, that even at prefcnt they fwarmed ,n vaft quantites on the fea^fhore near the fait water; andthat thofe which troubled us this autumn in Philadelphia were of a more ThTkft '""I'- *^" ""'^ '^°— 'y "'■^d tX Ih.s laft quality appeared from the blifters which were formed on the fpots, wherethe S,' had mferted their fting. In*^^w^,„ i n^vef fc ny o her inconvenience from their fting than ittle uching. whilft they fucked. BuVwhen ^Za^^^^^""^^' "■g'>^ my face was fS aimolt aihamed to fliew myfelf .nclofnrl! "'rf C memtoned fomewhat about the •nclofures ufual here, I now add, that moft of 1/ .^ — T the i: i|| i ! '\ % '■ ^1 hhl mmtimmmmst-!iif:: XI4 Ocioier 1748. i I' I rJliMI the planks, which are put horizontally, and of which the enclofures in the environs of Pbiladel-* phia chiefly confift, are of the red cedar wood, which is here reckoned more durable than any other. But where this could not b^ got, either white or black oak fupplied its place. The peo- ple were likewife very glad if they could get ce- dar wood for the pofts, or elfe they took white oak, or chefnut, as I was told by Mr. Bartram. But it feems that that kind of wood in general does not keep well in the ground for a conlide- rable time, I faw fome pofts made of chefnut wood, and put into the ground only the year be- fore, which were already, for the greateft part, rotten below. The Saffafras tree^ or Laurus Sqffqfras Linn. grows in abundance in the country, and ftands fcattered up and down the woods, and near buflies and enclofures. On old grounds, which are left uncultivated, it is one of the firft that comes up, and is as plentiful as young birches are on thofe Swedijh fields, which are formed by burning the trees which grew on them.* The Saffafras grows in a dry loofe ground, of a pale brick colour, which conlifts, for the greateft part, of fand, mixed with fome clay. It feems to be but a poor foil. The mountains round Got hen- burgh, in Sweden, would afford many places rich • In Mr. OJheck\ Voyage to China^ Vol. i. p. 50. in a note, an account is given of this kind of land, which the Siueties call S'wedieland'y w..jre it is obferved, that the trees being burnt, their aflies afford manure fufficient for three years, after which they ar«. left uncultivated again, till, after twenty or more years, a new gc neration of trees being produced on them, the country people burn th^m, and cultivate the country for three years again. F. ' enoueh Penfylvania, Philadelphia. ,,- tnough for the Safafrm to grow in. and I even fear they would be too rich. I here faw it both in the woods anjidft other trees, and more frequent by .tfelf along the enclofures. I„ both it lookl qual y fre/h I have never feen it on wet or low places. The people here gather its fldwers and ufe them inftead of tea. But the wood S « of no ufe .n oeconomy , for when it is fet oa fire. It caufes a continual crackling, without mafc- very much, and new /hoots come up from them mfome places, but thefe (hoots are not goodZ befides the root which connefts them to the ground. If therefore any one would plant Saf- fafrm tre« he muft endeavour to get the" ber- Z ler^. 7' f'^ I'' '^^'f "P«- The cows iStr/mt^^^^tr'^^ "^^ '^°°^" -'^ The bark of this tree is ufed by the women here m dymg worfted a fine lafting orange Xur _wh.ch does not fade in the fun. TheJ^ufrurb * :nftead of alum in dying, and boil th^e dye i" a ySd A ^'T^' '"r •^°" ^^«"^' if does not yield to fine a colour. A ivoman in r/r«,« his Wsfully employed the berries of thellfl garnft a great pain i„ one of her feet, which for three years together. /],e had to fuch a depr-e that ualmoft hindered her from walL. ^Sh^ wa advjfed to broil the berries of SalTaf^;. ati wh ch tr"^""^ P'"' °^ ^'' ^-^^f ^^""^ 'he oil. Wli.ch by this means would be eot from th« h.,-, •^ ^ ries. .":!■ I i I I- I ' f ^h * , I I i 'J li (' ■ . i 1 1 'JMIiBJIli .."SS^«E.-3*— ■ I !-''fffr ,:«3aR^;„v ii6 nes OSIobcr 174S, She did fo, but at the fame time it made her vomit ; yet this was not fufficicnt to keep her from following the prefcription three times more, though as often as (he made ufe thereof, it always had the fame effed. However (he was en- tirelyfreed fromthat pain, and perfedtly recovered. A BLACK Woodpecker with a red head, or the Picus pileatus Linn, is frequent in ih^ Penjyhanian forefts, and flays the winter, as I know from my own experience. It is reckoned among thofc birds wnich deftroy the maize ; becaufe it fettles on the ripe ears, and deflroys them with its bill. The Swedes call it I'illkroka ; but all other wood- peckers, thofe with gold yellow wings excepted, are called Hackfpickar in the Swedijh language. I intend to defcribe them all together more exadly in a particular work. I only obferve here, that almofl: all the different fpecies of woodpeckers are very noxious to the maize, when it begins to ripen : for by picking holes in the membrane round the ear, the rain gets into it, and caufes the ear, with all the corn \f contains, to rot. OB, 3d. In the morning I fet out for Wil- mington, which was formerly called Chrijiina by the Swedes, and is thirty Englip miles to the fouth-weft of Philadelphia, Three miles behind Philadelphia I paffed the river Skulkill in a ferry, beyond which tlie country appears almofl a con- tinual chain of mountains and vallies. The mountains have an eafy flope on all fides, and the vallies are commonly croffed by brooks, widi cryflal flreams. The greater part of the country is covered with feveral kinds of deciduous trees; for I fcarcely faw a fingle tree of tlie fir kind, if \ I excent t II Pcnfyhania, journey to Wilmington. tj^ I except a few red cedarQ tu c ^ but open below, fo haei left /^f ^?' ^^h, the eye. and no under-wood ohftrulnP'^ !? %e between the tree, r, ° ."/""^fca the paf- in feme places to W . ""'.^ ''"''= l'^^" "fy' with a cL-ZfovTJT "."''"" ""-" ''""^hes ft-Hing at great dknrf:omerh"%,:'''= '^^ the ground being very level Tnr '^^'■' """* «1= glades openel w[,ich were eitW ''''?'"- paftures. or corn-f5elds • nT k^ u f ""^dows. were cultivated and ott'rsltf ^f" f°"«' feveral houfes were builf ri.r .' '".^ ^<=^ P'^^s for the greateft Dart th. ? ^'"'^ °'^^'- But the fields the wheat W.7, ""f ^'"S'^' I" P»" of # manner vJ^fenthTs'^bt:' Ik "/^"^-' pretty clofe together IfnTl- 7'^^ ^"""W's try people verfbufv in ?'"."'"'f ^^^ "'ecoun- ever^aL-ho^r^l'^fe'heirrye. Near The inhabitants hereibo ! '^"'' ""'^e. treel^iSrSyd'fe;' ?r"''""^' ^-'X °f all full ofnut chefn.f/f '^°"'' ^'"^'^ "'ere fine chef„„tsr'r„tt M;1E ^^f T"' tuhp trees, and many others ' ''^"'d'"«t'''r, "out"' They rtt; t'ftir/ ^"^ "j'^ >>-- «heir cluaefs of gX s and T^f °^*= '^^«' 'he ftems. J eve^n^" fl "'"'^ '^'''^« 'hovering fa fathoms high whof. f ^°""^ °'^' fi^e "r vines Thegftn^d'^^^yrP;-- "^^^^ -^'^ hereabouts, which I h^v^'i i f /° common ^ clay mixed w,th a treat n,"''^ '^'^?'''^'^' ^i^' ^^vered with . rS. fofir ,1?:!"^.^^^-^. and I ? ^getabie ^anh. Th^ vines HI f. . I " i i S('i (f I / timgmmm im .1 f if ^i! m ii8 CSfokr 1748. • vines arc principally feen on trees which ftand fingle in corn-fields, and at the end of woods, where the meadows, paftures, and fields begin j and likewife along the enclofures, where they cling with their tendrils round the trees which ftand there. The lower parts of the plant are full qf grapes, which hang below the leaves, and were now almoft ripe, and had a pleafant fourifh tafte. The country people gather them in great quan- tities, and fell them in the town. They are eaten without further preparation ; and commonly peo- ple are prefented with them when they come ta payavifjt. ,1. The foil does not feem to be deep hereabouts 5 for the upper black flratum is hardly two inches. This I had an occafion to fee, both in fuch places where tjie ground is dug up, and in fuch where the water, during heavy fliowers of rain, has made cuts, which are pretty numerous here. The upper foil has a dark colour, and the next a pale colour like bricks. I have obferved every where in America, that the depth of the upper foil does not by far agree with the computation of fome people, though we can almoft be fure, that in fome places it never was ftirred fmcethc deluge. 1 fiiall be more particular in this refped: afterwards. * The lie d B'j: ii: ,1 : • The learned Dr. WuUerius^ in his Mineralogy, § 8. in the note to the article, Humus communis atra, mentions, that fome people were of opinion, that the mould oi our globe increalcd Bcadually from the yearly putrefaaion of plants and their parts, Ifpccially in fuch places as had been uncultivated ever fince the d^i.m^ -ana that thus, in a hundred years, half an inch bf mould was produced. But he obfervcs, in the fame time, that this ob- *^ fervation 1 1 Penfyhanla, Journey to Wilmmgion. 1 1 q The_ Datura Stramonium, or rhorn At>t,k Its heigh .s different according to the foil ,-t is hth h'/ • ' T\^°" " g^°^^ -ight or ten fee high, but m a hard and poor ground, it will fel! dom come up to fix inches. This Dat2, to- gether fervation was not at all ^vaA. r«« - ^t exceeds afoot, it If fro'^tUtlfo^T^^^^^^^ this, he remarks temoulJT ^T ^'"^e that event : befide, pre/Ted, where k^•^o^t of tit ti^Y ^^?"»" "'P'^ ^'^ «"^ <=o™- it is expored to ra n, i tc^'^lf'T '"^ f"""' ' ^"'^ ^^''« fpre increafes and decreVfes aini°^ '? ^T"'" P^?5«» ^nd thcre- where mould is found Ttt r ' f " ^''^",' J^^^^P"'" ^^« ^^^ vered with vt^ tables fi^L .! /'r "^^ °v' 2^°^' ^^'^ ''^^n co- mould to grow^in eve t^lZ .-''"S"' '^/^ ""* ^^^^ h« rious. The chemical 3 verypreca- of water, earth^^dd^klu 1^^^^^^^ '^^' they Ufift independentoflhelkubftn^^^^^ miit. ther««/f;V. thefrS^i^.!- a ^^^^^^^^'''^''''cJ'e- if: ai M<>f 1 fi ! I " i ii -ifi'iiiii ^nm 129 OSfober 174^. gether with the Phytolacca, or American Night- JJjadej grow here in thole places near the gardens, houfes, and roads, which in Sweden are covered with nettles and goofe-foot, which European plants are very fcarce in America, But the D^. ///r^2 and Phytolacca .zx^ the worft weeds here, nobody knowing any particular ufe of them. Turnip-fields are fometimes to be feen. In the middle of the high road 1 perceive4 a de^d black fnake, which was four feet fix inches long, and an inch and a half in thicknefs, It belonged to the viper kind. Late at night a great Halo appeared round the inoon. The people faid that it prognofti- in thefe new plants, after being fet at liberty frpin the ftruaurc of the lall year's plants by putrefaftion, or by fire. Mould, che. inically examined, has the fame analogous parts. Acid and cau. ilic are plentifully contained in the common air, and may alfp caiily Ix: rcllored to the mould, and thus circulate through a new fyilem of plants. Water comes f:kewife from rain and fnow, out of ouratniofphere ; alkaline and oily particles, or a kind of>^/, urt the only things wanting, which, when added with the former to any lubtle earth, will make a good mould ; and thefe are pro- tiuccrf by putrefaaion or fire, from vegetable and ^nimal fub- fiances, and are the great promoters of veaetatiop. But the great queltion is, from whence thefe various fub- Jlances, nccelKuy for vegetation^, originally camg.? To believe ihey are prod -iced from putrified vegetables, is begging the quef- tjon, and making z. cii-culus 'vitiojui in the argument. There is thcrefoie no evaiion ; they were certainly produced by the great Creator cf the univerfc, and endowed with fuch qualities as make them capable of producii"g in various mixtures new bodies ; and when they are introduced by moifture into the firil ,/j,/vam. Return from Wilmington. ,25 Imiicre, and to get into New Jerfev with . • to get acquainted with the JS^^] bu t a t W was no ferry here to bring my harfe ovlr r r out on my return to PbiladelpU J °IZ' ^^' along the high road, and paSfdev aff ^ ^'"' or the other lide of if in 7 °^*^'^'^'' O" one exaa obfervations of tt countr^ '%'t- ""''' tural hiftory. country, and of its na- pried and putup i„ narrow hjftact'ifo 7' to keep them as a food for the ca t^. :* ■ '"'^"' The lower part of th^ ft,ii, u j v '" "^mt&v. tut as they^tl:lX of hlTf '"7- people do not like to feed the ca 5 u". '^^ il their flavour being S B„? 1 ""'* '''*'"• Wut whilil they afe y^i ,rll ''^ "^^^^ -" require no bridges 1 T. ""' r^''^' ''^°^d, and :an eafily pafithrouS. )u ""i-'S" ^'"d horfe ^i" thToforkf Tc T ^" ^"'^^ g-". ™t trees, hiccorv tS"' "■'''' WackVal- rhe two iatfer fSes ^fcr- 'f '^'^^^^^^• i-ies of the little 4ooclf/v."^ '" P'^"'^ °n the ie'd. near hetsr^a^-orthet'ad" ''rhf "°" rtriTf2ii„rb^L^^-- ^°--: ^ves of ,hei;:4t"t;if'-°P' "'^'»- The l»oft entirelv^d X''T"" "^^'^ =»' P^^fent Nrctaine?r,tvtl:'r^^'^'^'"'^^ U- cherry Hk^^rhad tair...^:! o ■4 VI •i;''i: lirt' ijiii ' ^ ^ 126 1^' It '! i -%4 OBober iy^%* of brown and pale leaves. The leaves of the red maple were alfo red. IcoNTiNUifeb my Jburrtey to Chtch0er, a borough upon the Delaware, where travellers pafs the river in a ferry. They build here every year a number of fmall fhips for fale. From an iron work which lies higher in the country, they carry iron bars to this place, and (hip them. Canoes are boats made of one piece of wood, and are much inufe with the farmers, and other people upon the Delaware, and fome little rivers. For that purpofe a very thick trunk of a tree is hollowed out : the red juniper, or red cedar tree, the white cedar, the chefnut tree, the white oak, and the tulip tree, are commonly made ufe of fori this purpofe. The canoes made of red and white cedar are reckoned the beft, becaufe they fwim very light upon the water, and laft twenty years together. But of thefe the red cedar canoes are mofl preferable. Thofe made of chefnut trees will likewife laft for a good , *te. But thbfe of white oak are hardly fervice. * above fix years, and alfo fwim deep, becaulc 'eyarefo heavy. The Ltqttidambar tree, or Lt^ hmbA Jlyractflua Linn, is big enough, but \\u " for making canoes, becaufe it imbibes the water. The canoes which are made of the tulip tree, fcarce laft fo long as thofe of white oak. The] fize of the canoes is different, according to the purpoies they are deftined for. They can carry! fix perfons, who, however, muft by no meansj be unruly, but fit at the bottom of the canoe in the quieteft manner poflible, left the boat over- fet. The- Swedes in Penfylvania and New Jerjd neari of the red travellers ere every From an itry, they icm. ofvjrood, md other :le rivers. a tree is sdar tree, hite oak, ife of for nd white ley fwim nty years inoes are hut trees 3ut thbfe bove fix- ey are fo 'damhcf m.^^ for e water. lip tree, c. The g toth :an carry o means canoe i )at over near Pcnfyhania. Jieturnfrmmimmgton. ,57 veral miles diftant from the town 7^^ fometimes with fevere ftorms vet J,^ /"'" from the ovcrfettine &c of ,klr misfortunes -eldo. heard of, .hS.gt ti,^/.^^£ we"? t; e? peaed on account of the fmdl file of this IcfnH ,of boats. However, a great deal of at tent o^ and care is neceffary in manarina "f ""^ when the TO.'nH ;- / "lanaging the canoes, waen tne wind is fomewhat v olent: for twl are narrow, round below, have no ked .Z therefore may eafily be overfet L.^l' ,^ M^ rf \-- •'^Kan o^raryl^; people make for the land. "^"ary, tlie The common garden crefTes grow in fev.r.I laces on the roads ahrvnf rkL a ^^^^ral Ihat town '^' '"'">' gardens about ilJt? "^Zu''"" >=''nWes are here in great w MAuts tronTr^rd ThtT; Jsfomeumes four fathoms off its root, and '. you meet with roots on both end? C,l Lf If 10 many bufhes of this kind tl^m "^^^''^^^^^ ^^ dang.ro;: wX S them. A wine is made of the berries, as I have i! 'ill! Ill If I. I'l; ■s r i .t 128 OMer 1748. I have already mentioned. The berries are like, wife eaten when they are ripe, and tafte well. 0£i. 6th. The Cbenopodium anthehninticumxi very plentiful on the road, and on the banks of the river, but chiefly In dry places, in a loofe fandy foil. The Englijh, who are fettled here, call it Worm-feed, and Jerufalem Oak. It has a difagreeable fcent. In Penjyhania and A^fw Jerfey its feeds are given to children, againft the worms, and for that purpofe they are excellent. The plant itfelf is fpontaneous in both pro- vinces. , The environs of Chicbejler contain many gar- dens, which are full of apple trees, finking un- der the weight of innumerable apples. Mofl:ol"| them are winter fruit, and therefore were yet quite four. Each farm has a garden, and fo ki each houfe of the better fort. The extent of thefe gardens is likewife not inconfiderable, and therefore affords the pofTeffor, all the year long,| great fupplies in his houfe-keeping, both for eat- ing and drinking. I frequently was furprizedat the prudence of the inhabitants of this country.! As foon as one has bought a piece of groun( which is neither built upon nor fown, his fid care is to get young apple trees, and to makei garden. He next proceeds to build his houf( and laftly prepares the uncultivated ground tt receive corn. For it is well known that the tre( require many years before they arrive to perfecj tion, and this makes it neceffary to plant thei firft. I now perceived, near the farms, milii wheels, and oUxer inftruments, which arc m ufe of \\ cyder fri Froi\ phia, 1 ^^ woe them, a] fwine nc woods, ^ fell in g hog had i by whic through this reafo and eafy wood, r which are ' fquirrels vi on the g; branch to fed upon a( I SELDC quite the i wood is re< planes of. I Do noi black Ants, They are as fome very L others of th^ have not yet ktxi ibme ri ^^ America J ants, as I ini The comn Vol. I. are like, well. nticum is banks of 1 a loofe led here, It has a nd iV<'y ainft the ;xcellent. Dth pro. lany gar- king un- Moft of wcxt yet nd fo k[ extent of ible, andl ear long,. Pe»fyhama, Return from Wilmrngton. ,29 the wood. But thirl '"°'\.P'^«'f"l trees in them, all different W^r^' ^''"■"' ^P'"'"' ^^ woods. wheTe het fed up^on\?"'^ '" '^' ^''''^ Jell in great ab.nd'.S Vol teTr' t't through ?he holes il'fh'/ ^-"^ P^"«'-«i"g this riafon. the endoil, « '""'°';'''''' ' '"''' ^^^ »nd .,fy to put „D t? ^'■^ "'''^'■' '"-y "="der. wood. No ofher enVlor ""' '''^''''' ^'"^'^ which are fo l£ fh^^ 7".T '" "'""' '^"' ''^o*"- ■rquirrels wet in^h^ ftSdT ^ nu„,her of fed upon °cort^^ ''"^ '' *'^ ''-^ they chiefly wood is reckoLd try .oodlr T' ■ '^'''" planes of, •'^ ^ °'^ ^""^ making joiner's They are as' blacfrrcoaH^d'of'^^^-^'r'" ibme very little, like thetjc " ^°"' ' others of the tizenfn, °^ °"'" ^"''' and I>ave not vet obfervL , 'tT°? f '''^''^ ^"ts. I ^een fo J:Utgl2 Sy ^f' h"" °"'^ of America I have l.-t.«.;r f^^*^ ■ ," ^^^^'* P^^^s --linteSrifSSi^J:/^-'^-^ made \f jiif ■ i I ' t I' ■i': M " .> M Si i f ■ m t 1 r j; 'i 1 li 1 ' 1 ' 1 II '1^ 1. 1 1l ' !• H :! }i fi -Hi ■ ', M 130 0£to5er 1748. made ufe of in many places, as a hedge round corn-fields and gardens ; and on my whole voy- age, I did not fee that any other trees were made ufe of for this purpofe, though the Englijhmen here well know that the hawthorn makes a much better hedge. The privet hedges grow very thick and clofe, but, having no fpines, the hogs, and even other animals, break eafily through them ; and when they have once made a hole, it requires a long while before it grows up again. But when the hedges confifl: of fpinofe bulhes, the cattle will hardly attempt to get through them. About noon I came through Cbrfter, a little market-town, which lies on the Delaware, A rivulet, coming down out of the country, paffcs through this place, and dilcharges itfelf into the Delaivare. There is a bridge over it. The houfes fland difperfed. Moft of them are buih of (lone, and two or three flories high ; fomeare however made of wood. In the town is a church, and a market-place. Wheat was now fown every where. In fome places it was already green, having been fown four weeks before. The wheat fields were I made in the EngUJlo manner, having no ditches j in them, but numerous furrows for draining the water, at the diftancc of four or fix foot froml one another. Great ftumps of the trees which had been cut down, are every where feen on the fields, and this fliews that the country has been but lately cultivated. The roots of the trees do not go deep intothJ ground, but fpread horizontally. I had oppor- tunitiei are any leave the which, h for them The n in thefe p fwampy, nionly is i niake plai chairs and the bark tl it a dark firfl boiled the hat-iT make ufe o 1^^ P^nfyhanla. Return from m/m!„gto„. ,3, .he trees were du| up • ?of T?./''"r '"^''' whofe roots went ^.bov; a fo„/l. "" -^'^ °r' ground, though it ^Z^ltt^''^^ '"'° '''' thers. as I was told TK ""f^ '° '""' ^'°' even the helth bu fl.T "'^ '''"■'"='■■'• ""'* All the n,achil:;s tit I'LHrr ;° r^ .ron was wrought into bars. ^ ' ^^' reer:f^;=fthris^t„^;rsr?^ »re any aSe on .fc "P^V'^'.S'''''"'' '^ 'here which, however^ are nn'' u""*^ T '^"^ W'«' for them , Ind befides "L?.™"'^ ' S°°'l ^"""i Ttr« V i>r , "^^s *"at. It IS too exDenfive in Se t^f\r ^"' 7'''""' '^ 5"-""I fw^mp^.^tet p lac s^Tf' V "."''^^ f = ^"''^fl/ monlv ic Z ^ ' " which,the a der com- ^ake'; a ts Tirr°" K^^r °^ '" -°°d °w chairs and bed? ITfiTr''''' /°"^' ^^« f°r the barfc tL ^ ' u ''. "" ^°"' °f work. With firft boiled in water and r ''''' P"'P°''^ '' '^ the hat-makeTs In 1 ^ ™^ copperas, fuch as ot. IS added, before the fluff (which is ^=^ to ' f \S • I I 'i li I" 1^1 ; ^f::'.l:)' 132 Odiober 1748, ii^lPii n i4 to be dyed) is put into the boiler- This bark hkevyife affords a good black ink. When the tree js felled early in fpring, a fweet juice runs out of it, like that which runs out of our birches. This juice they do not make any ufe of here j but, in Canada^ they make both treacle and fugar of it. Here is a variety of this tree, which they call the curled Maple, the wood be- ing as it were marbled within j it is much ufed in all kinds of joiner's work, and the utenfils made of this wood, are preferable to thofe made of any other fort of wood in the country, and are much dearer than thofe made of the wood of the wild cherry trees (Prwiits Virginiana) or of black walnut trees. But the mod vah^abie utenfils were thofe made of curled black walnut, for that is an excefiive fcarce kind of wood. The curled maple was likewife very uncommon, and you frequently find trees, whofe outfides are marbled, but their infide not. The tree is therefore cut very deep before it is felled, to fee whether it has veins in every part. In the evening I reached Fbiladelphia, OB, 7th. In the morning we croffed the De- lau^are in a boat to the other fide, which belongs to Nnv jerfey, each perfon paying four pence for his palfage. The country here is very different from that in Penjyhama', for here the ground is almofl: mere fand, but in the other province it is mixed with a good deal of clay, and this m.akes the ground pretty, rich. The difcoveries which I made to-day, of infears and plants, I intend to mention in another v;ork. .A sou vvildin oti The H roads, in a f oppofite t( tioned that carry off t] and when iedir„k"t: Jd'i:;£: ^t^'-^^^^ be b dry and poor v^ S. n! "°*'"?' ''^'^^'"ft it is on itf growls mrem ,v w^T'"' 1^'"^ '' P'^"'-d fields lied with T tZ ' "]'' ^"^ '"^•^ ™»"y in which tobacco c;mJrr "r"' '' °'"">« k!"^ not near fo rich The A of "'''' *'"' " " monly ei^ht feet hith M °f '"^'ze are com- of leaves. The liSr?r ^"^'' ^"^^ ^^^f"" in liule rquares,r r fc 'alSA" T^' and fix inches between p^.k >P "'"^^^^et length and breadth rrea^hof^.'Tv''?* '"^ three or four ftalks come up wh;'f ' ''"''^ '''"» cut for the cattle • each fl-^fi: ''^'^ '^V^'^re not yet iandy ground could never have k I °™- ^ ployed. In fome places [he 'rn'^\^'""^ ^-n- -i.. is ploughed^ and rye ST?" ^ jhenthe.ai.eiscut.thLy:;ri„r;;rS ^»ndy fields. It is l&^t ^°^'' ^", ""cultivated maize, and was at prefent fn ? r u ''"^"" ''^« cannot tell whether the I ^ °^ ■'""«' ^ut I wind to the place whtfllT '"'"'^ ^V *« ever certain, that have ni ^' v"'""' " i« how- -Idinoth^rpaJtlJf^:^^^^^-" rowing oppofite to /^WS5 ^"ht?r^'^'^^^-^' t'o^edthatitisgiventorh;u ""^'^'"^y f"™- ^^^ry off the wof^ ?? V '"' =^« «="edy to and when it has bee; P into ' '1 n for one hou brandy, tak IS en * •'. 1 1 ; ■ 1 ■'*:', ilii> fill [if: - 1 "' - / 'Mm I -(iff m. iit''W'' 11 ll Ml:; 134 OMer 174^. i.i taken out again, dried, and given to the children, either in beer, fweetened with treacle, or in any other liquor. Its cffeas are talked of differently. Some people fay it kills the worms ; others again pretend that it forwards their encreafe. But I know, by my own experience, that this worm* feed has had very good efFeds upon children. The Pur/lam, which we cultivate in our gar- dens, grows wild in great abundance in the loofe foil, amongft the maize. It was there creeping on the ground, and its ftalks were pretty thick and fucculent; which circumftance very juftly gave reafon to w^onder from whence it could get juice fufficient to fiipply it, in fuch a dry ground. It is to be found plentiful in fuch foil, in other places of this country. The BiWeu bipinnatay is here called Spanijh Needles, It grows fingle about farm houfes, near roads, pales, and along the hedges. It was yet partly in flower ; but for the greateft part it was already out of bloiTom. When its feeds are ripe it is very difagreeable walking where it grows. For they ftick to the cloaths and make them black; and it is difficult to difcharge the black fpots which they occalion. Each feed has three fpines at its extremity; and each of thefe again is full of numerous little hooks, by which the feed faftens itfelf to the cloaths. In the woods and along the hedges in this neighbourhood, feme fingle red Anii (Formica rubra) crept about, and their antennaei or feel^ horns were as long as their bodies. To WARPS night we returned to Philadelphia, CW. b'tii. Tw4i iliore oi penfyhania has a great *■ quantity • As the fl ur gar- le loofo reeping lick and ;ly gave et juice nd. It r places delphia, a great uantitjr Penfyhania, Philadelphia. 135 quantity of the fine/l oyfters. About this time /or laJe. They come from that part of the /hoe mention afterwards HnT Tt ^^^'""^^^ this latter fnr7 f i^^^^^^r, 1 thought that £4r d mo^e^LT^^^^^^ T ^^-^l^/^arger they common'f; itlS^.^'^^^^^^^ when the agues had left off their forv ^"^^ men went with whole carts fJilTf 'Xs crT , mg them about thp ftr/*i-fQ *i • • ^/"frs, cry« I It IS very common. The oyfter JhelJs Le .hr^ ** mzy, though formerly a lime wa h.^n^f""'" them which has been^founru„receffrr: tW being ftones for burnine of lime in 7;,- ^' -T bourhood, and the limeVo t ftellf" t"hf " as good as this other lime. The neonC-% § mefomehoufes in this to.n «SiKe ^^^^^ were as good as Hygrometers.* Several people .l.l/«vfef at flutes.: 7r ""'""' P«"i"«!on, .»d die. off, leavine behind tVrlu "[ '^''\«"«". ^e rooiftore of it 'I., li^c i. fla&, S 1 ilifh" ,t ,*"'^ '« I'"™'. «»0 mortar of fu*h a lime erows^ve,ri . J'"" = ■""■* """'«'• "«> wmpUiMd of here, j; "" *"■' ""'' «»»(« ""t danpnef. ^4 who •f Pi *1 ^:-f 1 -''f^ ? • M *l 136 Odiober 1748. jj n :":a! who had lived in this kind of houfes complained of thefe inconveniences. 0<5?. 9th. Pease are not much cultivated in TenJ'yhania at prefent, though formerly, accord- ing to the accounts of fome old &W^j-, every far- mer had a little field with peafe. In New Jer^ feyy and the fouthern parts of New Tork, peafe are Jikewife not fo much cultivated as they ufed to be. But in the northern parts of New Tork, or about Albany, and in all the parts of Canada, which are inhabited by the French, the people fov7 great quantities, and have a plentiful crop. In the former colonies, a littb defpicable infedt has obliged the people to give up fo ufeful a part of agriculture. This little infed was formerly little known, but a few years ago it multiplied cxceffively. It couples in fummer, about the time v/hen the peafe arc in bloflbm, and then de- pofits an egg into almofl every one of the little peafe. When the peafe are ripe, their outward appearance does not difcover the worm, which, however^ is found within, when it is cut. This worm lies in the pea, if it is not ftirred, during all the winter, and part of the fpring, and in that fpace of timeconfumes the greateft part of the infide of the pea: In fpring, therefore, little more than the mere thin outward fkin is left. This worm, at \-^% changes into an infed, of the coleoptera clafs, and in that ftate creeps through a hole of its own making in the hufli, and flies off, in order to look for new fields of peafe, in-^which it may couple \vith its cogeneric infeds,, and provide food fufficient for its pofterity. , . This noxious infed has Ipread from FenfyU - " vani(t Penfyhania, Philadelphia. 1: «.»^ to the north. For the country of A>^ York, where u .s com.non at prefent, has not S plagued with u above twelve or fifteen years So and before that t.me the people fowed plfe eSe'^t'croTs ° P rr^""'"'^"-' ^^^^ excellent crops. But by degrees thefe little ene- mies came in fuch numbersfthat the inhaSts were forced to leave ofFfowing of peafe Th. peop e complained of this i„ fef eral J act Se country people about Albany have yet the nlea! ure to fee their fields of p4fe Jt nfefted b^ thefe beetles, but are always afraid of he ir ao- I KNOW not whether this infeft would live In I !"f ^'^'' 'he worm, even if it be ever fo deenW U- ' V.'^" S5* ' ""'^"hftandi^g it is oS» , a CO d .„ jv.«, Tork (where this infefl s fo a W iSv htr °"' '°"""'^' y^' « continues to muU loftSe v^ 1 nrE::r'"..'""^rs '•°-« in?thf> n-i™ r. ^'" ^"^^ green. Jbutonopen- SSth^e ?ftM ' ^'J ""r''* "' ^'"^'^'^'^l on anTt he d 'oZa'n' ^^"1:" '''^ ^"^ Y'^^' Some of thefe infe^c ^ P'"^ °"' °f ^^^h- try the wearhVr f^^ ^" "^P' °"*' '" °rder to Bf to^u Ae ^" "'"^ '"'"«« ' b"' 1 made thTrn^i?- r f??^' ^Sain, in order to prevent I 'he fpieading of this noxious infed.* I own?I£ • 't'l,^.., «_ -, when. - -o-» Mr.iU/« ia, 6 arefulljr avoided peopling £.: r<5^ ';jf:i '(. ■ ( 1 i! i i i ll ' i ■ ■ 1 1 )!!. ffl '-I iflf! ; I ' i m m iii 138 OSlober 1748. when I firfl perceived them, I was more fright- ened than I fhould have been at the fight of a viper. For I at once had a fiill view of the whole damage, which my dear country would have fuiFered, if only two or three of thefe noxi- ous infcas had efcaped me. The pofterity of ma- ny families, and even the inhabitants of whole provinces, would have had fufficient reafon to de- left me, as the caufe of fo great a calamity. I after- wards fent fome of them, though well fecured, to Count T^ejfin, and to Dr. Linneeusy together with an account of their deftrudive qualities. Dr. Linnaus has already inferted a description of them in an Academical Diflertation, which has been drawn up under his prefidency, and treats of the damages made by infeds.* He there calls this infeft the Bruchus of North America. -^li was very peculiar that every pea in the paper was eaten without exception. When the inhabitants of Penfyhania, fow peafe procured from abroad, they are not com- monly attacked by thefe infeds for the firft year; but in the next they take poffeffion of the npt with this infeft, yet Br. Linnaus a/Tares us, in his Syftemi Nataras, that the fouthern countries of Eur opt are already infeftea with it J Sco/t«Ji mentions it among his la/e/ta CarniolUa, p. 6j. and Geoffroy^ among his Parifian In/eas, Vol. i. p. 267. t. 4. I. 9. has given a fine figure of it. F. ♦ DiiT. de Noxa Infeftorum, Amcen. Acad. Vol. 3. p. 347. •f Itt bis Syftema Naturse* he call* it Bruihus Pifit or the Peale Beetle ; and fays, that the Gracula ^i/culay or Purple daix of Catc/hy, is th« greateft-deftroyerof them, and though this birdhaj keen piofcribed by the legiflature of Ptiij^hanisy New Jerfey, an(i ^e'wEnglands as a inaize- thief, they feel however the imprudenct ftf extirpating this bird : for a quantity of worms, which formerly t»«e'eat« by theft birds, deftwy their mcadowa at prefent. F, pca,| I - t P*nfyhan!a, Philadelphia. 1,5 j pea. It is greatly to be wiflied that none of the /hips, which annually depart from Nrv Tork or iPenfyhanta, may bring them into the EuroieoH countries. From hence the power of a fingle defpicable .nfeft mil plainly appear j as alfo, that theftudy of the oeconomy and of the qualities of infers, IS not to be looked upon as a mere paf- time and ufelefs employment.* I The Rhus radicans is a fhrub or tree which grows abundantly in this' country, and has in common with the ivy, called Hedera arborea. the quality of not growing without the fupport either of a tree, a wall, or a hedge. I havefeen It climbing to the very top of high trees in the woods, and its branches flioot out every wh-re httle roots, which faften upon the tree, and as it were enter into it. When the ftem is cut, t emite a p,, ^rown fap of a difagreeable fcent. Th s fap IS fo fharp. that the letters and charafters made upon men with it, cannot be got out again htgrow blacker the more the clofh irwaXel' p^scommonlymarked their names on their linen mth this juice. If you write with it on paper. This fpecies of Sumach has the fame noxi- Vm, which I have above defcribed, being poi- ri Si" "" *«,^'« been faid of the poifon: ^eeis hkewife applicable to this; excepting that Nia «,o„M L^A'^"*^ "'«"«. «l»e Pupaw aureliai^th. . ihe i I ■J Mi ■ n I:.-* ..' I i M iff IP Hill '!' ii [ liih i ill '■i !'■ T ■ ' : )i 111 Li. ' ! ' ' 140 "05loher 1748. the former ha; tlie ftronger poifon. However, I have iQ.Q\\ p-ople who have been as much fwefled from the noxious exhalations of the latter, as they could have been from thofe of the for- mer. I likewiie know, that of two fifters, the one could manage the tree without being af. feded by its venom, though the other immedi. ately felt it as foon as the exhalations of the tree came near her, or whenever flie came a y^rd too near the tree, and even when flie flood in the ^ay of the wind, which blew diredlyfrom this flirub. But upon me this fpecies of fumach has never exerted its powers though I made above a hundred experiments upcnmyfelf with the great- eft items, and the juice once fquirted into my eye, without doing me any harm. On another per.* ion's hand, which I had covered very thick with it, the fkin, a few hours after, became as hard as a piece of tanned leather, and peeled off in the following days, as if little fcales fell from it. OJ?. loth. In the morning I accompanied Mr. C(?ri to his country feat. , Though the woods oiPenfylvania afford many paks, and more i^tcx^s of them than are found further north, yet they do not build fo many! lliips in this province as they do in the northern ones, and efpecially in ISlew England. But expe- rience has taught the people that the fame kind of trees is more durable the further it grows to I the north, and that this advantage decreafes thc| more ft grows in warm climates. It is like- wife plain that the trees in the fouth grow more| every year, and form thicker ringlets, than thoie, in- the norfh.- The former have likewife muth ^U4 '' ' greater wever, I 1 iwelled latter, as the for- mers, the eing af. immedi- * the tree y;^rd too d ill the 'om this mach has ' above a le great- my eye, her per- ick with ! hard as r in the I it. lied Mr. 'd many e found Co many! lorthern It expe- ne kind I rows to afes the I is Hke- w morel .n thofe ! much greater Penfyhania, Gemanfowji. j. j- greater tubes for the circulation of the fan than the latter^ And for this reafon they do no^t build h many ^.ps ,n Pe.fyhanla. as they do in S Ens and. though more th.m in Virginia ^nd^MllT ^£^S.^'^'^ veryfei:rd"&: chants get all their flups h'oxi^ew England, Thofe which are here made of the beft oakf hardly at erviceable above ten, or at mod t;elve years or then they are fo rotten, that no bod/ven' turesto go to fea in them. Many cantLsof ihips come over from England to Nort^Mcl choofe Ncw^ England, that being the mo ft no therly province, and if they eve^n comT over 1" ihips which are bound ^o. huadelphia%\Z C quently, on their arrival, fet out Lnl P^^^ miorNe^ England, The i^^W^n^^^^^^ Indies, are faid to build theif fLinc r J-^ IS comparab e to the fino-l<. r,,-.^- . *" fe^^« wJtJ, rZ, y "2 ^ecies we have in I ore a fh^' ofT f "' S?"'^"^'"*' ^nd there- L"4ii one made oi ^xmencan oak. Many people who chiefly employed them felves ,n gardening, had found, in a fucceffionTf year,,, that the red Beet, which grew out of the Ear ;« 1?. /-r^y ^r '^^^ •- ^^t that it eve J [were thcrrfore obliged tfgetTmalJaS red l«: ..,f I V ^f; i J I ! II IV m 'lit r 1 i^ji OSfoBer 1748. red beet everyycar from New Tork, as were want- cd in their gardens. It has likewife been gene- rally obferved, that the plants which are produced from Englijh feeds are always much better and more agreeable, than thofc which come from feeds of this country. In the garden of Mr. Cock v/as a radilh, which was in the loofe foil grown fo big as to be feven inches in diameter. Every body that faw it, owned it was uncommon to fee them of fucli a fize. That fpecies of Cotrookulus which is com- monly called Batatas, has here the name oi Ber-l mudian potatoes. The common people, and the gentry, without diftindtion, planted them in their gardens. This is done in the fame manner aj with the common potatoes. Some people made little hillocks, into which they put thefe pota- toes 5 but others only planted them in flat beds. The foil muft be a mixture of fand and eartiij and neither too rich nor too poor. When they are going to plant them, they rut them, as the common potatoes, taking care however that a bud or two be left upon each piece which is in- tended to be planted. Their colour is commonlj red without, and yellow within. They are big* ger than the common fort, and have a fweet ani very agreeable tafte, which I cannot 'find in thel other potatoes, in artichokes, or in any other root j and they almoft melt in the mouth. It is noti long fince they have been planted here. The]f are dreffed in the fame manner as common poj tatocs, and eaten either along with them, or b| th«mfolv^s^. They grow very foft and very wclf Ptnfylvania, GermiHU-wn, 14. I here, but the greateft difficulty conMs In Iceen- I ,„g them over winter, for the/ will bear nehh« coTj nor a great heat, nor wet. They muft ' herefore be kept, during winter, in a box with fnd. m a warm room. In Penfyhania where they have no valves in their chirnnies, thry a e trom the hre, and there thev are fprnr/.^ u Z againft froft and againft over ^at hS'ltS in /reir"" "^^.P"^P°^« ^° P"t them into dry 3 .n a cellar, as .s commonly done with the com Tl^S"\r^r- ^°''''' -oifture whkh IS always m cellars, penetrates the fand anH makes them putrify. It would probab y be very ui "theToifi" 't:i :t '°-^ whol J in brin^i^X o'v^ o'^.i^'^if ^^ IS therefore no wonder thot *>. d ; ^^ were rotten- W J "^^y ^'"-^^da potatoes iPMa^^ !T "' '^'^ ''" now cultivated in ^iucic 01 (^«W%.#/p, fj^cici the ijth and ,8ti.. ^ Mr; •i . ! ■| ii! I I j"^^ 144 O^ober 1748. ''- p 1- i III III III Jl i liiilMinls^l |t!i; :( i I. ■ I Mr. Cock had a paper mill, on a little brook, and all the coarfer forts of paper are manufac' tured in it. It is now annually rented for fifty pounds Penfyhania currency. Ocl, nth. I HAVE already mentioned, that every countryman has a greater or lefTer number of apple trees planted round his farm-houfe, from whence he gets great quantities of fruit,' part of which he fells, part he makes cyder of| and part he ufes in his own family for pyes, tarts, and the like. However he cannot expert an equal quantity of fruit every year. And I was told, that this year had not by far afforded fuch a great quantity of apples as the preceding; the caufeof which, they told me, was the continual and great drought in the month of May, which had hurt all the bloffoms of the apple trees, and made them wither. The heat had been fo great as to dry up all the plants, and thegrafs in the fields. The Polytrichum commune, a fpecies ofmofs, grew plentifully on wet and low meadows be- tween the woods, and in feveral places quite co- vered them, as our moffes cover the meadows in Sweden, It was likcwife very plentiful on hills. Agriculture was in a very bad ftate here- abouts. When a perfon had bought a piece of land, v/hich perhaps had never been ploughed fmcc the creation, he cut down part of the wood, tore up the roots, ploughed the ground, fowed corn on it, and the firil time got a plentiful crop. But the fame land being tilled for feveral years fuc- ceffively, without being manured, it at laft muft, ofcourfe, lofe its fertility. Its pollefe there-l fore leaves it fallow, and proceeds to another part v;i ^("fyhania, Gervmnto-m. Frt of his poffeffia„r o eom'^'ir^ ^S^"' t\nt. means depr.Vcs th. » '""'""'''ilds, and by He then return^ lo h If S °f't« fertility! pretty well recovered thkl,.* • ''•n'' ""^'^ as it will afFord him ! "»*''<= again t.lls aslonfj fertility is ex/itrife^to' ^'Z, -^en i.f ^" preceeds to the /ert asTefo e '"°^ "^ain. ,Jr being cuftomary here to T^ ,i about the fields and in ,1 . ' """ ""'^ Ko night, the people ca"!^, Tt ''"* ^ay and years together/a great aum,. i °'^^°''^^«''l "P in itf and get S ftrgTth tT'' 'P'"'"^' confiderab e time to pvhV ' . 'i ' '^ requires a it likewife comes that t ^ • '™- ^^''"^ ^'^"'^e ™ixed with weeds Thf''" '^ '•^T"'^'' ^° '""^'^ fcil, which the «;<> p^ ^''" "^''"^f^ °f the here, and which had JeverT"" f°^°"'^^ f°»"d , has given rife to th s neJlea nf" ^ °"^ '' ^'^"''^' is ftdl obferved by S 5,f "^T u '"''' ^''■'A they do not confiderth^n^ inhabitants. But exhaufted. a great ft.r. ?'^-'" '^"^ ""l^ '^ q^ite deal of labour? rJSrv to"?'' "' ^" '"'""« S^od order, efpeclTlvitZK r ^'"^'' 'S^'" ''"t" are almoft every fu mm r t( ^X^'f'' "''"^'» heffive heat and drouit ^Tk ""'^r^f '^J '^= forn-fields confifted of ? i • ^^ ^"'' °^ '''= Kdwithabrictli /^'" "^°"'''' gf«t!v there- ■ f 1 i If \ n' W ifil i! I ■ mm f ' "15 iA 146 O^oier 1748. ill thereabouts. Thcfe little pieces of glimmer made the ground fparkle, when the fun (hone upon it. Almost all the houfes hereabouts were built either of ftone or bricks : but thofe of done were more numerous. Germntown, which is about two Englt/h miles long, had no other houfes, and the country houfes thereabouts were all built of ftone. But there are feveral varieties of that ftone which is commonly made ufe of m building. Sometimes it confiftcd of a black or grey gUm- nier, running in undulated veins, the fpaces be- tween their bendings being filled up with a grey, loofe, fmall-grained limeftone, which was eafily friable. Some tranfparent particles of quartz were fcattered in the mafs, of which the glim- mer made the greateft part. It was very eafy to be cut, and with proper tools could readily be (haped into any form. Sometimes however the pieces confifted of a black, fmalUgramed glim- iher, a white fmall-grained fandftone, and fome particles of quartz, and the feveral conftitutent parts were well mixed together ; and fometimes the ftone had broad ftripes of the white limeftone without any addition of glimmer, but moft com- monly they were much blended together, ando a grev colour. Sometimes this ftone was found to confift of quite fine and black pieces of glim- mer, and a grey, loofe, and very fmall-graine limeftone. This was likewife very eafy to be cut, being loofe. , I These varieties of the ftone are commonly found clofe together. They were every where to be met with, at a little depth, but not in equ • • 1 ^ — Ary^C^ . onri nnt aUvaVS CalV '1 ^enfyhama, Germdnfown. tt?i"Ult *-f- \P-^- --ded could be „,et with J^s' to Z^T "!f ""'^ «°"« fields and meadows IL V -^ /°""'^ "^ corn- two to Rk feef tL • 'P''' ^'^'■"'^ varies froni fi.e. Some tare iX'"' ^^""f. '^'T^'^"' ^s to broad, and o„r WcSom'.*'" ^T '°"S. two they lav in ftrata „„ "'"cn lefs. flereabouts neff o/e ch Sum K ■°'" T'^^'' '^^ 'hick- length andtSS^,J;'"|;''?V=' ^°°'- The fuch as I have befrrfm S^d'^Tr"""^? commonly dig three or Cr £ Tf '^ T'* reach the firft ftranim tu i ^ "^'°''^ ^^^V that ftratum. s furf „VH ""'^ ground above This ground i the cimo! TT °^'^'* «°"''- which is univerfal heT ^ bnck-coloured foil. clay, though the Lm-'^^°"'^^'' °f ^«nd and loofe piecTof g iS^r wl^^^^^ The it, feem to have bTcn brS. ^'f ^'^ ""'^h '« ftrata of ftone °'''" °^ ^^'n 'he great buiSwTthAi^ft^Jfthe''/^ "''^" ^''^P-P'^ fide of it ouSs 'fe tat r '° 'T '^ «^* done, the ftone being freaulSf T ^^""^^ ''^ i' « eafily cut taSSlutc^-f- '.'?' »d not very difficult to be broke; %" V°^'' however are uneaual in tW.ir ^^'^ ^°"es by putting them tt«her^K "''^' '""^ "'^^cf"^^ jn/uch ftiighUirt'b eifs"Tt°f '^ '^P' I'kewife happens that pieces break iff IT"'"" "e cut, and leav^ h,.u7 , off when they «11. Butin order ti fin " "'\°»''"'de of the litfl. „:... "."f^'^'o fill up thefe hnl.o *k. ^"^" "' "°- fhich cannot be m.de ufe ^^ of II * f ' n ■ ■■; i >if !•' ■ * 'fl » ! J^ 1, , ., ; ! .. ^Ji -^"■wy 'mmll^mm'»'*^■~^•^'■*taK 1 ri:i ( : n nil 4 i 1 1 I'l •' i ;• n\ ^ 1 id jl 11 1 1 , ^ i^ 1 :! S=^f . 1, t'li; 11' 11' ^ 1 1 f II ! ill '■ ' ' ■ ; > ra 1 ttjf: ' , ii' : i 1 1 1 j |p^ ; 1 1 it m in m 148 OMer 174S. of are pounded, mixed with mortar, and put into the holes ; the places thus filled up, are after- wards fmoothed, and when they are dry, they are hardly diftinguiflriable from the reft, at fome dif- tance. At laft they draw, on the outfide of the wall, ftrokes of mortar, which crofs each other perpendicularly, fo that it looks as if the wall confifted wholly of equal fquare ftones, and as if the white ftrokes were the places where they w^ere joined with mortar. The infide of the wall is made fmooth, covered with mortar, and white- waftied. It has not been obferved that this kind of ftone attracts the moifture in a rainy or wet feafon. In Philadelphia and its environs, you find feveral houfes built of this kind of ftone. The houfes here arc commonly built in the Englijh manner. One of Mr. Cock's negroes ftiewed me the fkin of a badger (Urfus Meles) which he had killed a few days ago, and which convinced me that the American badger is the fame with the Swedijh one. It was here called Ground Hog, Towards night I returned to Philadelphia. OB, 1 2th. In the morning we went to the river Skulkill, partly to gather feeds, partly to coUedl plants for the herbal, and to make all forts of obfervations. The Skulkill is a narrow river, which falls into the Delaware, about four miks from Philadelphia to the fouth 5 but narrow as it is, it rifes on the weft fide of thofe high moun- tains, commonly called the blue mountains, and runs two hundred Englijh miles, and perhaps more. It is a great difadvantage to this ccuntrv, that there arc feveral catarads in this river as low as as Ph ^enfykanla, Philadelphia, nlMphia, for which reafon ther 149 navigation on it. ToJ{^.^T'^''a'^V^ ^^" ^^ "^ tions and remarks nn r I "^'^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^"P- iiked, or fucras hev nt ^^'"If ^^ ^^^ ^^"le xuLu as tney never touched I OBSERVED feveral i;i-f1» r u in the fields running a ^"'"^^^neous walks vault above it. and lay'elevatd J S VlX'\ ' was near two inches Iiml. r 1 1 t ^^"^^ ^^"^^» h-d. and about two ShS'v vated fields I frequently faw th.r ^ k" ""™'*'- walks, which difcovered themSv« ,^"''f""^°"^ thrown up above them, whTct wir, T°""'* ^^^?-:Sl :^^ 1^^ ^ '^Incl of .o.e.* another work. Their fooH • ' """"tely ia lhaveobfervedr£t-;i^;™XS^/oots: which was caueht U 1, J ^ qualities in one ftrength in its £ than I ^'^Tr "'^"^^^ ""d aniJls in pro^^ hdr'fii' wt '" ""'^^ intended to di?; it held U. i ^f- Whenever it I laid m, hantk^rS tfei ''Sf^-- ft'r in It with the fiiont ,7 f • ' ''^San to handkerchief to fee X t h.f.'"^ '^^^ *e found that in thefnaJe of . ^ ''°"'. '° "' ' it full of holes. andTlolke^rj " K l!^'^^ pierced very much bv =,n f . i ' ^^^ ''^en »!,* I"".'!"'™' " probably the .9.„, „.•... ._ -- ■"/. u « uKe the mok.and liv« !„ S/l"' "''v'''"""". Jives in /><;2^/ •va///«. F. kept I- J ' fi i r ! I ii ■MiUu ,i,if,3eeB ^m #fi||fi 1 I ! 1 mi m 1 M j^So OSiober 174I5. I kept this animal, or elfe it was flung off im- mediately. It was very irafcible, and would bite great holes into any thing that was put in its way; I held a fteel pen-cafe to it, it at firft bit at it with great violence, but having felt its hard- nefs, it would not venture again to bite at any thing. Thefe moles do not make fuch hills as the European ones, but only fuch walks as I have already defcribed. 06i, 13th. THEREisa plant here, from the ber- ries of which they make a kind of wax or tallow, and for that reafon the Swedes call it the Tallow Jhrub, The Englijh call the fame tree the Candle^ berry 'tree, ov Bayherry-btijh -, and Dr. Linnceusgvit% it the name oiMyrica cerifera. It grows abundantly on a wet foil, and it feems to thrive particularly well in the neighbourhood of the fea, nor have 1 ever found it high up in <^he country far from the fea. The berries grow abundantly on the female (hrub, and look as if flower had been ftrewed uponthem. They are gathered late in autumn, being ripe about that time, and are then thrown into a ketdc or pot full of boiling water; by this means their fat melts out, floats at the top of the water, and may be fkimmed off into a veflfel 5 with the ifkim- ming they go on till there is no tallow left. The tallow, as foon as it is congealed, looks like common tallow or wax, but has a dirty green co- lour; it is for that reafon melted ov«r again, and refined; by which means it acquires a fine and pretty tranfparent green colour: this tallow is dearer than common tallow, but cheaper than wax. In Philadelphia they pay a fliilling Penjyhania cur- rency, lor a pound of this fallow ; but a pounu ox 5 common poor f place y tie enc a fuffic the cai here, x beftfoi dodprs good f of this to thof( Catholii paid, fii Koman not tak( the jQQi made iiU the tootl ; off Im- d would put in its : firft bit its hard- e at any hills as as I have itheber- >r tallow, le Tallow e Candk" lundantly larlywell ,ve 1 ever n the fea. ale (hrub, 5onthem. sing ripe 0 a kettle ;ans their ater, and :he ifkim- low left, ooks like green co- jain, and tnd pretty is dearer Penfyhani^, Philadelphia. common tallow only came to half that money they make candles m many parts of this province but they ufually mix fomiLmmoSo^h It. Candles of this kind do not eafily bend,^or melt in fummer as common candles do ; the. burn better and flower, nor do they caufc S fjnoke, but rather yield an agreeable fme 1 wheT they are extinguiihed. An old Swede of niSy^ one years of age told me, that this fort of 3s animals J It being too troublefome to gather the berries. However thefe candles are madf ufeof bv poor people, who live in the neighbourly of a p ace where the buihes grow, and have Sci- tie enough to kill, in order to fupply them wkh to trX""'*'"' ^'^"^"«'y of theSdS rarhnr i^T''^ provinces which had Roman Catholic inhabitants, thinking he would £ weH paid, fincc vrajc candles are made ufe nf ;„^k f°r.^.f »"^'=^»-'>«^ b"t tetrlwo il r rt^ "?"1- ^''?}^ ^-^"^^ mentiogd ?hat made ule of by ^e Indians, as a remedv a^ainft t °! "i-^^- -^ 'J'" hehimfelf hav!ShKe ».« very vioieatiy, had Cat the" root in + piece* V f I ilm Ill ) 152 OBoher \j^. r; pieces and applied it round his tooth ; and that the pain had been lefTf^ned by it. Another ,S''Z£^f^/^ aflurcd me, that he had bfeert cured of the tooth- ac4i, by applying the peel of the root to it. Jn Carolina J they not only make candles out of the wax of the berries, but likewife fealing wax. OB. 14th. Penny Royal is a plant which has a peculiar ftrong fcent, and grows abundantly on dry places in the country. Botanifts call it Cunik fulegioides. It is reckoned very wholefome to drink as a tea, when apdrfon has got cold, as it promotes perfpiration, I was likewife told, that on feeling a pain in a^ny limb, this plant, if applied to it, would give immediate relief. ' The goods which are fhipped to London from New England are the following : all forts of fifh caught- near Newfoundland SiT\A elfewhere; train- oJlxDffeveTal' forts; AVhaleb6ne, tar, pitch, mafts, new fhips^ of which a^great number is annually built, a few hides, and fomctimes fome forts of wood. The Englijh iflands in America^ ^^'Ja- maica and Barlfadoes, get from Nenv England, fifli, flefh, butter, cheefe, taUow, horfes, cattle; all forts of lamber, fuch a^ pails, buckets, and hog- fheadS; -and have returns made in i»amj fugar, molaffes^ and other produces of the country, or in cafh, thegreateft part of ail which they fend to London (the m.oney especially) in payment of the goods received from ihence, andyetall thisisin- fuffident to pay off the debt. :■ <:r ay - ; Oi^. )5th. The s^/^ifry grew here m confidc- rable^biindance on vssetand low piacesj and even fomdtimes on pretty high one§, bin H; ever reached the height of the i2«n>/^r° told me. that he had cut his leg to the very bone, and that fome coagulated blood had alre/dy been fettled withtn : that he had been advifi to boil the i^der bark, and to wafli the wound often with the water: that he followed this advice, and had , oon got his leg healed, though it had been ve y I dangerous at firft. .. -^ The Phytolacca decandra .was called Poke hv the£«^M. The5ws as yet found out. of making this colour laft on woollen and.hnen cloth, for'it fades very foon! linft A "" ™?''?"='^' that having hit his foot Pe hen bethought bimfelf to put a leaf of the }^hytolacca on his foot, by which he loft the pain K (hort time. The berries are eaten by the frirds about this time. Tne Englifi and feveral W^ make ufe of the leaves n/ipring. when piey are juft come out, and are vet tender and ■ • '' ■ foft. !. ^ f 1 '■ ' ( i i!^: ! i 1 i ' ' 1 'i. ' ? V: '■ ) - ... [ ■ ■ :'i> 1 n ■ ' '< '\ ^^M •J' ' 1 i ■ i h fprti ' 'i 154 OSiober 1748. foft, and cat them partly as green cale, and partly in the manner we eat fpinnage. Sometimes they likewife prepare them in the firft of thefc ways, when the ftalks are already grown a little longer, breaking off none but the upper fprouts, wMch are yet tender, and not woody; but in this latter cafe, great care is to be taken, for if you eat the plant when it is already grown up, and its leaves are no longer foft, you may expcdt death as a confequence, which feldom fails to follow; for the plant has then got a power of purging the body to excefs, I have known people, who, by eat- ing great full-grown leaves of this plant, have got fuch a ftrong dyfentery, that they were near dying with it : its berries however arc eaten in autumn by children, without any ill confequence. Woollen and linen cloth is dyed yellow with the bark of hiccory. This likewife is done with the bark of the biack oaky or Linnaus*s ^erm nigra i and that variety of it which Catejby, in his Natural Hijlory of Carolina^ vol. i. tab. 19, calls f^uerats marilattdica. The flowers and leaves of the Tmpatiem Noli tangere, pr balfamir^^, likewiic dyed all woollen ftyfFs with a fine yellow colour. The CoUinfonia cmadenfis was frequently foun^ in little woods and bufhes, in a good rich \ Mr. Bartramy who knew the country perfeftlj well, was hr^ thsLt Penjyhaniay and all thepartij oij^erica in the fame climate, were the tnii and original places where this plant grows. Fori further to the ibuth, neither he nor MeiTrs. Cla^^ ton and Mitchel ever found it, though the latt gentlemen have made accurate obfervations ii Virginia &nd part oi Maryland * An from his ow Penfykania, Philadelphia. experience he knew" that it did not grow in the northerly parts. I have never found it more thi! f^teen m.n. north of forty-three deg. The tim^ of the year when ,t comes up in Penfykania h h late, that .ts feed has but juft time fuffic^^; ^ npen in, and ,t therefore feems unlilcely that it can fucceed further north. Mr. Bartram was the firft who difcovered it, and fent it over info {Europe. Mr. >^«. during his ftayatlLS land Dr. i«««*«/ afterwards, called it CollinfonU pmm the celebrated Mr. Peter CoUinfon, aW! F="].'n ^'>»^' and fellow of the EnglilhZA ^W^ Royal Societies. He well dXfd the ionour of having a plant called after his na2 Lite "'' ^'T P,?P'^ *''^' J^"^* promoted n^ M luftory and all ufeful fcience^with a zeal ^ . 'u^'i-*''*' '^"^^ ^^^n* «' niuch as he to- arfoen. wU'is ^ea^t^^ vt^Xng- tt always gave me a pretty violent head-ach Henty, and efpecially when it was in flower h Tiw""'. "^^ ^'^quainted with a better qua! .ty of this plant, which was that of being an^ex^ Nlent remedy againft all forts of pai/i„ ^e f mbs and againft a cold, when the parts affedted k rubbed with it. A.ndMr.a„J^Xtf ^Feter^fthe Wuage of the Indians in K«. W had told h^ of a more wonderful cure feu r^'^r^'u""; of which had been ftungby louea the coUin&nia, and made th-- d""' ..,-«,-u drink ) f 11 ill i ij Ifi tS6 Oe!ol)er 1748. drink the water, from which he hnpplly recc, vered. Somewhat more to the north and { New York they call \\\\^^\vciX.Horfe'weed, becauf. the horfes cat it in fpring, before any other plam ' comes up. Oa. i Ofh T ASKED Mr. Franklin, and other gentlemen who were well acquainted with thii country, whether they had met with any figns •from whence they could h^ve concluded, that any place which was novv a part of the continent, h; formerly been covered with water? and 1 gi the following account in anfwer. • I. On travelling from hence to the fouth,yoii meet with a place where the high road is vei) low in the ground between two mountains. On both fides you fee nothing but oyfter (hells and mufcle {hells in immenfe quantities above eacli other J however the place is many miles off the fea. •■ 2. Whenever they dig wells, or build houfes in town, they find the earth lying in feveral flratj -above each other. At a depth of fourteen feeti •or more, they find globular ilones, which areaj fmooth on the outfide as thofe which lie on the •fea- fliore, and are made round and fmooth by thel rolling of the waves. And after having dug through the fand, and reached a depth of eighteenl feet or more, they difcover in fome places a fc like that w^hich the fea throws up on the fhore, and which commonly lies at its bottom andii rivers : this llime is quite full of trees, leaves, branches, reed, charcoal, &c. 3. It has fometimes happened that nei houfes have funk on one fide in a Ihort timej ani Penfyhama, Phlladdfhia. [and have obliged the people to pull them d On d ^17 own I" J L .}W^^ deeper, for a very liard jround to build upon, they have found a quan- tity o( the above ilime, wood, roots, &c Are notthefe reafons fufficient to mike one fiippofe. that thofe places in Philadelphia, which !,« at prefent fourteen feet and more under round, formerly were the bottom of the fea id that, by fevera. accidents, find, earth, and ither things, were carried upon it ? or, that the ^diman formerly was broader than it is at pre- ntt or, that it ! as changed its courfe ? This aft ftill ofteii happens at prefent; the river fcreaking off tne bank on one fide, and forming be on the other. Both the Swedes and Enzli% jften rhewed me fuch places. 0^ i8th. At prefent I did not find above ten different kinds of plants in bloffom : they mt,zGenUana two fpecies of 4?,^, thecom- lon Golden Rod, or Solidago Virga utrea, a fpe- •«%olHteractum, the yellow Wood Sorrel, or ■)uln cormculata, the Fox Gloves, oi Digitalis yurea, the Hamamlis Virginiam, or Witch lazel, our common Millefoil, or Achillaa Mil- folmm, and our Dandelion, or LeonUdon Ta~ 'sxacm._ All other plants had for this year laid M, their gay colours. Several trees, efpecially liofe whicli were tc flower early in fpring, had .ready formed fuel, large buds, that on openin? them all the parts of fruftification, fuch as Calyx. Corolla Stmmm, and Pijlillum, were plainly dif- inguifliable. It was therefore eafy to determine the genus to which fuch trees belonged. Such wre the red maple, or Acer rubrurn, and ths J'^Srn^'it tri US 'S/ im , iff ^ If ! i;'- > '\V\^ 158 1 * I '^ iJ.j^ I i:. ,jj ^,.,. , ,, , Ocioher 1 748. Laurus ajlhaiis, a fpccies of bay. Thus nature prepared to bring forth flowers, with the firft mild weather in the next year. The buds were at prefent quite hard, and all their parts prcfTed clofe together, that the cold might by all means be excluded. The black Walnut trees had for the greatcft part dropt their leaves, and many of thtm were entirely without them . The walnuts themfclves were already fallen off. The green peel which cnclofcd them, if frequently handled, would yield a black colour, which could not be got off the fingers in two or three weeks time, though the hands were wafhed ever fo much. The Cornusflorida was called Dogwood by the Englijl), and grew abundantly in the woods. It looks beautiful when it is adorned with its nu. merous great white flowers in fpring. The wood is very hard, and is therefore made ufe of for weavers fpools, joiners planes, wedges, &c. When the cattle fall down in fpring for want of flrength, the people tie a branch of this tree on their neck, thinking it will help them. 0^. 19th. The Tw//j^/r^^ grows every where in the woods of this country. The botanifts call it Liriodendrcn tulipifera, becaufe its flowers, both in refpcd: to their fize, and in refpeft to their exterior form, and even in fome meafure with regard to their colour, refemble tulips. Tlie Swedes called it Canoe tree, for both the Indiam and the Europeans often make their canoes of the item of this tree. The Englijhmen in Penfjhn' nia give it the name oi Poplar, It is reckoned a tree which grows to the greateil height and thick- ndi lus nature 1 the firll buds Were rts prelTed all means le greatcll htm Were hemfclves eel which ^. would be got off :, though Why the j oods. It h its nil- rhewoodj ife of fori ges, &c. f«r want ' this tree I :m. Jry where I aniftscall ^crs, both to their fure with 3S. The le Indiml )es of the! Penfyka- ckonedal id thick- nefn Peafyhama, ThUadelphta: g.^ ncfs of any inNorfb America, and which vies in that point with our greateft European trees. Th« white oakand the fir in North America, how! ever, are little inferior to it. It cannot therefoTc hut be very agreeable to fee in fpring, at the end WMay (when it is in blofTom) one of the l^^^^^^^ eft trees covered for a fortnight togetKhh flowers which, with regard to%heir fhape, 7S and partly colour, are like tulips ; the leave hav^ I. kewifefomething peculiar, tht RnM, therl! ore in fome places, call the tree the%ld[voman^, M becaufe their imagination finds fomethin. hkeit below the leaves. *v.ujiijg Its wood is here made ufe of for canoes board., planks, bowls, difhes. fpoons. doo pofts and allforts of joiners work. ^ haveS la barn of a confiderable fize. whofe walls and roof were made of a fingle tree of this kind fX .no boards. Sorne joiners reckoned this wS tetter than oak. becaufe this latter frequenriyh warped. wh.ch the other never does, ^ut work (very eafy;, others again valued it ve^y littir I .scertam. that .t contrafts fo much In hot wea- ther, as to occafion great cracks in the boards and m wet weather it fwells fo as to be near burft- .ng. and the people hardly know of a we made I feveral 'es from with in fouth of ong the ;re per- unruly, iOUgh to through in their :he pales n-fields; all the fe copu- is gene- imerim tamed ; different tie in his 1 it wasj ne, thati its food, and fre-l le wood, t it. Se-I ng deer, deer, orl the timcl bey havel gonel Penfyhania, Philadelphia. ^r^ had cafe with Otter's" ^r'-^W^'^. w'^ °^'^" " t^ie which were as tameLI^ ^ Yl^ '"^^" f°™e. a boat, the otter went^vkh t •'^^"' °"' '" the water, and after a ih ™' ■'"'"P^'^ "'o The Opokm oaf lte'be"red"r"' ^ ''^^ bw people like a dog ^ ^''' ^° ^^ '" ^I" the dark il creel to^h^' '^'^i' °^ '^^^""Z In onenightawhoKek r ''■^'/"'^ ^'"' ''^ things muft be carefX' hi^nrf '"^ other fweet the cherts and boxef a ^ n 1 ^^'^ " • f°r if gets into the:«.rs tK.fYL'n^'^ -^' l' treacle with its paws ■ thl f ^'- *"'1'"=^'^« "P the every day fome cL^l^i t^gitft^t'^rfr '^ reaion many peonle r^fJ... r l ' ,^"^ ^°^ ^^^s which this rp^-lSaS affiS^ *'^ ''^-^- follow th;:; e4 ^ht°" ''''' *°"''^^-' -d woId?o?S Str^ a^Hr" ^^- ->^« from our tame ones 2l . • ,"^*'' "> ""thing ''nd redder,ThouS'mo^'^ ?" t^"" ^"P-^^or fi.e! '^^eir eggs ;re 2dTn Kood '' ^t "^^'^ tame Turjiey hmis tC ! °''' ^"^ P"t under l^owever. Ten the^^ro'wuf Tr '"°"^ ^^^^ ^ pens that they fly awa^ th^' " ^°'«^t"«es hap- fnr^ ov. ^_< V *ivvay ; their wina.« ar^ *j,^-i --- -...«o„,y Clipped, efpeciall/^heryou^g: JBut ; I- ly \ : • 1 /if; ■ s J - M^ '7 ■' I i. ,'■ ■^ ^ m 164 0^-o5er 1748. But the tamed turkeys are commonly much more irafcible than thofe which are naturally tame. The hidians like wife employ themfelves in tam- ing them and keeping them near their huts. Wild Geeje have like wife been tamed in the following manner. When the wild ^^tk, firft come hither in fpring, and flop a little while (for they do not breed in PenfylvaniaJ the people try to flioot them in the wing, which, however, is generally mere chance. They then row to the place where the wild goofe fell, catch it, and keep it for fome time it home ; by this means many of them have been made fo tame, that when they were let out in the morning, they returned in the evening j bui:, to be more fure of them, their wings are commonly clipped. I have feen wild gttk of this kind, which the owner afTured me, that he had kept for more than twelve years ; but though he kept eight of them, yet he never had the pleafure to fee them copulate with the tame ones, or lay eggs. Partridges, which are here in abundance, may like wife be fo far tamed, as to run about all day with the poultry, and to come along with them to be fed when they are called. In the fame manner I have feen wild Pigeons^ which were made fo tame as to fly out and return again. In fome winters there are immenfe quantities of ivild pigeons in Penfylvania. oil, 24th. Of all the rare birds of North America^ the Humming-bird is the moft admi- rable, or at leaft moft worthy of peculiar atten- tion. Several reafons induce me to believe, that Dr. Lin- Penfyhama. Philadelphia. ^65 tird: bat the ^il^t; " ,L*^^ """^'^ common. Catefh^, ;« ^^^^mg^btrd is more aieiTerfp^Ls „ 5^^^^^ 7^'' 'f therein beautifully colourS^^ofto/Krtr 'T^ green, fo„e grey, a'nd otL's mint a fh^Tf red ring round its n^r>Ir ^u . .r , ^ liiming feather?, ch n Jnl fro ' I "'•«'°^' ^'"^ fi"« iour Th.rrk- I ^ Sreen into a brafs co- S ti Jifn'ltte^Tto';" ■" *""S- ="'°« make their nefts 'X^ ^'""V^'y ^^^^. and tumn, they retreat i """■■' .^"'' 'o^^rds au- countiesofS.^ T-"'°;tTr^°^''>^''* the neftar. orl^uice oT^ "'"^'^ ^'''^^ "P°« t;. -t part which bCn ft cTthe'^'"'^ '' '" and which they fuck un wifh .1, • '^'^'"^'""'' Of all the flowers the^l.-Lei r'" ^."^ '''"*• have a long tube and ^ t u°/^ 7^*' ^'''^'^ have flutt.^red cWefl/iSuVhe n' "'^' "'^^ /-^-. and the il/iw^: Uh ^ST ^"'^ An .habitant of the count;;^^? rE t There is a much >^f;,. r> ■ »«- called TroMlus ^ti^^, & ,h^ "l """',!"?•'"""'• ''>' i'" HmsSloant's living one Z: \ j ^ ,' * '*=*" '"«' known . Si. .,'»■ Mf ifV/f ^ number i66 OSiober 174S. ■ij \\M number of thcfe beautiful and agreeable little birds before his windows all the fummcr long, if he takes care to plant a bed with all forts of fine flowers under them. It is indeed a diverting fpedacle to fee thefe little active creatures flying about the flowers like bees, and fucking their luices with their long and narrow bills. The flowers of the above-mentioned Monarda grow vertici Hated, that is, at different diftances they furround the ftalk, as the flowers of our mint (Mentha) baftard hemp fGaleopJis) mother- wort {LecnurusJ and dead nettle fLamium). It is therefore diverting to fee them putting their bills into every flower in the circle. As foon as they have fueked the juice of one flower, they flutter to the next. One that has not feen them would hardly believe in how fhort a fpace of time they have had their tongues in all the flowers of a plant, which when large, and with a long tube, the little bird, by putting its head into them, looks as if it crept with half its body iixto them. During their fucking the juice out of the flowers, they never fettle oft it, but flutter con- tinually like bees, bend their feet backwards, and move their wings fo quick, that they are hardly vifible. During this fluttering, they make a humming like bees, or like that which is oc- cafioned by the turning of a little wheel. After tbev have thus, without refl:ing, fluttered for a while, they fly to a neighbouring tree or poll, " and refume their vigour again. They then re- turn to their hamming and fucking. They are not very fny ; and I, in company with feveral ether people, have not been full two yards from Pi'!fyka»!a, Fbiladdphla. iSf inc nowers ; and thoueh we fnoL-/» o« j j yet they were no ways di lurbed bnfn '°°'"^' towards the., they ^ouldX off wihth^ff ofthe'irT. T''^" f---' of them wl; on tlie iame bed, there was always a viol^nr combat between thpm :„ '"ays a ijolent the fame flower /f' ""^"'"g ^*'^'» other at through and thrfugh^^^L^.-P- oT, ^^^^^ the fight, they feem to ftand in .^^ • r^^\^^ themfel.es up^ the IncSdt ," w ^'^^'"0! their winp-s Whf»n <-K« • j motion ot iiig!.. \/yt\Qn the windows towartk fh^ Sometimes tL; come to a flo""" TY fS'"'"- therfno- an^ k ^ "^^^^ which is wi- ttomg, and has no more juice in if thev tZn iti a ht of aneer nlnrlr if ^o- " J'-'/^^y then, ;.egro.^ fhltifn"^-^^^^^^^ th fe iitt e bfrdf ?h'°"'"'"? ' ^'''' """her of quite covered with them .' ^ }^^ ground is proceeded from"" m^t^ oft;; '""^ ^^ '^ *'^ with feveral oXr , h^^^/ometimes walked without appear nVvervflf'" rr""* ^^°"' "»• that one 'wU is tkJ'Zr .f! ^-» ^^ 4 humming^ ; "- ] ,■■ ■■\\ H, ' I ; i . [ ^ 1 - hi! !.' ■ \ 168 03iobcr 1 748. Iiiimming-bees or butterflies, and their flight refembles that cf the former, and is incredibly fwift. They have never been obferved to feed on infeds or fruit; the nedar of flowers feems therefore to be their only food. Several people have caught fome humming-birds, on account of their Angular beauty, and have put them into cages, where they died for want of a proper food. However, Mr. Bartram has kept a couple of them for feveral weeks together, by feeding them with water in which fugar had been diflblved j and I am of opinion, that it would not be diffi- cult to keep them all winter in a hot-houfe. The humming-bird always builds its neft in the middle of a branch of a tree, and it is i!/yhma. Philadelphia. ( r r r. IQil Mt materials • th^x. , r • . " ^'''"' ^ ^^ t.me. From E„.Zl/^u ^*'''='^ ^Ijo^t this 5w fruii. |«ough for the cattllto ll^ """^ P^"" 'ow ke, to prevent this the ^ ^ r*" "^^^ with wooden yoJce : and o th, te-^''* ^ '™"g"Iar H a piece of wood itt' "=^'' was fait Fd a tooth or hoot; a -^ ^' the lower e«!l r^fetto Jeapover 'h^"1 ,'^'''" " hfted its h}<^ - goodivenVion wih"°" ^ "^«h" D ^«e Jifcewife kept i„ k? 'Tl^ '° ^"r^^- M, one c^x^A ^c .jry) '" bounds bv a n,-^.. .r -"" - waan was faftened to7nlof the - — *■ f j i - ) 1 ' ,i "^ii, f'ini Wf4i !■ is 170 06loher 1748. the fore {^tt^ and the other to one of the hind {^tU and it forced them to walk pretty flowly, as at the fame time it made it impoflible for them to leap over the enclofures. To me it appeared, that the horfes were fabjedl to all forts of danger- ous accidents from this piece of wood. Near New Frankfurt, we lode over a little flone bridge, and fomewhat further, eight or nine English miles from Philadelphia, wc pafTed over another, which was likewife of flone. There are not yet any mile-ftones put up in the tountry, and the inhabitants only compute thfi diflances by guefs. We were afterwards brought over a river in a ferry, where we paid three pence a perfon, for ourfelves and our horfes. At one of tlie places where we flopt to have cur horfes fed, the people had a Mocking-bird in a cage ; and it is here reckoned the heft finging bird, though its plumage be very fimple, and not fliowy at all. At this time of the year it doe< not fing. himicvus calls it Turdus polyghtUi) and Catii/hy, in his Natural Hijiory of Carolim, Vol. I. p. 27. tab. 27, has likewife defcribed and drawn this bird. The people faid that it built its neds in the bufhes and trees, but isfo -fliy, that if any body come and look at its eggs, it leaves the neft, never to come to it again, h young ones, require great care in being bred up. If they are taken from their mother and put into a cage, (Iig feeds them for three or four days; but, feeing no hopes of fetting them at liberty, ihc flies away. |t then often happens, that tM young ones die foon after, doubtlefs becaufe they cannot a^cuftoiia themfelves ito eat what the AiOCKINO- BIRD. the hind lowly, as for them ippeared, : danger- :^ ^ 4 ft finging iple, and ;ar it doe< olyglottoi) Carolina, defcribed id that it but is fa I : its eggs, ^ain. h ■ bred up. i put into Dur days; It liberty, , thattM caufe theyl t the peo REDBREA^TED THRUSH. \l^ n , ^ ^J^&Sw- IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. 4is 4f, '^ Ws :/. •^- u.. ^6 1.0 2.8 I.I 1^ |50 '""^ IIM 22 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ;: == ■• 6" ■ ► (J Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 C\b) *72-4503 A ^V "^ fV '^\ V ;\ # > ^;i-o^ '^^ ■w- fA / -fj>':-^f'- »/ " ** ji^.n n v/. Us and % aw;y ,1,"^;" ''"iT" '^ «hefouth. name of Mocihg-birds' , ^ ''"J"' g°' »he in imitating the note of ,1 ^^"°' °^ '"^^'^ ^i« hear. Tl,f fong pecuC tHh""^^ ^'^'^ ^^^ and varied by fn Site rh "" *^ ^^"""="t' n>elody, feveral people are IT °^"°'« »"'* that they are the beffnjnf blS •' " k °^'"'°"' So much is certain, that^ feV btV-" '^" ^'''^^^ them J this is what maLT '"'''" '^'""e up to w^r^, about fifteen Py,rrJ:fu -,1 ^ ^"^ ^^^- iland afunder. The^nfe "'^' °^'^°"^' =»nd •^e. though moft of S. '"" T"^ °» ^ «««« : HiladelphiT On the oC f.' ''^!'': g°°ds from ' iWw J,;^^ refides ^ *^ governor of "ith pales on botrfidr inT.- ''"' ""^^°^«» corn-fields. Ne« SLed ^ ^P''"^ ^reat perceived, for the f„; r / "'°°''' and we nothing burw^odsP Li ^°"' ^"^'^ -"«• K«cceeded well /{If"" S^w plentifully and come on fo iell inXr'-^^"^ '° ^^^ ^ P''"" he« began to^ec^ta L t^to "'^'^ P^^T' ='"'1 but • '% 'i! ■r M^ Ir 4 ii 31 172 05iober 1748. but left the lupine, which was however very green, looked very frefh, and was extremely foft to the touch. Perhaps means may be found out of making this plant palataj^le to the cattle. In the evening, we arrived at Trenton, after having previoufly paffed the Delaware in a ferry. OB. 28th. Trenton is a long narrow town, fituate at fome diftance from the river Delaware, on a fandy plain ; it belongs to New Jerfcyy and they reckon it thirty miles from Philadelphia. It has two fmall churches, one for the people be- longing to the church oi England, the other for the prefbyterians. The houfes arc partly built of ftone, though moft of them are made of wood or planks, commonly two ftories high, to- gether with a cellar below the building, and a kitchen under ground, clofe to the cellar. Ttic houfes (land at a moderate diftance from one an- other. They are commonly built fo, that the ftreet pafles along one fide of the houfes, while gardens of different dimenfions bound the other fide 5 in each garden is a draw-well ; the place is reckoned very healthy. Our landlord told us, that, twenty-two years ago, when he firft fettled here, there was hardly more than one houfe; .but from that time Trenton has encreafed fo much, that there are at prefent near a hundred houfes. The houfes were within divided into feveral rooms by their partitions of boards. The inha' bitants of the place carried on a fmall trade witli the goods which they got from Philadelphia, bul| their chief gain confilled in the arrival of thi numerous travellers between that city and l^t Tork\ for they are commonly brought byth [pays two Yz^ is lik We coi ^hc countr jreateft pa' Tome long tees, but ] without wc my place ^e^l people 'eighbourh( >art of the Trenton and ivevcr very remely foft found out :aitle. In fter having TOW town, ^erfcyy and ielpbia. It people be- 5 other for •artly built I made of 5 high, to- ing, and a liar. Tfac New Jerfey, Trenton. '73 m one an- , that the ifes, while i the other the place rd told us, firft fettled ne houfejj i fo much, ed houfesJ to feveral| The i.nha- trade witli 'Iphidi but /al of th( ^ and . ;ht byth( rrenmTachs from Piiladelpbia to Tr.., from thence to Philadelphia uJr ^"' °'^ toher to Ne^ Brunf&, the t avXf"'?" the waggons which fet out tv^r^ A c S° "» place. Several of the Zl T-^ ^^^ ^'" *« Lwife fubfift on the carrki'f ''' ,^^^^'^' goods, which are eve,; davE i '" ^°"' "^ p«/,.^ and til 'goo";.o;'"^^^" but between Trenton and A^ d ^ i'^ ^^'^r. - all carried by knd "anSotf tSf "^^^ '"Fo?Sr'°"^u'° P*=°P'« of this town '°"''" anJt°hVc'aKf7Slr ''^H ''"'•^ P'-« » -hilling a'^nd fif pSf o/I^US-^ "'""^"^ W per perfon. and everv on<. ^T"'''' currency ,baggie. Every pi "r S ^'''! """^ '^'^ W drink for himfelf nf L r ^T'^^ ""eat between trenZ^i NeXZ' -^f^'^ ^^'^ = Im^two killings and fiTo^n^f""^. IP"'"^"'^ te "We/aid forte,;-. "' ''"^ '^«- '*-r;Tr:X^^^^^^^^ -ro- jreateft part level thn?,Tr ^^^^"^ "^^ ^or the feme long hills 'fome^ fometimes there were '-'. butVrt'g^rt ;;sSe"""'^ "'* "'thout woods ; on the ofher hV ^ ?"""'->' ^^« i"y place in ^«lv.f °u ^"^ ^'"'^' ^ "^^er faw ''" peopled. Anlld tlT ^'P'"^' ^° 'rfghbourhood, and accom„ ' • ^ ^'"^'^ '" *'« «« of the rm^ ^ accompanied us for fome I* -f/rTitXtimr' r\"^^'"« ^ — "-"eiw were not above three ■ ■ .1 . '(i ; !'l.k, I::, j'^ ' f it :.•^ii: *. j'lfi 174 OStobir 1748. three farms, and he reckoned it was about fifty and fome odd years ago. During the greater part of the day, we had very extenlive corn-fields on both fides of the road, and commonly towards the fouth the country had a great declivity, Near almofl every farm was a fpacious orchard full of peaches and apple trees, and in fome of them the fruit was fallen from the trees in fuch quantities, as to cover nearly the whole furface, Part of it they left to rot, fince they could not take it all in and confume it. Wherever we paffed by, we were always welcome to go into the fine orchards, and gather our pockets full of j the choiceil fruit, without the pofTeffor's fo much as looking after it. Cherry trees were planted near the farms, on the road-s, &c. The barns* had a peculiar kind of conftruc- tion hereabouts, which I will give a concife de- fcription of. The whale building was very great, 1 fo as almoft to equal a fmall church ; the roof was pretty high, covered with wooden fhingles, declining on both lides, but not fteep : the walls which fupport it were not much higher tbana full grown man j but, or the other hand, the breadth of the building was the more confider-l able ; in the middle was the threfhing floor, and! above it, or in the loft or garret, they put the! corn which was not yet tbrefhed, the ftraw, oi[ any thing elfe, accordijig to the feafon : on fide were ilablcs for the horfes, and on the otl for the cows. And the i/nall cattfle had likewif * The author feems to comprehend more by this word, tliii what it commonly includes, for he defcribeji it as a baildiod which contains both a barn and Aables^ F. I . . . thcil Jny accou when I a is much c of flonc 01 fields, gai ingof the them, I h( country, ( Engiijh CO in fome p] «««a««', and 1 %ed by pe< about fifty he greater ;:orn-fiel{lj \y towards declivity, lis orchard n fomeof es in fuch )le furface, could not erever we to go into cets full of ■'s fo much re planted conftruc-l :oncife de- very great, ; the roofi [1 fhingles, ; the walls ber than a hand) the! £ confider-l floor, and! ey put the! e ftraw, oif i^ewjerfey, Trenton. j^^ This kind rf buiSssil'A /°''''>"^"' ^^• that the country between Trill '° !'= "''^^''''^d, is inhabited by few P„" /^ "" .^""^ ■'^'^«' ^"^'^ .hem.byG..2«oTSfc,fr; '"^l'*- °^ efpecialiy are numerous! ' ' ''"'' °^ ^^''^^ oldJmenca>,s.ForthT ^^^ ^"'i""'^> or meet with readers who lit ""' ""^^ P^^'^^P' acquaintance, ma; ft in' "'"^ r°P'^ "^ ■"/ Zrica was' Sft X ,nXakttd\"^ or heathen nations and f kl.! I ^^^ ^*''*ge that I do not mention th^ ™'^ / aftonifhed. my account Othe° ' „ T^ frequently ia when I mention nrnv^?" "^^'^X ™,'Sine. that ismuch cult vated "i^ J°"™'''' *at the country of ftone or woodi bu /" ^''T' ?*'=^'' '^""fe' fields gardenTaTdSarrtrt'K T^"" ingof the property of ^hf 7 !/• ' ^"^ ^P^^' them, there rivefh.f n ^"'^''"''' *° undeceive country7eKnl -I r'"Su^P"^"'°"- The in iL plaSe 1 eS r ^^ ^'"'''^"""' ^h<» V "*.« are already fo numerous, that few l«w":„';l^,^'Jf'"f,^^^^^^^^ in Ae north of G.^^, parts ! i'' j,ii 11 i''i|^ -I ^|l w I:'! « 176 d^o3er* 1748. parts cff Europe are more populous. The //?, Jians have fold the country to the Europeans, and have retired further up : in moft parts you may travel twenty Swe^^t/h miles, or about a hundred and twenty Enghyb miles, from the fea-^fhore be- fore you reach the firft habitations of the Ini/iam. And it is very pofTible for a perfon to have bccii at Philadelphia and other towns on the fea fhorc for half a year together, without fo much as fee- ing an Indian. I intend in the fequel to give 3 more circumftantial account of them, their reli- gion, manners, ceconomy, and other particulars relating to them j dt prefent I return to the fe- quel of my journal . About nine EngliJJ) miles from Trenton, the ground began to change its colour j hitherto it confided of a conliderable quantity of hazel-co- loured clay, but at prefent the earth was a red- difli brown, fo that it fometimes had a purple colour, and fometimes looked like logwood. This colour came from a red limeftone, which approached very near to that which is on the mountain Kinnekullein Weft Gothland, and makes a particular ftratum in the rock. The Americm red limeftone therefore feems to be merely a va- riety of that I faw in Sweden, it lay in ftrataof| two or three fingers thicknefs; but was divifible into many thinner plates or llaivers, whofefurface was feldom flat and fmooth, but commonly rough: the ftrata themfelves were frequently cut off by horizontal cracks. When thefe flones were cx- pofed to the air, they, by degrees, fhivered and, withered into pieces, and at laft turned into duft.i The people of this neighboorhood did not know how the in. opeans, and ^s you may a hundred i-^fhore be. he Indiam, have been e fea fhorc ach as fee- 1 to give 3 their reli- particulars to the fc- -enton, the litherto it hazel-co- ivas a rcd- a purple logwood. le, which is on the ind makes American rely a va- n ftrata of I s divifible ofe furface ily rough: cut off by were ex- vered and I into dull. I not know how ^ew Jtrfey, Pflncc^town. times rich and fometimes poor : in fuch nlo^ where the people had lately du. ne"v tSfr perceived, that mod of the ruhh!^ V , ' ^ thrown up confifteH nFf \ r- "''"'^'' ^as Thisreddfrh town earfhweri *'''r' °^ «°"«- nothing but ftrata 7? tjflt, 'IS i^Tl run horizontally, but dipped ver. Inch ' of the houfesTr; tltf :S1 - ^ P^-- Moft Te SdTth «r ^^ ii'^'c:::i; iimfelf to bein £'';; °"' '"•°^' ''^^^ '»^g'-"ed 0^ 9nfK T- "-^ itaytiii nextmornino- journey. The country was prettrwell °''i °?' however there wpr^ ,,.*■ ^ ^ ^^^ peopled; places: the^arc „rfted'':rd:°f '" ^^"^ and I did not bercei^ll fi i ''^"^"°us trees .- fll I came to K^LS '"rhl^'^ ''"J''"''' 'f "g iel/es ?Cft^'?:;J:eStfb,'"'°t' plains, which \A,f-r^ ^ ^"^perceptibly m the , vulet.'AlS n::r everS^ ''t^ '^ ' - orchards. The ho,Z-^ ^^°""^ "'"^^ S^e^t Vol. I. J'^wfe^^'ere commonly built of timber. i '^'i' ''% *■ ; ( ■ I'. I t i . !■' f(, 'ftJli ii ! ■ M . • * . \ , ■ ^i \ Ml ^^H It- ?■' T ' ' * 1 !' mi ll • T J' III :, j I r 9 ' 1 1 178 OBoher 1748, timber, and at fome dlflance by themfelves flood the ovens for baking, confiding commonly of clay. On a hill covered with trees, and called "Rcck^ hill, I faw Icvcral pieces of flone or rock, fo bi;?, that they would have required three men to roll them down. But befides thefe there were few great ftones in the country; for mod of thofe which we faw, could eafily be lifted up by a fm- glc man. In another place we perceived a number of little round pebbles, but we did not meet with -tither mountains or rocks. About noon we arrived at N€W Erunf-wick, a pretty little town in the province of Newyerfe)\ in a valley on the weft fide of the river Rareton\ on account of its low fituation, it cannot be feen (coming from PoifylvanhiJ before you get to the top of the hill, which is quite clofe up to it: the town extends north and fouth along the river. The German inhabitants have two churches, one of (lone and the other of wood; the EngliJI) church is of the latter kind, but the prefliyterians were building one of flone : the town houfe makes likcwife a pretty good appearance. Some of the other houfcs are built of bricks, but niofl: of them are made either wholly of wood, or of bricks and wood ; the wooden houfes are not made of flrong timber, but merely of boards or planks, which are within joined by laths: fudi houfes as confift of both wood and bricks, have only the wall towards the ftreet of bricks, all the other fides being merely of planks. ' This pecu- liar kind of oftentation would eafily lead a tra- veller, who palTes through the town in hafte, to believe that moft of the houfes are built of bricks, The [ves flood iionly of ed Rcck^ c, fo big, sn to roll A^ere few of thofe by a fm- a number leet with runfwick, nv yerfe)\ Rare ton j )t be feen jet to the o it: the he river. :hes, one s Engli]!} hyterians ^n houfe I. Some but niofl; od, or of are not boards or hs: fudi ks, have s, all the lis pccu" ad a tra- hafte, to )f bricks, The ^- Jerfey, Ne^ Bn.^^,^^ '"g. >n order to enjoy thi^S ^ '"/''" ^'^^' The town has onJy one LeH! "'Z'" P^'^^d by. us northern extremity ;herlt^'''ry^' ''""'^ « boA of thefe are of a co, fide'ab] 'l ^'"'^ '''°^'' The nver Kareu„ paS fatd r^^ and IS deep enough for o-r^^ 7 ^ ^^^ 'own, "* breadth near fhe toS S' 'V^^^^^P =. common gi,„ (h^, tiTet !"'''" "''-' ""^^^h of miles beyond the to'vn M /"" "P Several engthways along .Kidfe^.hf '' "T P'^*'' high and pretty fteep banks 'on K T'.'''^ ^»y near the town there are „o rn^f k°"? '^^«^' bu[ fituated in a low vallev n ^'^"^'' '' being a mo/l entirely inhabite Jbv ^^^ f '^' ^'^''^ '^ iither from ^/i^„^ " ? 7 ^"tcbmen, who came F"y among themfett ?„?? .^"'^ ''^^P con,, '"ongft the other inhabitanl • °'" °'' "^^^^ go q«'e feparate from them V""«« ^' " ^«^e 'ongs to New Jern^ T^' ^'^, ^run/wick be- I^bout forty Eng/Jjl'^f'-^ ^ork, which is %(end corn.Xr^'''^^^f "'^ '» 'h« place K'Wal other necelTaries f 'I"''««'«. bread. H boards, timber '' f '" "i"*"'"/ °f )i-i- p"^ °f carpenter" work sef" ^f"^'' «"d « » K day going backwaJ' ' ?'^" ^'^'^'''^ are " ^^^fte inhabitants like- wife ■^''■*i "iSb OSIober 1748. I,.M wife get a confiderablc profit from the travellers who every hour pafs through on the high road. The deep banks confifl: of the red limeftone, -which I have before defcribed. It is here plainly vifible that the ftrata are not horizontal, but con- •fiderably dipping, efpecially towards the fouth. The weather and the air has in a great meafurc didolved the ftone here : I enquired, whether it <:ould not be made ufe of, but was aflured, that in building houfes it was entirely ufelefs ; for, •though it is hard and permanent under ground, yet, on being dug out, and expofed for fome time to the air, it, firfl crumbles into greater, then into lefTer pieces, and at laft is converted into duft. An inhabitant of this town, how- ever, tried to build a houfe with this fort of ftone, but its outfides being expofed to the air, foon began to change fo much, that the owner was obliged to put boards all over the wall, to pre- ferve it from falling to pieces. The people how- ever pretend that this ftone is a very good ma- nure, if it is fcattered upon the corn-fields in its rubbifti ftatc, for it is faid to ftifle the weeds: it is therefore made ufe of both on the fields and ini ■gardens,* Towards the evening we continued our jour- ney, and were ferried over the river Raretonyio^- ther with ourhorfes. In a very dry fummcr,and when the tide has ebbed, it is by no means dan- gerous to ride through this river. On the oppcfite •fhore the red juniper tree was pretty abundintJ The country through which we now pafledwasi • Probably It is a ftone marie; a blue and reddifli fpeciej ^his kind is ufcd with good fuccefs, in the county oiBamffir^m New Jerfey, Elizabeth^, town. travellers igh road, limeftone, Te plainly , but con- the fouth. It meafurc ^vhether it bred, that slefs; for, vc ground, . for feme 0 greater, converted wn, how- :t of ftone, ; air, foon Dwner was I, to pre- ople how- good ma- elds in its /eeds: it is lids and ini d ourjour- mmcr, and neans dan- le oppcfitcl abundant.l paffed wd difli fpecie$( j8i pifcltjfj C'fpSli""""'' ""' '" "« f '«■ M of a charming iuZJZiT 7 ^"""""^ "°^^ ""^de other, forminKue, LJ"^? Tu ''^'"^ "^'S''' tivated. From Se hilU •?."""" ^"^^ ^"'- day'Sofro/i'^'^" ^^^^^ - '^-elled this' no douht h^ .1 ^'°"'"^ ^^"^ ^^''d'*- I make- no aoubt, but there were flrata nf tU^ i, r ' ment oned red limpft^n. 4 • o '"^ before-. ground looked my like 7t"' \ ^°"'''™« *«' w ^ "^^ ^ cinnabar ore them hiiJIi- r.f t J , "^ '^^"^^s were moft of of ^incl ^"L"'^'^ '^^^ ^^"s J^ad a cove ni ot /hingles on theoutfide- thc^fe n^lnn-i ^* round at one end nn^ n r , "^^ng^es were places we met t«,;fi, . n '/"ng'<-s. in mofc «P the watTr! '' ""'* "'"^'^^'^ *" 'J''^^^ 'wemrSJImr^'^ ' ^^^^'^ '°"-"' =>ho«t Aijngl c^ ' II ;* ■' • (i: If ,;f 'j| IS V- ):': 1^2 OMer 174^. m%^ ihingles, and wails covered witli the fame. There were likewife feme ftone buildings. A little ri- vulet pafTes through the (own from weft to eaft; it is almoft reduced to nothing when the water ebbs away, but with the full tide they can bring up fmall yachts. Here were two fine churches, each of which made a much better appearance than any one in Philadelphia. That belonging to the people of the church of England was built of bricks, had a fteeple with bells, and a baluflrade round it, from which there was a profped: of the country. The meeting houle of the prefbyterians was built of wood, but had both afteeple and bslls, and wa^, like the other houfes, covered with (hin- gles The town houfemade likewife agood appear- ance, and had afpire with a bell. The banks of the river were red, from the reddifh limeftone -, both in and about the town were many gardens and orchards -, and it might truly be faid, that Eliza- beth-town was fituated in a garden, the ground hereabouts being even and well cultivated. At nignt we took up our lodgings at Eliza' heth'town Pointy an inn, about two Englijh miles diftant from the town, and the laft houfe on this road belonging to New Jerfey, The man v/ho had taken the leafe of it, together with that of the ferry near it, told us that he paid a hun- dred and ten pounds oi Penjyhania currency to ihe owner. Odl, 30th. We wtre ready to proceed on our journey at fun-rifing. Near the inn where wc had pafTed the night, we were to crofs a river, and we were brought over, together with our horfes, in a wretched half-rotten ferry. This ri- ver came a conaderable way ouc of the country, and . There little ri- to eaft; le water in bring burches, pearance nging to built of iluftrade a of the •yterians nd bells, ith ^^ ^a/l mi the oyfters ai e nnf . '""-'^ ' ^^^^^ ^' ^^^^thea h^ell flopped trk47."^ ''• '"^ ^'^^ ^^^^'^i « I '. --i^-pcu,theair. in this man. ner ■«ii i ill ^■i *■ . r^ '!•» M' ; ffM' f-'(|| ...%«^:fiiMa««»^HHw;«i,£- 1' 1 ii ■■» ^. 186 05l$ber 1748. ner oyfters will keep for years together, and may be fent to the moft diftant parts of the world. The merchants here buy up great quantities of oyfters about this time, pickle them in the above-mentioned manner, and fend them to the Wefl Indies : by which they frequently make a Conliderable profit : for, the oyfters, which coft them five (hillings of their currency, they com- monly fell for a piftole, or about fix times as much as they gave for them; and fometimes they get even more : the oyfters which are thus pickled have a very fine flavour. The foliowinw is another way of preferving oyfters : they are taken out of the ihells, fried with butter, put into a glafs or earthen vefTel with the melted butter over them, fo that they are quite co- vered with it, and no air can get to them. Oyfters prepared in this manner have likcwile an agreeable tafte, and are exported to the Wt} JndieSy and other parts. Oysters are here reckoned very wholefome, fome people aflured us, that they had not felt the leaft inconvenience, after eating aconfider- able quantity of them. It is likewife a com- mon rule here, that oyfters are beft in thofe months, which have an r in their name, fuch as September^ OBober^ See. -, but that they are not fo good in other months ; however there are poor people, who live all the year long upon nothing but oyfters with bread. The fea near New Tork, afibrds annually I the greateft quantity of oyfters. They are found cliiefly in a muddy ground, where they lie in the ilirae, and are not ib frequent in a fandy| bottom : 1 and may world, [juantitiej m in the 2m to the f make a ^hich coft hey corn- times as bmetimes 1 are thus foliowing they are itter, put le melted juite co- to them. 5 likcwife the Wej lolefome, I not felt confider- e a corn- in thofe ne, fuch they are there are ng upon annually are found sy lie in 1 a fandy bottom:! ^ew Tork: 1S7 thered in great heaos .nH 1 "^^ '' '^^ Sa- which by rLe peopTJ'iie"- ^^^ Vutl near the farmVouTes .L Pf °^. °'^^'' ^^^^^ .bout iV«. r J; t' oKef .hfie^ S carried them upon the fields. whkh^S % ** mth wheat. However they wereJf'^ ^°""? notcruflied. ^ ^"^ ^"'""e. and The Indians, who inhabited the coaft h.C, the arrival of the P,jrr,.h^^„ i. before and other fhellfiflf^S^biV? "';''' "y^^--* prefent. whenever th J come 1 Vi """^ '' where oyfterg are to be IT I ' '^'^ ^^'«^ live in catchine them /^ V^^^. '"'^ ^"^ «'^- quantities to "ofhlJl^^ , IL^^^yfT up the country • for tl.;c / ^ higher menfe numbers" of oyft r Tn5" J'ou fee 1m, piled up near fuch nl^. u ""^"^'^ ^^"s 'tain that the Si^^^f ' '^,^T y°" "^'^ «r- oi UK inMons formerly built th^.V »,. . This circumftance ought to J^IT -■ in maintainine thif in \n ^ "* cautious kh heaps of AelJs L'", k' "°""'''^' ^''^^^ atterhave la n the-e ev ' r ' "'t' ^'■^ ' '''^ ^e Plac. ^erfo^er^:; «-,; t ^ "'^^ '-abou^'picWed 'tchV thet"^ ""«''' yfters, and fent to fTvlral 1 T ^^^ =" ''^ a very rcmarfcaK1» • ?,'''"'• ' ^'^ t"W kbilcrs/ari w'!r,r_""'^-« ^•>-t .Aefe -_„_ „,,^^^^.^j. jrequcntjy lieard it > • t mm !Ml I I ! I'N :M HI. fr ^1 •ili!^' M m. i88 November 1748. i I ™i"ll k mentioned. The coaft oi New York had al. iready European inhabitants for a conliderablc time, yet no lobfters were to be met with on that coaft ; and though the people filhed ever fo often, they could never find any figns of lobfters being in this part of the fea : they were therefore continually brought in great well-boats from New England^ where they arc plentiful; but it happened that one of thefe well-boats broke in pieces near Hellgate, about which ans fettled ried on in further up abited the vn clams, : of their efs of the IJland and the (lidls m, drawn ;n air, in ^hen this flels, and n ; there n one of '^fw Tork. tpi Talue more than the white parts A . ,!'' who goes to trade with thp tj- ♦"teller, flocked with then,r:^ay tctlH' '"'ri' "^» gamer J but if he take Lu^ * confiderable Hill undoubtedly be a^lnr™'"^ °' ''""'■°"' h« who live farther up the conS' ^"^ '\^ I"'''^"^. value upon thefe SrS P"' "«•« or „a precious, as I have freque^fl,, J '!^''°" ^<» courfe of my travels Thl r j'^ obferved in the their own wampum". tho^.l'T''"' ^°™"'y "nade of trouble : butTpVefent fh T ^'"^""^ ^ ^eai themfelves that way eW Z"?'^''^^ ''"P'o/ oUliany. who geT'afc'^f'^^ inhabitant^ making the wampum ^ manner of who poffefs greaTpXfc T? 'I^^^^ ^-^. gogue and houfes. anK 7 ^^ ^^"^ ^ fy"^- 'heir own proper^^/r' ^f""""^ '"'^"^ o^ ftops in town, Thev h! * r^"* '° ''e^P ,%. which they Sht Jn. ^T'^^ ^^^^^^ their own goods llT' ,^ ^^"^ °"' with FJviJeges cimmon to tot'-T^ ^" 'J'* '•h's town and province ' '"'^''bitants of l«-:^ard^n'"«r:ext' v"^^^ P''' ^^'^ t'-^t'y in company wi^T ^''"' J ^""^ ^e* Hed. among E ^^'^ >^«- .^ was in- ker boiJed an^y n eat fo tW f '^'^' P'°P^^ H but that thev 91L, J-i^'^'"'^* «" Satur- '^/hat in win^,t/w " ^ ^i^^ '"^°'-' ^fiole Saturday Thel. ^ .^'^ ''"""g 'I^e •-'/ icvf '. men nf p—j.v th at , ti f?^'* I^II^MI ii fgz November 174S. M I 1 • ? I that many of them (efpecially among the young Jews) when travelling, did not make the leall difficulty about eating this, or any other meat that was put before them j even though they were in company with Chriftians. I was in their iVnagogue laft evening for the firft time, and this aay at noon I vifitcd it again, and each time I was put into a particular feat, which was fet epart for ftrangers or Chriftians. A young Rahlii read the divine fervice, which was partly in He- hreWi and partly in the Rabbinical dialed. Both men and women were drefled entirely, in the Englifi fafliion ; the former had all of them their hats on, and did not once take them olF during fervice. The galleries, I obferved, were Appropriated to the ladies, while the men fat below. During prayers the men. fpread a white cloth over their heads ; which .perhaps is to re- prefent fackcloth.. But I obferved that the wealthier fort of people had a much richer cloth than the poorer ones. Many of the men had j Hebrew books, in which they fang and read al- ternately. The Rabbi flood in the middle of I the fynagogue, and read with his face^ turned to- wards the eaft : he fpoke, however, fo faft, as to make it almoft impoflible for any one to under- hand what he faid. * 1 New York, the capital of a province of the fame name, is fituated under forty deg, and forty min, north lat. and feventy-four dtg. and four min. of weftern long, from London -, and is about • As tliere are no Jews in B'waden, Prof. Kalm was an ntterl ftranger to their manners and religious cufloms, and therefore rcF laici them as a kind of novelty, f. ninetyi Ai?W Hris ^93 tageous for trade: ?or the tn ""l^'^^'y advan- point "'hich is for„,cd by t JXf^"''' "P"" a which the river HudAnAirl ^' ' '"'° one of from the town Srti^^r ''^'^^' "« far fides furroundcd SS^t'! 't''^'"-' °" three bmlt 00. is level in W " ''^ ^"''"^ " « others ; the pla^c T. t? ^f"*' *"'' '''"/ in wholerome. ^ ' generally reclconcd very .hiJitVs ::: s,tf 'y ^^^"'^^^ they were y^ mafte« "A^'*^ '^^J. whe^ called it iWi^ Ama»-T ^}"' <^°""try J thev the year ,664. tl^fe-'rf ? theWof condu<9rof i)„G,r/,/ffi:° . '*^." ""'i*' the tue of d,e ne« trJ^'^"^P'"S « by the Wr- Wonging to it: in fizeit c^ ""^ Province and Pi/y*^/^^/^. ^^ " ^« neareft to5,>, »'4ings.itfopuIen«. *d* tefr'^ '° "' «»« I'd'iputes thepreferencrwiA ^K*^"* coma,e,rc. -bout mL b./:;i;\?si^^- "^nd-ngs : however thev .?f ' /onfidcrable wdl-built, and moft 7them J^ ^P^r""' *"= vered with tiles or d,inM« ^ ^'"'"""'3' ^'>- are made of the whitoTVre^o^'L'^r "^ which Lim. Cp. plant.) whVh ' "' ^""" Strobut the counVn,: The Tnh L- ^'"'^^ '''S'ler up i„ M" as one ,nade ,"„ p!„/- f ""?'"* '« ="' dura- Cedar, or Cupre/Ju.^./jf'^^"''^ of the /W, did not any where -fi.^ t^ w-ithin; and f 'he people in this countrv f>''"^'' ^''^ ^'^'ch but little acquainted tL"^,'" «'"^"' ^ bo wed with all forts of Wr,- "^ * ""='■'= <5"'te eo- foall frames. On each L Tu""'^ P'^^"^" in , had ufually a fort of atoS °*^ ^\^'"^."''es they t e windows v,L%inkouT^ ^k"='" ""^^ placed near it. The^ r° ' *"^ ''^^ benches -^OTk. were paintS'^STblu.^ "" '"^^ "^^'l There are feverTi .K u "" ^''=7 ^"Hr. ■ which deferve fome ' ten. "'''' ^ V''« '' wn. cw. built in tT: ;?rr; ^•:,f ' ^w of the town. cormZ^H^' J"-^' weft end "hkewife built of iW if '^^f''^^' which Prided with afteeple 1; f^h' "^ 'f^e. --.nd is '!*« only one i„ the t;l t. ' ^^'^''- ^''i^'» Potnt of the compafs ha, L I ^'^ Particular tended to in .^1 . "^'^ '^een in seneral »t ^11 *■ ■ i I? II If . i f fi I 1 •r m'wI W: -J 9m n ill! iliEi f " 'Ifl illBI I i^i ''• ! if 1 ' .1..J B 11 i 1 '■'r«*'"wnr' *^ *i 1 awjgBB'.g ^^^^K^BI iMjil Til 1 ; TT i 1 ■ 1 ' ' m m November 1748. 196 cjnt pofitlofis. In thw i)ai^^i& chur-h there is nei- ther altar, veftry, choir* icpnces, nor paintings. Some tree^ are planted round it, which make It look as if it was built in a wood. 3. 7he old iDutcb Church, which i&alfo built of ftone. It is npt fo large a3 the ncwqne. It was painted in the infide, though without 4ny images, and adorned with a fmall ©rgan^ aff which governor Burnet made them a ppcfent. Th(!> men* for the m)ft part, fit in the galkry, in4 the wonaen below. *4. ^hePreJbyttrimchurcki which is pretty large, and was built but lately. It is of ftonr BoHmd. If a (hip does not chufe to take in Weji Indict goods in its return to iVm Tqrk^ or if no body will freight it, it often goes to Neycqjile in Bng/and to take in coals for balM, which >v hen brought home fell for a pretty good price. Jn many parts of the town coals are made ufe of, both for kitchen fires, and in rooms, be- caufe they are reckoned cheaper than wood, which at prcfent coils thirjy fhillings of New Tork currency per fathom^ pf whjeh meafure J have before made mention. New JTprk has like- wife fome intercoyrfe with South Carolina^ to which It fends com, flour, fugaf, rum, and poller goods, and takes rice in return, which is almoft *,!^^ 9.°.^J..f:ommodity cxporred from Somb Cm- The goods, with wjiiph the province pf JV^w J^r^ trades, are not very nqmeroi|S. they chiefly export the ftins of animals, which arc bought of the Indians abput OJwego ; great quanr titles of boards, coming for the moft part from Albany, timber and ready-made iMmber, from that part of the country which lies abopt the ri- ver Hudfon^ and laftly, wheat, flour, barley, oats, and other kinds of corn, which are brought from New ^erfey and the cultivated par^s of this pro. yince. 1 have ktn yachts froni New Briinfiwick, laden with wheat which lay loofe 911 ^pard, and . : : . . ' with £.10 >i iioney, icb are :diately >t chufe "o New goes to balM, y good emade IS, be- wood, f Nei^ ;afure | is likert nai to almoft an( 201 ■ bring. m«:h Lwter iS^ S'^P'' '^°"* ^/''*9' thispLince. and L of a cS;" t"^?^"* °? b». ill the otW Jroduds oflhf"'''' ^"^"^^^ * ' little account. ° "rL°ff,'j'f,'=°°"t'-y "^^ of >fcTh:JSoS?'ist^n^^"'' here and H goods. ruS^arto&fTH f ""^"^^T k and falls iSo tK Kt?''^ "P '^^^°""- h its weftern fide n.^- • *[ ^'"^ ^^^ ^"^^ W this S is fiitl 2"""^ "S''' ™°"*s of the .nd Jefle/veffeTs dthlr"?'*' '"'^ °""=^ grater ^Tning from hence 15°'"^-'^ ^^ ^"''^ °^ !r foreign gools"^^' " ^'*" *'* '"'''"'^ t^S^i^^t^^: 'Jt'^e /hips But I have fri.inJ Z i ^^" °^ ^^^^ ^^om t. ifth of i),^,X i°;.f'^^«^^^ « 1729. to the i i I 111 I \^ or trade ftere, The 2^2 November 1745. -.,)■'! Iil**ii liiiii^ 1+ ji iim M : •i , 111 ii m . The counjfei'y people come to market in Nev) T$rk twice a week, much in the fame manner as they do at Philadelphia i with .this difference, that the markets are here kept in fevcral places. The governor of the province of New Tork refides here, and has a palace in the fort. Among thofe who have been entrufted with this poll, William Burnet defcrvcs to be had in perpetual remembrance. He was one of the fons of Dr. Uhomas Burnet (fo celebrated on account of his learning) and feemed to have inherited the know- ledge of his father. But his great affiduity in promoting the welfare of this province, is what makes the principal merit of his character. The people of New Tork therefore flill reckon him the bed governor they ever had, and think that they cannot praife his fervices too much. The many aftronomical obfervations which he made in thcfe parts, are inferted in feveral Englifh works. In the year 1727, at the acceffion of king Gmit II. to the throne oi Great Britain, he was ap- pointed governor of New England, In confe- quence of this he left New Tork, and went to Bofiont where he died qniverfally lamented, on I the yth of September iy2g. An aflembly of deputies, from all theparticu lar diftricfls of the province of New Tork, is held] at New Tork once or twice every year. It may be looked upon as a parliament or dyet in mini' ature. Every thing relating to the goodofthi province is here debated. The governor calls tlii aflembly, and diffolves it at pleafure; this is power which he ought only to make ufe of, eitb when no farther debates are necefliry, or whei tin ct in JV^ manner as rence, that aces, NewTork rt. Among this poll, . perpetual bns of Dr. >unt of his the know- afliduity in :e, is what Ldter. The on him the k that they The many ade in thcfe Noxks. In ing Georit he was ap- In confe- id went to I nented, on I iht members . are not fn .mo • ^^ «f their king and counl" " "•l"2h*'- !," '^' '""^'c* quently however hapS th ^r/"'? •• « Re- price or by.intereftefv ew/ he f "^'^•^ ^^ ca- prejudice of the province Th. f^'^V^ «° '■^ limes had a governor ,,\r """^""y h'" fame- ■■"habitants. hf/eTnduc Jl-'J"''"* ^'^^L or the meoibers of the aS"" ^--^fentativea. nt of revenge, to oppofeS^' '''°"g'i =» ipi- h propofed. whethErif t"''^/^^""-^ '^'»g country or not. In fuch eS tt'^''^^ '° ^l'' made ufe of his power- d.TTnf • ^"''"nor has heagam diflblved upon £7^a \ ^""^^'^^ i\\ humour. By this mean/ hJ r"'*'^ "^ '''^'r them, by the many ^xZlZl J\ """^'^ "''-ed forced to bear in fSw a L , *'^ ^^"-^ f M glad to unite S him A t' *^^ -^'•'' ^or the good of the provSe' R . \"'^^''»'°»n likewife been governor ^K?" ^"^ "'^''e bave blies and dUfllved "h m ^ "Jf ''"^'' ««'em- caufethe reprefentatives did °ot1^' "^''fy be- iliar whims, or woulrl „^. • ^ according to propofals which wTr^'p^erE/dan '^''' '^'"' '^ ftl^o the common welfar? ^"'""^ ""^ h"«- «» ™y^'TaE:^Jt A^°th- f-^^^^^^^^ to -rovmce make up his excellent' rf"'' °^ ^'^ foraaman entruid wS?'^ ? ^''^f^ '^^''^- rlefo revenues, according t HT ^'' P^«- fe^'" tbe confidence of the^;„l k-^"''*^ ^""^ to »re examples of governor :'1'''"^"'«- There ^'"' the inhabitantH? S°' S^S'f "^^ons --^-* '^T^^cive govern- ments. . . v- m n . 'f!> 4.« '11, « II': III I' 4 1 Hi li H it ' tllM^ifili' 11 •1 ii io4 Noumier 174S. feifcnts, have !6ft^ their whole falary, his Majefty haviflg no power to make them pay it. If 2 ^^erUOr had no other refource in thefe circum^ ftanccs, he would be obliged either to refign his bfficcj or be content with an income too fmall for Ksdfgnity; oif elfe to conform himfelf in every thiniTto the inclinations of the inhabitants : but there 'are feveral ftated profits, which in forae meafure make up for this. i. No one is allowed to ' keep a public houfe without the governor's leave 5 which is only to be obtained by the pay- ittent of a certain fee, according to the circiim- iftances of the perfoh. Some governors therefore, when the inhabitants refufed to pay them a fa- tary, have hit upon the expedient of doubling tfie number oflhns in their province. 2. Few people- who intend to be married, unlefs they be very poor, will have their banns publifhed front the pulpit J but inflead of this they get licences from the govcrnbr, which impower any minifter to marry tkem. Now for fuch a licence the go- vernor receives about half a guinea, and this col- ledted throughout the whole province, amounts to a conflderable fum. 3. The governor figns all paffports, and efpecially of fuch as go to fea ; and this^ives him attbther means of Supplying his expences. There are feveral other advantages allowed to him, but as they are very trifling, II (hall omit them. , ^At the above affembly the old laws are re- viewed and amended, and new ones are madel and the regulation and circulation of com, togef ther with all other affairs of that kind, are ther deteH Nnv Tork. «05 determined. For it is to b« obferwd, that each Lns^tjh colony in North ^w^r^Vw is indepeadent of the other, and that each has its proper Jaws and com, and may be looked upon in Several lights as a ftate by itfdf. From hence, it hap- pens, that m time of war. things as on v«v ilowly and irregularly here; for noi only tlii fenfe of one province is foiaetinjes direftly op- pofite to that of another, b^t, frequentjy, the views of the governor, and thofc of the aflemblv of the fame province are quite different : fo that It iseafy to fee. that while the people are quar- relling about the beftand cheapeft mwner ofcar- rying on the war, an enemy has « in his power to take one place after another., It has com- monly happened, that whilftfome provinces have been fuffering from their enemies, the neleh- bouring ones were quiet and ina(aiTe, and ^ if It did not in the leaft concern them. They have frequently taken up two or three years in confi- dering whether they fliould give affiftance to an opprefled fifter colony, and fometimes they have expreUy declared themfelves againft it. There are inftances of provinces who were not onlv neuter m thefe circumftances. but who even car- ried on a great trade with the power which at that very time was attacking and laying wafte fome other provinces. , .,, , ^ ^ -^ t^'^'m ^'"T*!" <^'">'>d''> whosre but an incon- Jiderable body, m comparifpn with the £«?/'/» in Anenca.ha.ye, by this pofition of affairs? been able to obtain great advantages in times of war; for If we judge from the number and power of ^1 ine il ■ mmi . Ml. % . \ . 20(5 |IM| m I ' i^O'Vember 1748, tlvs E%/i5/7^,1't Wdoild feem very eafy for them to get the better of the Frejjch in America.'^ r\T is however of great advantage tothecrowa cf England, that th(i A^ercha„fs in town anoSf forty-two ^pounds weight : however, they were reckoned the biggeft ever feen in this couTtry In the year ,710, five kings, or &iZ 'f the Irojuots, went from hencf to EnJZ' ,°n order to engage Queen Anne to make afXnce With them a^ainft the FrP*,rf. tu - ^"'^"^® Z u u'^"^'y ^"°^n fro™ other writings ^; ZTu ^^^ '""g' °^ ^'><=bms of the In. 'T«..T '°'"™°"'^ "° 8^-'- author]^ over " their "1 r^ n \\ i \-4\ 11 jh, i i t If ..,,.. 210 November 1748. their fubjeAs, than conftables in a meeting of the inhabitants of a parifh, and hardly fo much. On my travels through the country of thefe Indiam, 1 had never any occafion to go and vrait upon the Sachems y for they always came into my habita- tion without being afked : thefe vifits they com- monly paid in order to get a glafs or two of brandy, which they value above any thing they know. One of the five Sachems, mentioned above, died in England-, the others returned fafe. The firft colonifls in New Tork were Dutch- men : when the town and its territories were taken by the Englijh, and left them by the next peace in exchange for Surinam, the old inhabitants were allowed either to remain at New Tork, and to enjoy all the privileges and immunities which they were poflefTed of before, or to leave the place with all their goods : mod of them chofe the former -, and therefore the inhabitants, both of the town and of the province belonging to it, are yet for the greateft part Dutchmen ; who ftill, cfpecially the old people, fpeak their mother tongue. They begin, however, by degrees, to change their manners and opinions ; chiefly indeed in the town and in its neighbourhood j for moft of the j young people now fpeak principally Engkjh, and go only to the Englijh church ; and would even 1 take it amifs if they were called Dutchmen andj not Englljkmen. Though the province oi New Tork\'s& been I inhabited by Europeans muc4i longer than fenfjl- vam'a, y^t it is not by far fo populous as that ce-j 'a. ■ - lonv/ iony. TJiis cannot be afcribed to any Dartlmf. very different redbn^whii I "n '^'' '"'"^ °^^ fettle. After the/haSd thlre'ro ^^ ""^^^^ and had built houfes ndcthSr/ ''".'' corn-fields and meadows, thet fees an^"''^ Vileges were infringed, and under f^!, ? P"" tenccs, they were Jn^L^ a ""?«'^/everaI pre- their land/ rLlTtl^ot':^^^^ "^ they returned violence for See JhhT'' thofe who thus rohheri fi,™ "°'fnce, and bea,t exarperatii thf S^ l^^reX^'aft ^r ettle^in Penfyhanm : there they were exc Jninl^ ^2 and ) il if^ ^i;- i I Ml r r "lllll'lll 212 November 1748. [tm Va I % i and always went to Penfyhania. It fometimei happened that they were forced to go on board fuch fhips as were bound to New York \ but they were fcarce got pn (hore, when they haftened on to Penfyhania, in fight of all the inhabitants of New fork. But the want of people in this province may likewife be accounted for in a different manner. As the Dutchy who firft cultivated this country, obtained the liberty of ftaying here by the treaty with Englandy and of enjoying all their privi- leges and advantages without the leaft limita- tion, each of them took a very large piece of ground for himfelf j and many of the more pow- erful heads of families made themfelves the pof- feffors and mafters of a country of as great an extent as would be fufficient to form a middling and even a great pari(h. Moft of them being very rich, their envy of the Englifi led them not to fell them any land but at an exceffive rate; a pradice which is ftill punctually obferved among their defendants. The EngliJJ:), therefore, as well as people of different nations, have litde encouragement to fettle here. On the other hand, they have fufficient opportunity in the other provinces to purchafe land at a more mo- derate price, and with more fecurity to them- felves. It is not then to be wondered, that fo many parts of New York are flill uncultivated, and have entirely the appearance of defarts. This inilance may teach us how much a fmall miftake in a government will injure population. Nov, 3d. About noon we fet out from New Tork on our return ; and, continuing our journey, 'f'hrj mfid ,rf; II I !|f '*i 1^ r Racoon. •'^N. . "1 fn m American Pole-Oat. I liiiiiil Penfyhama, Philadelphia. cyder, which^hey were oWi"'^ '^°.'"^'^= '^^^i' their apples were'^fo rf' ^^^^ to do becaufe trees. But on our ioifl u ^?P ^'■°'» the we obferved the peon e7n^ '^T^\ ^^ Tork out the cyder. Ws J 'T?'"^"'^ '" P^^^^ng i'^#A;^«^ the apples 1 foi"" '^ •°°^' *''^' '^ t^-» Tork; but wT her thtT "^' '^^'^ ^" nature of the foil nr , . °^'"g to the -er in PMaM^hi: l^^Z '''''f ^^^ ^'"»- know not. However »K, ° ' "''l'' ""fe' I vantage in making'c^er rearlv"'^/"'' ^^- penence had taught the tlV °' ^°"S «- 1 HERE IS a certain quadrunpri ,.,K- t, • common not onlv in P^r; ^- ,'^^ " Pretty other provinces Xoth^ST' ^,« 'ikewifeij rica. and goes bv tL '^'*'^^*"d Nortl^ Ame- «««i/ The iw^7he^'\'^'^ generally call if .«"ed it F^^«<,, on accoun^^fT "^"i^l^^me. « fometimes caufes as ?!(.''' ''.°™'^ '^^"^'^ The i?r.„c^ i„ cw/ for ,^'" P^^^^»tly /how. it Bitepuantl Tt'J^' the fame reafon, call ,t'^«^/^^s.iidof ti:ri "' ff-^ hfewifecall it Pekan cTl' -^T^ "^'^^'n '" — ^ wiawji it Plate 62 n- r • *'',: V ^^z. Dr. i/;7/?,^^^j- calls ^ it nf 'Its f \\ n 1 1 P- ^' 1 il4 tstoijemier 1748, it Ft'vertd Puion'us.* This animal, which U very fimilar to the Marfan, is of about the fame fize, and commonly black : on the back it has a longitudinal white ftripe, and two others oft each fide, parallel to the former. Sometimes, but very feldom, fome are feen which are quite tvhite. On our ret-irn to Fhiladelphiay we faw one of thefe anim« t far from town, near a farmer's houfe, killeu by dogo , And after watds t had, duting tny flay itl thefe j)arts, feveral op- portunities of feeing it, and of hearihg its qua- lities. It keeps its young ones in holes in the ground, atid in hollow trees j for it does not con- fine itfelf to the grdtind, but climbs up trees with the greateft agility : it is a great enemy to birds, for it breaks their eggs, and devours their young dhe^ ; and if it cdn get into a hen-rooft, it foon deftroyS all its inhabitants. This animd has a particular quality by which it is principally known : when it is purfued by hien or dogs, it runs at firft as faft as it can, or climbs Upoti a tree ; but if it is fo befet by its purfuers, as to have no other way of making its cfcape, it fquirts its urihe upon them. This, according to fome, it does by wetting its tail with the urine, whence, by a ludden motion, it fcatters it abroad; but others believe, that it could fend its urine equally far without the help of its tail ; I find the former of thefe accounts to be the moft likely. For fome credible people * Of this animal, and of the above-mentioned kacoctit is a re- prefentation given plate 2, both from original drawings ; the German and the i^wedifli edition of Prof, Kalfn\ woik being both WHhuu( (his piate, K affured ^enjyhama, Philadelphia. alTured me, that they have had their faces wett.^ horrid a ftench that nnfh^ Theunnehasfo ro.ethi„gii,i'£7t^:L.s;:v^^ rpreadTits ^.Tou ""„^:t''^:^ ^^^ *' while, and it feem, i« ; f '"^^^'''^ ^O"" ^ in cafe the ui„e comes i^nV''"' ^'''^'^' ^"^ is likely to be blinded M ! *^'*' '^ f ^^^°n chace p^urfue the poleit vtrvT. f* *" '" ^ asfa/astheyca„Cfe^\;:;;^f^^J- killed the polec^ buVthU , ^ ' m ' *?"Sht and then to rufc their nofes in !L''" °^^'f^ "°^ ^«d relieve themfclves ' ''^ ^^"""^ '° "'''l" '° unlefs they bS co:eS "1^7"°^; Vif" ^-T^^^' ed to remain under it for twent t' I ^''^^" gether, when it wil in a S ^ml/ ^°T '°' movpH TU„r "» '." a great meafure, be re- moved. Thofe likewife who have ffot anv of this urine upon their far/. -.r^A u j e°' ^"7 01 with loofe pirA J / "° "*"'^«' rub them Tn the ,?^u„d 1' ""* ?'"' ^^^° h°ld their-hands cithi r awayfTr' on"'!;! '^°"^''' ^^ P-P'« rudely denied h n? 'e„°rant ^D '"^ ^ I""''' hunted a doI«~„7 ^^ , ^°g' *'>*' have ^fterward^S Z^f^^SZ^.' .^^ ^-^ days . ._ „. „„nui ug Dorne in the ^4 houfe. I 1 ';?l '.'(?• ■ i I 1 M .f- ! Mr' i6 November 1748. houfe. At Philadelphia I once faw a great num- ber of people on a market day throwing at a dog that was fo unfortunate as to have been engaged with a polecat jufl: before, and to carry about him the tokens of its difpleafure. Perfons when travelling through a forefl:, are often troubled with the flink which this creature makes ; and fometimes the air is fo much infedted that it is necefTary to hold one's nofe. If the wind blows from the place where the polecat has been, or if it be quite calm, as at night, the fmell is more flrong and difagreeable. In the winter of 1749, a polecat, tempted by a dead lamb, came one night near the farm houfe where I then llept. Being immediately purfued by fome dogs, it had recourfe to its ufual expe- dient in order to get rid of them. The attempt fucceeded, the dogs not choofing to continue the purfuit : the ftink was fo extremely great, that, though I was at fome diiTmce, it afFedled me in the fame manner as if I hau '^n ftifled ; and it was fo difagreeable to the cattle, *at it made them roar very loudly : however, by dc ^esitvanifh- cd. Towards the end of the fame ear one of thefe animals got into our cellar, but o flench was obferved, for it only vents that when it is purfued. The cook, however, found for feveral days together that fome of the meat which was kept there was eaten ; and fufpedting that it was done by the cat, fhe fhut up all avenues, in order to prevent their getting at it. But the next night, being awoke by a noife in the cellar, fhe went down, and, though it was quite dark, faw an animal with two fhining eyes, which feemed to lanimals, ; ppt the) mtn th( pays eat pin, they pattheffe ipoken w, po affure ound it V, TPenfyhania, Philadelphia. ',- 41 toht all on fire- /Tip Ur. ^^ ■>. but not before the ir'' ''/"'"'^'^ t'""ed cellar with a r^o^ltAlt' ^t' ^^^ was lick of it for feveral H., c r „^^^ n^a'd flerh, and other pSonTkentV" );'''= ^^='''1. were fo penetrated with i Z\ *^^ ""^^ make the leaft ufe of them ' If "'^ ^I^^''^ "°' throw them aU away ' ""'^ '^^'"^ ^o^ed ta r..?ro:: oftrUSlnt'^'^^^"^^ - ^- that the polecat eit^s^o?" Iw' ' ^""^'"''^ or that it fleeps very hard ,T • u ^'^^ ^^'7 %, coming home^out of a wood in"'?/' '^'''''"»^ 'ng, thought that he faw.ni ^'"'"me'- cven- hin>; ftolping to plS k*^ h"' "'"'^'"g ''-^ore convinced of fts miLkt "; b„?M° '^'^ ^"^ den covered with the urine of !^' ?" °" '^ ^"d- fail, as ft ftood upright h! f ^ P°''^^'' ^^ofe or a plant : the'^Sire hfnf r*" '^^'^ ^''feei foeifeftually. that he 1, m,^ . ''''" ''' ^^^ng" get rid of the ftench ''' "' ^ ^°'"» how w < ei^r«c4 and tbe<^^f; '^^ ^'''des, 4em. They follow tfcV^^[«,P^««. tame fmmals. and never make nrr^'u ^^^' ^°'^^^^'^ W they be verv m,,!., k°^ *^''' ""««, ex- K„ th^ /«^W lilT"fi^;«^'? or terrified. Pys eat its flefh • but wT P/''*''"' »hey al- |in. they take care ' i'" '^'^ P"" "^ its ^tthe/e/hmay noLSat./?^ '^^ ^^^'^'J^'". fMen with both fiS^^'^^T"- ^have h» afl-ured me that tl/fc '"'^ ^'•^«'^«^«. Nnd it ve.v „^j _ ^'^''y had eaten of it. ,J i --■' ^°°" '"^«. and not much unhk^ the :^r , ;j. Mi '7 » -mmmu iiiiiinl n ^iS November 1748. the flefli of a pig. The Ikin, which is pretty coarfei and has long hair, is not made ufe of by the Europeans > but the Indians prepare it with the hair on, and make tobacco pouches of it, which they carry before them. November 6th. In the evening I made a fifit to Mr. Bertram, and found him in convcr- fation with a gentleman oi Carolina, from whom I obtained feveral particulars 5 a few of which I ii^ill here mention. Tar, pitchy and rice are the chief produfts of Carolina. The foil is very fandy, and therefore many pines and firs grow in it, from which they make tar : the firs which are taken for this pur- pcfe are commonly fuch as are dried up of them- felfes ; the people here in general not knowing how to prepare the firs by taking the bark off on one* or on feveral fides, as they do in Opo- hthnia. In fome parts of Carolina they like- wife make ufe of the branches. The manner of burning or boiling, as the man defcribes it to me, is entirely the fame as in Finland. The pitch is thus made : they dig a hole into the ground, find fmcar the infide well with clay, into which they pour the tar, and make a fire round it, which is, kept up till the tar has got the confiftenceof pitch. They make two kinds of tar in the North\ American colonies: one is the common tar, which I have ^bove defcribed, and which is made of the (lems, branches, and roots, of fuch firs, as were already confideraWy dried out before 5 which is tlie moft common way in this country. The other way is peeling the bark from the firs on 0^ fide> aivd afterwards letting them ftand ano.| tiiWi Penfyhania, Philadelphia. ,j^ .hen felled and burnt fo^'t^L the'^arthJ: .s called fo from being made of green and frefl, trees ; whereas common tar is i^de nf A a trees: the burning is done in fW ''^^'^ asin Finland. Th^ufe ^li b kcfc Zf Tr , white firs will not fervVfhT, i r ' f°''*'* they are excellenrforCd, maWc 'r "^'' tar is dearer than common ta^ It' f , ^f "* pretty general complaint, thaihe fir i'^^ * almoft wholly de Aed'by l^l^^l^^' ''' Rice is planted in great quantitv^n C.r. Una; it fucceeds belt in marXr,i!J r "' rounds, which may b^la^utwatt^'^P^ hkewife npens there the fooneft. Whe e thr^ cannot be had they muft choofe Td ! fo»! htemkr .- it is planted Sws "1 ' J^ '!! & mJ inches fp^ is YefTt;"' FS";siai?L^Ltt^\r--T ^ *^""^"^ ^^^" ^n ^/r^/w, the fummer there (I 17^^ iW ? ' •mmmmmm 220 November 1748. there being too ftiort, and the winter too cold; and much lefs will it grow in Penfilvania, Th^y are as yet ignorant in Carolina of the art of making arrack from rice : it is chiefly ^outh Carolina that produces the greateft quantity of rice J and on the other hand they make the moft tar in North Carolina, Nov, 7th, The ftranger from C^rc/zW, whom I have mentioned before, had met with many oyfter {hells at the bottom of a well, feventy Englifi miles diftant from the fea, and four from a river : they lay in a depth of fourteen Englijh feet from the furface of the earth : the water in the well was brackifh ; but that in the river was frefli. The fame man, had, at the building of a faw-mill, a mile and a half from a river, found, firft fand, and then clay filled with oyfter (hells. Under thefe he found feveral bills of fea birds as he called them, which were already quite petrified : they were probably Glojfopetra. There arc two fpecies oi foxes in the £;?- glijh aolonies, the one grey, and the other red : but in the fequel I (hall (hew that there are others which fometimes appear in Canada. The grey foxes are here conftantly, and are very com- mon in Penfylvania and in the fouthern provin- ces : in the northern ones they are pretty fcarce, and the French in Canada call them Virginid^ Foxes on that account : in fize they do not quit( come up to our foxes. They do no harm t( lambs : but they prey upon all forts of poul- try, whenever they can come at them. The] do not however feem to be looked upbi t^e arrive 'dinary cc north ware 'Yer, thai Vica upon p^ern part; and fome [lowing ac< ' gentlemi too cold; ^enfylvania, ' of the art liefly South [uantity of e the moil 'ina, whom with many ill, feventy and four )f fourteen earth : the ut that in n, had, at and a half 1 then clay fe he found lem, which :e probably in the En- other red : [ there are nada. The very com- srn provin* etty fcarce, n Firginid o not quitej 10 harmK ts of poul" ;m. The] )ked upbi Penfyhania, FbiladeJphia. * — 2a J js animals that caufe a preaf H.,i c j for there is no rewnra gfvc^'for 1,*?^ 'J''?»g« » their flcin is -reatlv (i,»lZf ? ■ "'"8 "lem •• -ploy the h^a "'ii: tt'Zl' p"'7' r''° their clothes lined with 7t r" "P'*" '"""= K^afe is ufed again ft all t^^'Tt' ' ">" pains. Thefe foxes are f 1 . u °K rheumatic than the fed ones they a e A V"^' "''"'"<= •hough they be not Sred "'""""^ '^^ed ; »re tied up Mr rl/^ I ° ■■"" ^''°"f. but »ed thirrorfof'^S if h- "r '""'' '^- was fold in PhilJelJhia for' t^ n^n^'" °^ '' fa-pence in PenfylJanL ctren"; ^^'-'^^ ""^ Bartram ^nd federal othersT''!. "' ^^• aceordinp to the „n,„- ^^"'^^ ">e, that. Mw/th!: ktrZrnef "^"^ °^ *« country, before the P,/ f T^' '^''^ '" the of the''„,an„e7 rf fh:;^;^,^"''^'^ - «. But 'WO different aecounTs MrZ,"''"' ^ ^^^"^ v'ral other people were told kT '"'^ ^«- 'at thefe foxes'^came tto ^ ^ •"'". ^"'^'^«^' , J= arrival of the CZJ ^Z?" '°°" ^^'^^ hary cold winter. wheT'al ,t r ''''"■'°'- iiorthward was frozen ■ ? i '^ '^^^ ^° the •"ftr, that th^t^S pihTpstr '""^y -">ern p'^arts of EuroplZ J^'Z^ "' '^' 1"°^- M fome fome oZrs afl£i ^"^ 5'-- ^^««. fc"^ing account wL ftifti'::^' ">« '^c fol- h gentleman of fortu^f in^T: fctr^^ had nil ; f Hi 1 I- i 'i li >m ijI Novemher 174?. bad a great inclination for hunting* broijglit over a great number of foxes from Eurofi^ and let them loofe in his territories, that he might be able to indulge his paffion for hunt. ing * This is faid to have happened aJmoft at th? very beginning of New England*^ b^ng peopled with European inhabitants. Thefe foxes were believed to have fo multiplied, that fill the red foxes in the country were their offspring. At prefent they are reckoned among the noxious creatures in thefe parts 5 for they are not con- 1 tented, as the grey foxes, with killing fowl j but they likewife devour the lambs. In Penfyhm\ therefore there is a reward of two {hillings for killing an old fox, and oi one ftiiJUng for killing a young one. And in all other provinces there are likewife rewards offered for killing them. Their fkin is in great reqweft, and js fold as jlear as that of the grey foxes, th.at is, two fhil-l lings and fix-pence, in Penfylvanian currency. I • Neither of thefe accounts appear to be fatisfaftory ; anJ therefore I am inclined to believe that thefe red foxes originslljj xame ove^ from 4fi^, C^pft probajbly ^rpm I^amfchatka^ where thisl fpecies is comi^on. (See MiUerh Account of the Navigations oftht Ruffians, &c.) though in remote times, and thus fpread ovefl North Amtrica. It is perhaps true that the Indians never toojtl notice pf them till the Euro^am were fettled among them ; this J however, was becaufe they never had occafion to yfe their flcins;! but when there was a demand for thefe tbcy began to hunt theffll and, as they had not been much accuftomed to them before, t^efl eft'^emed them as a novelty. What gives additional confirmaUfl| to this is, that when Ha^Kuffians, under Gommodore^fn^g-.IandJ ■on the weftern coaft of America, they faw five xcd foxes whiM ^re quite tame, and feemed npt to be in the leaft afraid ofaieiij now this might very wefl have been the cafe, if we ^^PPP^ "'l tobave been fw many generations in a place where no oodydiW iurbed tiiemj bjit we cannot account for it, if we »magjncttj jtbey had been ufed to a country where Ijhe/e were many imm tanfa nii ktrharo rhov Kad beep nib^h 'hunted. Pf I Pinfyhania, Philadelphia. 32} ibme of the« are y.Z^^T^^^ii iZ hood, and Ml Stt' ^^^ ^^f^' wife frequently tore i„ nie^B rt, ^t^'''"'- and other youag a„d foaiS; '^^P' hogs. |me or foon affer. when t^^.t t"] 1" %/(/» were quite fettled here the A-^ me attacked by the fm.II Z i.. ■'"'^'"'" .hty got from LEurTpln- ,f" f«^« nothing of it before • if t;n T' ,**y ^"ew ! ehem and moft 5 the £1 '"'"^ ^-d^ds of .hen called Ar..fi^»fefU '7^"^' Ihen came, attrafted b^ the ftenl Th ""''''«' corpfes, in f«ch i»reaf n., k . °^ ^^^ ""any vou'red them aU. !^d even atlfn ^^ '^- healthy ones had enough S do t', • '^ /^" away. But fince th« ?• .' *° drive them Peark fo that they are n^w fe,7 'T '"'^P' it is very rarelv th^t ,ul .°'^ '<*"' and Tiis is attributed tl 2 ^""""'^ ""y diforders. kco«nt,;:t?r*j^f-«-c^^^^^^^^^ U abunStf" of thfc2:Vj r. '*'•" fields. witfe^LS.i:^'?^ ?^' "l8ht in the Wever. to nritL^t"?^ " ('=5f"g 'he wolves : x--— «. «.w mwnpiying toQ much. there ;l 1), ,' ■''■!■ III ■■ii.'wna I Itliiifiii if ' 224 i^ovemher 1748. there is a reward of twenty {hillings m Pen* fyhania, and of thirty in New Jerfey, for deli- vering in a dead wolf, and the perfon that brings it may keep the fkin. But for a young wolf the reward is only ten {hillings of the Penfyka- man currency. There are examples of thefe wolves being made as tame dogs. The wild Oxen have their abode principally in the woods of Carolina^ which are far up in the country. The inhabitants frequently hunt them, and fait their fle{h like common beef, which is eaten by fervants and the lower clafs of people, But the hide is of little ufe, having too large pores to be made ufe of for {hoes. However the poorer people in Carolina {prtsid thefe aides on the ground inflead of beds. Ttie Vifcum Jilamentofumy or Fibrous mijletoe, is found in abundance in Carolina; the inhabitants make ufe of it as {Iraw in their beds, and to adorn their houfes -, the cattle are very fond of it: it is likewife employed in packing goods. The Spartium fioparium grew in Mr. Bar- trams garden from Englijh feeds 5 he faid that he had feveral bufhes of it, but that the fro{l in the cold winters here had killed mo{l of them : they however grow fpontaneouHy in Sweden, Mr. Bart ram had fome Truffles^ or Linnam\ Lycoperdon I'uber^ which he had got out of a j fandy foil in New Jerfey, where they are abun-j dant. Thefe he {hewed to his friend from Carolina, and a{ked him whether they were the Tuckahoooii the India/is, But the {Iranger denied it, and ad* ded, that though thefe truffles were likewife very I common in Carolina, yet he had neyer feen thefli| ufed P^^fylvania, Philadelphia. ufed any other wav bnf';„ •,. ^ fentery ; and he g ve „, .h jf ' ^S«"«- the A,, of the W^&..^JeVZ^l[°"°^^'"gdefcr;ptio„ "larftes, and is dommn„T ^ ^'-"^^''•'''f^-ampsand greedily dig up its^oo , '^'K*:"'- The^o^s P'»^« ; and the /Jl"^ ? '>'''* "°fo in fu^ gather then. i„ theirtmbi ' £7''"" Jik^wife them ,n the fun-rhine, ?S d, ' '^' }^''°d'> dry of then.. Whilft the ro" 1 1^' ^"-^ ''.^'^^ hread J'd. but being driedTt kfo ?b'' '' ^''^' ^"^ of us acrimonyt Tn ; J , "° grcateft part ««7- Compare wi^h ,ht . *' ^'■^'* ^V- bereiatedin the fequel oftt r T ^^^'*^'l After dinner I a4i„ rl?^f '"'^ ^*^'^''^- ^'^- 8th. Sever"? T /"^ '° '°"'"- ^conomifts kept bee-htes It^' 'S^ '^^^4« poile/Tors profit: for b,'sfuc7f' "'^"'■^^'^ their the vva^ was for the *i "^ "^'^ well here • ™«"- but the honeUeJm^::,' ^'''^ *° traded own families, in diffe^nTwa'TK'^ °^'" "^='> nan.mous, that the comm7''J-^"P=°pIe were mr^A America beforeThe . '"'. ^^'"^ "°' '"" ;;^««^; but that thX were fiT' °f fl^^ £^- I'kewife generally declare if u • ^^^ ^^'^'^'•'^ "^;« feen any bees e £ t ,."''''' ^^"''« '^'^d "'hete elfe. before the fil '' '^'',"?°''^ o-" anv "1 years fettled here. This^'T '?:''' ^'''^ ^'^^' I by the name which the S ""''''" ^""firmed ,'«>"ngno particularname f u^"'' "'^'"^ f<"-. r^«' 'hey call them £ i'^^-'" '" '^'^^ 'an- %4/* firft bro„<,htThe 5^ ^' ^'^'- ''^=^3"^= the Ithev fl„ „!,._. •^.?"t tncm over: b„f „. . ^ ^ voi"! /'^""""'"y about tb^ ,;.;:t. "vP^Mt Q. f^^e wo^ds of North A^ ■f'lenca. re than tber by hundreds in the fnrih^ "*" ^^-"^ hi. arc bttt vtry few. The^^JlV' T^""* *here birds, which the fito.,*"^^^/*'''*?*'^' and the th« woods. But at thJc !• ^" "^^ole floefcs irt wW^waJW before he can rtaV/,^'"? ^? ^'>ed The caufe of ftis dim;„? .• ■ **"§'« Wrd. find. Before thf S"of t '^ ' '''^''^"J^ ^» country was uncultivated. znti^rP""'' '^^ refts. The ftw Indians rZf v \ f ^''^^ fo- Mmbcd the birds. The. . '"i ^''^ ^^'^om Mong themfelves, iron and <,n" .'"' "'^ t"de ino;^„ to them. oLhniy^Y'^'' ^«'e "n- W^ which at th« rime were 7 *, P''' "^ '^e "'ould ha^e fufficed o feed th/r P'- f ^"' ''^r^' and confidering that thell u- ^^"^ '"habitants , maize fields, c^ugL fife" 17 n'' '^''" ^'^^» bears, wild cattle? and other "''' I'^s, beavers. "'as delicious to them ^t, ^?T'* '^^°fi «efli 'i«'f they difturbed h"'b rds t^"/PPear how nval of great croud of 1 ^"^ fi"ce the ar- greatly changed: th IntTT'' ^""'"^^ ^- and the woods are cut^„ .^ " ,"''=^' peopled, "=afing in this countrv th l"'^ P^'^ '«- »nd ihootine in n^T.^-' "^^^ ^^^"^ t>v huntins- Scared themn;5'r?S^?;hirds.i„^f UKs-- / 'P""g 'he people ftiU If i I . ! ') 228 No^vcmher 1748. M'f'iii mm i|!' ^'wdi if ^Ni^ take both eggs, mothers, and young indifferently, becaufe no regulations are made to the contrary. And if any had been made, the fpirit of freedom which prevails in the country would not fuffer them to be obeyed. But though the eatable birds have been diminifhed greatly, yet there are others, which have rather inereafed than de- creafcd in number, fince the arrival of the £«- ropeans : this can moft properly be faid of a fpe? cies of daws, which the Englijh call Blackbirds ^^^ and the Swedes, Maize thieves ; Dr, Linnceus calls them Gr acuta ^ifcula. And together with them, the feveral forts of Squirrels among the quadru- peds have fpread ; for thefe and the former live chiefly upon maize, or at leaft they are moft greedy of it. But as population increafes, the cultivation of maize increafes, and of courfe the food of the above-mentioned animals is more plentiful : to this it is to be added, that thefe lat- ter are rarely eaten, and therefore they are more at liberty to multiply their kind. There are like- wife other birds which are not eaten, of which at prefent there are nearly as many as there were before the arrival of the Europeans, On the other hand I heard great complaints of the great dccreafe of eatable fowl, not only in this pro- vince, but in all the parts of North America, where I have been. , Aged people had experienced that with the filh, which I have juft mentioned of the birds: in their youth, the bays, rivers, and brooks, had fuch quantities of fifh, that at one draught in the * PrOPIp. LY Jbining hlacklth-^^s. morn- Penfylvania, PMladefphia. rS^'^L"? ^: """^'^/^ ''-'■^ was greatly altered Tnj ,h^ f '"■'^'"^ "^'"g^ "« fhe night loS 'whh .S?V,°^''."n,^°''' '" ^^•" ='» with thofe of the dtfnSr ' '"l-Pf"'^ ^''^ ^'■rae bifd.. being o^te^rgrb; tar '" °' brooks likewifc™S„"fiTt •*' "^'"/"'l' has been obferved here fhafthl fin,^'" = ^°^ '' river in order to fpawn in f J^^n * S° "P "^^ when they meet wfth J. I t"°^ "^^'^^ ' but proceedinrth; Tutnlck td P"""* *^''- i"gain. Of this I was affur.H K """' ^°"^ tune at Bojlon: his f tfi't'^.T" "^ l^ number of herrings throuZut f h ""^"^ ^ almoft always in fummtr in ! - '^'"''=''' ^"'^ countrvftat- h.f K I, •' ", ^ "^^'■' "Pon his dykein^Stwa£XTJe:r,t'-"'- ner ihey comnlainerl vl.T a ' ^" '^is man- decreafj-of S Old n. ^'';y "^^''^ °f *« they are fim taken iV t /j Vf^; for though -L bigand?sd"li".uTSc:S ^r> ''"'^ the oyfter.catchers oS^ that th^ ^'^t ^^ '" nifhes greatlv everv v^r I n""'"^*'" '^'■"t- of it, fs probab 7tC imlT°'* """;*' ^"''^ them at an times y,he iear "'*'"S of Mr. P'ranklim fbld m^* fT,-,* • 1 a;.:. fiV'^W where Sr fether lived 'Y ^^^ °^ fel nto the fe;» in ^ ^^^"er jived, two rivers great n.Xfof herrgs^'^S S\^^ ,""^''' one. Yet the olact. wh^'.u'".^ P '''^°5¥'- "»' * :."-"'"= wei's dilcharged ^3 thcm- I '^ I 1 " 5 i . Il«l if' 230 >• i '•> November 174?^ themfelvcs into the fca, were not ftf ^iundcr. They had obferved that when the herrings came in ipnng todcpofit their ipawn, they always Iwam up the river, where they ufed to catch them, but never came into the other. Thiscir. cumftance led Mr. Franklin^ father, who was fettl^ between the two rivers, to try whe^ ther it was- not poffible to make the herrings like^ wife live jp the other river, for that purpofc he pRt out his nets, ^s they were cotining up for fpawping, apd he caught forpe. He took the fpawn out of them, and carefully carried it acrofs the land into the other riv(gr. It was hatched, and the confecmence was, tih^^ cy^i^ year after- ter wards they caught m^rt herripgs in that river; and this is flill the cafe. This leads onp to be- lieve that the fifh always Jike to fpawn in the fame place where they were hatched, aedfrom whence they firfl put put tp fea 5 being a$ it were aCCuftOmGcl to it, n!.; ♦! The follov/ing is another peculiar obfervation. It has never formerly been; known that codfi(h were to. be caught n^Xcai^Q Binlopen : they were -always caught at thp mouth of ih^ Delaware: but at pr^fent they are numerous in the former place. Fromhence it may be concluded, that fiih likewife change their places of abode ofitheirown accoru. ^,j} (ft*'. Ui^i A CAPTAIN of a ihip who had becii in Green- land, aOerted from hi& own experience, that on pafling the feventieth (jeg. of north lat. thefum- mer heat was there much greater, than it is be- low that degree. From hence he concluded, that the fummer heat at the pok itfelf, muil be ftiil more Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 231 more exceffive fince the fun ftines therefor fuch a long fpace of t.me. without ever fetting. The fame account with fimikr confequenci drawn from thence Mr. Franklin had heard of the Z- capa,„s .„£,^ who had failed to tt 3l attoniihing is the account he got from r.;,nf.;r, /^.^r,//^/;^.. who ftill lives at 1^. He haS'fo" ot N^ England. But not catching as much a« difcovered peoole who had never feen European, before (and w W .s more aftonifhing) whoLd no idea If th^uft of fire, which they had never employed, and if Sh i? tZlt:"'! r^ ^-' -'^^ " ""-^ the CO t.,. B fth^tVelirTs 2^.^" which they caught quite raw. Captain Atk„s got fome very fcarce fldns i„ exchan^ge for W It is already known from feveral accounts of vopgcs, that tothe northward neither trees nor bujes nor any ligneous plants, are to be me It;i,f • f^^^^'^i^S- But is it not probaWe that the inhabitants of fo defolate a country, l.^e ther northern nations which we know? burn he train oil of fifhes. and the fat of animals " amps, in order to boil their meat, to warm thJ^ nels would be infupportable. 'r .-w. ,„;■,■. .. -(ytfu. I ith. Jn feveral writinss we read of a Lirgeammal, which is to b- ri^4 ,..:.u:t °r/ f I' :'■ J: i Qj- England, ;?3^ November 1748. BngLmU and other parts of North America Thty fometimes dig very long and branched horns out of the ground in Ireland, and no body in that country, or any where elfe in the world, knows an animal that has fuch horn^. This has induced many people to believe that it is the Moofi-dccr, fo famous in North America, and that the horns found were of animals of this kind, which had formerly lived in that ifland, but were gradually deftroyed. It has even been coiir eluded, that Ireland, in diftant ages, cither was connected with North America, or that a num- b^r of little ifiands, which arc lo/l at prefent, made a chain between them. This led me to enquire, whether an auim.al with fuch exceffiv? great horns, as are defcribed to the Moofe-deer, had ever been feen in any part of this country! Mr. Bariram told me, that, notwith(landipg he had carefully enquired lo that purpofe, yet there vyas no perfon who could give him any informa- tion which could be relied upon ; and therefore, he was entirely of opinion, that there was no fuch an animal in North America. Mr. Frank- lin related^ that he had, when a boy, feen two of the animals which they call Moofe-deer, but he well remembered that they were not ne^rof fuch ii lize as they muft have been, if the horns found in Ireland were to fit them : the two animals which he faw, were brought to Bojioriy in order to be fent to England to Queen ^«;?^. The height of the animal up to the back was that of a pretty tall horfe, but the head and its horns were ftill iiigher : Mr. Dudley has given a de- fcription ■ "'"g list Ig've to the el J»*'wk ; and t. p»^w, befoi t''lm-Ica, vver Ji.'iis continent p inconfider; P'verfal Jano ■''••" the elk is P"!fyhama, PhUadetphia. often enquired of the pZJ[ '? ^'"""^''. I tad evcr^ been feen fo jTrfT"' ^^"h<=r thU country, as fome people |v th '"'"''•' *'" ^^'' ^^-r;.^, «"d with fb,rJeat £ " '" ^"'"^^ «-«« dug out in irf/a'j ^fi ' , '- "■' ^°'"*=^ .).« fhey had never { ^rd of i ^l^'^^^f *°1«'* fen It: fome added. thaT if /f.' ="«* '""ch Jefs Mimal.. they certainVv mnft I ^"^ ^*' ^»<^h aa toe of their e.cSonTin hT '"".""'" '^ i" »re elJcs here, which are eit^J 7°?^'- ^h^e with the ^w * Amlant nacibus, /;, Adiianrus Min, 140. Mountain tened, made c buildings, he province, and in other it. ''Tiglijh North the Weji In^ places fait J boiling. I lefcribe fome lion, that the ike good fait where fome^ ter on their re northerly. fyhaniiiy but ity, no body ' of confider- bundi and I fthem, ities in Fen- provinces of ie with that t almoft all part of the| infinitely ea- 'fh ore. Fori 1 crow-foot, he fame eafe a hard foil ■ nothing ol e ore is like^ ley get fuel Tons inhabi' Pe«fyhania, Philadelphia, ^ tants of the colonies themfelv^. i, «. but great quantities^arTf.n?V u'' """"S'' of rope with it. This iron 1 , ""''^^ '° -B«- % building tha„oarM"^^"^<* ''«««r«>r becaufe falt^water does^Tfo °^' °'^?y°ther. Some people believed tW°??u^ " '^ -""ch. the freight, they could S Ct" "'>'"-' at a lower rate than any otherTation '"^ f"^!'^'^ when the country becomes bet ern^ fT^^'f labour cheaper. .^"" Peopled, and The mountain flax, * or .!,,► r • j . prabilibus mlliufculi X S.T''"''"~^^'-''f'- logy. which were publifteH ''' °" "^'"^"- amiant with foft iibr« S '" '739. or the rated, i. found ^S^^JytpZf '''■''' t^^' pieces are very foft othe^c ^^«^^w«a. Some , Frani/in told m e tW ^'^"^ *°"g'> • ^r. years ago. whe^h^ m, h '"'-'' ""'^ '"""^ odd 'he had^' Uttle pu'rrwith r^'^' '''.^"S^"'"'. mountain flax o/this Toutl ' !^\^' ^'^ '^e Rented to ^nHansSkanelt:"^^^ ^^ P^^- paper made of this ftone • f nH 7 ''''^^'f^ ^een "ceived fome fmal piSs'of ,> ^ ^T)^}^^^''^^ \ ™y cabinet. Mr. ^Franj! Lt"^' ^ ''^P '" Mhers, that, on exnnfi?f?u- ^''^" '°W by *= open ai; i„ S ^, ' V'"°""^^'> «« '» -W and wet, it would gr'toS " T '""^ I , o^^Y togetner, and more ^>2ountain flay 7^.,^ • ' lit I'i^ ,. I,;'' > l-jt I .1 • -', i: fiil Ji M i'f »: t >! In 23? NoveiJiher 1748.*. fit for fpinnlng. But he did not venttire to de- termine how far this opinion was grounded* On this occafion he related a very pleafant accident y^hieh happened to him with this mountain flax- Jie had, feveral years ago, got a piece of it^ which m gave to one of his jaurneymen printers, in order to get it made into aiheet at th<: paper mill As foon as the fellow brought the paper, Mr* Branklin rolled it up, and threw it into the fire, felling the journeyman he would fee a miracle^ 3 iheet of paper which did not burn : the ignorant fellow aflerted the contrary, but was greatly afto- Biihed upon feeing himfelf convinced. Mr. "Branklin then explained to him, though not very clearly, the peculiar qualities of the paper. As foon as he was gone, fomc of his acquaintance came in, who immediately knew the paper. The journeyman thought he would (hew them a great curiofity and aftonifh them. He accordingly told them, that he had curioufly made a (heet of paper which would not burn, though it was thrown into the fire. They pretended to think it impoflible, and he as ftrenuoufly maintained his aflertion. At laft they laid a wager about \i\ but whilft he was bufy with ftirring up the fire,' the others flyly befmeared the paper with fat : the jounieyman, who was not aware of it, threw it into the fire, and that moment it was all in flames : this aftonifhed him fo much, that he was almoft fpeechlefs ; upon which they could not help laughing, and fo difcovered the whole arti- fice. *■ In feveral houies of the town, a number of lit- tle ^^^rua about, living under ground, and in hole! tntttre to de- manded. On mt accident Duntab flax : of it^ which printers, iri ^ paper mill, paper, Mr. into the fire, a miracle, a the ignorant greatly afto- leed. Mr. Jgh not very paper. As Lcquaintance paper. The :hem a great accordingly ie a (heet of ugh it was d to think it intained his • about iti up the fire, ith fat : the it, threw it was all in that he was r could not whole arti- nberoflit" ind, and in hole? ^enfybi). 'anta^ ^hiladeiph ma. tofes in the wall. The length If thdr h^'^' one geometrical line TfS:" , "^ '^^es «» black or dark red: tW have L^'^T " '^*«' /yingofffweet thine {f,^ ^ ^"'^°'" '^"w- il common with hf Ltf Sh"" "°'"^ «' 'h««. franklin ^^ MSittlT'^'T- ^^' little infers coald by W '1 "''^"^ *at thefs to thoughts or dei« t:S'othr""h'* confirmed his opinion bv fom„ ,' *"'* he an ant finds fome £a7ir"" "^'''»Pl«- Whe« der ground to its ^ Sre T'f "^'^ "»" little while, a whole army coni!"^ ^^^ and marches to the place wW A r*""' •"''"^» carries it off by pieces or ff! ^"^^ "' '"''^ a dead fly wl^c'h Tc^ ^^Lr •: "'* mcd.ately haftens home, and r^faL r'™" more come out. creep to the fl? .nj ^"""^ away. Some time ago Mr Xfl'r^^ ""^ « earthen pot with trefS^.tdSP^'/J'"''' fook them^^utltd tSd tl'Lttir.";,'^ Afinlle ant by :L^'?;i^°7- ''y the W. ant eut till it was fatkfip^ l ", ''^^ P°' = th«s '0 get off. it II uS ^^rl:'" "r."'^'^ way out: it ran abonr th! k "'^^J" '°^"<1 «» in vain : at laft h foj,^' ''""^ "^ '^e pot. hue • Je way to get to thfcSgt" hTE'^^r «"'«out. got up to theceilfr .nT:^5.,*"« !l Jj j^i. *"OHg the 240 Nonj^mber 1748. 11 m the ftring irtto the pot, and began to eat ao^in- this they continued till the treacle was all eaten" in the mean time, one fwarm running down the ftnng, and the other up. Nov. r 2th. A MAN of fortune, who has Icn? been in this province, afferted. that, by twentv years experience, he had found a confirmation of what other people have obferved with regard to the weather, viz, that the weather in winter was commonly foretold by that on the firfl o^ No^em her, old flile, or twelfth new ftile -, -if that whole day be fair, the next winter will bring but little rain and fnow along with it; but if the firft half of the day be clear, and the other cloudy, the beginning of winter would accordingly be fair but its end, and fpring, would turn out rigorous .md difagreeable : of the fame kind were the other prefages. I have likewife in other places heard of fimilar Lgns of the weather; but as a mature judgment greatly leiTens the confidence in them fo the meteorological obfervations have fufficient- ly fhewn, how infinitely often thefe prophecies, have failed. , , . ' Pensylvania abounds in fprings, andyoBi commonly meet with a fpring of clear water on one or the other, and fometimes on feveral fides of a mountain. The people near fueh fprings • ufe them for every purpofe of a fine fpring waten They alfo condua the water into a little ftone building near the houfe, where they can coniinej it, and bring frefh fupplies at pleafure. In fura- .njer they place their milk, bottles of wine, ad ^^ other liquors, in this building, where they keepj .^-cool apd freili. In many country, houfes, tliel kitcbeii kitchen or buttery w,c f r * "" "nder it. a„<7had hfwa^ef '^' ""'^ " """'« Not on y peonU „f r "^ ""^^■' at land 'hat had fo2 pSeffionT"'"' '"' "-' o^'ers P°"ds in the co\,n try °e ' h'^'T"'/ ''^ fiO* always took care that fre.Ti" ''°"?'- They their ponds, which i/teri 1/ ""^^' ^"" "to f"-.that purpofe the pS/tr^'°'^ '^'^^•^ Spring on a hill. ^ ' ''^'^^ Placed near a Nov, I ? th T P^^nce. a ready ^^hoj^f^' Pa«sof.bis g'-afs to grow in theSdolf w^ P'^"'^ of remembered what I ha^ f , ^^"^ «"« be 'h; rprings. whi ha :Vom«-'"'";'°"^d about fid« of hi,,,, 3„j fo4^"?™« f°"nd on the jneadows lie commonTy ^ L'" r,^"'«- The thehdls: if they are too r, "*""== ''"ween water is carried off tyt-.S^.P^ and wet. the fummer ,„ /'.^^-W^ ij'™ ^'^^^es. But the often burns the ?r.ft V "^^^^ot; and the fun very attentive to prevent this ntf-' ^''" ''=«" "> that purpofe they look for .1. u" '"=^''°^^ .' the neighbourhood of °f^;°;'" '^^ 'prings in vu lets flowed before L, he 17//"'^ '' *- ri- vaHies, they raife the Ce^ 'J°"''* ,^-=>y into the andncceffary. to the hS' '^^ f'^I '^ P°«5'''= aim make feveral narrow ^ °^/''' "^"^^dow. brook, down into the pTafn f^T^'- ^'""^ the watered by it. When h^ "'"' " '^ entirely places, they frequenSv "at t'' T ^""^ deeper them, through wh"ch Z °'^'" gutters acrofs other fide, a^d fTomlbS ,eT' *'°'^^ »° *= narrow channel, J ..^ "' is again, hv v».„ Voj f "'"' '^^f'cd to -i'-' "'""*-'' R a]] the places where I I (« I Iff ;n"f. . H7,r I f^^«'' •i!r ■ ■ ■ .1 «!l iifi N 242 November 1748. Avherc it feems neceflary. To raife the water the higher, and in order to fpread it more, there are high dykes built near the fprings, between which the water riles till it is fo high as to run down where the people want it. Induftry and ingenuity went further : when a brook runs in a. wood, with a diredion not towards the mea* dow, and it has been found, by levelling, and taking an exad: furvey of the land between the meadow and the rivulet, that the latter can be conducted towards the former ; a dyke is made, which hems the courfe of the brook, and the water is led round the meadow, over many hills, fometimes for the fpace of an Eng/ifi mile and further, partly acrofs vallies in wooden pipes, till at laft it is brought where it is wanted, and where it can be fpread as above-mentioned. One that has not fcen it himfelf, cannot believe how great a quantity of grafs there is in fuch meadows, efpecially near the little channels; whilft others, which have not been thus ma- naged, look wretchedly. The meadows com- monly lie in the vallies, and one or more of their fides have a declivity. The water can therefore eafily be brought to run down in them. Thefe meadows, which are fo carefully watered, are commonly mowed three times every fummer. But it is likewife to be obferved, that fummer continues feven months here. The inhabitants feldom fail to employ a brook or fpring in this manner, if it is not too far fioin the meadows to be le':< to them, Th£ leaves were at pi fcrit fallen from all the trees ; both from oaks, anil from all thofe which have I .( Ala Poifyhania, near Germ^„, have deciduous leave, a , " ground in the woods fix' indl'^^ ^""^'^'^ ''>« quantity of leaves wh.Vh J ^^P* "^''^ S^eat ..eceflbily feen, t^ e Jrei?tr"'"">'' "-"'-l n>o"ld greatly. Howc^^er t • "^ "^/^'^ ^aclc or four tnclies thicic i„ the t P°' ''^°'^ '"'^« %sa brick-coJoured clav ,r°^'' """^ ""^er it 'he fame colour. It 'fA "I'^^lr'''' « ^and of 'J'hich, in all probab lift u '''''''^' 'i^at a foil ftouid becove':edS^^ '^f.^^no^been fti„^^^^^^ plenriful^t- J;„^^^%J-^. X run about 1 here intend to defcrib; ,Z f''^"' ^P«"es , more accurately. "'^ "^^^ common forts ^«/.r/.«. Their ihape cor J T^'' "^ ^"'''b on^Swedrfi fquirreKut th *";i ^''^ 'hat of t-y J^ceping their grey colon ^ v^t' ^'°"' 'hem SirtJe7 "^'"^ ^Si g "b-: /^ Vr ^°"^' in aji tiiele provinr^c « j^ , . oto^*^- The woof?« confift of tfees S decid^'^'" ^^^wj Ach thefe fquirrels like 1 ?■" ^'^''^'' ^"d in I /4» call It the Vi^^r • • * "'• 2, p. 7^ . • fc^d-j call it ffrnn tT ^^^^ ^^ter Vi^l r\.l ™on'y in hollow f«eT 1/ '"" ""^^ ^^^ '^"m- flraw. and other fofi fh; ^f* '"^'^^ of mofs ' r»Inuts/ hiccoru "".!' ^J" nquapins, chefnut.,^ - . nu.o, .„a tne acorns of the different 1/ r, i '4 I' Il ' !^| 2^^ Ncvemier 1748. different forts of oak which grow here; but maize is what they are moft greedy of. The ground in the woods is in autumn covered with acorns, and all kinds of nuts which drop from the numerous trees ; of thefe the fquirrels gather '-'/, when theoatr'"^' '""'^^ds the end once obferved a numbe T/r '" ^">' ^o-ertl fometimes fi.e. fix. or m "e ^r^''* on them off the flower-ftalks a Se IJ '''I' "''^o bi and dropt them on the I! T°*'' 'be fiowers "t any thing off them of "II'' ^ whether thej fome other purpofe ru "'^''^ "'e of them fn^ oak do '^^ ^''^ adhered VorT' '"."'^'^'^ oaks do not bear fo much /P'^ ™s reafoa the JoS^ and other animal as th"" ''^ ^^'■' '» ^ed •io^^ ' "' '^^y would otherwife \uirU'L?fo^f iX'";'; '•" thk country, the "«ve feen them tamed fo/ ,' P"''Pofe- X «'"o»v the bov. ;nt! 1.^° ^^^ that they wo„Id loiiow the boys IntnTi, "'"' ^^^'•y where. rL"!fu.''>^W°'>d s> and run ah "cn tired vvouJrl r.f ~ "V"' R , ^^^^^ "t on their Moulders, if m S>^Wi ini 246 November 174^« fhoulders. Sometimes they only ran a little way into the wood, and then returned home again to the little hole that had been fitted up for them. When thr^y eat, they fit almoft upright, hold their food bfivvcen their fore feet, and their tail bent upwards. When the tame ones got more than they could eat at a time, they carried the remainder to their habitations, and hid it amongfl: the wool which they lay upon. Such tame fquirrels (hewed no fear of ftrangers, and would fuffer themfelves to be touched by every body, without offering to bite. They fometimes would leap upon ftrangers' cloaths, and lieftill on them, in order to fleep. In the farm-houfes, where they were kept, they played with cats and dogs : they likewife eat bread. The wild grey fquirrels likewife hold up their tails when fitting. As foon as they perceive a man, they continually wag their tails and begin to gnafh with their teeth, and make a great noife, which they do not readily give over. Thofe who go a fhoocing birds and other animals, are •therefore very angry at them, as this noife dif- covers them, and alarms the game. Though a grey fquirrel does not feem to be very fl-jy, yet it is very difficult to kill ; for when it perceives a •man, it climbs upon a tree, and commonly chufes the highcft about it. It then tries to hide itfelf behind the trunk, fo that the fliootcr may not fee it, and though he goes ever fo faft round the tree, yet the fquirrel changes its place as quickly, if not quicker 5 if two boughs bend to- wards each other, the fquirrel lies in the middle of them, and prefles itfelf'fo clofe, that it is hard- er OWft, ^47 ^enfyhanla, near Germant ly vilible You may then (].ake the tree thrn.o fticks and (lones to the olare vx^k! . ^'./"^^w ihoot at it, vet it wfll n ^'^ '^ ^'^'^ ^^ L r . . -^ ' ^^'' never flir Tf *u^ branches join, it takes refuge between then, /^° lies as clofe to them ai n^mKi ■ , "' *"^ fufficiently fafe. slc i,St'!f ^"'^ ""^" " " where there are oldTeft "f V • f " °" " '"'=' '"■rds: it Hips ,nto fuch L^T"^''u' °*"'^^g= either by fhootinl tr^J ""°' '"^ S°t o„t. f- the grey f;s;ft:,r,f ,:aV ^"^^ toanothu. ex'ceptextreJl J^,tX;::r a = ~.XaJ~ ward. Several of them which I n,„f ■ f woods had great numbers of fleas '" "'^ 1 HAVE already mentioned, that th^r^ r • rels are among the animals, which at orereS"'"'" more plentiful than tN.... ^ vv"it,n at prelent are • I . /, •'^ o''-'*'-Cr CUltJVaaon of rrrnV^ «,u- l carrv m?,; 1 n^ "' ^"'^ ^'^ori'S. which thev i The??rrfo'^.r^'<^^f^ ^'^ ^^^'^ ^- Provifions. thl^ thouS, fcuts^''""^^ "P °^ tremely plentiful thifyear vet it ^.•ffi'V^- quirrels came down in R fuch 'n % 248 Novcmbtr 1 748. ■ 1 b ii it HI |w ^^1 is m ^E 1 '(' n\ I^H'jB \jA, ^Hl'B" I' i fuch numbers from the higher parts of the coun- try, the winter enfuing was uncommonly rigor- ous and cold, and for that realbn they always look upon their coming down as a fure iign of fuch a winter. Yet this does not always provft true, as I experienced in the autumn of the year 1749 : at tliat time a great number of fquirrels came down into the colonics, yet the winter was very mild, and no colder than common. But it appeared that their migration was occafioned by the fcarcity of nuts and acorns, which happened that year in the higher parts of the country, and obliged them to come hither for their food. Therefore they generally return the next year to the place from which they came. Some people reckon fquirrel flefh a great dainty, but the generality make no account of it. The ilcin is good for little, yet fmall /traps are fome- times made of it, as it is very tough : others ufe it as a furr lining, for want of a better. Ladies flioes are likewife fometimes made of it. The Rattk'Jnake often devours the fquirrels, notwithftanding all their agility. This un- weildy creature is faid to catch fo agile an one, merely by fafcination. I have never had an op- portunity of feeing how it is done : but fo many credible people aflured me of the truth of the fadl:, and afierted that they were prefent, and paid peculiar attention to it, that I am almofl forced to believe their unanimous accounts. The fafcination is efFcdled in the following manner: the fnake lies at the bottom of the tree upon which the fquirrel fits 5 its eyes are fixed upon the little animal, and from that moment it cannot cfcapej it ^"•fyl'-'''ni>. near G<:nna,Uom. 2^5, ;■' '''S'"^ "^ doleful outcry, which i, f, „ known, that a perfon oaffln* k, , "^ ""■'" immediately knows thaMfU^J'^' °" ''^^ring it. The fqui Jl runfup tt elr/' '^ ^^-''- Jownwards again, then ko« ud 'r'^' """^ bwer again. On that Cafi^'n t J "7 ••'^T' ferved. that the fquirrel alwa^l i ''^'" °''- ihan it goes up. ThlLT/Il S°" ''°^" more root of the tree with ir?. c T*'""^' « «he rcl, with wS Tt at In^r' ^^''^ °" ^'''='q«r- up. .hat a person a cEall v ^^.^ '"'/"'^ '''^^" makeaconfiderable niifrSPT'^^' ""^^ much as turning about 'rTe^' '^' ^"^'^^'^ ''^ mentioned comLl ways lower '^"'li'''' "f '^^'""^'=- down to the fnake. whofeTo ' h" T ^f ^''^' open for its recep ion T^ "J " r'?'^^ ^''*'= then with a piteous cry runs into ^ J'"'^»"'""I and is fwallowed at once f T 1 ^"'''' ** -''"^»' bu! if its fize will not alfoj t^°' '°,? '''^^ »tonce. the fnake licks it Tevra°t.l"''"r-''* ed in the Memoirs nf *i d ? V ^^^® mfert- J?r/ ^^'^.....irheltnfeT t^'^ '"''"''• therefore am not fo circumft^^V ^ ,^''' '753. fime power of enrl,on,- ■ . ""^' ''^r^- The of fnakeTwh ch is "r^ '' f "''^'^ '° fl>« ''i"d MonZS anditTr°"> ""^'l '''^ ^^''^'^ 'our fquin-els i^' the fl'"' '" "'^'^ ='"'* ^''- ffler*7 '" '"e ^-"ne manner as the for- jif !^ li ,: i. ! i. JT;! ^m^ a 50 November 1748. But thefe little animals do confiderable da- mage to the maize, not only whilft it is upon the ftalk, as I have before obferved, but even when it is brought home into the barns : for if they can come at it without any obflacle, they can in a few nights bring a whole bufliel away into their lurking holes. The government, in mofl of the North American colonies, has therefore been 0- bliged to offer a certain premium to be paid out of thecommon treafury, for the head of a fquirrel. It feems inconceivable what a fum of money has been paid for grey and black fquirrels heads, in the province of Penfyhania only, from the firft of yanuary iy^g,tothG{iT{iorjanuary 1750; forwhen the deputies from the feveral diftrids of the pro- vince met, in order to deliberate upon the affairs of the province, each of them complained that their treafuries were exhaufled by paying fo much for iijuirrels j for at that time the law had ap- pointed a reward of three pence for each fquir- rel's head. So far extended the vengeance taken upon thefe little creatures, i. e. upon the grey and black fquirrels. It was found, by cafting up accounts, that in that one year eight thouland pounds of Penjyhania currency had been expend- ed in paying thefe rewards : this I was affured of pitiful noife, and are fo bufy in running up and down the tree and the neighbouring branches, in order to draw off the attention of the fnake from their brood, and often they come fo very near in crdci to fly away again, that being within reach of the fnakes, they are at laft bit, poiioned, and devoured ; anu this will, I believe, perfedlly account for the powers of fafcinating birds and fmsll creatures in the fp.akes. F. by lerable da- is upon the ;ven when for if they they can in ^ into their nofl of the re been o- paid out of fquirrel. It noney has s heads, in L the firft of 0; forwhen of the pro- the affairs ained that ig fo much w had ap- each fquir- ance taken I the grey cafling up t thouiand sn expend- s affured of m the tree and le attention of b very near in le fnakes, they vill, I believe, )irds and fmsll by Flying SauiRHEL.. Grouj^td Squirrel t«||j KElt Pnfyhania, near Germanto'wn. j , , g^a man who hatl looked over the accounts him- Many people, efpecially voung men, left all other employment, and weni into^he ^oods to ihoot fqmrrels ; but the government, having v! penenced how much three pence per head took r^SrS: '"'^'^ '^^'^ ^^'' ^- 4- Flying Squirrels are a peculiar kind which feem to be the fame with thofe which "n- habit F^nland, and which Dr. Linn^us, in hil W Svectca, No 3 8, calls Sciurus volaL The i«.r/.«« flymg fquirre! at the utmoft is onlv I variety of that which we have in Finland, cl}. i 'li"£Tf -ufry of Carolina, Vol. fp. SQmRRELp call grouni d drawn them atural Hijkrj\ dwards in his He and Dr. r the ftreakii re in trees, asj in the grouni its) in whit! refuge whei loles go deep) ide into man g enough td to the lurfad ed the J?ying Squirt I. a figure of onf on the fame plan ther the /mim n the north of £« tan kind hasaM i, which iSom r'etifyhanh, near Germantown. jr, ^ the ground from one of thefe branches. The advantage they have from hence, is. that when .trough which they went out. they may not ex- ifn^rf^'r"-'" ^""S'^^' but prefJntly find the 0 her hole into which they ma/ retreat : but ,n autumn, when the leaves fall Lra the trees or fome t.me after, it is diverfion to fee the con: toation they are fometimes in when pu fued or their holes be.ng eafily coveted with Aegrea al of leaves, or by the wind, they have a frea deal to do, to find them on a fudden : they Then run backwards and forwards, as if they had loft . Cr way : they feem to know the pla/es where they have made their fubterraneous walks bit cannot conceive where the entrances are. If tW ethenpurfued, and one daps his hands, hey know no other refuge than that of climbing „p! on a tree j for ,t is to be obferved that thefe fauL rels always hve under ground, and n veTclmb rTto" finH".r'' K r^"^^' ^"'l ""^We in the h^- ry to find their holes. This kind of fquirrels is much more numerous in PenfyhaniTxhZt Xhth^v^eri"^ ttV^ '^-"i s-nches, ^^L^^::^^ VZT'- '^^' ^"" '= ferrugiVous, o of" eddifh brown, and marked with five black ftreaks one of which i .u alone the bark onA I ' each Mf Tk • e P '"^ MCK, and two on orn «' ^^'i:'/^^ "nfifts of all forts of ZL ^'' i"'''^' ^'^^f' m^-i^e. and of ZL"""' ^"- "^^'y S^'^'' 'heir winter " -■ "-' " -■- iioics under «ix HI 4.1 r-' :;;! '/, ^i; t ■> ground. ■'',-