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Lea diagrammes suivanta illuatrent la mAthode. y erreta kI to nt ne pelure, 9on k n 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 TRAVELS INTO NORTH AMERICA; containing Its Natural History, and A circumftantial Account of its Plantations and Agriculture in general, WITH THE CIVIL, ecclesiastical and commercial STATE OF THE COUNTRY. The MANNERS of the INHABITANTS, and feveral curious and IMPORTANT REMARKS ou vaiioas Subje^, Bv PETER KALM, Profeffor of Oeconomy in the Univerfity of A»h in Swedilh Finlantl, and Member of the SweJrfi Royal Academy of Sciences. TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH By JOHN REINHOLD FORSTER. F.A.S. Enriched with a Map, feveral Cats for the lllufiration of Natural Hiftory, and fome additional Notes. VOL. I. WARRINGTON: Printed by WILLIAM EYRES. MDCCLXX. .. „*1^£SS^:;;r:: ■me CT n 'A TO THE HONOURABLE DAINES BARRINGTON, One of his Majefty's Tuftices of the Grand SefTions fot the Counties of AnoleseYj Caernarvon, and MERIONfeTHi SIR, IPrefume to prefix your name to a performance which will in fome meafure difplay to the Britijb nation, the circumftances of a coun- try which is fo happy as to be under its protecSion. Every lover of knowledge, efpe- cially of natural hiftory, niuft be fen- fible of YOUR zealous endeavours to promote every branch of it. It was my great happinefs to fall within your notice, and to receive very fubftahtisil and f^afeMble favoruts from your a 2 patronage IV DEDICATION. patronage and recommendations. I {hall ever remain mindful of your generofity and humanity towards me, but muft lament that I have no other means of expreifing my gratitude than by this publick acknowledgment. Accept then. Dear Sir, my ear- ned wifhes for your profperity, and think me with the trueft efteem, Your moft obliged. and obedient humble Servant, Wakrington, July a5th. 1770. John Reinhold Forfter. f- PREFACE. THE prcfcnt Volume of Profeflbr Kalm\ Travels through North America, is originally written in the Swedijh language, but was immediately after tranflated into the German by the two Murrafs, both of whom arc Swedes, and one a pupil of Dr. Linnaus, and therefore we may be fure that this tranf- lation correfponds exadly with the origi- nal. Baron Sten Charles Blelke, Vice prefix dent of the Court of Juftir - in Finland, was the firil who made a pro^ lA to the Royal Academy of Sciences at Stockholm, to fend an able man to the northern parts of Siberia and Iceland, as places which are partly un- der the fame latitude with Sweden, and to make there fuch obfervations and col]e<5ti- ons of feeds and plants, as would improve the Swedijh huibandry, gardening, manu- a 3 fa(aures, VI PREFACE. fadlures, arts and fciences. Dr. Linnaus found the propofal jufl, but he thought that a Journey through North America would be yet of a more extenfive utility, than that through the before-mentioned countries; for the plants of America were then little known, and not fcientifically defcribed, and by feveral trials, it feemed probable that the greateft part of the North American plants, would bear very well the Swedijb winters i and what was more important, a great many American plants promifed to be very ufeful in hufbandry and phyfic. Thus far this journey was a mere fchemei but as Captain Triewa/J, a man well known for his abilities in England, gave his Qbfer^ vations on the Cultivation of Silk in a feries of Memoirs to the Royal Academy of Sciences, and mentioned therein a kind of mulberry tree» which was difcovered by Dr. Linnaus, and which bore the rigours of the Swedijb climate as well as a fir or pine tree ; this circumftance revived the propofal of fuch a journey in the year 1745. Count Tejpn, a nobleman of eftablifhed merit both in the political and learned world, becoming pre- iident of the Royal Academy, it was unani- moufly agreed upon to fend ProfeiTor Kalm to North America, The expences were at firft a great obftacle ; but the Royal Academy wrote PREFACE. VII wrote to the three univerfirics to aflift them in this great and ufeful und«:rtaking. Aobo fent firft Her fmall contribution, Lund had nothing to fpare» but Upfala made up this deficiency by a liberal contribution. Count Piper was intreated to give a fa- mily exhibition to Mr. Kalm, which he readily promifed, but as the Academy had obtained from the convocation of the uni- veriity of Upfala and the maeiftrates of Suckbolm, another exhibition of the family of Helmsfield for Mr. Kalntt Count Piper refufed to grant his exhibition, as being contrary to the ftatutes of the univerfity and without any precedent, that one perfoa fhould enjoy two exhibitions. The prefent king of Sweden being then prince royal, fuccefTor to the throne, and chancellor of the univerfity, wrote to the convocation, and expreifed his wishes to have from the trea- fury of the univerfity for fo ufeful a purpofe, about looo plates, or about 150I. fterling. The univerfity complied generoufly with the defire of her chancellor, and gave or- ders that the money (hould be paid to the Royal Academy. The board for promoting manufadures gave 300 plates, or about 45I. Mr. Kalm fpent in this journey his falary, and befides very near 130]. of his own fortune, fo that at his return he found a 4 himfelf via PREFACE. himfelf obliged to live upon a very fmall pittance. The reft of the expences the Academy made up from her own fund. We on purpofe have siven this detail from Mr. Kalm*% long preface, to (hew the reader with what public fpirit this journey has been fupported in a country where mo- ney is fo fcarce, and what a patriotic and laudable ardor for the promotion of fciences in eeneral, and cfpccially of natural hiftory and hufbandry anin^.ates the univerfities, the public boards, and even the private perfons, in this cold climate, which eoes fo far, that they chufe rather to fpend their own private fortunes, than to give up fo benefi- cial and ufeful a fcheme. We have the fame inftance in Dr. Hajfelquijit who with a iickly and confumptive conftitution, went to Afia Minor, Egypt and PaleJIine, and collected fuch great riches in new plants and animals, that Dr. Linnaus*% fyftem would never have contained fo many fpecies, had he not made ufe of thefe trea- fures, which the queen oi Sweden generouf- ly bought by paying the debts of Dr. Haffel- quiji, who died in his attempt to promoice natural hiftory. The Reverend Mr. OJbeck in his voyage to China, made an infinite number of ufeful and interefling obfervati- -ons at the expence of his whole falary, and publi(hed PREFACE. IX publifhed them by the contribution! of nis pari(h. The Reverend Mr. Toreem died by the fatigues of the fame voyaee» and left ^his letters published along with Ojbeckt as a monument of his fine genius^ and fpirit for promoting natural hiilory. We here look upon the expences as tri- fling, but they are not fo in Sweden, and therefore are certainly the beft monuments to the honour of the nation and the great Ltnnaus, who in refpedt to natural hidory is the primum mobile of that country. Professor Ki.lm having obtained leave of his Majedy to be abfent from his pod as profefTor, and having got a paflport, and recommendations to the feveral Swedijh mi* nifters at the courts of London, Paris, Ma^ drid, >and at the Hague, in order to obtain paflports for him in their refpedtive dates, fet out from Upfala, the i6th. of Odiober 1747, accompanied by Lars Yungfircem, a gardener well fkilled in the knowledge of plants and mechanics, and who had at the fame time a good hand for drawing, whom he took into his fervice. He then fet fail from Got henburg6, the nth. of December but a violent hurricane obliged the (hip he was in to take (belter in the harbour of Gram- Jiad in Norway, from which place he made excur(ions to Arendal and Cbrijiianfand, He went IN PREFACE, y^entagflntoik^ February the 8th» 17489 and arrived at London the 17th. of therao^o 9100th. He ilajld in England tiW AuguJI 1 5tb. 10 which interval of time he made excur-^ ik>ns to WoQdford in £/^x, to little Gadd^den m Hertfordjhiret where JVilUam Biiis, a man celebrated for hi« puhlications in huibandry Hved, but whpfe pra^ical huibandry Mr. Kalm found not to be equal to the theory laid down in his writings ; he like wife Qlw Ivinghoe in Buckingbamft^iret Eaton and ie<' veral other places, and all the curiofities and gardens in and about London : at lad he went on board a (hip, and traverfed the ocean to Pbiiadelpbia in Penfyhaniat which was formerly called New Sweden^ where he arrived September the 26th. The reft of that year he empl yed in collele of that fprightlinefs which commends fo many curious performances of that nature, t He gives you his obferv^^tions as they oc^ currcd day after day, which makes him a faithful relater, notwithftanding it takes Away all elegance of ftylcyand often ocCafions him to make very fudden traniitions from fubjedts very foreign to one another. This defedt we will endeavour to fupply by a very copious index at the end of the whole work, rather than derange the author's words, which are the more to be relied otii as be^ ing inftantly committed to paper warifn frodi his reflexions. At lad he arms himfelf with a very noble indifference againd the criticifm of feveral people, founded on the great aim he had in view by his performance^ Which was no lefs than puitlk utility i This he looks upon as the true reward of his pains and expences. These tre the. contents of his long pre«> face. We have nothing to add, but that we intend to go on th this work as focm as ^ofiible, hoping to be fiipported and en- couraged in this undertakings by a n^ioii which PREFACE. XT whkh i« the poiTeflbr of that greit conti<» nent, a great part of which is here acco-» rately and impartially defcribcd, efpecially at thifl time when Ameriean affairs attrad the attention of the pubHc. We intend to join for the better illuftra- tlon of the work, a map and drawings of American birds and animals which were not in the original. They will be copied from original drawings and real birds and ani«- mals from North America^ which we have accefs tOy and muft therefore give to this tranflation a fuperiority above the original and the German tranHation. An encourager of this work propoied it as an improvement to the tranflation of Kalm'6 travels, to add in the margin the paging c^ the original, as by this means recourfe would be had eafily to the qaocati-*- ons made by Dr. Linnaus. We would very readily have complied with this Jefide^ ratum, had we had the Swedijh edition of this work at hand, or had the work not been too far advanced at the time we got this kind hint : however this will be remedied by a copious index, which will certainly appear at (he end of the whole work. * As we have not yet been able to procure ft isoaapkat lift of the fut fcribers and encou- ragers ZVl PREFACE. ragers of this undertaking* we choofe rather to poftpone it» than to giver an imperfedk one : at the fame time we ailure the publiipy that it (hall certainly appear in one of the fubfequent volumes. Wb find it neceifary here to mention* that as many article** in Mr. Ka/m's travels required Jlluilratic .8, the publiiher has taken the liberty to join here and there fome note^* which are marked at the ond with F. ; The other notes not thus marked were kindly communicated by the publiiher's friends. Lastly* we take this opportunity to return our moft fincere thanks in this pubr lie manner to the ladies and gentlemen* who have generouily in various wayjs exei^- cd themfelves in promoting the publication of thefe ufeful rem^ks of an impartial* ac- curate and judicious foreigner* onacpjiinlry which is at prefent fo.inuch,the obj^dt of public deliberation and private con verfatioA,* •^ ■ ■ ■ < • . ■ ■■■ ..■.1 - ,; " • ^ ■ ■■ . ii^d' -■, • ■'•'i ■i^.-.'AiJfi : uuii biiiii aiill" olo. ,3liC'.V PETER K AiL M's TRAVELS. Augujl the 5th. 1748. I WITH my fcrvant Lars Tungftram (who joined to his abilities as garden-^ er, a tolerable fkill in mechanics and drawing) went at Grave/end on board the Mary Gaily ^ Captain Lawfortt bound ibr Philadelphia ; and though it was Co late as fix o'clock in the afternoon, we weighed anchor and failed a good way down the Thames before we again came to anchor. Augufi the 6th. Very early in the morning we refumed our voyage, and after a few hours failing we came to the mouth of the Thames^ where we turned into the channel and failed along the Kentifi coaft, which confiftfi of fteep and almoft perpen* A dicular S Auguji 1748. dicular chalk hills, covered at the top with fome foil and a fine verdure, and including flrata of flints, as it frequently is found in this kind of chalk-hills in the reft of England. And we were delighted in viewing on them excellent corn fields, covered for the greatefl part with wheat, then ripening. At £lx o'clock at night, we arrived at Deal, a little well known town, fituate at the entrance of a bay expofed to the fouth- ern and eaflerly winds. Here commonly the outward bound (hips provide themfelves with greens, frefh victuals, brandy, and many more articles. This trade, a fifhery, and in the laft war the equipping of priva- teers, has enriched the inhabitants. Auguft the 7th. When the tide was out, I faw numbers of fifhermen reforting to the fandy (hallow places, where they find round fmall eminences caufed by the excrements of the log wormst ovjea worms, {Lumbrici 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. Auguft the 8th. At three o'clock we tided down the channel, pafTed Dover, and faw plainly the opinion of the celebrated Camden in his Britannia confirmed, that here i'he CbanneL J here England had been formerly joined to France and Flanders by an iilhmus. Both ihores form here two oppofite points i and both are formed of the fame chalk hills, which have the fame configuration, fo that a perfon acquainted with the Englijh coafls and approaching thofe oiFicardy afterwards, without knowing them to be fuch, would certainly take them to be the Englijh ones.^ Auguft the 9th— 1 2th. We tided and alternately failed down the channel, and pafled Dungnefst Fair light, the I/le of Wight ^ Port/mouth, the Feninfula of Portland and Bolthead, a point behind which Plymouth lies ; during all which time we had very little wind, Augufi the 13th. Towards night we got out of the Englijh channel into the Bay of Bifcay, Augufi the 14th. We had contrary wind, and this increafed the rolling of the (hip, for it is generally remarked that the Bay of Bifcay has the greateft and broadefl waves, which are of equal fize with thofe between America and Europe ; they are commonly half an Englijh mile in length, and have a height proportionable to- it. The Baltic A 2 and * The fame opinion has been confirmed by .Mr. ^uj^n ia his Hiji. Naturtlle. torn. I. art* xix. Vol. z, p. 419 of the edit, in twelves. F. 4 Auguft 1748. and the German o«ean has on the ccntrarj (hort and broken waves. Whenever an animal is killed on board the (hip, the failors commonly hang fome fre(h pieces of meat for a while into the fea, and it is faid, it then keeps better. Augujl the 1 5th. The fame fwell of the fea ftill continued* but the waves began to fmooth, and a foam fwimming on them was faid to forebode in calm weather^ a continuance of the fame for fome days. About noon a north eafterly breeze fprung up, and in the afternoon it blew more,^ and this gave us a fine fpedtacle; for the great waves rolled the water in great (heets, in one direction, and the north eaft* erly wind curled the furface of thefe waves quite in another. By the beating and da(h- ing of the waves againft one another* with a more than ordinary violence, we could fee that we pa/led a current, whofe direction the captain could not determine. Auguft the 1 6th — 21ft. The fame far vourable breeze continued to our great com* fort and amazement, for the captain ob- ferved that it was very uncommon to meet with an eailerly or north-eafterly wind be- tween Europe and the Azores (which the failors call the Weftern IJlands) for more than two days together; for the more com- mon Sea between Europe and America j mon wind is here a weflerly one : but be- yond the Azores they find a great variety of winds, efpecially about this time of the year ; nor do the wederly winds continue long beyond thefe ifles ; and to this it is owing, that whesi navigators have pafied the Azores, thev think they have perform- ed one half of tne voyage, although in rea- lity if be but one third part. Thefe ifles come loldom in fight ; for the navigators keep off ihem, on account of the dangerous rocks unde^ water furrounding them. Up- on obfervation and comparifon of the jour- nal, we found that we were in forty-three deg. twenty-four min. north lat. and thirty and a half degrees wefl long, from London, Auguji the 22d. About noon the cap- tain affured us, that in twenty-four hours we fhould have a ibuth-wefl wind : and upon my enquiring into the reafons of hi$ foretelling this with certainty, he pointed at fome clouds in the fouth-wefl, whofe points turned towards north-eafl, and faid they were occalioned by a wind from the oppolite quarter. At this time I was told we were about half way to Penjyhania. Augufi the 23d. About feven o'clock in the morning the expeded fouth-wef): wind fprung up, and foon accelerated our A 3 courfe 6 Augufi 1748. courfe fo much, that we went at the rate of eight knots an hour. Augufi the 24th. The wind fhifted and was in our teeth. We were told by fomc of the crew to expedt a little ftorm, the higher clouds being very thin and ftriped and fcattered about the fky like parcels of combed wool, or fo many fkains of yarn, which they faid forebode a dorm. Thefe Ariped clouds ran north-weft and fouth- eaft, in the direction of the wind we then had. Towards night the wind abated and we had a perfedt calm, which is a fign of a change of wind. Augufi the 25th. and 26th. A west wind fprung up and grew ftronger and ftronger, fo that at lafl the waves wa(hed our deck. Augufi the 27th. In the morning we got a better wind, which went through va- rious points of the compafs and brought on a ftorm from north-eaft towards night. Our captain told mean obfervation found- ed on long experience, viz* that though the winds changed frequently in the Atlantic ocean, efpecially in fummer time, the mod frequent however was the weftern, and this accounts for the pafTage from Ame^ rica to Europe commonly being fhorter, than •»* iJ- ^1 rt Sea between Europe and America. 7 than that from Europe to America, Bcfide^ this, the winds in the Atlantic during fummer are frequently partial, fo that a florm may rage on one part of it» and within a few miles of the place little or no Aorm at all may be felt. In winter the winds are more conflant, extenfive and violent ; fo that then the fame wind reigns on the greater part of the ocean for a good while, and caufes greater waves than in fummer. Auguft the 30th. As I had obferved the night before fome (Irong flafhes of lighten- ing without any fubfequentclap of thunder, I enquired of our captain, whether he could aflign any reafons for it. He told me thefe phoenomena were pretty common, and the confequence of a preceding heat in the at- mofphere ; but that when lightenings were obferved in winter, prudent navigators were ufed to reef their fails, as they are by this fign certain of an impendent dorm ; and fo likewife in that feafon, a cloud riling from the north-weft, is an infallible forerunner . of a great temped. September the 7th. As we had the firft day of the month contrary wind, on the fecond it fhifted to the north, was again contrary the third, and fair the fourth and following days. The fifth we were in forty deg. A 4 three ~>A I September 1748. three min. north lat. and between fif* tv-three and fifty-four deg. weft long. ixom London, , .r,/ ,-..,,, r.. Besides the common waves rolling with the wind, we met on the 4th. and 5th. inft. with waves coming from fouth-weft^ which the captain gave as a mark of a former ftorm from that quarter in this neighbourhood. September the 8th. We croffed by a moderate wind, a fea with the higheft waves we met on the whole paiTage, attri- buted by the captain to the divifion between the great ocean and the inner American gulf; and foon after we met with waves greatly inferior to thofe we obferved before. , u.;. September the 9th. In the afternoon we remarked that in fome places the colour of the fea (which had been hitherto of a deep blue) was changed into a paler hue ; fome of thefe fpots were narrow ftripes of twelve or fourteen fathoms breadth, of a pale green colour, which is fuppofed to be caufed by ^ the fand, or as fome fay, by the weeds un-* der water. ^ ivm ^^^'i&mi ' September tht 12th. We were becalmed that day, and as we in this iituation ob- ferved a (hip, which we fufpedted to be a Spanifi privateer, our fear was very great ; bvtt we faw fome days after our arrival at Philadel- ^ ■^ ng with nd 5th. th-wcft, rk of a in this rhi d by a higheft ;, attri- between an gulf; 1 great]/ • toon we Dlour of fa deep feme of reive or e green jfed by ds un-» calmed on ob" o be a great 5 ival at hiladel- Ocean between Europe and America. 9 Pbiiadelphia the fame (hip arrive, and heard that they feeing us had been under the fame apprehenfions with ourfelves. ^September the 13th. Captain Law/on^ who kept his bed for the greater part of the voyage, on account of an indifpofition, aflured ns yeftcrday we were in all appear* ance very near America : but as the mate was of a different opinion, and as the failors could fee no land from the head of the maft. nor find ground by the lead, we fleered on directly towards the land. About three o'clock in the morning the captain gave or- ders to heave the lead, and we found but ten fathom : the fecond mate himfelf took the lead and caJled out ten and fourteen fathoms, but a moment after the fliip flruck on the fand, and this fhock was followed by four other very violent ones. The conflernation was incredible ; and very juflly might it be fo ; for there were above eighty perfons on board, and the fhip had but one boat : but happily our fhip got off again, after having been turned. At day break, which fol* lowed foon after (for the accident happened half an hour pafl four) we faw the conti-» nent oi America within a Swedijh mile be-» fore us : the coail was whitifh, low, and higher up covered with firs. We found out, that the fand we flruck on, lay oppo* fite H lO The Bay of Delaware, . O fite Arcadia in Maryland, in thirty- feven deg. fifty min. North lat. We coafled the fhores of Maryland z\l the day, but not being able to reach cape Hinlopen, where we intended to take a pi- lot on board, we cruized all night before the bay of Delaware. The darknefs of the night made us expeift 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, accidently left open on the deck, were in half an hours time after fun-fetting like wife wet, and we were told by the captain and the failors that both in England and in America a copious dew was commonly followed by a hot and fultry day. .V. ^xM : September the 14th. We faw 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 weilern (hore, and has a village on it. The eaftern fliore belongs here to New Jer- fey, and the weftern to Penfylvania. The bay of Delaware has many fands, and from four to eleven fathom water. The fine woods of oak, hiccory and firs covering both (hores made a fine appear- ance, and were partly employed in fhip- :,... building River Delaware. IS open on tne after i^ere told : both in dew was d fultry land on ippeared r up the Htnlopen ea from on it. ew yer- The id from appear- n (hip- building at Philadelphia 5 for which purpofc every year fome Englijh captains take a paffage in autumn to this town, and fupcr- intend the building of new ihips during winter, with which they go to fea next fpring : and at this time It was more ufual than common, as the French and Spanijb privateers had taken many Englijh merchant (hips, A LITTLE after noon we reached the mouth of Delaware river, which is here about three Englijh miles broad, but de- creafes gradually fo much, that it is fcarcely a mile broad at Philadelphia, Here we were delighted in feeing now and then between the woods fome farm houfes furrounded with corn fields, paftures well- ftocked with cattle, and meadows covered with fine hay; and more than one fenfe was agreeably afFedted, when the wind brought to us the fineft effluvia of odorife- rous plants and flowers, or that of the frefh made hay : thefe agreeable fenfations and the fine fcenery of nature on this continent, fo new to us, continued till it grew quite dark. .^ "- Here I will return to fea, and give the reader a fliort view of the various occur- rences belonging to Natural-Hiftory, during our croffing the Ocean. ;--/ Of 1 1 Ocean between Europe and America. "^ Of fca weeds (Fueus linn.) we faw Au" guft the i6th. and 17th. a kind which had a iimilarity to a bunch of onions tied toge- ther, thefe bunches were of the iize of the fid, and of a white colour. Near the coalb of America within the American gulf, jS^^- tember the nth. we met likewife with fe* veral Tea weeds, one fpecies of which was called by the failors rock-weed i another kind looked like a' firing of pearls, and ano- ther was white, about a foot long, narrow, every where equally wide and quite ftrait. From Auguft the 24th. to September the nth. we faw no other weeds, but thofe commonly going under the name of Gulf- weedt becaufe they are fuppofed to come from the gulf of Florida i others call it Sargazo, and Dr. Linnaus, Fucus natans. ItsjfaiA is very (lender, rotundato-angulated, and of a dark green, it has many branches and each of them has numerous leaves dif- pofed in a row, they are extremely thin, are ferrated, and are a line or a line and a half wide, fo that they bear a great refem- blance to the leaves of Iceland-mofs j their colour is a ycllowiih green. Its fruit in a great meafure refembles unripe juniper berries, is round, greenish yellow, almoft fmooth on the outiide, and grows under the leaves on (hort footflalks, of two or three jv^ lines Ocean between Europe and America^ 1 3 lines length ; under each leaf are from one to three berries, but I never have fi?en them exceed that number. Some berries were fmall, and when cut were quite hollow and conlifted of a thin peel only, which is cal- culated to communicate their buoyancy to the whole plant. The leaves grow in pro- portion narrower, a? they approach the ex- tremities of the branches : their upper fides are fmooth, the ribs ire on the under (ices, and there likewife appear fmall roots of two, three or four lines length. I was told by our mate that gulf weed, dried and pound- ed, was given in America to women in childbed, and befides this it is alfo ufed there in fevers. The whole ocean is as if it were covered with this weed, and it muft alfo be in immenfe quantities in the gulf of Florida, from whence all this driving on the ocean is faid to come. Several little \Jhelis pointed like horns, and Efchane 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 either a miviwit Jhrimp, or a fmall craby the latter of which is the Cancer minutus of Dr. Lin^ naus. Of thefe I colleded eight, «nd of the former three, all which I put in a glafs with water: the little flirimp moved as fwift as an arrow round the glafs, but fomc- . - times Ifl Ocean between Europe and America. times its motion was flow, and fometimes it flood ilill on one (ide, or at the bottom of the glafs. If one of the little crabs ap- proached, it was feized by its forepaws, killed and fucked ; for which reafon they were careful to avoid their fate. It was quite of the fhape of a fhrimp ; in fwim- ming it moved always on one fide, the fides and the tail moving alternately. It was ca- pable of putting its forepaws entirely into its mouth : its antennae were in continual motion. Having left thefe little fhrimps together with the crabs during night, I found on the morning all the crabs killed and eaten by the fhrimps. The former moved when alive with incredible fwiftnefs in the water. Sometimes when they were quite at the bottom of the glafs, with a motion fomething like to that of a Puceron or Podura of Linnaus ; they came in a mo- ment to the furface of the water. In fwim- ming 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 always funk to the bottom. The re- maining fhrimps I preferved in fpirits, and the lofs of my little crabs was foon repai''ed by other fpecimens which are fo plentiful in each of the floating b*mdles of gulf-weed. For :f a cr the etimes it 3ttom of rabs ap- 3repaws, fon they It was 1 fwim- the fides was ca- rely into ontinual fhrimps flight, I bs killed former 'wiftnefs ley were with a Puceron n a mo- ll fwim- y clofc, as other r backs, ; ceafed. The re- and the li'-ed by tiful in f-wccd. For Ocean between Europe and America, 1 5 For a more minute dcfcription of which I muft refer the reader to another work, I intend to publifli. In fome places we faw a crab of the fize of the fill, fwimming by the continual motion of its feet, which be- ing at red, the animal began immediately to fink. And one time I met with a great red crawfiPiOV lobjler, floating on the furfacs of the fea. Blubbers, or Medufa Linn, we found of three kinds : the firfl is the Medufa aurita Linn ; it is round, purple coloured, opens like a bag, and in it are as if it were four white rings, their fize varies from one inch diameter to fix inches ; they have not that nettling and burning quality which other blubbers have, fuch for inHiance as are on the coaft of Norway , and in the ocean. Thefe we met chiefly in the channel and in the Bay of Bifcay, After having crofTed more than half of the ocean between Europe and America, we met with a kind of blubber, which is known to Sailors by the name of the Spanijh or Portugueze man of War , it looks like a great bladder, or the lungs of a quadruped, com- prefTed on both fides, about fix inches in diameter, of a £ne purple-red colour, and when touched by the naked fkin of the human body, it caufes a greater burning than ' any I . 1 6 Ocean hetwten Europe and America, Any other kind of blubber. They are often overturned by the rolling of the waves, but they are again landing up in an inilant, and keep the (harp or narrow fide uppermod. Within the American gulf we faw not only thefe Spanijh men of War ^ but another kind too> for which the Sailors 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. of Augufi a log of wood, which floated on the ocean, quite covered. Oiinfe&s I faw in the channel, when we were in fight of the IJle of Wight feveral white butterflies, very like to the Papilio Brajficce Linn. They never fettled, and by their ven- turing at fo great a diflance from land they caufed us jufl aflonifhmeht. Some common flies were in our cabbin alive during the whole voyage, and it cannot therefore be determined whether they were originally in America^ or whether they came over with the Europeans. »,av3 ^ -- Of Cetaceous fjh we met with "Borpeffesy or AS fome failors call them Sea-bogs* (Dei*' -i * The naiM QiPtrpeJH u certaiiil/ dtvived from the nane -',. - Perct' I . CC'Ut ire often ves» but ant, and rmoft. faw not another no other IS of the ! middle, :ontinual . 1, 1.. '- 1, ^ I faw if wood, covered. I we were al white ) BraJJicce heir ven- and they bin alive cannot ley were ey came ^orpeJfeSi fbinus theaame Pore*' OctM iet'weeti Europe and Atnericd. \ 7 fbinus PBocdnd, Linn,) firft in tht? channel and ^en they continued every whereon this" fide the At^ores^ v^hcre they are the only fi(h navigators meet With ; but beyond thcfc ifles they are feldom ffecn, till again in the neighbourhood of America we faw them eroariy freqtrefit io the very mouth of £>^- . laware river. They always appeared! in fhoals, fome of which con fihed of upwards of art hundred individuals ; their fwimming Wis very fvvift, and tliough they often fWam along fide of otrr fliip, being ta- ken' 2ts it wtfre '.^^ith the noife can fed by the (hfp (iutting the waves, they however foon otrtwtnt her, wh'in they were tired with' ftai-ing at her. They ai'e from fdur tb c\^t' feet long, have a bill like in fhape to rihiWr of ar goofe, a white belly, and leap up irito the air frequently fbur feet high, and from fburto eight ittt in length; though their lihoring^ indicates the effort which a Idap of* [Poret^/ce'i' given^ to thh-genas by the Italiafis y ztii \t'ii rt' iinarkable that almoft all the European nations confpired in fvalling them Sea-hogs^ their name being in German Meir Schweini xheDanifi?, Sivedijhf znd NgrvegiaHf Mar/itin^ from whn^ t)ii Frehcbhdnowtd theif Marfiubi. The nadv^s^of littmilteWi^t'ai'Sufnhttah i.e. z S^ivine-wbafe, andfdlikb- Wift the SlaHMoH natiohk have tkieir S't)oinia 'Mttrjkofd'. Whtf ^ the^ thiif'cbiifeh^ vAki fterii thtfli- rtiotih^ the fanid at t^'btit^ torn' or tli^' fdi*^ in qtlef^ of Sfttiil-eds and SeJ|.\^ottaiV^lik)^ iWitfe"^ 6f fitein the^ vilp quiaititr of lard' fuitolunding thdt* lM>lll«i'iir'uncenifln; F*. tf that iL t 1 8 Ocean between Europe and America* that nature cods them. Our Tailors made many vain attempts to ftrike one of them with the harp iron from the forecaflle, when they came within reach, but their velocity always eluded their fkill. Another cetaceous fifh, of the Dolphin kind,* with which we met, is called by the failors Bottle-nofef it fwims in great (hoals, has a head like a bottle, and is killed by a harpoon, and is fometimes eaten. Thefe fifh are very large, and fome fully twelve feet long; their fhape, and manner of tumbling and fwimming make them nearly related to Porpeifes. They are to be met with every where in the ocean from the channel to the very neighbourhood of America, One Whale we law at a diilance, and knew it by the water which it fpouted up. A Dog'JiJh of a conduerable iize followed the (hip for a little while, but it was foon out of fight, without our being; able to determine to which fpecies it belonged: this * Mr. Kmbn is certainly miftaken in reckoning the JBouU' nfifs amongft the Dolphin kind } it has no teeth in its montk as all die fifti of that claCs have, and therefore belongs to the firft order of the Whales, or thofe that are without teeth. See Mr. Ptnmnt*% Britifli Zoology Vol. 3. p. 43. where it it called the beahd Whalty and very well deicribed; • drawing is feen in the explanatory table, n. I. Perhapafe would not be improper to call i( Baltgna am$uUata* F. Ocean between Europe and America, 19 this was the only cartilaginous fi(h we faW en the whole paiTage. Of the bony fiih, we faw feveral beyond the Azores^ but never one on this fide of thofe iflcs, one of them was of a large fize, and we faw it at a diflancei the failors called it an Albecor, and it is Dr. Linnaus's Scomber Thynnus* The Dolphin of the Englijh is thcf Dorado oii\it Portugucze, and Dr. Linnaus calls it Corypbana Hifpuris ; it is about two feet and a half long^ near the head fix inches deep, and three inches broad ; from the head the Dolphin decreafes on all fides towards the tail, where its per- pendicular 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 breail^ two on the belly, one at the tail extending to the anus, and one along the whole badk» which is of a fine blue : when the fi(h is jufl taken the extremities of the moil out-^ ward rays in the tail were eight inches one from, another. Their motion when they £ B 2 fwam 1^ (kean between Europe and Anurica* fw^no behind, or along fide of the flup was very flow, and gave a fair opportunity to hit them with the harpoon, tLough ibme are taken with a hook and line, and* bait of chicken bowels, fmall iiih, .or pieces of his own fpecies, or the flying fi;h, which latter aic their chief food: and it is by their chafing them, that the flying fifh leave their dement to find fhelter in one to which they are Grangers. The Dolphins fome- timtfs leap a fathom out of the water, and love to fwim about cafks and logs of wood, that fometimes drive in the fea. They are eaten with thick butter, when boikd, and fometimes fried, and aflford a palatable food, but rather fomewhat dry. In the bellies of the flib of this fpecies which we cau|ht» (c.-* vera] animals were found, viz. an Ofiracioni '% little fiih with; blue eyes, which was yet alive^ being jud the moment before fwal* towed, and meafuring two inches tn length > another little fifh > a curious marine infed^ and a flying fifh, all which not yet being damaged by dlgefiion, I prefervedin fpirits. .Thb FlyingFiJhifExo€Qetus velifons, Linn. J are always (een m great ihQals> ibmetunes of a|i hundred Of more getting at once out of the watejr, being porfued by greater fU]»« ai^d chiefly by Dolphins ;. they rife about a yaFd> and even a» fathom abaye the watee in ■■^i% ■' Oeeau heiween Europe and America. 1 1 in their flighty but this latter height they only are at, when they take their flight from the top of a wave i and fometimcs it ii faid they fall on the deck of (hips. The greateft diflance they fly, is a good mufket-* ihot, and this they perform in lefs than half a minute's time 3 their motion is fome« what Yikt ihzi oi iht yellow'bdmmert (Em* beriza Citrinellat Linn. J It is very remark- able that I found the courfe they took al-^ ways to be asainft the wind, and though I was contradicted by the failors, who af^ Armed that they went at any direction, I ncverthelefs wasconflrmed in my opinion by a careful obfervation during the whole voy-» age, according to which they fly condantly either diredly againft the wind, or fome-» what in an oblique direction.* t We faw likewife the iifli called 6onefosi f&comber PelamySf Linn,) they were likewifd in ^oals, hunting fome fmaller fi(h, which chafe caufed a noife like to that of a caA cadc» becaufe they were all fwimming clofe in a body ; but they always kept out of the reach of our harpoons. B 3 Op * In Mr. Petmmit*9 Brrtijh Zttlegy vol, 3. p. tit>, is tht bej( account efihb filh to be met with; aad in his Britijh^ ZooRjgy, illuftrated by Plafes dnd brief txfianatiom is plat6 xtiiif^ a- good and eya£t drawing of the fiih* th« upper figare zeprefenting it in front, the lower fideways. F. •«'>• 'i*>i \t ■?*■ 22 Ocean between Europe and America. Of amphibious animals, or reptiles 5 we met twice with a Turtle, one of which was fleeping, the other fwam without taking notice of our (hip ; both were of two feet diameter. : fiiRos are pretty frequently feen on the ocean, though Aquatic Birds are more com- mon than Land Birds. The Petrel fProcellaria Pelagica, Linn. J was our companion from the channel to the (hores of America, Flocks of this bird were always about our (hip, chiefly in that part of the fea, which being cut by the (hip, forms a fmooth furface, where they fre* que.ntly feem to fettle, though always on the wing. They pick up or examine every thing that falls accidentally from the (hip, or is thrown over board : little fifli feem to be their chief food ; in day time they are filent, in the dark clamorous ; they are rcr puted to forebode a dorm, for which rea- son the failors diiliking their company, complimented them with the name of witches', but they are as frequent in fair weather, without a florm fqllowing their appearance. To me it appeared ai$ if they flayed fometimes half an hour and longer under the waves, and the failors aflured me they did. They, look like fw^llows, and like them they fkim fometimes on the water. -- • - The Ocean between Europe and America. 2 3 The Shearwater ( Procellaria^Fuffinus, Linn. J is another fea-bird, which we faw every where on our voyage, from the chan- nel to the American coafts ; it has much the appearance and fize of the dark-grey Sea- gull, or of a Duck ; it has a brown back» and commonly a white ring round its neck, and a peculiar flow way of flying. We plainly faw fome of thefe birds feed on fifh. T^zTropic bird f Phaeton athereus, Linn.) has very much the fhape of a gu]l> but two very long feathers, which it has in its tail, diftinguifh it enough from any other bird i its flight is often exceedil|gly high : the firft of this kind we met, was at about for- ty deg. north lat. and forty- nine or fifty deg. weft long, from London. Common Gulls (Larus canus^ Linn. J we faw, when we were oppofite the Lands End, the moft wefterly cape of England, and when according to our reckoning we were oppoflte Ireland. Terns (Sterna hirundo, Linn.) though of a fomewhat darker colour than the com- mon ones, we found after the forty-flrft deg. of north lat. and forty-feventh 6t^. weft long, from London, very plentifully, and fometimes in flocks of fome hundreds ; fomet'mes they fettled, as if tired, on our fliip.. B 4 '^'i-^^'WlTH^ 3'"' ;%iM/'# Wj[thin the Americm gulph vi^diicpyer- ^ a re^-bird at ^ little dj^^^^e from th|5 i^y^^ which the fa^lQf<« .cal)ed a ^ea-hen* Lani^-^islds are apw &n4 then feeq s^( if a^ an4 fi>metiaie^ Pt a gopd diftamce froin apy landf fo that it is often jdifficiiltj to a^cotijin( fpjT their ^ppeftra^ce in ^ inncQinT jnapn a jpl^ce. ^^^« * '.V ■ / ,<-* -i 0((m ketwe^H Euroff ami ^nwrk^. 25 |]a©rf fb^n nin* hunJrecl and tweoly fda miUs frqm any l»nd i¥hatfcw«r. Sepimier the lotb- within the American giilph a Urge ^ird, which we cpok for an Owh ap4 liteewife ^ litde bird fettled on 0»r faiJiJ, l^temhsr the 12th. a Wood-^ptcker fetf}ed on par digging : its back was bf a fpeckled grey* an4 it £bemed extremely fatigued. And another landrbird of the pajferine clafs^ endeaippured to take ihelter and reft on our ftip. Before I entirely take leave of the.fea, J will communicate my obfervatioas on two icuripus phcenoi^iena. Im the channel and in the ocean we faw at night time, Jparks of fire ^ as if fiow-^ ing on the water, efpecially where it was agitated* fometimes one Qngle fpark fwam for thr fpace of more than one minute on the ocean before it vanifhe^l. The failors pbferved them commonly to appear during, and after a ftorm from the north, and that pften the fea is as if it were full of fire, and that fome fuch fhining fparks would like*- wife f):ick to the mafts and fails. Sometimes this light had not the ap- pearance of fparks, but looked rather like the phofphorefcence of putrid wood. Tttt ?>&iju»&rr water which made our pro** ^sifipn of frefh water, is reputed to be the beft 26 Ocean between Europe and America. foeft of any. It not only fettled in the oak cafks it is kept in, but becomes in a little time (linking, when flopped up ; however this naufeous fmell it foon loofes, after btlng filled into large ftone juggs, and expofed to the open frefh ^air for two or three hours together. Often the vapours ariiing from a cafk which has been kept clofe and flopped up for a great while take fire, if a candle is held near them when the cafk is opened, and the Thames water is thought to have more of this quality than any other; though I was t old that this even happened with any other water in the fame circumflances. Now I can refume my narrative, and therefore obferve that we afterwards failed on the river with a fair wind, pretty late at night. In the dawn of the evening we paf- fed by Newcaflkt a little town on the wefl- ern fhore of the river Delaware, It was already fb dark, that we could hardly know it, but by the light which appeared through fome of the windows. Th^ Dutch are faid to> have been the firfl founders of this place, which is therefore reckoned the mofl an- cient in the country, even more ancient than Philadelphia. But its trade can by, no means be compared with the PhUade^ia trade, though its fituation has more advan- tages in feveral refpedts i one of which is, that ftrt-^iHt? ■^* .- „.j J, Sllv v.* River Delaware, 27 that the river feldom freezes before it» and confequently (hips can come in and go out at any time. But near Philadelphia h is al- moil every winter covered with ice» fo that navigation is interrupted for fome weeks together. But the country about Phila^ delphia and farther up, being highly culti- vated, and the people bringing all their goods to that place, Newcajlle muil always be inferior to it. I MENTIONED, that the Dutch laid the foundations of this town. This happened at the time, when this country was as yet fubjedl to Sweden, But the Dutch crept in, and intended by degrees to difpoiTefs the Swedes t as a people who had taken pofTeilion of their property. They fuc- ceeded in their attempt ; for the Swedes not being able to bear with this encroach- ment, came to a war, in which the Dutch got the better. But they did not enjoy the fruits of their vidory long : for a few years after, the Englijh came and deprived them of their acquiiition, and have ever fince continued in the undiflurbed pofTeffion of the country. Somewhat later at night w6 cafl unchor, the pilot not venturing to carry the (hip up the river in the dark, feveral lands being in the way. September ijth. In the dawn of the morning "^ ft September 1748. «»•- mcirnjiig we weighed anchor, and continue' cd on? voyage up the river. The country was inhabited almoft every where on both iides^ The farm^houfes wrre however pretty far afiinder. About eight o'clock in the morning we iailed by the little town of Cbefter^ on the weftern fide of the river. In this town* our mate* who was bom in PbHade^bia^ (hewed me the placeSi^ which the iS'zc'^^f J dill inhabit. .rj^fiifio^i At tad we arrived in PhUadelpbia about ten o'clock in the morning. We had not been more than fix weeks, or (to fpeak more accurately) not quite forty one days on our voyage from Gravefend to this placc^ including the time we fpent at Deal, in fupplying ourfelves with the necefiary frefh provifions, 6cc. our voyage was therefore reckoned one of the fhorieft. For it is common in winter time to be fourteen, nineteen, or more weeks in coming from Gravefend to Pbiladelpbia, Hardly any body ever had a more pleafant voyage over this great ocean, than we had. Captain hawjfon affirmed this feveral times. Nay heafiured us: he had never feen fuch calm weather in this ocean, though he had crodT-i* ed it very often. The wind was generally fo favourable that a boat of a middtiRg' fise might have failed in perfe^ fa£ety. The 5 * lea Penfyhania, Philadelphia. 29 fet never went over our cabin, anii but once over tliM deck> and thst was onlj in » fwel). The weather indeed wa» fo clears that a great nunsber of the Germans On board ilept on the deck. The cabin windows needed not the (butters* AH thefe are circunoe--^ ftaoces which ihow the uncommon good-* nefa of the weather. Captaim Lawfotf*s civility increafed the pleafmre of the voyage* For he (hewed; znr all the fnend(hip> that he couldi have (hewn to any of his relations. As fooa as we were come to the town, and had caft aQchbr» many of the inhabit tauts came on boards t& enqiaire for Lettevsv They took all dbofe which* they eonkbcai;* ry , ei thee for themfetvea oc fbr their frisods. Thoifi, which remained, the captaia or- dered • to be cacriedr on 0iQr^ and to be brought into a cof&e-^h£Mife» where every body could make enquiry fbr them, and by thiis means he was rid of the trouble of de- livering them hlmfelf. I afterwards wen^t oa &ore wiih him. But before he wenn^ he iibfifHy chained thefecond: matev tokt: naoneof UtiasLGttrman refugees^ out of thft: (hip, nnle& be paid, ftir bis paiTs^et. oc fame body elfe paid for h«au ,or boi^t hkw. b Qk my leaarifl;^ London I. iscsivcd letters: ' : ' of >-,i 3<5 September 1748, of recommendation from Mr. AbrabaM Spaldingt Mr. Peter Col/in/bn, Dr. MitcbeU and others to their friends here. It was eafy for me therefore to get acquaintance. Mr. Benjamin Franklin, to whom Penjylva^ nia is indebted for its welfare, and the learn- ed world for many new difcoveries in Elec- tricity, was the firft, who took notice of me, and introduced me to many of his friends. He gave me all neceffary infiruc- tions, and (hewed me his kindnefs on many occafions. I WENT to day accompanied by Mr. yacob Bengtfont a member of the Swedijh confiftory and the fculptor Guftavus Heffe- liust to fee th« town and the fields which lay before it. (The former is brother of the rev. Meflrs. Andrew and Samuel Hejj'e^ liusy both miniflers at Cbrijiiana in new Sweden, and of the late Dr. John Heff'eHus in the provinces of Nerik and Wermeland)^ My new friend had followed his brother Andrew \n 171 1 to this country, and had fince lived in it. I found that 1 was xiow come into a new world. Whenever I look- ed to the ground, I every where found fuch plants as I had never feen before. When I faw a tree, I was forced to flop, and afk thofe who accompanied me, how it was called. The firft plant whkbilruck my ,v,j cyc» Penfylvania, Pbiladelpbia. 31 eyes was an Andropogoitt or. a kind of grafs, and grafs is a part of Botany I always de- lighted in. I was feized with terror at the thought of ranging fo many new and un- known parts of natural hiftory. At firft I only confidered the plants, without ventu-. ring a more accurate examination. At night I took up my lodging with a grocer who was a quaker, and I met with very good honeft people in this houfe, fuch as moil people of this profeflion appeared to me, I and my Tungjircenit the companion of my voyage, had a room, candles, beds, attendance, and three meals a day, if we chofe to have fo many, for twenty (hillings per week in Penjyhania currency. But wood, wafhing and wine, if required, were to be paid for befides. September the 16th. Before I proceed I muft give a {hort defcription of Pbila- delpbia, which I (hall frequently mention in the fequel of my travels. I here put down fe^al particulars which I marked during myllay at that place, as a help to lay memory. PkiiLADELPHiA, the Capital of Penjyha* nia, a province which makes part of what; formerly was called New Sweden is one of the principal towns in Nortb- America j and next to £^^;9 the greated. It is (ituated 'W^^-. ' ' almod 1^ ifpiember 1748^ and it$ laif. Is tfhiffy niifd ddg. arhd fijfi/ jJiln. but IM Weft long, frditt Londdii rtdai' ftvcniy fitc deg. 1"ttis town* was feuilt in tfh^ year 1 683, bf a& ^hf wHkh^ W^ ^)^ flidvantageous^. Btit af Mittidjr' virfcre per- r# *-*/ >» isf^ " Penfyhania, PbiloiU^hia, 33 perfuaded to it by Pen^ who gave them a few Englijh miles from that place twice the fpace of country they inhabited. However Pen himfelf and his defcendants after him> have confiderably lefTcned the ground belonging to them, by repeated , menfurations, under pretence that they had taken more than (hey ought. But the inhabitants could not be got in fufficient number to fill a place of fuch ex- tent. The plan therefore about the river Skulkill was laid afide till more favoura- ble circumftances (hould occur, and the houies were only built along the Delaware. This river fiows along the eadern fide of the town, is of great advantage to its trade^ and eives a fine profpedt. The houies which had already been built upon the Skulkill were transplanted hitherto by de- grees. This town accordingly lies in a very pleafant country, from north to fouth along the river. It meafures fomewhat more than an Englijh mile in length ; and its breadth in fome places is half a mile or more^ The ground is fiat and confifh of fand mixed with a little clay. Experience has ihewn that the air of this place is very ikealthy* " ; Th£ ftreets are regular, fine, and moil of 4fcemare^tyfoot^ £;?§-//^ meafure, broad > 34 ISepteniher 174S. Artb'fireef meafui'cs'fixty fix feet in breadth^ and Market'Jireet Or the principal ftrcct, \vhere the market is kept, near a hundred. Thofe which run lonrdtudinally, or from north to fouth are feven» excluiive of a little one, which runs along the river, to the fouth of the market, and is called Water-Jireet, The lanes which go acrofs, and were intended to reach from the D^-> laware to the SkulkilU are eight in number. They do not go quite from eaft to weft, but deviate a little from that diredtion. All the ftreets except two which are neareft to the river, run in a ftraight line, and make right angles at the interfedions. Some are paved, others are not ; and it feems lefs neceiTary fince the ground is fandy, and therefore (bra abforbs the wet. But in moft of the ftrieets is a pavement of flags, a fathom or more broad, laid before the houfes, and pods put on the outfide three or four fathom afunder. Under the roofs are gutters which are > carefully connected with pipes, and by this means, thofe who walk under them, when it rains, or when the fnow melts, need not fear being wetted bj; th« dropping from the roofs. The houfes make a good appearance, arc frequently feveiral ftories high, and built either of bricks or of ftohe ; but the wiW^. /' former Penfyhaniat Philadelphia, H former are more commonly ufed^ finco bricks are made before the town» and are well burnt. The Aone which h^is been employed in the building of other houfes^ is a mixture of black or grey glimmer ^ run- ning in undulated veint, and of a loofe, and quite fmall grained limefione^ which run fcattered between the bendings of the other veins, and are pf a grey colour, excepting here and there fome fingle grains of fand^ of a paler hue. The glimmer makes the greatefl part of the ftone ; but the mixture is fometimes of another kind, as I fhall re- late hereafter under the article, eleventh of O^ober. This (lone is now got in great quantities in the country, is eality cut, and has the good quality of not attracting the moifture in a wet feafon. Very good lime is burnt every where hereabouts, for ma-* fonry. The houfes are covered with fliinglcs- The wood for this purpofe is taken froni the Cuprejfus thyoides, Linn, or a tree which Swedes here call the white juniper-treef and the Engli/ht the white cedar. Swamps and MoraiTes formerly^ were full of them, but at prefent thefe trees are for the greatefl part cut down, and no attempt has as yet been made to plant new ones. The wood 18 very light, rots lefs than any other in Qz thb J« r^'K September if^t^ this country, and for that reaibn is exceed- ing good for roofsw For it is not too heavy for the walls, arid will ferve for forty or £fty years together. But many people already begin to fear, that the& roofs will in time be looked upon as having been very detrimental to the city; For being fo very Hght, mofl people who have biiiit their houfes of ftone, or bricks, have been ltd to make their vvalls extremely thin. But at prefent this kind of wood is-almoft en** tirely deftroyed. Whenever therefore in procefs of time thefe roofs decay, the peo* pie will be obliged to have reqourfe to th* heavier materials of tiles, or the like, which the walls will not be ftrong enough to bear. The roof will therefore require fupports, or the people be obliged to pull down the walls and to build new ones, or to take other fteps for fecuring them. Several people have already in late years begun te make roofs of tiles. Among the publick buildings I will firfl fnention churches, of which there are fe-^ veral, for God is fcrvcd in various ways in this country. I . The EitgHJh eftahlijhed church ^and« m the northern part of the town, at fomd diftance from the market, and is the fineft of all. It has a little^ incanfiderahli^ fteeple. V--^-'i Penfyhaniat Pbiladtlphia, u fieeple, in which is j9 bell to be rimg when it is time to go to church* and on bMrials^ It has like wife a clock which 0;nkpf the hours. This building which i^ called Chrift church* was founded towards the end of the laA century, but has lately been re«r built and more adorned. It has two mi-r nifters who get the greatefl part of their falary frona England, In the beginning of this centur the Swedijb minifter the Rev. Mr. Rudmann, perforqi^d the fun^if ons of a clergyman to the Englijh congre- gation for near two years, during the ab^ fence of their own •clergyman. 2. The Swedijb c&urci, which is otheri> wife called the church of Weekacko^ is on the fouthern part of the town, and almoft without it, on the river's fide, and its £tu- ation is therefore more agreeable than that of any other^ I (hall have an oportunity of defcribing it more exaftly, when I (hall fpeak of the Swedes in particular, who live in this place. 3. The German Lutheran church, h on the north-weft fide of the town. Os my arrival in America it had a little fteeple, but that being but up by an ignorant architedt, before the walls of the church were quite dry, they kaned forwards by its weight, and therefore they were iorced r^f3p^a\ Q 1 to 5« September 1748. >,' to piill it doWti agdiii in the si^tumii of the year 1750. About that time the congre- gation received a fine organ from Germany, They have only one minifter, who likewife preaches at another Lutheran church in Germantown. He preaches alternately one funday in that church, and another in this. The firft clergyman which the Lu- therans had in this town, was the Rev. Mr. Mubienberg, who laid the foundations of this church in 17439 and being called to another place afterwards, the rev. Mr. Brunbolz from Slejwick was his fucceifor^ and is yet here. Both thefe gentlemen were Tent to this place from Hall in Saxony y and have been a great advantage to it by their peculiar talent of preaching in an edifying manner. A little while before this church vwas built, the Lutheran Germans had no clergyman for themfelves, fo that the e\?ery-where beloved Swedijh minider at fVeekackot Mr. Dylander, preached like- wife to them. He therefore preached three fcrmons every funday ; the firft early in the morning to the Germans i the fecond to the Swedes, and the third in the afternoon to the Englijh, and befides this he went all the week into the country and intruded the Germans who lived feparately there. He therefore frequently preached fixteen 4^»^^ t "^ ftrmoq^ Penjylvania, Pkyhdelpbia. 39 fermons a week. Ajid after his death, which happened in Novemberij^i^ the Ger- mans firft wrote to Germany for a clergypian for themfelves. This congregation is atprc- fent very numerous, fo that every funday the church is very much crowded. It has two galleries, but no veftry. They do not £ng the cpllejd^Sy but read them before the alUr.,-. ♦;? ...?< .. ', ■■ •.4,: The old Prejbyterian church, is not far from the market, and on ihe fouth-fide of market'jireet. It is of a middling fize, and built in the year 1704, as the infcrip- tion on the northern pediment (hews. The roof is built almoft hemifpherical, or at lead forms a hexagon. The whole build- ing ilands from north to fouth, for the preibyterians do not regard, as other people do, whether their churches look towards a certain point of the heavens or not..5,,^^r^i^^ 5. The new Prejbyterian church was built in the year 1750, by the New-Flights in the north-weftern part of the t. vn. By the name of New-lightSj are underftood the people who have, from different religions, become profclytes to the well known Pf^hitefield^ who in the years 1739* 1740, and likewife in 1744 and 1745 travelled through almofl all the Englifh colonies. His delivery, his extraordinary «eal, and 4^ /a Siptemher 1748. other talents fo well adapted to the inteleds of his hearers, made him fo popular that he frequently, efpecially in the two firft years, got from eight thoiifand to twenty thoufand hearers in the fields. His inten- tioa in thefe travels, was to colled^ money for an orphans hofpital which had heen €dre£ted in Georgia. He hese frequently collected feventy pounds fterling at one fer*^ mon ; nay, at two fermons which he preached in the year 1740, both on one iunday, 2X Philadelphia y he got an hundred and fifty pounds. The profelytes of this xpan, or the above-mentioned new-lights^ are at prefent merely a fe£t of prefbyterians. For though Whitefield was originally a clergyman of the Englijh church, yet h« deviated by little and little from her do^rines; and on arriving in the year 1744 at Bojion in New England^ he difputed with the Pfcibyterians about their dodrines, fo much that he aimofl entirely embraced them. For Wbiiejield was no great difpu- t&nt, and could therefore eaiily be led by thefe cunning people, whitherfoever they would have him. This likewife during his latter ilay in America caufed his audience to be lefs numerous than during the iirft. The new-lights built fir/l in the year I74i» a great houfe in the wedern part of th^ fowni *;r.i Penfyhaniat Pbilade^hia* 4lt towii, to hold divine fervice in. But a di«> viiion arifing amongil them after the de^ parture of Whitejield, and befides on other accounts, the building was fold to the town in the beginning of the year 175c, and def- tined for a fchool. Ths nrm4igbt5 then built a church which I call the new Frejby'^ terian one. Oji its eaftern pediment is ths following infcription, in golden letters : Temphun Prejbyterianumy annuente numiiui ertBum^ Anno Dom. MDCGL. 16. The old German reformed church is built iij^ the weil north-weft part of th« town, and looks like the church in the Ladugoordfield n ear Stockholm, It is not yet finifhed, though for ieveral years together, the congregation has kept up divine fervice in it. Thefe Germans attended the German fervice at the Swedi/h church, whilil the Swedijh minifter Mr. £)yAi«d5?r lived;.—- But as the Lutherans got a clergyman for them4 ielves on (he death of the laft, thofe of the reformed church madelikewife preparations'' to get one froni Dordrecht; and the firfl: who was fent to them, was the Rev. Mr^ Slaughter, whom I found on my arrival 4 But in the year 1750, another clergyman of the reformed church arrived from HollanJ^ * and by his artful behaviour, fo sn^nuated bimfelf into the favour of the Rev. Mr« r^smot Slaughter's 42 i- September 1748. Slaughter*^ congregation, that the latter loft ahiioft half hia audience. The two clergymen then difputed for feveral fun- days together, about the pulpit, nay, people relate that the new comer mounted the pulpit on a faturday, and ftayed in it all night. The other being thus excluded, the two parties in the audience, made them- felves the fubjedt both of the laughter and of the fcorn of the whole town, by beating and bruifing each other, and committing other excefies. The affair was inquired into by the magiftrates, and decided in fa- vour of the rev. Mr. Slaughter, the perfon who had been abufed. iu«^ jdt)jf % 7. The new reformeJ c&urcJ^ was built at a little diflance from the old one by the party of the clergyman, who had loft his caufe. This man however had influence enough to bring over to his party almoft the v/hole audience of his antagonift, at the end of the year 1750, and therefore this new church will foon be ufelefs. 8. 9. The ^ji^^rj have two meetings, one in the market, and the other in the northern part of the town. In them are according to the cuftom of this people, nei- ther altars, nor pulpits^ nor any other or- naments ufual in churches; but only feats and fome fconces. They meet thrice every u ---.. . ... . .-, ,, funday -.1 Penfylvaniay Philadelphia. 43 Ainciay in them, and befides that at Certain times every week or every month. I fhall mention more about them hereafter. ;!^w 1 0. The Baptifis, have their fervice, in the northern part of the town. h 11. The Roman Catholicks, have in the fouth-wcft part of the town a great houfe, which is well adorned within, and has an organ. 2^-£t'.:::^K xc- .riioc • " 12. The Moravian Brethren, have hi- red a great houfe, in the northern part of the town, in which they performed the fervice both in German and in Englijh-, not only twice or three times every funday, but hkewife every night after it was grown dark. But in the winter of the year 1750, they were obliged to drop their evening meetings ; fomc wanton young fellows having feveral times'difturbed the congregation, by an in- Arument founding like the note of a cuckoo, for this noifc they made in a dark corner, not only at the end of every flanza, but likewife at that of every line, whilft they werefinging a hymn. Those of the Englijh 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 fome times make an excep- tion. All the others bury their dead in their 44 ♦U' September 1748. ' their chnrch-yardsy and Moravian brethren bury where ihcy can. The Negroes arc buried in a particular place out of town. I MOW proceed to mention the other pub- lick buildings in Philadelpbia, The ^own-hail, or the place where thq^ aflembiies are held, is iituated in the weftern part of the town, it is a fine large building, having a tower with a bell in the middle, and is the greateft ornament to the town. The deputies of each province meet in it commonly every October, or even more frequently if circumflances require it, in ' order to confider of the welfare of the coun«- try, and to hold their parliaments or diets in miniature. There they revife the old laws, and make new ones. *• On one fide of this building flands the Library, which was firft begun in the year 1742, on a publick fpirited plan, formed and put in execution by the learned Mr. FranJtlin, For he perfuaded firfl the mofl fubdantial people in town to pay forty fhillings at the outfet, and afterwards an^ nnally ten killings, all in Penfyhania cur- rency, towards piirchafing allkinds^of uieful books. The fubfcribers are entitled to 'make ufe of the books. Other people ane like wife at liberty to borrow them for a certain time, but muft leave a pledge and iy . , ^ pay Penjyhaniat Pbilajelphia, 45 j)ty tight-pence a week for a folia volume, fix-pence for a quarto, and four-pence for all others of a fmaller iize. As foon as the time, allovred a perfcn for the perufal of the volume, is elapfed, it mufl: be return- ed, or- he is fined. The money arifing in this manner is employed for the falary of the librarian, and for purchafing' new books. There was already a fine coUedli- on of excellent works, moft of them Eng^ lijh; many French and Latin, but few in any other language. The fubfcribers were fo kind to me, as to order the librarian, during my flay here,, to lend me every book, which I fhould want, without requiring any payment of me. The library was open every faturday from four to eight o'clock in the afternoon. Befides the books, feveral mathematical and phyfical inflruments, and a large colledlion of natural curiofities were to be fcen in it. Several little libraries were founded in the town on the fam« foot* ing or nearly with this. The Court Houfe (lands in the middle of Market ftreett to the wefl of the market, 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. Tut bwidhtg cf the AcadtMy^'tt in the weftern 4^ September 1748. *' weftem, part of the town. It was formerly as I have before mentioned, a n>eeting-houfe of the followers pf Whitejkld^ but they fold it in the year 1750, and it was defined to be the feat of an uniyeriity, or to exprefs myfelf in more exa^ terms, to be a college^ it was therefore fitted up to this purpofe. The youths are here only taught thofe things which they learn in our common fchools; but in time, fuch lectures are intended to be read here, as are ufual in real univeriities. At the clofe of the laft war, a redoubt was eredted here, on the fouth iide of the town, near the river, to prevent the French and Spanifh privateers from landing. But this was done after a very ilrong debate. For the quakers oppofed all fortifications, as contrary to the tenets of their religion, which allow not chriflians to make war either oiFenfive or defenfjve, but dire^ them to place their trufl in the Almighty alone. Several papers were then handed about for and againfi the opinion. But the enemy's privateers having taken feveral vefTels be- longing to the town, in the river, many . of the quakers, if not all of thei^, found it reafonable to forward the building of the fortification as much afpqf&ble, a| leailj^ a Aipply of money. ' :v : i/. -1 ^^ ,5^ Of all tb§ natural aAvAntagcs of the ^.■^^■;''.-''^"''^"'^' " ' ~ '""town. Penjyhania, PbilaJelpbia, , 47 town, its temperate climate i%tnt m61t Con- (iderable, the winter not being over fevere* and its duration batfhort, and thefuminernot too hot ; the country round about bringing forth thofe fruits in the greatefl plenty, which are raifed by huibandry, . Their September and OSIober are like the beginning Qi xht Swedi/h Augujl, And the firfl days in their February are frequently as pleafant, as the end of April and the beginning of May in Sweden, Even their coldefl days in fome winters have been no feverer, than the days at the end of autumn are in the mid- dlemoft parts of Sweden^ and the fouthera ones of Finland, • -^ The good and clear water in Philadelphia^ is likewifeone of its advantages. For though there are no fountains in the town^ yet there is 2Lwell in every houfe, and feveral in the ftreets, all which afford excellent water for boiling, drinking, wafhing, and other ufes. The water is commonly met with at the depth of forty feet. The water of tYitxiv^T Delaware is likewife good. But in making the wells, a fault is frequently committed, which in feveral places of the town ij^mls the water which is naturally •good J r {hall in the fequel take an oppor- tunity of fpeaking further about it. i^tm Delaware is exceeding convenient \ for -# ♦ «. September 174S. for trade* Ji.h one of the greateft rivers in the world : is three Englijh miles broad at its months two miles at the town of Wil" mingtoHf and three quarters of a mile at Phiiadelpbia, This city lies within ninety or an hundred Englijh miles from the fea, or from the place where the river Delaware difcharges itfelf into the bay of that name. Yet its depth is hardly ever lefs than five or fix fathom. The greatcft (hips therefore can fail quite up to the town and anchor in good ground in five fathoms of water, on the fide of the bridge. The water here has no longer a faltifh tafte, and therefore all deftrudtive worms, which have fadened themfelves to the (hips in the fea, and have pierced holes into them, either die, or drop off, after the (hip has been here for a while. The only difadvantage which trade la- bours under here, is the freezing of the ri- ver almoft every winter for a month or more. For during that time the navigati« on is entirely flopped. But this does not happen at Bojiony New York, and other towns which are nearer the ica. The tide comes up to PbHadelphiai %nA even goes thirty miles higher, to irr/ir*»«. The difference between high and low Ivater h ti^t it^t 2X Philadelphia. ^ The cataradU of ^e ' JDaIMuj;'^ iieiif ^rentorif k\»-4 Petifyhi^ht Fhthii^hia. 45 'frmUnt and of the Skulkill' u^xoicSStUiot! koai^kiltt4ebhia9 aukAtbefb fivcra ufelofft further up the country, ia regaod talhci con/i^QyAOCC ef A ..i S[£ii!^itAX. (lufi ar» annually ImiMji of AmericoB^ oak>. m the; docks wJBiich are made iitikfQvecal parts of tbe tawaand about iZi, yol they caa .bjs noj means, be put iii^ conpariifeA wkh mofe, buik o£ Etitoftan: oa% in poiikt of goqdneis and d,iftEatioi\. vjiThb town caccios oa a. gceal trade, both Wtiah^ dbe inhabitaoxa ai tbeicountoy, and to.othcB pari fliips ready built, iron, hides and tar. ^Yet this latter is properly bought in New Jerfiji, the forefts of which province are confequently more ruined than any others. Ready mo- ney is likewife fent over^to England, From whence in return they get all forts of goods there manufadturedy viz. ^ fine and cparfe cloth, linen, iron ware, and other wrought metals, and Eafi India goods. For it is to be obferved that England fiipplies Philddel"- phia with almoft all fluffs and manufadur^i cd goods which are wanted here. ; i^\^ A GREAT quantity of linfeed goes annu- ally to Ireland, together with many of the fhips which are built here. Portugal gets wheat, corn, flour and maize which is not ground. Spain fometimes takes fome com. But all the money, which is got in thefe feveral countries, mufl immediately be feni to England, in payment for the goods whidi are got from thence, and yet thofe fums ire not fbfficient to pay all the debts, id V 14JV1 But to fhew more exadlly, what the town and province have imported from ' --^- England Penjyhania, Philadelphia, 51 Mftgianiif, iii different ycarsri mill litre infert an extra^ from the Englijh cuflom- houfe booksj, which I got from the engi- neer, Lewis Evans f at Philadelphia, ,and which will fufficiently anfwer the purppfe. This gentleman had defired one of his friends in London to fend him a compleat account of all the goods (hipped from England to Penfylvania in feveral years. He got this account, and though the goods are not enumerated in it, yet their value in money is calculated. Such extracts from the cuftom-houfe books have been made for every North- American province, in or- der to convince the Englijh parliament, that thofe provinces have taken greater quantit;ies of the goods ia that kingdom, ever fince they have turned their money into bills. I HAVE taken the copy from the original itfelf, and it is to be obfcrved that it begins with the chriftmas of-thc year 1722, and ends about tte fame time of the year 1747. In the firft rolumn is the value of the forei£!i good?, the duty for which has al- ready been paid m England. The fccond column (hews the value of the goods ma- nufd6tured in England and exported to Penfylvania. And in the laft column thcfc two fums are added together, but at the bottom each of the columns is caft up. --— * '" * D 2 But t« •^- Si S^t^ij^et I7^J|. |nT ^bi* V»bU 4fl«« WVinfilH^* «!»« JE**"^^' The Value of the Qoo^a a^nnally fliipped from I tntyioof^a a^nnaiW mipjpea trc Englijh mannfac ^ tared Good^I |cwo]^reeeaiiii;co- , ...: ... /. /. . a. BS992 ^9 3^34 6 3 '979 ll6 \} no 4»M 405»5 f$439« 1! i$669o ^f 45P i 91010 ¥% 173699 f|B<4o4 10 , 7 N6 8* 7 II 18 6 4 II »4 III 6 2: 7 10 I 7 I 10 4 4 3 II 9 XI r4 *9 12 '7 II ) , 2 7' Total 343.78916 o 969»649 i 6 1,312,8318 17 ^ The [4 ?- L. ditfeco- a. I I t 1^ lb '9. lO * .-« 7 IS i8 6 4 II fi I 6 12 »7 10 I" I. 7 4 3 II 9 4 Penfykidhh, PbilaiHpbia. 5^ Tk£ ^hoiiel extent of the Pbiladelfbiii trade may be comprehended frbih the num- ber dr fhips* which annually airi^e at and fail frbnot thk tbWh. I intend to ihfeh her6 g tdbl^ 6\ a fbw years which I faaVe t^keit frbni ih Wifi rather decreafe than encreafe, in c^fe hb broviiibh is made to prevent it. 1 mall h^jT^lter plainly ^evir upon^^hat fbuni^ation tliis onths. But beiid^s thefe fairs, there are every week two market days, viz. Wednef- day and Saturday, On thofe days the coun- try people in Penjyhania and New Jerfey^ bring to town a quantity of yidtuals, and other produdbions of the country, and this is 9 great advantage to the town. It is therefore to be wi(hed that the like regula- tion might be made in our Swedijh towns. You are fure to meet with every produce of the feafon, which the country affords, on the market-days. But on other day^, they are in yain fought for. , Provisions are always to be got frefli here, and for that reafon mpfl of the inha- bitants never buy more at a time, than what will be fufHcient till the next market-day. In fummer there is a niarket almofl every day ', for the viduals do not keep well in the great heat. There are two places in the town where thefe markets arc? kept v but that near the court-houfe is the princi- pal. It begins about four or five o'clock iq, • the mornjng, and ends about nine o'clock; in the forenoon. -••^-'^: -.^'^^ *- u Pen^hansa, Philadelphia, $$ ' Thk town is not enclofed, and has no other cuftom-houfe than the great one for the (hip5. • "' .*The governor of the whole province lives here ; and though he is nominated by the heirs of Pen, yet he cannot take that of&ce without being confirmed by the ..king of England, ' T' The quakers of almoft all parts of North- America, have their great aifembly here once a year. ^ In the year 17439 a fociety for the ad« vancement of the Sciences was erected here. Its obje^s would have been the curiofities of the three kingdoms of nature, mathe- maticks, phyfick» chemiftry, oeconomy, and manufa^ures. But the war, which enfued immediately, flopped all defigns of this na- ture, and fince that time, nothing has been done towards eftabliihing any thing of this kind. ^ The declination of the needle was here obferved oh the thirtieth of OBoher 1750, old ftyle, to be five deg. and forty-five min. weft. It was examined by the new meridian, which was drawn at Philadelphia in the autumn of the fame year, and ex- tended a mile in length. By experience it appears, that this declination leifens about a degree in twenty years time. ■;— . ,^^^^.A 04- 'I ^ The 5^ . ^SiftiMer ijr^%^, 'i '^. T«t ^reateil difivrence ki tbe rifing lihd fidling df the ^romtteti it accbrding'to the obfervations made for feveral yetra to^^ gethier by Mr. ykmaL^anit iomiA^ti^" 59 and 30" 78. ,' HsRB are three printeit, «nd «ttry week hro Ef^l^, and one ^Grrman naws^fidper 19 printed. -r.M nux In At year i ^^32^ on' the fifth of Srp^- fer, old fty]e» a little eatthnquake ^^is icit here about noon, and at the fame tim« at Bofion in New Engkndy and 9X Mon^eaiin OanadOf which phccs art aho^ fixty iSvvm 4ili^ iniles s^dndeti ^ :»iri)^^7 In the month of Noveynber of the Jreir ^737* ^^^ ^^^^ ki^own prince from inount JLeiamtt, Shekh Sidi camtt to PJbiMeJ^Jbiai on his travels through moft of the EngM/h idmerican xrolonies. And in the fame year a. fecond eatthi|uake was fblt itboot eleTeh o'clock at night, on the feventh of D^etm 6er» But it did not continue ibdve half a minute, and yet, it was feh aotordir^ to ^ihe accounts of the gazettes at the faiike ihour in Newcajile^ Ntw Torky iSTf # Lomfmif B$fiofi9 and other towns of New Engitmk It had therefore likewife reache4 ^feTera^ miles. ., f'HE count Sffixendorf* arrited her^ in jmjal * Head of the Moiavjan Brethren. F. the Penfyhmia, t>Mi^bia. if the die Dff€em6eir of the y^t 1 7^^ ^ aiid ic^biltl-^ fitted till the tiext rpYtitg. Hfo ImcrolhidEib^ behtviour perfuaded itiAiiy £/ifgiipiMe»l 6C nihk^ dtat he was dlfonierdd itt his he^d. - I H Avc not been able t€> fihd the eJk^i^ nnmber of the inhabitakits df Phikde^^i In rive y(sar i746> they iwere riiekti^ned abb^ ten thoilfand, and fince thU tiMe their number it ihtredibiy encrelfed. Neither can it be made out hem the dills of Iklbl^ti-' lity^ fince they ^re nel kept reguUrly ill ikH the churches b I rhall, hbWeV&n kheiltiefl fome of thofe which appealed either ii^ tM gaeettc^ or in bills printed on {}ut'{)di)^. Year. Dead. Year. Dead. Yfeir. Dead* 4io 7S» ' FKOin theie billfe df morblity it alfb ap- fieai^, that the difafei Which are the ttioft fatd, itd cottibmptibns, fti^ttt, coiiVtilfii ohii p}mittfi6s, ha^mbrrhagiesy ^tid droi^* fie*-.- ■ ■■ ••> ■ TM riumbcf of thbfe thai ^e b6rti cate^ pot be determined, fince in ihiriy chtircteii ifio 6tdcr IS obft^ed t^ith fegafd t6 this af- fair. The qtrtkcfrs, who a^e the moft 173d 247 '74< 345 '^H 1 m^ 450 i742 409 1748 »?39 3^6 4^43 425 t749i 1^46 290 •74+ 416 1750 S8 .^V4 September 1748. numerous in this town» never baptize their children, though they take a pretty exadt account of all who are born among them. It is Hkewife impoilible to guefs at the number of inhabitants from the dead, be- caufe the town gets futh great fupplies an-» nually from other countries. In the fum- mer of the year 1749, near twelve thoufand Germans came over to Pbiladdpbia, many of whom ftaid in that town. In the fame year the houfes in Philadeipbia were count- ed, and found to be two thoufand and feven- ty fix in number. The town is now quite filled with inha- bitants, which in regard to their country, religion and trade, are very different from each other. You meet with excellent makers in all trades, and many things are made here full as well as in England. Yet no manufadtures, efpecially for making fine cloth are eftabliihed. Perhaps the' reafon that it ran be got with fo little difficul- is ty from England^ and that the breed of fheep which is brought over, degenerates in pro* cefs of time, and affords but a coarfe wooK^ Here is great plenty of provifion^, $tid their prices are very moderate. There are no examples of an extraordinary dearth. ^ ' Every one who acknowledges God to be the Creator, preferver and ruler of all things. Penfylvaniat Philadelphia. $» ^hiugs, and teaches or undertakes nothing againA the ftate* or againft the conunon peace, is at liberty to fettle^ ftay, and car- ry on his trade here, be his religious prin* ciples ever fo Grange. No one is here noo* leiled on account of the erroneous princi- ples of the dodtrine which he follows, if he does not exceed the aboye-mentioned bounds. And he is fo well fecured by the laws in ^is perfpn and property, and enjoys fuch liberties i that a citizen of Philadelphia may in a manner be faid to live in his houfe like a king. . 4 .,On a careful confideration of what I have already faid, it will be eafy to conceive how this city fhould rife fo {uddenly from no- thing» into fuch grandeur and perfection, without fuppofing any powerful monarch's contributing to it, either by puniihing the wicked, or by giving great fupplies in mo- ney. And yet its fine appearance, good regulations, agreeable iituation, natural ad- vantages, trade, riches and power, are by no means inferior to thofe of any, even of the moft ancient towns in Europe. It has not been neceiTary to force people to come and fettle here ; on the contrary foreigners of different langvi^iges, have left their coun- Ifi^f, houfes, property and relations, and ?fM|tured pvier Wfde and ftormy feas, in order •-t^-^r to «? .^t ihptM/itr 1748. to cbme hither; Other countribd, which htre been ptopled for a lotig jfpabe of dihte^ eomf^lain of ihe fthili nuttlbor bf their ihle V^hich bthicr toctntrii^Si tb their infinitib lofs^ hdve either hieglbaed or expelled. A WRiTCH£D old W^deM bttildtng, oii a hill near the river fomewhat north 6f tfa^ mekako tfotA-tbi belon^iiig to bite df the i&oni (fSt)m^ of whoni> i^ befbre-ihentidh'^ ed^ the ground Was bOtight foi* biiildth^ RhiMMpMa upon, is prtferved On purpdilb^ a^ ft memorial of th6 poor ftate of thdt pi^e^ {>efor3el. Wals h^ard iA this ho^^ htitit^ the tntfnofai^ur^^ now ^ftahliflNid Werd thought of^ Of PMldiklphid built. B^t with 41 thtfe advatitages/ this bouft^ h ifestd^ t6 U^iV- fall Penjyha^ PMik^kJa. (hV will be as difficult to find the place wl^fc^: ifflf^ a^'it yf»^ ^nlikq\y, a^ |l^p t^nj^c of itS| ^reji^jqn, Xk^\ 9|i?c of the gwuiteft towfrw^ . in ^f^J^ka^ ^94^ in 4 ^o/V ^ W? ftw^4 doff up^ ^o it. I*. &ept^l^ th^ 7^h. Mr. Pe^et; Cpci^ 4 merchant of this towa, ^i^^^, cpi^ ^^^ t^f^ 1\^ la^ yfeicic hi/nfclf ^^^ a fpe^svt(¥''<^ ^ flTi^^tC.'? f^y4^owi^g ^ \\t\\i^ bird. Tl^^s lRin4, w!^^:h (co^ its cry ^as^ t^e i\y^^ qf ^^A lnr4^ (Mii/fikapq Qarolin^n^, %^m-)^ ^e\Y. fcQm pnc ip^ancl^ of a tree to, anpf her» ^iji^d, ^2^% V^2^\t^ \ ^9^cfvl tvine. At the ^pt- t9p of thf l;r.^, but ^\ ^ {^xi^(^f^*^ d^ikz^ngj^ f^onp, l;^e ^0^, layj 9;ie of th?. gij^t black %l^«k ^««li|M ?»c4 continually up^igl^t, ^ P9j[jpti^^ fo\yai;djS ^he, bird, yfhk}^, M^as %l- . \Xay% fljutterin^g about, an4 no\9i( ^4 tl^^ ^?«fe«\g 09i ^b? branch?*. Alj fir-ft itoi^iy, k^t. in th<: topnipft bra^ncbes, bji^ i?y de- g^r^'cs, it i| m^naer, J^ iy^ already, _. .. . well well knowh that the rattle fnake does thtf fame. I WALKED out b^ day into the fields in order to get more acquainted with the plants hereabouts, I found feveral European and even Sweiit/b pUnts among them. But thofe which are peculiar to America, ara much more numerous The Virginian maple grows in plenty on the fhores of the De/atvare, The Englijb in this country call it either Buttonwood, or Waterbeecbi which latter name is moft ufual. The Swedes call it Wattenbolk, or Wajbok, It is Linnaus\ Plat anus occidentalism See CateJbysl^2X, Hift. oi Carolina, vol. i. p. 56. t. 56. It grows for the greateflpart in low places, but efpccially on the edge of rivers and brooks. But the(e trees are eafily tranfplanted to more dry places, if they be only filled with good foil i and as their leaves are large and their foliage thick, they are planted about the houfes and in gardens, to afford a pleafant fhade in the hot feafon, to the enjoyment of which ibme feats wc^ placed under them. Some of the Swedes had boxes, pails, and the like, made of the bark of this tree hf the native Americans, They fay that thofe people Whilft the/ werie yet fettled here/ made little difhesv*>f this bark for g^therirtg Tf whort- ic '\Q -.^. ■*4 Penjylvaniat Pbiladtlpbia. H whortleberries. The bark was a line in thicknefs. This tree likewife grows in marihes, or in fwampy fields* where a(h and ced maple commonly grow. They are frequently as tall and thick, as the beft of our fir trees. The feed flays on them till fpring, but in the middle oi April i^t pods open and fhed the feeds. Query, Whether they are not ripe before that time, and confequently fooner fit for fowing ? This American maple is remarkable for its quick growth, in which it exceeds all other trees. There are fuch numbers of them on the low meadows between Philadelphia ^Tid the ferry at Gloucejlerf on both fides of the road, that in fummer time you go as it were through a fhady walk. In that part of Philadelphia which is near the Swedijh church, fome great trees of this kind fland on the fhore of the river. In the year 1750, on the 15th. oi May I faw the buds flill on them, and in the year 1749 they began to flower on the eighth of that month. Several trees of this fort are planted at Chelfea near London^ and they now in point of height vie with the tallefl oak. \ September th&i^ih. In ihe morning I went with the Swedijh painter, Mr. Heffe^h lius, to the country feat of Mr. Bartram, which is about fqur £^/^. miles to the '^. ! *■*. fr-* V fouth H .^v l^l^^itmidr 174&. ^R £out\kc{ Pkihkie^JUa, at Ibme diftaDoe fcom the high, road ta Manylandi, Virginia^ and €tiro&na. I had t^qiclbre the isrfl o|ipiarH tuoi^ here, of gelling an exaft knoAwkdga of the Aate of tho cbuatry^ whick wa&a pkiflL caveced with. aE kaads of tFces. witk deci4Qous.ieavG&. The grouiid was f^iiod^n, mixed with cky. But the fasid feamod ip he in. greater quantity^ In fpsnc pacts ^ wood w^9 cut down» and we fawi tipe ha^ hilal^DS of fomc country pfople, who^K cornnfields and pbuitatioaa were souodi^ir Iftrni-hQD&s. The wood: was. fuUi of.EQal-« heiryttjrees^ wakiutrtrees of' feveraJi kinds^ ehefiiut-trees, iaiiafras, znd^ the Mke^ Se*-. verali forts of wilrd vines, clafped th^ir teA^ drib round, andcMsnbed uf to the fummU^ oC the highefi tree&; and in oti^ec placea they twined: round the eocloifures^ fo^ihiolL, th^t the latter almoib ^nk down under' their weight. The BerjSnion, ot Diofpyrosj Virginianay Lif^. fp. pi. p. 1510, gucw; in die mar(hy fields, and! about fprings. k& little apple&looked very well already, hut are* not fit for eating, i>efoi«'the'f?ofliha^.a£3M9i-^ ed them, and then they^ have a veryv£n& taf^. Hejfelfus gathered Ibnoe of theoi,, and de$)Bed ixkylfervant ip t.&fteof theifbuita o^ t)te land<; but this poor credulous fellQW^ had kardljE bit i{i|$r them^ when ha felt the fhnci qualities Penfyhfiifiai Ph^iUfbia. 6j qiialki«6 diey bave before the froft has pe- lietraud them. For they contraded his mouth (o that he ^ould hardily fpeak, and hiad' a 'v«fy dilagreeaible tafte. This dif- gu^d hint ib n^ueh that he was with dif4 ficulty perfuaded to tafte of it daring the wh«>Ieofour^^in Anurieay notwithftand- ing it lofes all its acidity and acqiuires an flgreeay e flavour in avitomn and towards the beginning of winter. For the fellow always imagined, that thoa^ he ^uld esirtheme^rfo late in.tbe year, they would Ail] retain the fame difagreeable tafte. ' To iatisfy the curioiity of thofe, whoare willing to know, how the woods look in this country, and whether or no the trees in them are the fame with thoie found ia our forefts^ I here infert a fmall cat«logiie of thofe which grow fpontaneoufly in the woods wbicti are isearefl: to Philadelphia. But I e^lude f^ch fhrubs as do not attain any con^ ^derabie height. I (hall put that tree firfl; in order, which is moA plentiful, aud ib on Mrith the reft, and therefore trees v^hich I have found but iingle, though near Ihe MWn» will be laft. *' r» ^4r4ui ai^a, the white oak in ^od ground. ^ I ^6 '* W* ^ September 1 748 . ^h 1 . 2. ^ercus rubra, or the black oak»V ih W^'^ercus Jbi/panica, iht Spanijh oak, a variety of the preceding. ^t»*» h 4. 'Jughins alba, hiccory, a kind of wal- nut tree, of which three or four varieties are to be met with. vs^vtM 5. Rubus occidentalism or American black- berry fhrub. *1*«^vA'\ 6. Acer rubrum, the maple tree with red flowers, in fwamps. ^» - - ' «?^^f^r '" 7, R^«j glabra, the fmooth leaved Su- mach, in the woods, on high glades, and old corn-fields. 8. Vitis labrufca and Vulpina, vines of feveral kinds. 9. Sambucus canadsnfis, American Elder tree, along the hedges and on glades. 10. ^ercus phellos, the Iwamp oak, in moraffes. 11. Azalea iutea, the American upright , honey-fuckle, in the woods in dry places. «r 12. Cratagus Crus galli, the Firginian Azarole, in woods. air ^ ,* 13. Faccinium , a fpecies of whortleberry fhrub. j 14. ^ercus prinus, the chefnut oak in good ground. 15. Cornus fiorida, the cornelian cherry, in all kinds of ground. ,,^ 16. LiriodendronTulipifera, thttviip tree, ^"ll H ' ? . » W .?*»-• *5# U 1 i^J Penfyhianidi PMhdi^hia. 67 ree, in U m P in fevcry kind of iodl. -r^\ t .-^wr^v^ •» 17. Prunus virginsana, the wild j^h^rry tree* ' -"''>*'';'*•.*'■''?'' *V'V?-"; '"" ■■'■? 1 8. Vacciniu^ r - - -■ — ''^ fi frutcic whor-f tlcbcrryj in good ground. 19. Prims vertieillatusi^Ai^ winterbcrry tree in fwamps. 20. P/atanus occUenta/is,tht'wzter'beech» 21. NyJ/'a aquatica; the tupelo tree; on fields and mountains^* 22. Liqiiidambar ftyracifluai fweet gupi tree, near fprings. i.* 23. Betula Alnus, aldef, a variety of the Swedijb ; it was here but a ihrub. , ^^^^ 24. Ftf^z^j cajianea, the chefnut tree^ oft corn- fields, paAures, and in little woods. 25. Juglans nigroy the black walnut tree, in the fame place with the preceding 26. .Ri^«j radicans^ the twining fumach, climbfd along the trcesi Aiiitv k 27. ^^^r Negundo, the a(h-leaved maple, in moraifcs and fwampy places. l*x-. 28. Primus domeftica, the wild plmi>|> tree. ■■• •■ jf.,.*^--.* 29. Vlmus Americana, the white elm. / Dr. Lintneut mentions only one fpecies oi Nyjfat namely Nju^a aquatita ; Mr. Kalm does not mention the name of the ^Mcies ; but if his is not a different fpecies, it muft at \69St be a variety, fince he %s it grows oql hills, whereas dte afuatka grows i;D the water. F. E 2 30. PrU" .W' jStfiimier 174$. 30. Prunus Jpinofat floe flinili» in low 31. Laurus/afqfras, the faiTafrDi^ tree, ill a loo^ foil mhced -with {and. ^^^ 1 J 32. R/^^j nigrum f the curpant tree, gfcv^ in low placed aiid In marfhes. 33. Fraxinus excelfitTf the ^(h tree in low places. ^ 34. Smilax iaur^blta, the rough bind weed with the bay leaf, in woods and on pftks or encloAircs. 35. Kalmia latifoliat the Amtritan &9f9xi laurel, on the northern fide of mountains. 36. Morus rub, j, the mulberry tree on fiddd, hills and near the houies. 37. Rhus verm'x, the poifonous Sumach, in wet places. , •. ;^^s5;r^>i ■ - 38. ^ercus rubra, the red oak, t>ut a peculiar variety. 5^^ 4 .. 39. Hamamelis virginkay the witch hazel. i 40. Diofpyros vtrgim'ana, the perdmon. 41. Pyrus coronaria, the anchor tree. 42. Jumperusvirgimatia, the red JMniptTg in a dry poor foil. ;^v ^ 43. Laurus aftvalis, fpice-wood in a wet foil. ''^^ ^ 44. Ctfr/m2/j^rytf,afpeciesofhornbeam in a good foil. • 45. Carpnus hetulus, a horn beam, ia the fame kind of foil with the former. 46. Fagus \ *■ ^ • A. Pen^ivama, Pbikdelphia. k^ -Ifi, Pagus Jyhi^kai tht beech^ likewife ilO good foil. »^ ' ^ 47. Jugkm -----s^a"fpeciw of traJk flfit tree on bills near rivers,*' caUedb^tthe S'^edei Buftenrnftra, -W3 ,-fi;..i - 48. Pifiuj J[mHtafra,PenJ}}vakian firtrcej bn the nc^th fide of motintai|B« and in yallies. "f *■ ^v? -' 49. J9^/2vAi /^/i^tf, a fpe^iee of bircb, on the banks of riverd. tri . rti 3J33vci •* 50. Cepbalantus Bccidentalis^ button woody in wet places 4 ami m^iA Pitius tada^ the Neii^ J^Kfy ^^ ^^^> on dry fandy heaths. >Tf t; ;©;i i 52. C^mj* canadenfis, the ^Ikd tree, in a good foil. m^rno') "J 53. Robinia ffiudacacia^ the loGuft tree* on the corn-fields^ ; »^^ .'^ 54. Magnolia glaucat the laureUleaved tulip tree, in marfliy foil. ^" $^. filia Americana^ the lime tree, in a good foil. ^ 56. Gleditfia triacanthosy the honey loeuft tree, or three thorncd acacia^, in the fame foil. 57. Cdtis eceidmtalis, the nettle tree, in the fields. 58. Annma muricata, the cuilard apple in a fruitful foil. ' E3 ' *' 58. An- *r,!?^T' '^thisthe 7«^/«w^«rf«/flofI/M,fji/? F. 1 1 ms fpeaes is not to be met with in Linn./ptc. plant. F. J^ \^' September 1748. -.jv ^ ^t •"'■We vifitcd fevcral Sweiiis,[ .who wera fettled here, and were at prcfpnt' in veryi good circumftances. One of them, was called Andrejiv Rambo ; he had a jBne houfe built of ftone, two ftories hi|;h,. and a great Qrchard near it. Wc were every where well recei.vid,. and ftayed' Ovq*. night with the above-mentioned countryman. W^ faw no Other marks of autumn, than that feveral fruits of this feafon were alreadjr r Jpp, For befides this all the trees were yet as green, and the ground flill as mueh cow ycred with flower$, as in pur fummer. Thoufands of frogs crocked! all the night long in th^ marfhes and brooks. The lo- cuds and grafshoppers made likewife fuch a great noife, tb^t it waS hardly poffible for one perfon to underftand ahothcr. The trees too. Were full of all forts of birds, which by the variety of their fine plumage^ delighted the eyCf while the infinite varie- ty of their tunes were continually re-echoed. The orchards, along which wfc pafled to- day» were only enclofed by hurdles, But they contained all kinds of fine fruit. We wondered at firft very much when our lead- pr leaped over the hedge into the orchards, and gathered fome agreeable fruit for us. But our aftonifliment was ftill greater, when we faw that the people in the garden were .fa Pen^hania, Pbihdelphia, 71 fo little CQDcerned at it» as not even to look at us. fiut our companion told i;s, that the people here were not fo exadl in regard to a few fruits« as they are in other countries where the foil is not fo fruitful in them.r We afterwards found very frequently that the country people in Sweden and Finland guarded their turneps more carefully^ than^ the people here do the moil exquifite fruits. September the 19th. As^ I walked this morning into the fields* I obferved that a copious dew was fallen; for the grafs was as wet as if it had rained. The leaves of the .plants and trees* had contraded fo much moifture, that the drops ran down. I found on this occaiion that the dew was not only on the fuperior* but likewife on the inferior fide of the leaves. I therefore carefully confidered many leaves both of trees and of other plants; both of thofe which are more above, and of thofe which are nearer to the ground. But I found in all of them, that both fides of the leaves were equally bedewed, except thofe of the Verbafcum ibapfusy or great Mullein , which though their fuperior fide was pretty well covered with the dew, yet their inferipj: had but a little. ' Every countryman, even a common peafant, ha^ commonly an orchard near ^.. , " E 4 his 74 •^' Stpiemher 1748. visl YAi houTo* tH ^bich atl forts of fruit/ inch ai pdachoSi appksi peairfi, cherries, • «nd 6\\itt^i a#e in plenty. The pe^hes were tkOTf ftlmoft ripe. They wt rarein Mtitopei parlictilarly in Siteden, for in that countrf nardly any people beiides the rich taAe ^eni. But here every coufltrymui had m drclfard fiiU of peach treee, wbith "^ere covered with Aich qaantitiea^ "of fruit* that #6 could fcarcely walk in the orchard, Without treadiflig upon thofe peaches whioh yere fallen dif; many of Which were always kft on the ground, and only part of them iitras ibid in town, and the red wa$ Confu^ ihed by the family and ftringers j for every 6ne that pafTed by, was at liberty to go in- to the orchard^ and to gather as many of Ihem as he wanted. N^y, this fine fruit was frequently given to the fwine. ^ This fruit is however fometimes kept sot winter ufc, and for this purpofe they (are prepared in the following manner. The fruit is cut into four parts-> the ftone thrown away^ and the fruit put upon a thread, oti which they are expofed to the iunfliine in the open air, till they are fuffi- ciently dry. They are then put into a vfef^ fel for winter. But this manner of drying them is not very good, becaufe the- rain of this feafon very eafily fpoils and putrifies .^^? them* Penfyhma, tkiladf^bia. 73^ thBRiy whilft they hang in th€ open mt^ For this reafon a differsnt method is £oI->j lowed by others* which is by fat the inolb eligible. The petohes are as before cue into four pftft8» are then either put upon a thready or laid upon a board* and fo hung up ill tbd air when the fun (tdncs. Being dried in fome mtkCvktCf or having loft their juice by this means* they are put into an oven^ out df which ^e bread has but juft been taken* and are left in it for a while. But they are foon takeft out and brought into the freih air > and after that they are again ptit into the Oven* and this is repeated feveral times till they are as dry as they ought to be. For if they were dried up at once in the oven, they would ihrivel Up too much* and Ibfe part of their flavour. They are then put up and kept for the winterr They are either baked into tarts and pyes* or boiled and prepared as dried apples and pears are in ^we^m. Several people here dry and preferve their apples in the fame manner as their peaches. '• The peach trees, have, as I am told, been firft planted here by tht Europeans, But at prefent they fttcceed very weli, and require even lefs care* than our apple and pear trees. .' TttE orchards have feldom other fruit '•V^''*- than "dp {'■> > i 74 .\i Septembtr 1748. ,k\>«^ than apples and peaches. Pear trees are icarce in this province, and thofe that had any of them, had planted them in their orchards. They likewife have cher- ry trees in the orchards, but commonly on the fides of them towards the houfe, or along the enclofures. xVIulberry trees are planted on fome hillocks near the houfe, and fometimes even in the court yards of the houfe. The black walnut trees, or yuglans nigra, grow partly on hills, and in nelds near the farm-houfes, and partly along the enclofures ; but moft commonly in the forefls. No other trees of this kind, are made ufe of here. The chefnuts are left in the fields ; here and there is one in a dry iield or in a wood. x>*ivv?o ;,>The Hibifcus efculentus, or Okra^^ is a plant which grows wild in the Weft Indies, but is planted in the gardens here. The fruit, which is a long pod, is cut whilft it is green, and boiled in foups, which there- by become as thick as pulfe. This di(h is reckoned a dainty by fome people,, and ef- pecially by the negroes. .v.i^-^m rt Ai Capsicum annuum, or Guinea^ pepper is likewife planted in gardens. W|ien the .rf^*^|i... ;.:r':yf. , fruit ',(Ct- t i>, tij "C^ > f •» :? 4 -tif:.. jl^'frjt^ i'tA,.'tY»*f(> * In Miller's Garden. DiAionary, it is called K«/fiua Indi- ea folio ficusy fru&u pentagonOf recurvo e/cuUntOf gracilidrit et longiori. Penjyhania, Pbiladetpbia. fs f^Uit i» rip^ it is ato^oft entirdy red, it i» pat to a roailed or boHcd piece of meat, c little of it being ftrfewfed upon it, or mixed with the broth. Befides this, cacamberl are pick4ed with it. Or the pods art pounded whilft they are yet tender, and be-^ ing mixed with fait are preferved in a. bot- tle ^i and this fpice is ftrewed over roafted or boiled meat, or fried ii(h, and gives them a very fine tafte. But the fruit by itfelf is as biting as common pepper.:f?fft r/H-t t? ^ ^ This country contains many fpecies of the plant, which Dr. Linnaus calls Rbus^ and the moft common is the Rhus foliis pin" natisferratis lanceolates retrinq'ue nudis, or the Rhus glabra. The Englijh call this plant Sumach, But the Swedes here, have no particular name for it, and therefore make ufe of the Engli/h name. Its berrie; or fruits are red. They are made ufe of for dying, and afford a colour like their own« This tree is like a weed in this country, for if a corn-field is left uncultivated for f6me few 5»ears together, it grows on it in plen- ty, fince the berries are fpread every where by the birds. And when the ground is to be ploughed the roots flop the plough very much. The fruit flays on the fhrub during the whole winter. But the leaves jirpp very early in autumn, after they are ,u^,.Ki turned ^. ^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) Jt,7^ > Sit ^/ **'-5r^ 1.0 ^^ Ui itt Ui 122 2f HA ■■ S Ui 12.0 1.1 L25 lU 11.6 ^^/ ■ ^' ^j^ ScMioes CcHporation ^ ^■^ •'^ s> 23 WIST MAIN wnsm,N.Y. (7i*)«7a*. STRUT I4SW rSOS ^^ ^\ 4^ v\ l^. .t l^iim^ 1748. ^^ turned redd! A; lik^ liiUe of cw SmdijB mofUitatiil aAu Hie bi-anclMS MM with dm berries aiibrd t Uick ink Me tfttetdre^ Thd boyt eat the berribs, thisre b€iki^ ho danger of hJIXLng lick iftef the tepi^i bot dicy are terf lbii(r. The/ feldohi grow abc^e three yards higlii; On cuttiffg die lletn, it app^urt diat it coistattli/ifiiching h«t ipith; I irave cut kyvtH in thhi man^ Biei^^ and found that idme ^ere ten' y«art old; but that moft of lAicm #ere abbte one year old« When the cnththsiii, a jrellow juice comes out between the bark and the wood. One or two of the 'n^oft outward ctrdes are white, but the inner«^ moft are of a yellowish green. U is ea^ to diftihgniih them one ftotti anothen They contain a very plentiful |>ichy the diameter of which is frequently half an inch, and fbmetimes more. It k brown, and fo loofe that it is eafily pulhed out by a little ftick, in the fame tifanner as the pith of the elder tree, raf^berry and blackberry buihes. This fumaeh srows near the enclofures, round the cbrfy^nblds, but efpecially on fgtllow ground. V^e Wood feemed to burn w«ll, and ittade iibi great cracWm^ in the fire. * i^* *^ ' - ' Septmber the aoth. Im the mo^hh»£ we walked in the fields and woods .l»eAf the ) i town. Penfyhuv^t PJkikde^bia. 17 town« fardy for gatfaerifig fcode, and pftrdy for gatkering plaAtt lor my hci^Mily «irhick wa& our principel occupation i aiid in ^ autumn of this year, we (ent part of our oolledion to Bngkmd and Svufden, A 5PSC^Bs ofRbui, which was frequent in the mardies here was catldd ihc fmftn tree hy l)oth EngHJb and Swedes, Some of the former gave it the name di Jwamp*; fimachf and my country-men gave it tli« fiunc nam^. Dr. Lmnaus in his botanical works cails it Rbm VimtK. Sp. pi. i. 380. Fkra Virgin. 45. An uictfion being made into the tree, a whiti(k yeliovir juice, which has a naufeous ftnelU comes out between the bark and the wood. This tree is not known for its good qiiatities, but gj^eatly ib for tSie effect of its poi which though it is noxious to Ibme people-, yet does not in the lead OifitCt others. And therefore one perfon can handle tho tree as he pleaies, cut it» peel ofi^ its bark, rub it» or the wood upon his hand^^ fmell at it, fpread the juice upon his ^In, and make more cxperimentSr with no inodiiveniencc to liimtis&f s another perfon on the contrary dares not meddle with the tree, while its wood is frefh, nor can he venture to touch a JNind which 4ms • bandied . it> nor eten to txpofe Umiblf ^^ the fmoek of a fire ^ich ta made with this wood, without foon feeling Z8 S^temhtr ,1748. ^t*, A feeling i(fi bad eBfedg j . for theiftce^ ili^ kand^, ^n4 frequently the whole hodjr.fwelU exceilivelyy and is affedted with aivery accute pain. Sometimes bladders or bliftersrarife in great plenty* and make the (iok pecfon look as if he was infe^^ed by . a leprofy. . In fomepepple the external thin ikin».or cuticle^ peels of in a few days» as. is the cafe when a perfon has fcalded or hurnjt any part of his body. Nay, the nature of fome perfoas will not even allow them to approach the place where the tree grows, or to expofe themfelves to the wind, when it carries the effluvia or exhalations of this tree with it» without letting them feel, the inconvenience of the fwelling, which I have jnft now defcribed. Their eyes are ibmetimea ihut up for one, or two and more days together by the fwelllng. I kiv)W two brothers^ one of whom could without, danger jbandle this tree in what manner he pleafed, where- as the other could not come neac it with-' out fwelling. A perfon fometimes does not know that he has touched this poifonou9 plant* or that he iias been near it» .before Lis face and hands fiiewsit by thetft fwel** ling. I have known old peq>lQ who were more afraid of this tree than of^:y|pers ^nd I was acquainted with a perfon wJbo merely by the noxious exhali^liQns M it 8f. wa9 Penfylvania^ Pbiladilpbia. 79 wt8 fwdled to fuch a degree, that he was a« ftiffas a log of wood, and could only be turned about in (heets. On relating in the winter of the year 1750, die poilonous qualites of the fwamp fumach to my Tungjiram^ who attended me on my travels, he only laughed, and looked upon the whole as a fable, in which opinion he was 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 feel- ing the lead inconvenience. He would therefore, being a kind of philofopher in his own way, take nothing for granted of which he had no fufficient proofs, efpeci- ally as he had his own experience in the fummer of the year 1749, to fupport the contrary opinion. But in the next fummer his fyftem of philofophy was overturned. For his hands fwelled and he felt a violent pain, and itching in his eyes as foon as he touched the tree, and this inconvenience hot only attended him when he meddled with this kind of fumach, but even when he bad any thing to do with the Rhus ra^ ^AiiiJ'/or that fpecies of fumach which •climbs along the trees, and is not by far fo fea^ . poifonous u fiiffemier 174^. pbfifofliofDS M tht loiter. 9j thia^iliheiifilM ne viM To cbBVinclfd of tf^e |)ali4r 6f tik poiibn tree, that I cotildflof«flfilt' ]»cr^lba4^ him ta father ttiwor of this poifon for foriie time, yet that ifi Jengtll of time he may be affe^^ed on my hands, tnt and broKe its branches, peeled ofFits bark, and rubbed my handd With it, fmelt at it, carried pieces lida wcfa very iHff all that day^ At night the itching veturncd, and in the morning at j awokc» I felt it as ill ae the morning before, and I ufed the fame reme* dy againfl k« However it continued almoft for ja whole week together, and my ey«» were very red, and my eye-lids were with> difficulty moved, during all thai time. My pain ceafisd entirely afterwards. ^AbouC the faiBetimor I had fpread the juice of the tree very thick upon my hand' Thr^ days' after V they ^occafioned blifrers, which Iboifc^ we»t oflT^^tboat atfe<^ing me much^ I have not e&perienced any thing more of the ef&6la of ibifi plant, nor had I any defire fo- to do. However I found that it could not- ejcert its. power upon me, when I waa not perfpiring.' . / I HA.V6 never heard that the poifon of this Sumach has been mortal ; but the pain ceafes af (er a few days duration. The na- tives $9fmerly made their flutes of this tree,.- bepgilfQ 1^ hailfc a gre^t deal of pith* Spiaoi people auured me, that a perfon CxsSietlng^ from its iu^4|bme e^hakfions, would et^ly recover by fpreadiog a mixture of the wood; F burnt %l 'Av SipUmhir 1748* \ burnt to charcoal* and hog's lard, upon tW fwcUcd parts. Some alTertcd that they bad reirfly tried this remedy. In fomc places this tree is rooted > out on purpoft* that its poiibn may not aiFedt the w^rluraen. - I RECEIVED to day, feveraV curiofities belonging to f'le mineral kingdoiOj which wj^re collected in the country^ The fol« loy^ing were thofe. which wcr^ noil worth atjtention. The firft was a white* and quite tranfparent cryftaL* Many of this kind are found in Fenfyhania^ in ievfrtlkinds of iione* efpecially in a pale-grey li^^ftone.; The pieces are of the thickneft and length o^, the little finger, and commoidy las tran- fpareni; as poffible. But I h&ve likewifff^ goit cryftals here, of the lengtbiof a foqt* and .0/ the thicknefs of a middkrfised mftn'a^ l(^g. They were not fo tranfpsu'cnl as |he^ former. ' » J ^TliE cubic Pyrites of Bijhop BrpmoUiut^^l was of a very regular texture.^ But itS; cubes were di^erent in fize, for in fomeof uh" tJ die rl^Af * tfitrum Ctyjlalliu m»iit4ua, Litm. Syft. ill^ <• ||*!^, Cryftdliu hxagona ptttucida ntn C$Urata, 1itldiiriti?d1SIS&ien' '^'0«r*jV* >00. Cr^ftalhu muiUnia, uAovuiiitfi JfiflM^ if\*^ >K? JtaM- to^Mmerftlogy, p. 13. . >:, ^^ v i%..;n i fM f^Pj^iUs cryJIdUiMis, Limn, Syft. Ut. 1. p. tij. Marcia- ^tfr^ajhte, wl cryfiaUi fyritgftitytKK»SiSaa» ForjIa'tiMUoA* to Mineralogy, p. 39. tilt icee that itiei lich foU . orth [uite kind d9of :one.: foQtrr 8 iht^ It it«! lie of Ac itiera- Pen^tvania, Pbiladeipbia. 8} tti6 cubts/ the plan6^ of the iided only (liBidunted to a quarter bf an indhy but in . the biggeft cubes, they i^rerefuU two inch- es. Some were exceedingly glittering, fb that it wan vety eafy to be perceived that they confifted of fulphureoiis pyrites. But in lome one or two fides only, glittered fb well, and the others were dark*- brown. Yet flioft of thefe marcafites had this fame cdour on all the fides. On breaking them they fht wed the pure pyrites. They arc fottiiid n^ar Lancafter in this province, and fotAetimer lie quite above the grQund i butt cbhulnonly they are found at thd depth of eight feet or more from the funace of the grbund^ on digging welhand thelike. ^ Mr. Heffeltus had feveral pidces of tlifiA kind of fiohe, which he made ufe of iri' his woi^. He firfi: burnt them, then pounded or ground them to a powder, and at laft rubbed them ftill finer in the ufual way, and this afiFbrded him a fine reddifh-^" bfoWn colour; «'Few black pebbles are found in this pro- vince, which on the other hand yields m%- ny kinds of marble, efpecially a white onei. with pale^grt^ bluijhjpots, which is found; in a quarry at the diftance of a few Englips- utiles frqm.J?ifiihdelpAta9 and is very good \^ ^^-■■. ,;t*-;\ • 'F a - "foc; «4 I \t Seftemter 1748. t\- bt worUngy though it is not ooegfibf fiii^ kiod of marbles. They make inany tombftbnes and tablet, enchafe ^himne? b •od doori, floora of marble flags in the rooms* and the like of this (cind of marble. A Quantity of this commodity is ihipped to different parts of ,4m&ka. Muscovy glafif* is fcynd in fnany pla* cef hereabouts, and (bme piece; of it are pretty lanj;e, and as fine a& thofe which a^e brooght mm R^ffk* I ha?e feen fome of them» which were a foot aiid more, in length. And I have ic^veral in ipy collec- tion that are nearly nine inches fquare. The Swedes on their firft arrival here made tteii windows of this native glafs. '' ' A PALE grey fine HmeflDne>")- of ^ cam- pa^ texture, lies in many places hereabouts^ imd affords a fine lime. Some pieicea of it are fo full of fine tranfparent c^ftals, that almoft half of the ftone confiib of nothing ^lie. But befides this limeflone, they make . lihxc . nat. 3. p. cS* /f.-' .> f ;<• rt:> 1 * Miea Mumirsuutcea, Linn. , '" Mle»wiiiHhrttnattaftUuciMJimaJkxiHt P.* \t9» Rn^ glaA, Mii/ct9yg]a£i, Ifinglaft, Pitrum 'HiMiilm',. Fitrwm Mariie. Ftrftn-^i Introd. to MSneralogy, p. i9. t Marm»r riubt Litm,. Svft. nat. 3. p. 41. Cidfartus pafti€tiU$/cintiUantihu, VTatt. Afint p. m.,,, ^ Cakireui fcintiUoHS, gHttoiog fiffldtooe. jinJfTi miodf f6 Mineral, p. 9. t lany ncfs the rUc. cdto pla* t are neof re. in Dike- tbitii: of it )tWng inake lime ; •t'soy Penfyhania, Pbikdelpbui. 85 lime near the fea-fliore, from oyfter fbciii^ and bring it to town in winter, which 11 ' faid to be worfe for mafonry» but better for ^i^te-wa£hing» than that which 11 got from the limeftone. Coal I have not jret been found In P#ii* fyhnnia i but people pretend to haye ieen them higher up in the country among the natiyei. Many people however agree that they are met witn in great quantity mor^ to the north, mu Cafe Breton.^ Trs ladiea make wine from fome of the fruits of tke land. They principally takt white «nd red currants for that purpofe, finte the dirubs of this kind are very plen«- tiful in the gardens, and fucceed very welk An 6yi£tu)pr who had frequently been in NiVh-fpnuJUandt iold me that red currants grew wiU in that country in great quanti- ty. *Iihey likewife make a wine of ftraw^- berries, which grow in great plenty in the. woods, but are fourer than the Svtedijh ones. The American blackherriest or Rubus ficcidentakit are likeWife made ufe of for thk' purpo^ for they grow every where about tS^ Md% cilmoft as abundantly ^s r >c^ / F 5 thinks , • , ■^ f TifiB lui ben tcoa&tmtdt fince Cjife Srttan n ia^e hand* of the EnflUb^ and it is reported that theAntiof coals rutt through mt whol6 iSe, and fbme baflbt oat to day naar the fea-fliore, fo that this ifle will afford immenfe trea> fares of coals, when the government will find it convenient, to have them dug for the benefit of the Nation. F. I 86 ih\Septeffi6er ij^S,- thiftles in Sweden^ and have a very agreea^ ble taf^. In Mary/ami a wine it made of the wild grapes, which grow in the woods of that province. Rafpberries and cherries which are planted on purpofe, and taken great care of, likewife afford a very fine wine. It is unnecefTary to give an account of the manner of making the currant wine, for in Sweden this art is in higher perfection than in Nori6 America. September the 2 1 ft. The common Prh^t, ot Ligtifirum vtifgarei Lifm* grows vmiong the bufhes in thickets and woods. Btit I cannot determine whether it belongs to the indigenous plants, or to thofe whith the EngHJh have introduced, the fruits of which the birds may have difperfed every wher6,« The enclofures and pales are generally made here of wooden planks anti pofts^ But a few good Geconomift4^ • hftting . already thought of fparing the woods' ibr future times, have begun to plant qiii(fk hedges round their fields ; and to this pufpofe ihey take the abovef-nnentioned privet, • which they plant in a Hctlts bank, WhttJii i^thrd^n tup for it. The foil every whe#e heteabetHs isa^clay mixed with fandi atld ^iF cdurfe very loofe. The privet hedge* 'however, '^tt only adapted to the taitrt^lS'^'of the 'jp«ttle and oth^r «ni|ii^ beref f^r the btrgs ^ ' all .i a.--'^i-^ 'H<: ■oi jai* miAi :i'aa m Penfyhaniat PJUia^Ulpbia. 87 dl have a triangular yoke about their necki, and the other cattle are oot very unruly. But in Aich places where the cat- tle break through the enclofuret, hedges of this kind would make but a poor defence. The people who live in the neighbourhood q£ PmliwJ^iap arc obliged to keep their hogs enclosed. In the afiterooon I rode with Mr. Pettr Cockf who was a merchant, born at Kari^ fer^K in^ Smiden^ to his country feat* about nine miles from the town, to the north- weft. ./ The country on both fides of the road was covered with 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 ibrts of oak. But we like- wife faw chefiiut trees, walnut trees, locuft trees, apple trees, hiccory, blackberry bufli- es, and ther like. The ground ceafed to be fo even as it was before, and began to look move like the Englijb ground, diverfi- fied with hillfi ^nd vallies. We found nei- tbf;r mPHQtains nor great ftones, and the wood was fo.much thinned, and the ground fo uniformly even, that we could fee a great way between the trees, under which we rode without, any inconvenience ; for there W9re no^huQif^ tp ftop us. In fomc pliK^es F 4 where If Stpt^nber ly^^^ ^Hrhiere th^ foil was ^rown up, . w« (km ^^ome little ftoned of that kind^of wfa'idi tii€ faottfea here are fo generally built. lintend fodeiJCfibe them in the fequel. :' ; As We went on in the wood, we conti^ ntially faw at moderate diftamces little fieldi, iNrhich had been cleared tsi the wood. .Bach ' of thefe was a farm. Theib hxaa nnett i^OMnonly very pretty, and a walk :of trees auently led from them: to tlie fai|^^ k Thehoufes wereJaUbvuh/of isticlii,, or of the (lone wluch is hera evci^ iHnm to be met with. Every countryman* imi though he were tine pocnreft peafaxst^ihiii an orchard with apples, peaches^ cfatibutfi^ walnuts, cherries^ quincss^aodiiBiclifniitr,. land fonietimes we fawiithe vides eixmbing along them. The vailies were fi^uevAf provided with little hctnks wbiCi leontw* M li cryftal flrpam* The com o the Mel of Ae road« was almoil all Odor it, jsnd ao Cither grain beiidcs . maize am^ backwhealt was (landing. The itunscrM Atobetimk with near each farm, in igreiuJrior/ioffiit i|iiifintitie8 ; it grew very wdl audited a gent lengthi the ^Iks being frbm fix ta teii IbiB^ high» and covered with iine gimi lesves; Buckwheat likewits was not ivetffWDicam* mofit and.ia &me places ti>B people wne bc^ntngloTiit^pjt. I fiitpiA.iilitifterfe^ Penfylvdm$t OamMtown. «9 quel to be more pariieulsrr abdttt the qoali^. ties and ufe of tthefe kitiAs of cbrn. APT£it ft ride of '6k' £)«^^ milesi we etant to GerfiMttMi; this tbwn h«s onl^ one ftrtttf but in nesr two Bftj^li/h mile^ long. It is for iUtt greateilporv inhabited by uermansy who from time to ukne come from their country to NdttA Amtrkia^ of the ftone wl»ch t» mixed with glimmer^ und Ibund every where towards FbHadel^Oi h^K^ more fcarioe further dn. S^eral hottfcs hbWevidr were made of brick. They wer^ cotmhonlf two fk>ries high, and IbmetiMe^ higheiTi* iThe roofs conSled of Ihi/igles df the while t^ed^r wood. Their #iape tefem^ bled that of the roofs in S»ide)H but thl^ angtec tk'^y formed at the top were elthet obtufe^: right mjgled, or acute, axreOrdin^ as the iSopes were' ftedp or e^f. The^ fometime^ fohtted ei«hier th4 ^tit o( m eduion^ or th^ half deeagio«i. ' MMY id ike T^ftiei ^efe ^de in fuch i ht,^ manner. i 90 September 174SU r^S manner/ that they could t>e w^a^^^id u^, having a baluftrade round them., .Many g^ the upper ftorieg had balconies before them, from whence the people had a i^t^ofyt€i in- to the ftreet. The windows* even thofe in the third ftory, had 4i^utter&« Each bouie had a fine garden. , The town had three churches, one for the lutherans, another for the reformed proteftants, and the third for the quakers. The inhabitants were 6) numerousy that the Areet was always lujjii The baptifts have likewiC^a meetii^g-houfe. ^ September the 22d. After I ]ii|d.been at churchy I employed the rem^nd^r, of,:tl^e day in converfing with the moil; cq^fi^ecsi- ble people in town, who had lived heceior a long while, and I enquired into the cMri- ofities hereabouts. >^^6:,(\ ^nk^ y^*^m. .>r Mr. Cock had a fine fpring neaj? his country feat ; it came from a fand^ MD* and a£R>rded water enough conftar^jy^tQ^fi)! a little brook. Juft above this fpring Mr* Cock had ereded a building ^1^ th^fe abpve-mentioned glittering ftone^ ifHo which were put many jugs, ai^4^^!Br j^jur- then veiTels full of milk;, for iti 1^eg|ii(^y well in ccld water during the ^^eaj^ ,|ief t with which the fuo^n^er is atteiidf^4)h^@^^ I AFTER wAUps fls^t wi|h)illdny ^^(^8 ., which wcrefitu^ted Y\W(^a^h m^ S^mpt and '■4-^ «4^V<' • Pmfyhama, O&maMown, 9» ■J / "J^ and therefore wens^ deflihed to keep the fldcat and milk frefh. ' y Almost aU the enc'lofures round the corn-fields and meadows hereabouts, were made of planks faftehed in a horizontal di- reftion. ' I only perceived a hedge of privet in one Upgle place. The enclofures were ilot nuide like ours, for the people here fake f)ofts fiK)m four to fix feet in height, and make two or three holes into them, fo that there was a diftance of two feet and above between them. Such a pod: does the lame fervice as two, and fometiihes three pibles'are fcarce fufficient. The pods were faftehed in the ground, at two or three fa- Ih6knl'diftance from each other, and the hbles i^ them kept up the planks, which were nine inches, and fometimes a foot broad, \vA l^y above each other from one poft to the next. Such an enclofure thek'e- Ibre lopk^ed at a diftance like the hurdles in ly^ch we enclofe the fheep at night '^tt Swedeik, They were really no clofer l^in hurdles, being only deftined to keep tUxt the gi^ater animals^ fuch as cows and '(hdrfei." The hogs are kept near the farmt"- hotifes fcVery where about Pbiladelpbiai and ( th^t^jfdre this enclofurie does not need to be i^inede/Cl6(br on their account. Cheifnut ^tfeeswere^ commonly made ufe of for this ^ ;u purpofc, ' !i!l fi StftiMer 1748. \ parpofe^ becaiyb (hik wood keeps Ibngeft againll putrefadtion* and an enclofure made or it can fhind for thirty years together. But where too chefirot wood was to be got^ the Wfaite^ andlikewife ihe black oaks wem taken for that pmrpofe. Of all kinds of woody that of the red cedar holds put the lottgcd. The greateft quantiVir 4>f it il bd^t up her^ ; for near Phitilll^^ it il ADt |)le^tiAil enough, to be made tiie of for ienclofutes % however there attlmany enclO'^ fares nbaf the town made of this wood, • Tme beft wood for f jiel in every ' body^fi opinion is the hiccory, 'or a fpecies ojf v^a1«i ntiti for it heats wells but is not good for e^lofiures* iince it cannot well withstand ^uttefadion when it is in the o^en air% The white and black oaks are next ill goodne& for fueU The woods with which Pbikukifhia is furrounded, would lead onif toconChidje» that fuel muft be cheap there. But it is far from being fo» betaufb tlie gteit and high foreft near the town is the (property of lome peoplt; of quality and ibr- tane> who do not regatti the money which ^ey cxyuM make <^ them. They dp not feH fo tnuch as they require for their owh i;^e» knd miKh lefs would they f^H it to V others. Bat they leave the trees fbr times toxome> expe^ing that wood \rill become ,5!^?5^frf much PenfyfuanUi Germantown, n ipuch jnore Jcarce. However ihey fdi it tojoiaers»^^oa(c1i-niaHers, and othfr mi(\9, wbp pi/ exorbitantly for it. For a quan- tity of hipQory of eight foot in Ungth> ^d four in depth* and the pieces being UkeY ^iftfbur foot long, they paid at pceftnt eighteen (hiUings of Pinfyh)Mi0n curiieocy. But the fame quantity of oak only came to twelve (hillings. The peopU who came at prefent to fell wood in the market were peafants» who lived at a great diftancQ from the town. Every body complained that fuel in the fpace of a few yeat l» wa9 cifen in price to many times aa much' again a^ it Had been, and to account for ihis» the fol-« ^owidg i1iai[bns were gtveii: thc) Iowa is encre&d to iuch a degree, as to be foujr or fix times bigger, and more populous than what fcrme old people have known it to b^ when they were young. Many brick^kilna haVe beeii made hereabouts, which reqjuiiip 2f great quantity of wood . The country is likewife more cultivated tbiin it ufed to be^ ain4 coniequently great woods have beeia Qdt down ior that purpofei and the farms built ill ih6^ places likewife confume n quantity. df wood. Laftly, they tnelt imtk Out of the ore, in feveral places aboiitihe t»w^, and xSma work, always goes oa mlikk* ^x intcrcuptioa. Foe tfaefe rea£bm! it is ;V^:! : concluded 94 Sepamher ij^Z. u concluded in futuinritimod P<6i7^^/tf will be obliged to pay a great price for wood.'^'' - THBMptrine of bfockberritf^, #hlch has a very fine ' tafte, ^ is made fir tfie^ foUoiw^ng ■ manner. The Juice <^f the blockbef^ies is preiled out, and put intl>a^venelj with half a gallon of thia juici?;- an equal'^tiar iuy of ' water is well mixed. Three pounds oifi brown fugar are added to "this mixture*, which muft then ftand for a'' while, and after that* it is iitfor u(Si. Cherry wine t^ made in the fame manner* but care mud be taken that when the juice is prelfed out* the ftones benot cruflied* fdr the/^ give the wine a bad tafte. 1% u^t j .^^ato • I TMfeY make; brandy from peacSiei^ hlife,^' after the following- metbbd. "The fruft 1^ cut afunder* and the (lones ^re tkken out.' The pieces of fruit are«theh put intd d veflel* where they are left for th^ee week^ or a month* till they are qiiite putridJ They are then put into the diftilii«)g^^ ^e&hX^ and the brandy is made and af^erWlafd«dff->' tilled over again. This brand3f^is''ihot goOd- for people who have a move refiliid 't^fte^' but It is only for the comifi^tf'kli^ dF people* fuch as workmen and th)(4ikcQ «^Vv< Apples yield a brandy* when <]^re^red)^ in the fame manner as the peaches; Bur for this purpc^ethofe applet ttrd chiefiy^ :^ib; . . ■ taken Fenfyhama^ Germantown. 95 taken which fall from ibe tr«e .befor« they arc lipe.' c-oa' c ■-' r.« ^.^\rtii' --■. T^E American Nigbt^Jhade^ or PbytQhcca decandrai LifM. S. N. grows abundantly near the farnis, on the confe^ifH^r told me> that the dyers gathers' ed the r^i^Si of this plant and made a fine:r red.^iOf dnem. h HiMt&M^tH^ feveral fpccies of Squirrels. > T^agmund Squirrels^ or Sciurus firiatus^i hinuk S* N. are commonly kept in cages, * bmufe they are very pretty : but they can- not be entirely tamed. Thcgreater Squir^. rels, or Sciurus cinereus, Linn, S. N. fre*? quenU^ do a great deal of mifchief in the plaaiationr^ hut particularly deftray the mt^Wr:. For tfaeyclimb up the ftalks, cut -s:j,i-. the •> «« .Ai|jMflM#Mr 174'* ihct jein>ia«pi«ces AodLctt only, th^ lo^Tc and iWeet |$«rnel which lies quite in thei^sfide. Hhtj HMetan^cft GQinie by hiuidcttds upon a maizorfiicld* and tti^n dcftroy the whole cfop of . a countryman in onciQight; In Maryiaad therefore every ooe i$ obliged an« nually to bring four fqninrek» and their heads are givQii to the fuBTeyor, topfevcnt deceit. In other provinces every body thai kjlla fquirrelsr received twopence a piece for them from the public^ oa delivering the heads. . Their .fleOi is eaten and reck- oned 9, dain^^ The ikina are fold, but are sot mpch efteemed.' Squ trrelst are : die chief food of the rattle-ibake and other 6iakes> and a$ was a common fancy with :Ae peo«^ plc^ hereabouts,, thatidien the cattle fnake lay on ^he.gronnily and fixed itaeyes upof» a iquitrfely -^ Isutteri^onld be as it were &&inated, and that dipugh it were lui the uppermoft branches of a tree* yeit it^roukt CQUM^^doi^a by ndqii^eSy itill it ttepfidr into the fnai^e 'S moutk: The jfuahe ihen Iteka the Jtolfii animal fisver al times^ alidr makea. it wet;^:ovet witkit|s fpitde^ thaC it sbay* gord^w A the throat eafier. It thenf fwaiibuM) tb^;:WJiole ifquircol ,at ooce. r.When the foid^e has jnadsi fufih: W goodv mealt /.it Hei' dovrn care to get any. But the cattle dege-r'- •»¥ n^mes Penfyhania, Germaiitown, loj nerates by degrees here, and becomes fmall-^ er. For the cows, horfts, Aieep, and hogs, are all larger in England, though thofe which are brought over are of that breed. But the firfl 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 (hare towards producing this change. ^* '' It is remarkable that the inhabitants of the country, commonly fooner acquire un- dcrftanding, but likiewife grow fooricr old than the people in Europe. It is nothing uncommon to fee little children, giving fprightly and ready anfwers te quefVions thai are propofed to them, fo that they feem to have a^ much' underftanding as old men < But they do not attain tofuch an age as the Europeans, and it is almoft an unheard of thin?, that a perfon born in this country, (hould live to be eighty or nhicty years of age. But 1 only fpeak of the Europeans that fettled here. For the favages, or firft inhabitants, frequently attained a great age; though at prefent fuch examples are un- common, which is chiefly attributed to the great ufe of brandy, which the favages have learnt of the Europeans, Thofe who are born in Europe attain a greater age here, - ' G 4 than IQ4 Septtmhr 174$. ihikTi ihoie who are born hcre^ oi Europtan pareiltd. In th&hd war, itplaiilly appear-? ed that thefdin^w Ameriitint y^r^xt by far Ufa h^rdy than the Europ^m tn exptditi<« QQ9/ lieges, and long ffea voyages, and died in numbers. It is very dif^Onlt for them to ufe theinfelves to a ^Hmftte different fit'oim their own. The w6men ceafe hearing ohil^ dren fooner than in Eurtfe* They ^Idom or never have children, after they are for^ ^ forty •fiv^ years old^ aild foine leave o^F in the thirtieth year <>f tbeif t^ea I enqsi&-< fed into tliecaufes of this, hut no one cOuld give me a good one. Sonae faid it was lOiw-^ ing to the affluence in Which the people livd here. Some afbribed it to the inciMi^ ilancy and changeablenefs of the weacher^ ^nd believed that there hardly was a coun^ try on earth in which the weather dttingeis fo often in a day, as it doled hersi For if it were evei" fo hot, one could notbe cer^ tain whether in twenty-four hours there . would not be a piercing cold# Nay»i fome* times the weather wiU change Ete ociix ' times a day. .>.^yy^n hrh^: Thb trees in this country have the faflae qualities as its inhahitants. Fop the fhips whith are built of American wbod^ are by no means e^ual in point of ftrength> to thofe which are built in Eurofe. This is what ^t^' r^ U- \r9p0Mn ppcar-» by far pfediti- id died r them itftoim g ohil^ ^Idooi e forty avc off enqut** ecOiild piBoplo incocm reatfaer» I coun^ ilanges For if be cer-* 8 there ,! fomc* ". or. fix le fame e (hips ace by gth> to Thisii what what nbbody attechpts to contridid:* Wh«li a £biip which it built here» hat ferved 4ight ertMifdve years k is worth Htddf afldiif ece is to bs met with, which hiat been ill ufa linger and is jret ferviceable, it is reck- oned i^ery a(k>Di(hiDg. It it difficult to find outthc caufes from wheiiice this hap^ pelts. Some by the feolt to the badne^ of the wood: others condemn the method of building the fhips^ which is to make them of treet which are yet greei;i^ and have had no time to dry. I believe both caufes are joined. For I ibund oak; ti^iich at the Btmoft had been cut down about twelve years, and was covered by a hard bark< But upon taking off this baric, the Wood below, it was almoft entirely rotten, and like flour, £0 that I could rub It into pow» der between my fingers. How much long** er will not our Europtun oak (land before it moulders ? J At night we returned to Fbilade^iaj'^ • Beptembtr the 23d. There are no Marfs in this country, but fome animals, which are a medium between our Hare^ and Rab-^ SeiSr and naake a great devaftation whenever they get into fields of cabbage and lurneps. Many people have not been able to find out why the Nortif American plants which are carried to Europe and planted there, for '^ - the *k io6 .HV Btpumher I748« the greateft part iiower fo late, and do not get ripe fruiic before the froft overtakes them, although it appears from fevcral ac- counts of travels, that the winters in Pen- Jylvania, and more fo thofe in New Tork, New England^ and Canada^ are full as fevcre as our Swedtjh winters, and therefore are much feverer than thofe which are felt in England, Several men of judgment charged me for this reafon to examine and enquire into this phoenomenon with all podible care. But I (hall inftead of an an^^ fwer, rather give a few remarks which I made upon the climate and upon the plants oi North America^ and leave my readers at liberty to draw the concluiions themfelvest' I. It is true, that the winters in P^«* fylvaniat and much more thofe in the more northern provinces, are frequently as fevere as our Swedijh winters, and much colder than the Englijh ones, or thofe of the fouth-^ em parts of Europe, For I found at PMa^ deipiia, which is above twenty deg. more foutherly than feveral provinces in Sweden, that the thermometer of prohffor €ef/tus; fell twenty-four deg. below the freezing point in winter. Yet I was afiured that the winters I fpent here, were none of the coldeil, but only common ones, which I could like wife conclude from tht Delaware*^ not PenBihioj^, Fbiladelpbia. 107 not being frozen ilrong enough to bear a carriage at Philadelphia during my ftay, ' though this often happens. On coniider- ing the breadth of the river which I have already nientioned in my defcription of Fbiladelpbia^ and the diflference between high and low water, which is eight Englijh feet; it will pretty plainly appear that a very intenfe froil is required to cover the Delaware with fuch thick ice. 2. But it is like wife true, that though the ranters are fevere here, yet they are commonly of no long duration, and I can juflly fay, that they do not continue above r^ two months and fometimes even lefs, at Phi" ? ladelpbiai and it is fomething very uncom-^ mon when they continue for three months together, in fo much that it is put into the^* gazettes. Nearer the pole the winters are 1 fomewh at longer, and in the quite northerns parts they are as long as the Swedi/h win'^i ters. The daily meteorological obfervations 1 which I have made during my ftay in Ame^^^ ricay ^nd which I intend to annex at the end of each volume of this work, will give t iQore light in this matter. f 'V3. The heat in fummer is exceflive, andi without intermiflion. I own I have feen | the thermometer rife to nearly the famet degree at Aoio in Finland, But the differ- ^ u^^. ence io8 .•- yi ^iptemci ^,^^%^ % ence i6» that when the thermometer of pro- feflbr Celfiui iQ{k>to thirty dee. above die freezing point oo€e in two or three fumoiers at^i^^o* tb^ fame thermometer did not only for three montha together ftand at the fame degree, but even ibmetimes rpfe higher; not only in Fenjyhmnia^ hut likewife in Hem Tdrk^ Aibany^ and a great part of Ctf- nada» During the fummer^ which I fpent at Philadelphia, the thermometer Jia8 two or three time$ rifen to thirty^fix deg. above the freezing point. It may therefore with great Certainty be iaidt that in Fenfylvama the greateft part of April, the whole May,, and all the following months tili OBober, are like our Swedijh months of June and Jufyk So ezceinve«and continued a heat siteft certainly have very great effe^. I here again refer to my meteorological obfervati-* ona. It moft likewife be afcFtbed'to the eic^sof thi^ heat that the common melons, the water melons, and the pumpions of different forts are £bwn in the fields with- out any bells or the like put over them, and ' yet are ripe as early as July t fuither, that cherries are ripe at Flalaielphia about the 25th. oi Mi^, and that in. Penfykoania^ the wheat is frequently reaped in tl^.ll^ddle of June, - ■ . ■ ■ 'V" . r,.i4\ . . 4. Thb ^holc of Septemher^ ard lolf,^ if ,. , not Penfylvaniat Philade^bia, 109 not the wholft of OBober^ are the fineft months in Penfyhania, for the preceding ones, are too hot. But thefe repreftnt our July and half of Auguft, The greateft part oiiht plants are in flower in September » and many do not begin to open their flow- ers before the latter end of this month. I make no doubt that the goodnefs of the feafon, which is enlivened by a clear fky> and a tolerably hot fun-lhine, greatly con- tributes towards this lafl efl^ort of Flora. Yet though thefe plants come out £0 late, they are quite ripe before tlie middle of OStober, But I am not able to account fbr their comiitg up fb late in autumn, and I rather afk, why do not the Centaurea Jacea, the Gentiarta, Amarella and Centaurhim of Lmnam,m\6, the common golden rod, or SoHdago Virgaurea flower before the end of fummer ? or why do the common noble liverwort, or Anemone Hepatica, the wild violets f Viola martia^ Linn. J the niesereon (Daphne Mezereum, Linn, J and other plants fhew their flowers fo early in fpring ? It has plcafed the Almighty Creator to give td them this difpofition. ^ The weather at Philadelphia during thefe months, is (hewn by my tiieteorological tables. I have taken the greateft care in my obfervations, and havt always avoided putting the thermo- -- -. - ,. . „ -,., . meter no ^^: September 1748. meter into any place where the fun could ihine upon it» or where he had before heat-^ ed the wall by his beams; for in thofe cafes my obfervations would certainly not have been exadt. The weather during our Sep" tember and Odlobcr is too well known to want an explanation.^ '^^> 5. However there are fome fpontaneou9 plants in Penfyhania, which do not every year bring their feeds to maturity before the cold begins. To thefe belong fome fpecie* of Gentiana, of Afiers^ and others. But \xi thefe too the wifdom of the Creator has vvifely ordered every thing in its turn. For almofl all the plants which have the quali<« ty of flowering fo late in autumn, are peren-» njal, or fuch as, though they have no feed to propagate themfclves, can revive by (hoot-r, ing new branches and (lalks 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 Euro-*^ peans came into this country, it was inhabit^ "^ ed by favage nations, who prat^ifed agri^o culture but little or not at all, and chiefl)!^ . ■' ' ■'- :Miiio>f: lived- * The Englijh reader, who is perhaps not fo well acquuitt>| ed with the weather of the Stuedijh autumn, may form ail idea of it, by having recourfe to the Calendarium Florae ot the botanical and oeconomical almanack of Sweden, in Dn Linnatts*^ Amoen. Academ* and in Mr. Stillingfiet's Swedijli traits, tranflated from the Amoen. Acad. ad. edition. F. Penfyhaniat Philadelphia. lit lived upon hunting and fi(hing. The woods therefore have never been meddled with, except that fometimes a fmall part was de- ftroyed by fire. The accounts which we have of the fktU landing of the Europeans here, ihew 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 (hore, the reft muft for the great-^ eft part have been obliged to grow perhaps for a thoufand years together, in a (hade, either below or between the trees, and they therefore naturally belong to thofe which are only peculiar to woody and ftiady places. The trees in this country drop their leaves in fuch quantities iii autumn, that the ground is covered with them to the depth of four or five inches. Thefe leaves lie 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 of the fun which can come down to them through the thick leaves at the top of the trees. Thefe caufes joined together make fuch plants flower much later thai^ they would otberwife do. May ■ it ■;*'4»'nv . ft- t^^ • Vide HacUujth coUca. voy. i ii, 246. lit S^timiit 1748. k not ihcfefore be £iid» thiiC Ui h maoy ceolnriet thflTo planu had at ltd cootrailed a i^ifiii^ of cQitnio^ up v^ry late» and that it would now require a great fpaco of time to make them lofe thi^ habi£« ^ad i^fe them ti) quicken their growth ^-:t -tr A--- -• Septemkr the 24;th* Wr employed thia whole day In gathering the feeds of plants of all kinda». and in putting icarce plants into the herbal. September the 25tb. Mii« Jhffelm made me a prefent of a little piece of petrified woody which was found in the groiiitdhere* It . was four inches long, one inch b;oad* and three lines thick. It might plaisdy be feen that it had formterly been wood^ Foir in the places where it had been polt(bed« all the longitudinal fibres were ea£^^ diftin* guifhable, fo that it mighi !baye:been taken for a piece of oak which was cut Anooth. My piece was part of a ilill greater pieces It was here thought to be petrified hlccory. I afterwards got more of it from o^hef peo- ple. Mr. Lewis Evans told me that on. the boundaries of Firgmta, a great piitrified block of hiccory had been fbutld in thiO ground, with the bark on iu whtcb was Qkewife petiifitd« . ■ tf ^n.: .;n^^^ iiii: II Mr. y^6n Bartram is an EngUJbmant who jives in , tli!^ .cQ<|n(ry abou]t fpnr miles s^'.- -fl-' . " from .|-»i • • t mad« '!tri6cd ,d;hor€« liaVy b9 I, For olt(bed> r diftin- n Uken \iaooih. r piece* liccory. inr peQ- 00 the (ptrifiod in thja Penjylvaniat Philadelphia, iii^ inM% PbikdtMia. He faaa Mqaired i greaf knowledge of nttnral philofojiShy and hifto- ry, and feems to be born with a pectrHar genius for thefe Iciences. In hi9 youth he had no opportttiHfty of going to fchool. But by his own dittgence and indefatigable ap^-^ plication he got^ Without inftroiftron, fo far in Latin, «s to underftand all Latin books, and even thoie which were filled with bo- tanical temM. He ha-s in feveral fuceeflive' yeare nattde frequent excAiffi6ns mto diifer^ tm dfftanc parts of North Amffkd, with aii' intention of galhering all fofts of pfertts^ which are fca*«e am d little known. Thofe which hfe found be has planted in hfs own botanical garden, and Hkewife fent oveV their (eeda* or frefli roots to England, W6' owe to him the knowledge of many ibairet^ plants, which he firft found, and whith were never known before. He has fhewn greiat judgment, and an^ attention w4)tcl't lets nothing efcape unnoticed. Yet ^ith alt thefe great qualities, he i« to be bhtnVed for his liegligence; for he did not care tO' wrive dowii hitfnmneroiis and ufefuiobferva^ tions. His Mends at London once' obliged' bim to^ Ifehd tiiem ar fhort account of one of ^ hie travels^ and they were very ready, wttB* a good intention, though not with fufiici^{ ent judgmtentv to get i!iis accomit printed/ H But • ->; »'4 September 1748. But this book, did Mr. Bar tram more harm than good; for as he is rather backward in writing down what he knows, this publi- cation was found to contain but few new obfervations. It would not however be doing jullice to Mr. Eartram'% merit, if it were to be judged of by this performance. He has not filled it with a thoufandth part of the great knowledge, which he has ac- quired in natural philofophy and hiflory, efpecially in regard to North America, I have often been at a lofs to think of the fources, from whence he got many things which came to his knowledge. I likewife owe him many things, for he p^Q^iTed that great quality of communicating every thing he knew. I (hall therefore in the fequel, frequently mention this gentleman. For I fhould never forgive myfelf, if I were to omit the name of the firft inventor, and ' claim that as my own invention, which I learnt from another perfon. ^ Many Mufcle Jhells, or My tilt anatini» are to be met with on the north-weil fide of the town in the clay-pits, which were at prefent filled with water from a little brook in the neighbourhood. Thefe mjufcles feem to have been waihed into that place by the tide, when the water in the brook was high- JF?|r th[efe cilay-pits j^re, ^ot old,; but were ill lately larm d iu ibU- ncw r be if it .ance. 1 part as ac- iftory, ca» I of the things kewife ed that y thing fequel, I Fori ere to or, and /bic?h I anatinif /eft fide were at e brook lies feeni by the as high* t were Penfyhania, Philadelphia, \ 1 5 lately made. Poor boys fometimes go out . of town, wade in the water, and gather great quantities of thefe (hells, whicn they fell very eafily, they being reckoned a dainty. , The Virginian Azarole with a red fruity or Linnaui'% Cratagus Crus gallic is a fpe- cies of hawthorn, and they plant it in hedg- es, for want of that hawthorn, which is commonly ufed for this purpofe in Europe. Its berries are red, and of the fame fize, (hape, and tafte with tbofe of our haw- thorn. Yet this tree does not fcem to make a good hedge, for its leaves were al- ready fallen^ whilil other trees ftill preferv^ ed riieirs. Its fpines are very long and (harp; their length being two or three inches. Thefe fpines are applied to fome inconfiderable ufe. Each berry contains two (lones. Mr. Bartram a(rured me, that the North American oak, cannot re(ift pu- trefaction for near fuch a fpace of time, as the European, For this reafon, the boats (which carry all forts of goods down from* the upper parts of the country) upon the river Hudfon^ which is one of the ereatcft in thefe parts, are made of two kmds of wood. That part which muft always be under water, is made of black oak> but H 2 the .i .i 'v» \ttAi n6 September 1748. the upper par t^ which is now above and now under water, an4 is therefore more exn pofed to pMtrefa^iop, is made of red cedar pr Juniperus Virginiandt which is reckoned the mod hardy wood in the country. Tho bottom is made of black oak, becaufe that wood is very tough. For the river being full of ftones, and the boats frequently run-? ning againft them, the black oak gives way, and therefore doei not eaiily erack. But the cedar would opt dQ for this purr pofe i becaufe it is hard and brittle. T^fi p^k like wife is not fo much attacked by putrefadtion, when it is always kepiundec water. . ..j^intH- ' '^^ 1^ In autumn, I could ^Iw^ys get good pears here ; but every body acknowledged* that this frpit wonld not fuppeed well in the cpuntry. _ ,44 All my obfervations and remarks on the qualities of the Rattle-fnah, are it^ferted in tne Memoirs of the Sive^i/h Academy of Sciences, for the year iJSZi p* 3x6, and for the year 1753* p. 54, and thi^iej: I rc-^ fer the reader.^ ;iiib9*>j^'!'i.:>a»-ijaf'h Bears are very numerous higber up to the country, and do much mifeUef* Mir, Bertram tpld me, ths^t when ^bie«r fiatehei -»ii :ij«jv'jS 2^T -.4, ' "3^' :?71S.> aO '.•-■' J.':)?!'''!!.'* * Vide Medical, kc. cafes and fxperimeBts, tranflated ftO||| *«»*«> V the 5w^i/j|j&, Iwi*» 1758. p. 28a. P. ';\ ,ij .1 Penfyhama, Philadeiphia* lij t cow, he kills her in the following man^- ner: he bites a hole into the hide, and blows with all his power into it, till the ani- mal fwcUs exceflively and dies ; for the air expands greatly between the fiefh and die hide.^ An old Swede called Nils Guf- tave*% forif who was ninety-one years of age, fatd, that in his youth, the bears had been very freqaent hereabouts, but that they had feldom attacked the cattle: that iidienever a bear was killed, its fle(h was prepared like pork, and that it h^d a Very good tafte. And the fie(h of bears is flill prepared like ham, on the river Morris, The environs of Philadelphia, and even the whde province of Penjyhania in general contain very few bears, they having been extirpated by degrees. In Virginia thty kill them in feveral different ways. Their flefli is eaten by both rich and poor, fince it is reckoned equal in goodnefs to pork. Ih ^^" H 3 fbme :,c-S ip ill tchctt ''^This hu all the apptartncv of tvttlgir error: neither does the facceeding account of the American bears beioff caN nivoioasj agree with the obfervationi of the moft juiucious travellers, who deny the faft. P. But however it might be eafible to reconcile both opU nions. For Suropt has two or three kinds of bears, one fpe- cies of which Is camii jroas, the other ITves only on vegeta- bles } the large brown fpecies, with its fijiail variety, art reputed to be carnivorous, the black foecies is merely phy- tivorotts^ ^ In cafe therefore both fpecTes are found in Nirtb Amtiita, it would be very eafy to account for their being both carnivorous and not. F. u iV September 1748. foine parts of this province, where ho hogs ' can be kept on account of the great num* ^ bers of bears, the people are ufed to catch and kill theiii.> and to ufe them inftead of hogs. The American beafs however, are faid to be lefs fierce and dangerous, than \\^Q European ont^, o ;v/ . * September the 26th. Tnt brbad plantain ^ ov Plantago major ^ grows on the high* roads, foot paths, meadows, and in gardens in great plenty. Mr, Bartram 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 Europeans had brought it over* This doubt had its rife from the favages (who always had an exteniive knowledge of the plants pfthe country) pretending that this plant never grew here before the arrival of the Europeans. They therefore give it a name which fignifies, the Englijhman*% foot yiox they fay that where a European had walked, there this plant grew in his foot fteps. The Chenopodium album^ or Goofefoot with finuated leaves, grows in plenty in the gar- dens. But it is more fcarce near the houfes, in the ftreets, on dunghills and corn-fields. This feems to fhew, that it is not a native of America^ but has been brought over amongft other feeds from Europe. In the fame i«¥ Penjyhaniat Philadelphia, 119 fame manner it is thought ti)at the Tanfey fTanacetum vulgare, Linn, J which grows here and there in the hedges, on the roads, and near houfes> was produced from European feeds. The common vervain^ with blue flowers, or verbena officinalis, was (hewn to me by Mr. Bartram, not far from his houfe in a little plain near Philadelphia, It was the only place where he had found it in Ame- rica, And for this reafon I fuppofe it was likewife fown here amongfl other European feeds« Mr. Bartram was at this time building a houfe in Philadelphia^ and had funk a cellar to a coniiderable depth, the foil of which was thrown out. I here obferved the following ftrata. The upper loofe foil was only half a foot deep, and of a dark brown colour. Under it was a flratum of clay fo much blended with fand, that it was in greater quantity than the clay itfelf; and this ftratum was eight feet deep. Thefe were both brick coloured. The next ftra- tum confided of little pebbles mixed with a coarfe fand. The ftones confided either of a clear i or of a dark ^artz ;* they were H 4 quite * ^artzum bjaUaumt Linn, Syft. nat. 3. p. 65:. ^arttwm foUdum peUuciduntt fFafferit Miner, 91. riiil- » ne f«Q September 1748, ^uite rma9th and roundish oti tb(B outEde» and Uy in a ftratun) wh^ch wa^ a foot deep*. . Then t^P !>nck*CQlpured clay mixed witk i!and appeared again* 6ut the depth of this flratum could not be determined. Query, could the river formerly have reached to this plaqe and formed thefe ftrata? Mr. Bartrcm has not only frequently £pttnd oyder-fhells in the ground* but like* wiie met with fuch (hells and fnails, ai undoubtedly belong to the fea, at the dif« lance of a hundred and more Engii/bmi^t from the (bore. He has even found them. on the ridge of mountains which feparate the Enghjh plantations from the habitations qf the favages. Thefe mountains which the Englijh call the hiue mountaimi are of condderable height^ and extend in one: continued chain from north to fouth, or from Canada to Caralinam^crtfia grew on the roads through the woods* and fometimes )4^X«.JiiW^ on X^e common ^artz, Forfier's Mineralogy, p. i6. I nl * And ^artxum cohratum„ Linn. Syft. nat* %* p, 65«..ait»v» ta. f^^artzumjhh^nit^acufn coiarattan. U^tfiL j^. 99. I<< be injure SinartKt Forft. Min. p. 16. ^,a^.:.;^.i, ji xs^ Penfyhania^ FbiladeJpbia. x%t rni uncultivated fields, efpecially whea ihrubs grew in them. Its leaves are like thofe of the Senfitive plants or Mimofat and have HIcewife the quality of contradin|r when touched, in common with the lea^res of the latter. The Crov>s in this country are little dif» ferent from our common crows \M&vi$iin* Their fize is the fame with that of our crows, and they are as black as jet in evoy part of their body. I faw them flyinjl^ to day in great numbers together. Their voice is not quite like that of our crows, but has rather ntore of the cry of the took, ix Linnaus's Corvus fruoUegus. f^ Mr. Bartram related, that on bis jour- neys to the northern £ffg/^ colonies, he had difcovered great holes in the mountains on the banks of rivers, which according to hit defcriptioD, mufl exadly have been fuch giants potSy* as are to be met with in Siinden, axkd which I have defcribed in a particular difSsrtation read in the Royal SiMdifh Aca^ demy of Sciences. Mr. Bartram has like«^ ' wife addreifed fome letters to the Royal Society at London upon this fubjed. For ibme * In Sfwdi*^ ftod in die aorth of Gmnm^, tiie ronv} }io]it in rivers, with a ftoney or rocky bed, which the whirling of the water has made, are called giants pots; theft holes are likewife mentioned in Mr. GroJUys new ei/ervations on Itah, Vol. i.p. 8. F. . "^ 122 September 1748. ibme people pretended, that thefe holes were- made by the favages, that they might in time of war hide their corn and other valu- able effeds in them. But he wrote againft this opinion, and accounted for the origin of thefe cavities in the following manner. When the ice fettles, many pebbles flick in it. In fpring when thefnow melts, the water in the rivers fwells fo high that it reaches above the place where thefe holes are now found in the mountains. The ice therefore will of courfe float as high. And then it often happens, that the pebbles ^hich were contained in it, ever fince autumn when.it firfl fettled on the banks of 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 polifhes 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 tofling, the flone is at lafl unfit for this purpofei but the river throws commonly every fpring other flones inflead of it into the cavity, and they are turned round in the £ime man- liier. By this whirling both the mountain and Fenfyhania^ Philadelphia, 123 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. Bartram about the origin of thefe cavities. The Royal Society of Sciences at London; has given a favourable reception to, and ap- proved of them.* The remarks which I made in the fummer of the year ly^^f during my ftay at Land's-Ort, in my coun- try, will prove that I was at that time of the fame opinion, in regard to thefe holes. I have (ince further explained this opinion in a letter to the Royal Academy of Scien- ces ; and this letter is dill preferved in the Academy's Memoirs, which have not yet been publifhed. But there is great reafon to doubt, whether all cavities of this kind in mountains, have the fame origin. Here are different fpecies oi Mulberry treesy which grow wild in the forefts of north and fouth America. In thefe parts the red mulberry trees are more plentiful than any other. However Mr. Bartram affured me that he had likewife feen the white * How far this approbation of the Royal Society, oaght to be credited, is to oe underitood from the advertifementi publifhed at the head of each new volume of the Philofophi- ^al Tranfaflions. F. IS4 Sipiember 1748. whlto mulberiy trees growing wild« hut ihftt atktf \9cxt more fcarce. I afked him gnd feverti other people of this country ; why they did not (et up filk manufafturer, liaving fueh a quantity of mulberries, which fucceed fo cafily ? For it has been obferv- fd that when the berries fall upon the ground where it is not compadfc but looie, they foon pbt out feveral fine delicate (boots. 3ut they replied that it would not be worth while to eredt any filk manufactures here» becaufe labour is fo dear. For a man gets from eighteen pence to three (hillings and upwards, for one day's work, and the women are paid in proportion. They were there- fore of opinion that the cultivation of all forts of corn, of hemp, andoff)ax, would he, of greater advantage, and that at the (ame time it did not require near fo much care as the feeding of filk worms. By the trials of a governor in Conne^kuff which is a more northern province than New Tork, it is evident however, that filk worms fuc- ceed very well here, and that this kind of mulberry irees is very good for them. The governor brought up a great quantity of filk worms in his court yard ; and they fucceed- ed fo well, and fpun fo much filk, as 16 fl0brd him a fnfficient quahtity for cli^tfi- ihg himfelf and all his family. "♦ Several •' PenfyJv^iniat Pbiladilphia. 125 Several forts of Vines like wife grow wild hereabouts. Whenever I made a lit- • tie excurfioQ out of town, I faw them in numerous places climbing up trees and hedges. They clafp around them, and co- ver them fomctimes entirely, and even hang down on the (ides. This has the fame appearance at a diilance, as the fendrils of hops climbing along trees. I enquired of Mr. Bartram why they did not plant vine* yards, or prefs wine from the grapes of th< wild vine. But they anfwered, that the lame obiedtion lay againft it, which lies againft the ere^ion of a (ilk manufadlure, that the neceffary hands were too fcarce, and it therefore was more rational to make ap;riculture their chief employment. But the true reafon undoubtealy is, that nhtf wine which is prefTed out of moft of the Nortif American wild grapes is ibur and (harp, and has not near fuch an agreeable tade, as that which is made from Eurefean grapes. The Virginian Wake ro&in, or Arum Virn gimcum, grows in wet places. Mr. Bar* tram told the, that the favages boiled thd Jiadix find the berries of this flower, and aevoiifed it as a great dainty. When the 126 September 1748. H ' taftcy which they lofe in great meafure Up-* on boiling. > *'' Th4 Sarotbra Gentianoidesi grows abun- dantly in the fields and under the bufhes, in a dry fandy ground near Philadelphia. It lookn extremely like our whortleberry bufhes when they firfl begin to green, and when the points of the leaves are yet red. Mr. Bartram has fent this plant to Dr. Dillenius, but that gentleman did not know where he fhould range it. It is reckoned a very good traumatic, and this quality Mr. Bartram himfelf experienced; for being thrown and kicked by a vicious horfe, in fuch a manner as to have both his thighs greatly hurt, he boiled the Sarothra and applied it to his wounds. It not only immediately appeafed his pain, which before had been very violent, but he like wife by its affifl- ance recovered in a fhort time. Having read in Mr. Millers Botanical DiBionary, that Mr. Peter Collinfon had a particular Larch tree from America in his garden, I afked Mr. Bartram whether he was acquainted with it, he anfwered, that he. l^ad fent it himfelf to }Au Cotiinfonf that ,it only grew in the caftem partis dW Newjerfey, and that he had ittet wit^it ia 710 othc(? Engiyh plan^at^on- \ It iiifm IVomtbe other fpeeiea of Larch trees, Ub cones • Penfyhaniat Philadelphia. 127 cones being much lefs. I afterwards faw this tree* in great plenty in Canada* Mr. Bartram was of opinion, that the apple tree was brought into America by the Europeans, and that it never was there be- fore their arrival. But .he looked upon peaches as an original American fruity and as growing wild in the greateil part of America. Others again were of opinion, that they were firft brought, over by the Europeans, But all the French in Canada agreed, that on the banks of the river Miffijippi and in the country thereabouts peaches were found growing wild in great quantity.* . Sepfemher the 2 J th^ The tree whichthc Englijh. here call Perfimon, is the Diofpyros Virginiana of Linnaus, It grpws for the greateft part in wet places, round the water pits. I have already mentioned that the fruits of this tree are extremely bitter and (harp before they are quite ripe, and that being eaten in that f^ate they quite contract ♦jg/. * TBomas Htrriit, fervant to Sir fFalier Raleigh, who was employed by him to examine into the produAions of Nortb Jmriem, makf no mtolion of the peach among the other frofts he dcftribes^ uid M. dm PratZt who has given a very ^OjMacconAtof LeuijiaMa and the Miffifi^itivy^t that the na- tive» got dieir peaches from die EngHjb coltt6 decja^nJra^ ^^toiiiff gfeiinidantly in. t|iA%|isi^9» aiidrun^cr the trqe«, on HtU^? Jilft^A -Its blfick berries ar& ^low.ripe, yf§ >f^^y^d to day fome liulei^Wfd^ wi|h ^k)u!e |^«^ ma^e, and oi iht ixzt q£ oxit Hortuli^^ Te/fow Hammer I (Emieriza CUrimlh^.^liA Embertza HortuhnusJ] . flying down .f^ the trees^ in order tQ^ fettle upon^th^oti fhade and eat its berries. ^ -- ji ; 2 -^ v : " t^ . T^o WARDS night I went to Mr* Batftramls • country feat. xiahut^ r-LCiuo'i li^th oYJ!^ JS0emier the 29th. The Gmtpbaihtm margaritaceumf grows in aftpnilhing quanti- tieis upon all uncultivated fieldSjgljA4e9»hUls. anjd.tne like. Its height is diCer^t accord* ' ing to its different foil and fituation> : Some- tiE^rifi^s It is veryramofe, and fooi^tiiides very little. It has a flrong, but agceeiable fm^l). Tht EngUJh call it Life everlafiingy for iti; flowers, which confift chiejy pf '4ry, fhi- ning, (livery leaves (Folia calycin^) do not change when dried. This pl£|ni is now every where in full bloflbm. iJRut fome have already loft rt^eilQWW»;%Jli4ilire be- ginning to drop thqr feeds, li^i^irjiinf^jk ladies were ufed to gather g^9t;^aintitic8 of this htfe ^wr/<^%r and tp^^^k tbem -xn i A With the ftalks. For they, put thcpiliitd pots witl|^^>dr without Wiler^ i^mongft othtr fine 4cwep$' which they h^d giai thereat bblh in the gadkns and in the fidds^ andpUced, them as an DriJament iir the rooms. The EngUfiAoAi^^ in general are much inclined to have ^ne flowers all the fummer Idngi in or upon the chimneys, fometimes upon a table, or before the windows, either on ac* count of their fi^e appe ..ranee, or for the fake of their fweet fcent. The Gnaphaiium above- " mentioned^- was^ one of thofe, which th^y kept in their rooms during the winter, be- caufc its fhiwefs never altered from what they weie when they flood in the grouni^^ Mr. B^r/7VK^;told me another ufe of th|s plant* A" decCHffcion ef the flowers and flalks is ufedtb bathe any pained or briiifeS part, or it^ts rtibbed with the plant itfelC tied up ina bag< V Insteaq of flax feveral people made u{e( of a kind of 1)^^*8 bane^ or Linnaus\ Apo* cynwn cnnnahinum. The people prepared the ftalkis^ of ^is plant, in the fame tpaiuier as we prefkre thofe of heinp or , flax« It was (pun aiid feveral kinds of fluffs were wovei*i}flom k. The favages are faid to have had the art of making bag$^ fifhing- netsv '^nd^l^like, for many centuries to- getfwr* before the arrival of the Europeans. I 2 I ASKED i ■■ V •te^ c 'I A«K£d Mr. Bertram, whither he f^ad obArved in 1^ tnnh, that the \#bt6f was Mleii, tnd that tht fea had fyftntt\f i^bnt- dd ftliy plated which wtre how tan4. He ft>)d me^ that from what he had eseperktlc- dd^ he was cotiviticdd that the greateft part of this country, even for feveral liiiles io- gethery had formerly been under water. The reafons which led him to give credit I€J( this opinion, were the following. ^^ V /" Yi On digging In the hlui mour»taihi> iWhi^h are above three hundred Mfig^P miles diftant from the fea, you find Ijb&fe dy(^6r and other forts of fhelle^ aiid they al-e alfo like wife to be met With in the -faliiei^ formed by thefe mountains. ■^■- 1. A vAs-t quantity of petrified (hfclls are fbtlnd in limeflone, ^int/ arid {iniiMk^, j.^ drt the fame mountains. Mr. Bdrff^m af* hfured me at the fame time, that it wa^ in- 6#4dit)le what quantities of them thbre were in the different kinds of Aones of which the mountains confiil^ ! ' 34 The fame (hells ai-e likewii^ dug in |reat quantity^ qdite entir^ ^nd not moul- dered, in the ptt>^t\cci t>t Fft'gfHk ftftd Mafyidndy as alib in PhilacdtlpUs arn4 in 4. Ow digging welte (not oinly b PM^- dieiphuh but likewlA in ^^ ^tace<^) iht .\ I *^ I people Penjykia^iat Philadelphia, 133 people have met with trees, ropts,. and leaves of okk» fdf the greateftpart, tiot'^rct rotten, at the depth of eighteen feet, f ^ '? -5. Tlite 'bleft foil s^nd the richsft tnpuld Is to be met with in the vallies hefeahouts. Thefe ▼allies are commonly crofiedfa^ a m- vulet OF %rook. And on their declivi^, a mountain commonly rifes, which in thofe places where thft brook paHes clofe tail, looks as "if it were cut on purpofe. Mir. Bartt*fiin beh'eved, that til thlsfe vallips fWf- merly were lakes j that the water had by degrees hollbwed out the mountain, and opeqec} a paflage for itfclf through it; and that the gi^esit quantity of ilime which is contained m the water, and which had fubi- ^ded to the botton> of the lake, was the rich foil Which is at prefent in the vailies, and thepaufe of their great fertility. But fuch vaMies and clpveh mountains are very frequent in the country, and of th^ krn4 is t^epeciiliar gap between two mountains, through which a river tak^s its courfe 01 the boundaries of New Work and Penjyinja^ frid*, Th^ people in a jeft fay, ihat this opening ^^as made by the D^r^^ as ilk wanted to go out of Penfyhanid into Nedt) tdrk. V ' " •• ' ^ "" ■■'-"^■^-■^ .r^. -6. Thb whole appearance of the' blue inoufllains, plainty mews 4bat thf iwater I J formerly ^'- J 34 "September 1748. formerly covered a part of theiii. For many' are broken in a peculiar niahner, bu| the higfe^ arc pl¥fn. ' ^^n o f 7/ When the fa^i^ges are told, that fhells are found on theie ' high mountainsiy and diat from thence the^e is i-eaibn to believe that the fea muftfbrtheily have extended to tiiem, and even in part flawH i^ver theoi; ^ey anfwer that this is not ne^ to thert)» titey having a tradition from ^h'eir anceftors among them, that the fea Ydrnderlyfntr Touhded thefe nibunftairis. 5f '^ y?^^^ \^' .^i ' ^/fvR. jThe water in rivers and br66ks liK^- Wife decreafes. Mills, whieh fii^ty years ago were built on rivers, and a^' that titne -had a fufHcient fupply of water Alm^A ^H the year long, have at present fo little, that they cannot be ufed, but aft^ a heavy rain* or when the fnow melts in fpf fcgt This deereafe of water in part arifes fronj the gre4t quantity of land which is now cultir vated,'and from the extirpation , of ^^icpat ;fbrefts for that purpoie. \ ^'^^^^l % ^ \.% •^■- 9« The fea-(hore increaies likewife in :tiine; This arifes from the tlier thing rclatihg to tficfe ©bfervation^^ l^c ifecUs Fmfyhama^ Pbitadelpbia, 135 vAiK^ tx%Jiq be fQund petrified on thc: nor- thern mountains, are of ^U€h kinds:. ^L^t prefent are fipt to be got in ^e p5ft> in the fame latU'iide, aitd^ they are not ^flied on the fhore* till you come to South Qaroilina. Mr* Barf ram from hence took an occaiion tq §cfciidpr,„XJl>omas Burmt*$ opinion, that tbe earth, before the deluge was in ^diffipr- ent po^tiop towards the Ain. He likewiTe aike4 whether the great bones which Me fometimes found in the ground in SiSffrfp, and wl^^p^ are fuppofed to be elephant's bones and tufks, did not confirm thi^ opi- nion, :^or at prefept thofe animals cannot Iivein%:ii5X^ld countries; but if accprdlllg to pr. Burnett the fun once formed different zones ^boU:t our earth, from thofe \im^ makes, the elephant may eafily be Aippofed to have Jived in Siberia. * Howcv^. jt Sl«3 won 21 ;d;jj- ^4 ■ feenas aon^ '*^TiiV bones and toflcs of Elephants are BOt.oi;>lyfQim^ in Ri{/^a, but alfo in the canton 6f Bafel in Swijfmdiidtt in the 4omni<^ofilw Marquis t>f Bartith in FroMconi^ and nidr^ inpiaH^ are fojund in the Protojraa of the j^^ bratedx«^y/ie. |riately near the river Qbio have been dut* «dveitd,^^reitt tttmbei' of flceletons of £lephmt» Wit^ mvf tulks, and vei^.^g^^rkahle grinderi , ftill fttckin^.v ^Ik^r jaw bones weiw lent to iheJir«ri/^ Jlfi^m} theVlle D^. £MriA^BIIIi»p^f^€m7^/a|ib lodged ^me teeth ftitidhg in l^ijrjawbdMt'^in ,the llDfeum ofttieJtojral Society^, tt^teh ^cre brought fronviVe'^'. The nvtx\ Cbatunga. zvA rhf^~ ghirktt in ^i^iut af e Vem^kable for aflbirding on their banks Jrest: quantities of bones and toiks of Elephants, which bebg fS^ Seftemier 1748. ^ooedy V(i^ fiave V^^e^ the effect of diisr-p Cftt P?ufc8, To thqfe belong the ui?iv«rfel 4f iMgHPi the incr^afe of lan4 which is in^cr ie\9$ w^fspr.^'^ th«re by die wnt frpft. aed in thp ihoi» Itrrtutia' of a fe«r Weeks, th^ y^a ^eittg r^» tH^e tulks i^ cO«iinoBly fafreflidi^ttheywtt ettpl<^ed in k$i^, a» cotn^ ffiW**.W ^i<^^^H'>« ^:<^^»*' V»^.%^B^ftw! tfieie placc;^ to fcu^a ; lome of them were eisAt JEeet Io|ie, ^d «fthK« kumlrffcf fiouAdy weig^bt* l^eire have B^n Jro«iHl jptlBlf^^ants froi9 ne^r the Q^/V afe ]^et more r^inarkftbl^ bn tccmiBt of tiieir being provi&ci' wi^ crowns on their tofft foch usat^aaly fbiinrl in ^e c^rnivar)u» animab, and ^cfl a$ fcc4 op hswl bx?ne8 or n|il;s. Whiljft on the co^tmy^ isleiijiants at {^relent feeding on grains and ^t yeffftablfS^ ll^ttiEi no fMsk crowns at the tops of their grin4ers. Xi'vf, k is tra?, mYp^ 1 4»Ai5»^;iQ5i wtwem tl^ ^J^tk or fnf/ifw elephants, ai\d the J^ricatt oney ; and remarks tbe latto* to Ise inferior to the former in iize and Viffour; batwhedia- ^^e^ ip .thisfe miiwi'U are

a?i pfyfr jjeeij pttraded to. TWs drr ^mRfnce of'the difiVirence in the foml erinders of Ele- fliants» from thofe in the living ones, and the place where thefe fkeletons were found in, viz. Siieria, Germdnj and Ammea^ wl)ere at prefent no ^lephapts are to bf met with, V^^s i^ ivlde field to cbnjednres in regard ^o^the v^ay, by iWbc^, thefe a|iimatswei)? carried to tlidf^ foot/, "f ne fl^pod "jh th^ djfliigi^^ tijeni ttitherr^ir is it '&p^ar« tol^afiii»'4 mftory ' qt revclapon, to ^liiei|e^, tlie<^ fti^^ns to be the i^emaindera of anisids. which Hved on ;i^furri|< Sf i^m^>vi^ ti^W, W'M^ piav be con'i&r^d on% as a hevir mioilifitatioA pf t&e un^r wUch tf yfiii I^ni9^ till cii;tfimitantai«$lrmke^^ ^|ngf jRecelfer^; a^nd o^r globfc >itll'lnr a i)6w'cteatlon (irl^^ution app<^jQpior'e'?df^|ited to its (bite, i^^d be4dc|c' Ift^th ?^^ Q? ^%als ?f fe fWl^ ^^^^•; !^ maiil Penfylvu^ni^, Pbil^4^bia. 37 ]y ^ w9fjc pf time, ^v^: ^ ^¥^ms4 n?5jxs ap4 in gf^at flqq4§, ^js^vc tlfcir^ift .. j^';p fora^ ^jft^nf^e frojw Mr. fii^rfr^f corni y houfe, a little brook flowed thrq^g^ the wood, and likewife ran over a rock. T^f at^filiv^ ^J^, Bartrm h^^ (h^wcd me fcy^rgl Jiitje i^ayitigs in jfep rppfe ^ wp playt^ly ^ thaf they f»^ft ^yp .bjeen gf pe^fe4 19 the ipan^er I be%e 4?fqriM> that is» by fuppoiing a pebble to havf f4^ m^ifj^d jp s| plefjt of |hc rocjp, fipd ^o l^ave been turne<} rpund \^y th? yiokftpe pf ^b* >ygp^, till \X haid fo,rme4 iw^k ^ c^vify in ijij^ n^ou^^ain. Fpr pn ptfttjng our han^^ i»^9P(if Pf:thf?ft f^^viti^f, w^ /Pfr.4'*ft', fkm Xf«M/ 1 1 V i < xjS Siftember 1748. fdahtr which lie hid colled^ed iii^o a herbal te his travtls. Aihong thefe we^e the fol- lowing^ which likewife grow in the nor- thern parts oiEur^e^ of which he had ei- ther iot the whok plants, or only broken iMrancnes. -; v./-o:*.vi^v*,«;.j^^- -*,. vjyt;; iiiJW 3(io jog :iUi - • --^ 1. Betula aUa. The commh'tircB free f which he had found oh the cats^Mk, 2. Betula noHa. This fpecies of birch grows in feveral low plac^lB tdward^ tD[e 3. Comarum falufire^ in the iheidows, between the hills in iVifw Jerjeyl"^ ^ "'^t ^14. Gentiana lufea, the grei^t Gentu^, from the fields near the mountaiijis. tt' Was very like our variety, but had iioi'fd tnany ^wers under each leaf. '^- -^^' '""'' 5. Linnaa boreaUs, from the inountains m Canada, It creeps along the grbtihd. 6. MyricaGaJe, from the neighbourhood of the river Sufquehanna, where it grows in a wet foil. J. PotenHllafrutico/a, from'&hi^M0 fields and low meadows, between the riv6r Delaware 9 and the river New J^>*i.^ ' 8. Trientalis Europaa^ itotsi th^ ^dts-'^iSkf 9. ^righchin maritimum^ iibMAe jfi»lt fprfngs towards the country pf thd' five h^^^ lion8;i-su: , •^^?»^^xiAY^ . ''^ ; "^-^^^^^F ^^^^^^;^^ ^ Penfyhaniay FMMI^bia, '^^39 iins ^{r. ^Bartram ihewjed me a letter from jE<5^ Je^(y^ in whic^h bf got the fbllowiag acpount 9I' the difcovccy of an Indian grave, in tbp .^)>ri/ oif the year 1744,' as fomc pcQpie wipre digging a cellar, they cainie upon a great (lone, like a tombftone^.Awiiich was at lail got oui with great difficulty, and about . fpur . feet deeper under it^ they met with a large quantity of human bones and .a cake of , maize. The latter was yet quite i^itQ^che<^^ and feveral of the people prc^ fent tafted it out of curiofity. From nieie circumft^nces it was concluded that this was a grave of a perfcn of note among the fayages^ For it is their cuftom to bury along wi^li the dece^fcd, meat and of^dr things |V^A|ich he liked heft. Thai fhme was eight feet long, four feet broad^ aD^ evf n fpOV^ inches more where it was broad- eft, and. fifteen inches thick at one endyJbut only ,twi^|ye inches at the other ^nd. It fpnfii^ed gf the fame coarfe kind of £tont, that is to be got in this country. There wen?,^ Ic^^r^ ijpr QfJ^ie^r eharadcE$ vvifible The ^pfn which the Indians chiefly cul^ tlyate ;is^ the Maize^ or Zea M^^)Linn. J'heyKaxf little corn. fields for that pur- pofe. But bcfides this, th^y liMewiiiE^f^an t ji great quantity oi Squajhes, a fpeciea.^f K:^y\i \ pumpiona 14^ .vs $ffiimbtr 1748. piunpioM or mcloiWy which th«y have al- V^ys oaltivatedy even in the renioteft aget. Th/o f^uropiMns fettled in Amerka^ got the feeds of thi| plant, end at prefent their gar- dens are full of it, the fruit has an agreeable €all» when it is well prepared. They are coAunbnly boiled, then crushed (as we are 4iftd to do with turnepe when we make a fiulfeof them) andfbme pepper or other fpice thr<)wn upon them, and the di(h is ready. The Indians likewife fpw feveral kinds of beans^ which for the greateft paft they hate got from the Europeans, But peiife iV'hi^h they like wife fow,: they have always 4iad amongft them, belore any foreigners came into the country. The f<|Ua(hes of the Indians, which now are likewife etilti- vated by the Europeans^ belong to thofe i^inds di gourds (cucur^ta,) which ripen before any other. They are a very deli- cious fruit, but will not keep* 1 have however feen them kept till pretty late in winter. * September the 36th. Whea^ -and rye are lown in autumn about this time, and cemtiionly leaped towards the end of yune^ or in the beginning of Jufy. Thefe kinds t>f oortty however, arc fbmetimesTeadylo be reaped in the middle of June, and there 0re' evetl exaknples that th^y have been ,^fcij/v*ijau I mown ^ PenfyhMiM, Phiiadilpbia. i^t tntim lA thef he^\titi\t% of thit tAttdhi^ Bix\6f ^tfA oftts ttt fowri rn Apfi!^ Arid xhty tooitAotAy ht^iti td ptvt ripe (dtnrard^ thd 6nd dijuly. Buck-^vtrbeat bfowniA th6 kl)iddl« or ait the tnd oi^ 3^2^j(^, And x^ abdut thid tiftie, or fotnei/vhat Isitdr, I'dady to be I'^ped. If it be ibwft befcrf6 thot abdVe-nMfif^tiOhed time, st^ in Mdy^ or in Jfitff, if oti\y gives flolvefd, ^nd Httle or tid f Mitj Bdftram afyd Other' people itflufed line, that MoA of the cottrs which the £/r- Iffl^ hav^ here, are the offspring of thofe w»i€h th«y bought of the 8^jifedis wbefrt they "^ist^ riFiafterfi of the couiitry. The ^figltjh rhetili^ivef; s^re faid to hsIVe brought over b^f fevi^i The Swedes tlihtt brought their catile from home, or bought the^ of the ^Dutdbi v^ho were then fettled here. Ni^Ali the towEf, I faw an Ity or Hederd ^MeliHi |)lan(ed aigainfl: the wall ofadbite btiildittg^ which tVas to covered by the fine gfden leaves of this plant, i.% aliriofi to ^ <;oii^8al the whole. I^ was doubtlefi brought ^ over frottt Europe, iot I have iieve# pereeW-- ^ ie any whert elfe on my triveh throtrgh ^-North-Amerkai But in its ftead I haver dflto fel»fi wMd Vitie^ inside to f un dp the t A$Kfe& Mf4 iarttant, Whethdi* he had obferved. VJO i4a September 1748. ob&hr^y that trees apd plants diec;rea|e4 idu pro{>ortibh as they Were brought further to ^ Utit 'North ^ as Catejh pretends ,^! lie an-,>| fweredy that the qiijbition (hoiitd. be .-more- , WtoMita^ ' and then bis opinion woi|ld< provQv^; the true one. There are Tome trees which tv, grow better in fouthern countries^ and be^^. come lefs as you advance to ttiQ north.^t^ Their feeds or berries are fometime^ broughtar into colder climates by birds and by other :^f' accidents. They gradually decreafe ij^^. growth, till at laft they; will, not grow at ir alL On the other hand, there are other ^v^ trees and herbs which the wife Creatprdefrc^^s tined for the northern cpuntries» and they,^. srow there to ah anxazing fize. But the 3, further they are tranfplanted to the.fouth^^v the lefs they grow^ till at lafi; they dege-an nerate fo much as not to be able jto grow nt; at alK Other plants love a temperate cli-.(j> maite, and if they be carried either fbutho*> or north, they will not fucceed v^|l« bufi^^* always decreafe. Thus fpr exan?plc P^i^-U::- ^A;/7;i/((i contains fome trees which gjrpw^ exceedingly well, but alyvays deqfi^^e, in proportion as they are carried furt]^e(;,4Q£l[v. either to the north, or to the foutl^* > -v ^^r I AFTERWARDS on my tr^yci^^, -Jba4br frequent proofs of this truth. The S^TlC- yrM#hich grows in Penfyhaniap under forty .:, o-^--^ •*** Penfyhania^ Pbikuklfbia* '43 forty dee. of lat. and becomes a pretty ta)I and thicK tree, was fo little at Ofweg9 and f . Fort Nicbolfont between forty-three and ; forty-four deg. of lat. that it hardly reach* t ed the height of two or four feet* and was \ feldom fo thick as the little finger of a full ^ grown perfon. This was likewife tl^e cafe with the ^ulip tree. For in Penjyhania it grows as high as our talleft oaks and firs, ^ and its thicknefs is proportionable to its - height. But about Ofwego it was not abov^ » twelve feet higb» and no thicker than . a man's arm. The Sugar Maple ^ or Acer fdccbarinumy is one of t^e moft common .. trees in the woods of Canada^ and grows b very tall. But in the fouthern province, as New Jerfey and Penfylvama^ it only j^ grows on the northern ude of the blue mountains, and on the fteep hills which are on the banks of the river, and which ar^ turned to the north. Yet there it doeSfo not attain to a third or fourth part of the no height which it has in Canada, It is need^ \t^ lefs to meption more examples. -v.t-h^i.vA O^ober the ift. The gnats which. are very troublefQme at night here, are called MuJquetoei,\ They arc exactly like th« gnats in Si&eien^ only fomewhat lefs, and the defcrmtion which is to be met within 'Dv* lJnnaus^% SvSema Natura^ aiid Fauna -ix , ■ ^- t^inifo ^'^-^f^^ - ^ -^. ^ --. y - Siiecica^ m I44 - ^Oitobef- 174SP. Buicka, ki^f tgttc9 ii^tth theta, afid they ktt tiAhi by* hitx. Cukie pjpitfts, lii day fitixe or at tYtgfat they cdrtte mio the houf^s, aftd Irhcrt the pcopk are gdne to bdd th^y Ircgm thekdifagreeaHe humming, ai^pi*6ach ait^ays hearer to the berf, and at laft ftick tip fo much blbddi that they tiH hardly fly away, 'theh bite caufes! bhfters iii ptGpit of a: delicate complciidn. Whert the weather has been cool for fome days, the mtifqiieto^d difappear. But when it cha/«gcs agai^, and e(bcciaHy after a rain, they gather fre- quently in foch quantities about th^ houfes, that their numbers are dftotliKhing. Ithe chimneys of the Efi^lifh Which have no valves for (hutting them tip, ajffbrd the enatS a free Entrance into th^ hoafes^ In mltfy ci/^^ y pit^kiag hples in tl^ memJbrSQe found the ear^ the rain gets iii£o it, vA fiatifi^ the oar with all die C0rft it oontaioA !• rol. , . OSober !>i,?n?5^ asBft o6er Pen/ylvania, Journey to JFilmington, 149 OBoher tehe 3d. In the morning I fct oat for JTiktrngton, which was formerly ctUed Cbf^nahjtht Sioedes, and is tknty Engli/b vaaitt to the fouth weft of PhUa^ €k^ui. Three miks behind Fhiladeipbia i pafied dxeMiver iS/toZ^Ai^in a ferry, beyond which the country appears almofl a contl» niual chain of mountains and valiies. The mountains havie an eafy ilope on all iMdA%^ snd the Tdlies are commonly croiTed by brooks, with cryftal ilreams. The greater pait of the country is covered with fevered kinds of deciduous trees ; for I fcarcely faw a fingle tree of the fir kind, if I except a few red cedars. The foreft was high, but open below, fo that it left a free profpe«ft to the eye, and no under- wood obftrbded the paf^ fi^ between the trees. It woald ivBKt been eafy in fome places to have gone w^^ der the branches with a carriage for a quan^ ter of a inrle, the trees ftanding at great dtftancesf from each other, and the ground being very level. In fome places liittle glades opened, which were either mead de- fkrt bliins, I ikw every W^eiip coirettni. with a( le^ft twx> feet itt^TO; hzy, in ifbaie |>tkces it abiounted to fpt^r ieet;. tbi« w6dd ;give According to the fortner rule olf hiuf an inch pff iefe^tuiry* 4800 yeans, ih th6 firft inft^ct, 4b'4 in thiis iecoad, 91^ ydn's, and thirifoi^ ITiew's that this rqjle/pr ipaiculat|jig |hl$ ihdrfccftri6us. The cKemi^ analyfis A Penfylvania, Journty ta Wilmington, 155 grows eight or ten feet high, bat in ft htrl and poor ground, it wiU feldom .conMB up to fix inches. . This Datura^ together Tvita the Phyitolacca^ or American Nigbtjhadtt groiv herein thofe places near the gardens* houfes. ai^alyifii df plaiitf, (hewi tliat tikey coafift^ of wpter, oortl^ 9ci<), tXXa&t oil, and an infiammable principle, indepenilent dfthe Idl-Aittftince^'and called by a late Gtmdn chtmift thft (•nMici tbqfe iHito^ft iDtft enter yearly tke -new plants, and make their fubflance, and are ae it were retenerated in thefe heW plants, after being fee at liberty ftoiii' the ftrudtiirfe of the laft year's plants by patrefaflion, or by fire. Mould chemically exailuAed, has the iame analogotts parts* Acid and cauiBc are |>)enHfalIy containe'd in the commoii ur, and may altb eafily be reAored to the mottld, and thus citcidate thronf h a new fyjftem of plants., Wa&r pomes likewise from rain ^and fnow. out of our atmofphere : alkaline alid oil!* pifrtieltsft br a kind of fiap, are the only ^ng« wanting which v^en a(|ded with the former to any fobik earth, .od to the an&aal creator on. tt IS evident, VLr.^itlm hinted at the above-meatioacd e|)ihion of the'increafe tf mo^ld, jcnd this gave me ah oppi](r. tdniity of confirming his arpimett, and of Aati&g 'feirty ttk great queftion on which agriculture, the moft nece&ry tMnBnv)^ of huhiJmartsdepeiids. F. ^ • - "i • » <,.-^• . »S4 Odidber 1748. w houfes, and roads, which in Sweden are co- vered with nettles and goofe-foot, which European plants are very fcarce in America* But the Datura and Phytolacca are the word weeds here, nobody knowing, any particu- lar ufe of them. TuRNEP-FiELDS are fometimes to be feen. In the middle of the highroad I per- ceived a dead 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 moon. The people faid that it profi;nofticated either a florm, or rain, or both together. The fmaller the ring is, or the nearer it comes to the moon, the foon- er this weather fets in. But this time neither of thefe changes happened, and the halo had foretold a coldnefs in the air. I SAW to-day the Cbermes of the alder (Chermes AlniJ in great abundance on the l3ranches of that tree, which for that reafon looks, quite white, and at a diftance ap^ pears as it were covered with mould. OSiober the 4th. I continued vay jour- ney early in the morning, and the country ilill had the fame appearance as I went on. It was a continual chain of pretty high hills, with an eafy afcent oa all 4des, and of vallies Penfylvaniat 'journey to Wilmington, 155 vallies between them. The foil coniifted of a brick coloured mould, mixed with clay, and a few pebbles, I rode fometimes through woods of feveral forts of trees, and fometimes amidft little fields, which had been cleared of the wood, and which at prefent were corn-fields, meadows, and paftures. The farm-houfes flood fingle, fometimes near the roads, and fometimes at a little diflance from them, fo that the fpace between the road and the houfes was taken up with lit- tle fields and meadows. Some of the houfes were built of flone, two flories high, and covered with fhingles of the V hite cedar. But mofl of the houfes were wooden, and the crevices flopped up with clay, inflead of mofs, which we make ufe of for that purpofe. No valves were to be met with in the chimneys, and the people even did not know what I meant by them. The ovens were commonly built up at fome diflance from the houfes, and were either under a roof, or without any cdvering againfl the weather. The fields bore part- ly buck-' wheat, which was not yet cut, partly maize, and partly wheat, which was but lately fown ; but fqmetimes they lay fallow. The vines climbed to the top of feveral trees, and hung down again on both fides. Other trees again were furrouiided by the ivy (Hedera quinquefolia) which with 156 .7..\- '..v/ O^^rr 1748. tidth the fame flexibility afcended to a great height. The Smiiax laurtfoiia always joio* ed with the ivy» aod together with it twiA* ed itielf . round the trees. The leaves of the ivy were at this time commonly red* diihf but thofe of the vine were (till quite gneen. . The trees which were fur rounded with tfaem» looked at a diftince like thofe which are covered with hops in our coon* try« (and on feeing them from afar off, one might expert to find wild hops climbing upon the trees.) Walnut and chefout trees were common near endo(ures» in woods> and on hills, and at prefen.t were loaded with ^eir fruit. The perlimon was .like* wife plentiful near the roads, and in the woods. It had a great quantity of fruit, but. they were not yet fit for ^eating, fince the froft had jiot foftened them. At fome di£taxict£Tom Wilming0M, I pafled a bridge ov^er a iittle river, which faUs north into ihc J^elaware. The rider pays here Iwio- pence toll for himfelf and his horfe. , > >u.. TpwjLRDs noon I s»rrived at Wiimikjgtm. WiLMiKOTON is a little town, about thirty Et^KJh miles fouth-weil fvom PMi* MphiO'. It was founded in the y^r 17^3. Part ofit fknds upon the grounds belong-* ing to the Swedijh church, which amnually receives certain reii4S| out of whieh they 7 \' •_ ..V V . pay Penjylvania, IFUmagton, i^* j^y the minifter'i fiilary, and employ the reft for other ufes^ The houfes are built of ftone, and look very pretty; yet they are not built clofe together, but large open places are left between them. The quakert have a meeting-houfe in this town. The 5«W|^ churchy which I intend to mention in the fequel, is half a mile out of town eaftwards. The parfonage is under -the fame roof with the church. A little river called Cbri/Hnm-kiU paffes by the town» and from thence falls into the Delaware, By following its banks one goes three miles before one reaches x\\t Dekwan, The river is faid to be fufflciently deep, fo that the greateftveiiel may come quite up tddxe town: for at its mondi or jundture with the Deh^* waret it is fliaUoweft, and yet its depth even there when the water is loweft» is from two fikthoms to two and a half. But as you go higher its depth encreafes tothree, three and » h Jf, and even fou r fathoms. The largeft (hipa therefore may fafely, and with their fotf cargoes come to» and from the town with the tide; From WilmingUn, you have a fine plowed of a great part of the river Dela- optfnr, and the &ips failing on it. On both fides of the river CMJiina^kili^ almoft from the phiee where th^e tedoubt is built to itd jiihifture vdth the JD^lawAn^ am low mea^ dowSf which aflford a great quantity of hay \; to ij8 OSiober 1748. to the inhabitants.. The town carries on % coniiderable trade, and would have been more enlarged^ if Philadelphia and "New^ cajlle, which are both towns of a more anci- ent date, were not fo near on both (ides of it. The Redoubt upon the river Chrijiina^ kill, was eredted this fummer, when it was known that the French and Spanijh priva- teers intended to fail up the river, and to at- tempt a landing. It ftands, according to the accounts of the late Rev. Mr. Tranberg, on the fame fpot, where the Swedes had built theirs. It is remarkable, that on working in the ground this fummer, to make this redoubt^ an old Swedijh iilver coin of Queen Cbrijiina, not quite fo big as a fhilling was found at the depth of a yard, among fome other things. The Rev. Mr, STrtfff^^rg- afterwards prcfented me with it. On one fide were the arms of the houfe of mufa with the infcription : CHRISTINA. D. G. DE. RE. SVE. that is, ChriJUna, by the grace of God, eledied ^een of Sweden i and near this the year of our Lord .1633. On the reverfe were thefe words : M.ONETA NOVA REGNI SVEC. or, a mwemrf the kingdom of Sweden. At the fame tinde a number of old iron tools, fuchvas axes, fhovels, and the like, were diieoveredk The redoubt, that is now ereSed^ confiib Penjyhania^ Wilmington, 159 of bulwarks of planks, with a rampart on the outfide. Near it is the powder maga- zine, in a vault built of bricks. At the eredtion of this little fortification it was re- markable, that the quakers, whofe tenets^ rejedt even defensive war, were as bufy as the other people in building it. For the fear of being every moment fuddenly at- tacked by privateers, conquered all other thoughts. Many of them fcrupled to put their own hands to the work ; but forward-^ ed it by fupplies of money, and by getting ready every thing, which was necefTary. O^o^^r the 5th. It was my defign to crofs the Delawarey and to get into New "Jerfey with a view to get acquainted with the country; but as there was no ferry here to bring my horfe over, I fet out on my return to Philadelphia. I partly went along the high road, and partly deviated on. one or the other fide of it, in order to take more exad obfervations of the country, and' of its natural hiftory. * The maize, was fown in feveral places.. In fome its ftalks were cut fomewhat beL v the ear, dried and put up in narrow high ilacks, in order to keep them as a food for the cattle in winter. The lower part of the ftalk had likewife leaves, but as they commonly, dry of themfelves, the people do not like to ^i feed i6o .1?^. OSlober 1748. .feed the cattle with them, all their flaybuf being loft. But the upper ones are cut^ whilft they are yet green. ;" f " ' Thb vallks between the hflt^ commonly contain brooks : but they are hot very broad, and require no bridges, ib that Carriages and horfe can eafily pan through themj for the water is feldom above fix inches deep. ^'^The leaves of moft trees were yet quite green^ fuch as thofe of oaks, chemut trees, black walnut trees^ hiccory, tulip trees, and faffafras. The two latter fpecies are found in plenty on the 0des of the little woods, or; hills, on the fallow fields, near hedges, and on the road« The periimoit likewife had ftill its leaves; however fpme trees of this kind had dropt them. The leaves of the American bramble were at pre-* fent almoft entirely red, though fome of thefe bufhes yet retained a^^ lively giten in the leaves. Tht Corneliait che»'ry likewife had already a mixture of brown and pale leaves. The leaves of the red maple were alfo red. I CONTINUED my journey to CBiebefierl 2t borough upon the Delaware, where tcia- vellers pafs the river in a ferry. They build here every ydar a number of fnkatU ihips for fale. From an iron work "Wh&ch Ijcd j;, ' T- r i-Tr^f- iM>~^4Ji ♦ (^ ^ w Jp Hr »^ ^^' (■<1 ^f- PenJ^hania, Return from Wilmington, i6i lies higher in the country, they carry irorf bafs to this place, and fhip them. '"'■ Canoes are boats made of ohe piece of wood, and arc much in ufe with the farm- ers, and othei( people upon the Delaware^ and fome little rivers. For that purpofe a very thick trunk of a tree is. hallowed out j the red juniper or red cedar tree, the white cedar, the cnefnut tree, the white oak, and the tulip tree are comftionly made ufe of for this purpofe. The canoes made of red and white cedar arc reckoned the beft, be- caufe they fwim very light upon the water, and laft twenty years together. But of thefe, the red cedar canoes are moft prefe- rable. Thbfe made of chefnut trees will iikcwife laft for a good while. But thofc of white oak are hardly fervkeable abovd fix years, and alfo fwim deep^ becaufe they are fo heavy. The Liquidambar tree, oi JLiquidambarfiyracifiuai Linn* is big enough but unfit for making canoes, becaufe it imbibes the water. The canoes which are made of the tulip tree, fcarce laft i hav9 no other boats to go Xq Phiia^ delpbia in, which they commonly do twice a week on the market days, though they be feveral miles diftant from the town» gnd meet fometimes with fevere (lorrasi yet misfortunes from the overfttting, &c. of thefe canoes are feldom heard of, though ihey might well be expected on account of the fmall fize of this kind of boats. How- ever a great deal of attention and care is peceffary in managing the canoes, when the wind is fomewhat violent i for they are narrow, round below, have no keel, and therefore may eafily be overfet. Accord- ingly when the wind is more brifk than ordinary, the people make for the land, f* The common garden creffes grow in fe- veral places on the roads about Cbicbefler» ^nd undoubtedly come from the feeds, which were by chance carried out of the many gardens about that town. The Americm brambles are here in great plenty. When a field is left uncultivated^ they are the iirfl plants that appear on it $ and I frequently obferved them in fuch fields as are annually ploughsd* and have corn fown on them. For when thefe bufh- ^s are once rooted, they are not eaiily exr tirpated. « ^tk\Jt I '«« -•' Vt >.* ^ Penfyhania, Return from Wilmington, i6j tirpated. Such a bu(h ^runs ou>t tendrili fometimes four fathoms oS its root, an4 then throws a new root, ib that on pulling it c^p, you meet with roots on both ends* On fome old grounds, which had long been uncultivated, there were fo many bu&es of this kind, that it was very troublefome and dangerous walking in them. A wine is made of the berries, as I have already men^ tioned. The berries are like wife e^ten when they are ripe, and tade well* No other ufe \% made of them. OBoberxht 6ih.. The Chenopodtum an-* thelminticum is very plentiful on the road» and on the banks of the river, but chiefly in dry places in a loofe fandy foil. The Engltjh who are fettled here, call it Worm* feed and Jerufalem Oak, It has a difagree- able fcent. In Penjylvanta and New Jer* fey its feeds are given to children^ againd the worms, and for that purpofe they are excellent. The plant itfelf is fpontaneous in both provinces. The environs oi Chicbejiert contain many gardens, which are full of apple trees» iinking under the weight of innumera* ble apples. Mod of them are winter fruit, and therefore were yet quite four. Each farm has a garden, and fo has each houfe of %ht better fort. The extent of thefe gardens is 3^f ^ L 2 like wife ^^•V'- 164 ^^OSlober 174^^. A likewife not ihconfiderable, ahd thercford affords the poiTeiTor all the year long, great fupplies in his houfe-keepihg, both fdr eat-" ing and drinking. I frequently Was for-» prized at the prudence of the inhabitants of this country. As foon as one has bought a piece of ground, which is neither built up- on nor fown, his firft care is to get young apple trees, and to make a garden. He next proceeds to build his hou^, and laftly prepares the uncultivated ground to receive corn. For it is well knbwn that the trees require many years before they arrive to perfedtion, and this makes it neceffary to plant them firft. I how perceived near the farms, mills, wheels, and other inftru- mems which are made ufc of in crufhing the apples, in order to^ prepare cyder from them afterwards. Lfifitfu. ,;^: Faom Cbichefter I went on towards PA/- iadelphia. The oaks were the moft plcrtrti- ful trees in the wood. But there were fe- veral fpecics of them, all different from the European ones. The fwine ribw went about in great herds in the oak wdbds, where they fed upon the acorns which fdl in great abundance from the trees. Each hog had a wooden triangular yoke £lbbut its li^ck, by which it was hindered front penetrating through the holes in the cnclofiires j and .. a fof v/ * 1 « > V 'i'i i, •cat ;at-* for-^ :sof ht a up- mng He aftly ceivc trees i^e to ry to ir the nftru- ' *> : Penfyhaniai Return from Wilmington, 165 for this reafoH) the enclofures are made very flender, and eafy to put up, and do not require much wood. No other enclo-^ Aires are in ufet but thofe which are fo like iheep hurdles. A number of fquirrels were in the oak v(foods» partly running on the ground, and partly leaping from one branch to another; and at this time they chiefly fed upon acorns. : ^. ^r^-. 4^1 SELpoM faw beach trees ; but I found them quite the fame with the European ones. Their wood is reckoned very good for making joiner's planes of. r/T^ . J DO not remember feeing any other than the Hack AntSt or Formica nigra in Fenfyl- vania. They are as black as a coal, and of two forts, fome very little, like th': leaft of our ants, and others of the fize of our com- mon reddifh ants. I have not yet obferved any hills of theirs, but only feen fome run- ixing abput fingly. In other parts of Ame^ rica, I h^ve lik^wife found other fpecics of ants* as 1 intend to remark in the fequel. The common Privet, or Ligujirum vul- garct is made ufe of in many places^ as a hedge round corn-fields and gardens, and on my whole voyage, I did not fee that any other trees were made ufe of for this pur- pofe, though the Englijhmen here, well know that the hawthorn makes a much bct- •i^f;*! 3 ter i66 OBober 174ft. s/r ^'^ ter hedge. The privet tietfge^ grow very thick and clofe, but having no fpines, th(f hogs, and even other animals break eafily through them ; and when they have once inade a hole, it requires a long while before it grows up again. But when the hedges confift of fpinofe bufhes, the cattle will hardly attempt to get through them. About noon I came through Chefier^ a little market-town which lies on the Dda" *ware, A rivulet coming down out of th^ country, paflcs through this place, and difJ* charges itfelf into the Delaware, There M i bridge over it. The houfes ftand difperf- ed. Mod of them are built of ftone, and two or three ftories high 5 fome are how- ever made of wood. In the town is a churchy and a market-place. Wheat was now fown every where. In fome places it was already green, having teen fown four weeks before. The wheat fields were made in the Englijh manner, having no ditches in them, buV numerous furrows for draining the water, at the dif- tance of four or fix foot from one another* Great ftumps of the trees which had been cut down, are every where fcen on the fields, and this fhews that the country has been but lately cultivated. TiiB roots of the trees do not go deep into !l deep into Penfylvanidf Return from Wilmington, 167 iato the ground, but fpread horizontally^ I had opportunities of obferving this in fe-< veral places where the trees were dug up i fat I ieldom &w one» whofe roots went above a foot deep into the ground, though it was a loofe foil. Aboitt two Eng/ijb miles behind Cbejier^ I paiTed by an iron forge, which was to the right hand by the road fide. It belonged to two brothers, as I was told. The ore however is not dug here, but thirty or for-^ ty miles from hence, where it is firft melted in the oven, and then carried to this place. The bellows wc:^ made of leather, and both they and the hammers, and even the hearth, but fmali in proporti- on to ours. All the machines were work- ed by water. The iron was wrought into bars. . I To day I remarked, as 1 have iince fre-^ quently feen on my travels in this country, that horfes are very greedy of apples. When they are let into an orchard to feed upon the grafs, if there are any apples on the ground, they frequently leave the frefh green grafs, and eat the apples, which^ however, are not reckoned a good food for them ; and befides that, it is too es^peniive. The red Maple^ or Acer ruSrum, is plen- tiful in thefe places. Its proper fituations L 4 are I* )[68 .rV^jixv^iO^o^er 1748. .u.r..;;^n'v'l. are chiefly fwampy, wet places, in which, the alder commonly is its companion. Out of its wood they make plates, fpinning- wbeels, rolls, feet for chairs and beds, and all forts of work. With the bark, they dye both worded and linnen, giving it a dark blue colour. For thi : purpofe it is firft boiled in water ; and fome copperas, fuch as the hat- makers and fhoe-makers commonly . make ufe of, is added, before the fluff (which is to be dyed) is put into the boiler. This bark, likewife affords a good black ink. When the tree is felled early in fpring, a fweet juice runs out of it, like that which runs out of our birches. This juice they do npt make any ufe of here; but in Canada, they make both trea^f cle and fugar of it. Here is a variety of this tree which they call the curled Maple, the wood being as it were marbled within ; it is much ufed in all kinds of joiner's work, and the utenfils made of this wood, are pre- ferable tothofemade of any other fort of wood in the country, and are much dearer than thofe made . of the wood of the wild cherry trees (Prunus VirginianaJ or of black walnut trees. But the mofl valuable utenfils were thofe made of curled black walnut, for fhat is an excefUve fcarce kind of wood. The curled maple was likev^rife very un- f^hA'^ ... .. COm-r * Penfyhania, Return from Wilmington. 169 cpmihon, and you frequently find trcesi whofe outiides are marbled, but their iniide not. The tree is therefore cut very deep before it is felled, to fee whether it has veins in every part. •' • . ,4 In the evening I reached Philadelphia, \ OSlpber the 7th. In the morning wo eroded the Delaware in a boat to the other fide which belongs to New Jerfey, each per- fon paying fourpence for his paffage. The country here is very different from that in Penfylvania ; for here the ground is almod mere fand, but in the other province it is mixed with a good deal of clay, and , this makes the ground pretty rich. The dif«!> coveries which I made to day of infedts and plants, I intend to mention in another work. ' A SOIL like this in New Jer/ey, one might be led to think, could produce no^ thing becaufe it is fo dry and poor. Yet fhe maize which is planted On it grows extremely well, and we faw many fields filled with it. The earth is of that kind in which tobacco commonly fucceeds, biit it is not near fo rich. The flalks of maize lare commonly eight feet high, more or lefs, and are full of leaves. The maize is planted as ufual in rows, in little' fquare^, fo that there is a fpace of five feet and fix ^W' ' inches IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 ^1^ Ui ■tt iUi 122 II » 1^ |2£ FhotogFaphic _Scimces Carparation '^v 23 WIST MAIN STRIIT wnsTn,N.Y. usn (71*) •72-4303 ^A<^ ly^ October 1748. 1 iadies between eacbfquarc, both in lengdi and breadth I on eachof theie little hills three or four ftalks come up» which were not jtt cut for the cattle > each Aalk again has from one to four ears, which are large and full of corn. A fandy ground could never have been better employed. In fome places the ground between the maize is ploughed, and rye fown in it, fo that when the maize is cut, the rye remains upon the field. Ws frequently faw AJ^ragus growing near the enclofures, in a loofe foil, on un- cultivated fandy fields. It is Ijkewife plen- tiful between the maize, and was at prefent full of berries, but I cannot tell whether the feeds are carried by the wind to the places where I faw them; it is however certain, that I have likewife feen it grow- ing wild in other parts oi America, ' The Wbrm-'Jeed, is likewife plentiful on the roads, in a fandy ground fuch as that near the ferry oppofite to Philadelphia. I have already mentioned that it is given to children, as a remedy to carry off the worms. It is then put into brandy, and when it has been in it for one hour, it is taken out again, dried and given to the children, either in beer fweetened with treacle, or in any other liquor. Its tfk&B ^ are Penfyhania, Return from Wilmington. 17 1 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 efFedis upon children. The Furjlain^ v^hich we cultivate in our gardens, grows wild in gkcat abundance in the loofe foil amongft the maize, it was there creeping on the ground, and its ftalks were pretty thick and fucculenti which circumftance very judly gave reafoa to wonder from whence it could get juice fufficient to fupply it in fuch a dry ground. It is to be found plentiful in fuch foil, in other places of this country. w. The Bidens bipinnata, is here called Spa^^ nijh Needles. It grows (ingle about farm houfesy near roads, pales and along the hedges. It was yet partly in flower i but for the greateft part it was already out of bloffom. When its feeds are ripe it is very difagreeable walking where it grows. For they flick to the cloaths and make them black ; and it is difHcult to difcharge the black fpots which they occafion. Each feed has three fpines at its extremity ; and each of thefe again is full of numerous little hooks, by which the feed faflens itfelf to the cloaths. In the woods and along the hedges in this 172 a* OSiober 1748. this neighbourhood, fome (ingle red jf^ts, (Formica rubra) crept about, and their tntennae or feel -horns were as long as their bodies. Towards night we returned to Pbila' delpbia, OSIober ilit ^i\i. The (hore oi Penfyl^ vania has a great quantity of the fineft oyfters. About this time the people began to bring them to Pbiladelpbia for fale. They come from that part of the (hore, which is near the mouth of the river Dela- nvare. They are reckoned as good as the New Tork oyflers, of which I (hall make more particular mention afterwards. How- ever I thought that this latter fort of oyfters was generally larger, fatter and more pa- latable. It is remarkable that they com- monly became palatable at the time when the agues had left off their fury. Some men went with whole carts full of oyfters, cry- ing them about the ftreets ; this is unufual here when any thing elfe is to be fold, but in London it is very common. The oyfter (hells are thrown away, though fprmerly a lime was burnt from them, which has been found unnece(rary, there being (lones for burning of lime in this neighbourhood, and the lime of oyfter (hells not being as good as this other liqie. Tlie people (hew- ed t «■ '• * heir heir bila- nfyl- ineft egan fale. hore, Dela- IS the make iow- yfters :e pa- cotn- when Penfyhania, Philadelphia, 173 cd me fomc houfes in this town which were built of ftonc, and to the mafon work of which the lime of oyfter fhells had been employed. The walls of thefe houfes were always fo wet two or three days before a rain, that great drops of water could plain-* ]y be perceived on them ; and thus they were as good as Hygrometers.* Several people who had lived in this kind of houfes complained of thefe inconveniences.*' •-' '^/ " OSiober the 9th. Pease are not much cultivated in Penfyhania at prefent, though formerly, according to the accounts of fome old Swedes ^ every farmer had a little field with peafe. In New Jerfey and the fouthern parts of New Tork, peaie are like- wife 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 fow great quantities, and have a plentiful crop. In the former colonies; a little defptcable infedt has obli- ged the people to give up fo ufeful a part of !&*grieultuFe. This little infedt was formerly i.u. -iui^' , : little 1?HV ' !Sitli~ ^It^, ■" * As tKeihells of oyfteri zft a tri&r!ne anim*l ptod^aioit, and tjheir cavities are full of particles of fea-water, i;he inoif- ture'of it flies off, leaving behind its fait; when the fliells are burnt,' and the lime is flacked, the fait mixes with the Une : and though the mortar of fuch a lime grows ever fo dry, the particles of fait immediately attract the ntoifture of the air, and caufe that dampnefs complained of here. F. »74 Oilober 1748. little known, but a few years ago it multi- plied exceffively. It couples in fummer^ about the time when the peafe are in blof- fom, and then depofites an egg into almoft every one of the little peafe. When the peafe are ripe, their outward appearance does not difcover the worm, which, how- ever, is found within, when it is cut. This worm lies in the pea, if it is not ftir- red during all the winter, and part of the fpring, and in that fpace of time confumes 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 laft changes into an infedt, of the coleop- tera clafs, and in that ftate creeps through a hole of its own making in the huik, and flies off, in order to look for new fields of peafe, in which it may couple with its cogeneric infects, and provide food fuf- ficient for its pofterity. 1 This noxious infedt has fpread from Penjyhania to the north. For the country of New Torkf where it is common at pre- fent, has not been plagued with it above twelve or fifteen years ago ; and before that time the people fowed peafe every year without any inconvenience, and had excel- lent crops. But by degrees thefe little enemies came in fuch numbers^ that the inhabitants V: Penfyhaniap Pbiladelpbia, 175 inhabitants were forced to leave off (owing of peafe. The people complained of this in feveral places. The country people about Albany have yet the pleafore to fee their fields of peafe not infedted by thefe beetles, but are always afraid of their ap- proach; as it has been obferved they come every year nearer to that province. I KNOW not whether this infed: would live in Europe^ and I fhould think our Swedijh winters mud kill the worm, even if it be ever fo deeply inclofed in the pea ; notwithftanding it is often as cold in New Tork (where this infedt is fo abundant) as in our country, yet it continues to multiply here every year, and proceeds always farther to the north. 1 was very near bringing fome of thefe vermin into Europe^ without know- ing of it. At my departure from America, I took fome fweet peas with me in a paper, and they were at that time quite frefh and green. But on opening the paper after my arrival at Stockbolm, on Augujl the iTl. 1751 ; I found all the peas hollow, and the head of an infedb peeping out of each. Some of thefe infedts even crept out, in or- der to try the weather of this new climate ; but I made hafte, to ihut the paper again^ in order to prevent the fpreadidg of this , . noxious 1/6 06lober 1748. noxious infed.^ I own, that when I fkvA perceived them, I was more frightened than I fhould have been at the fight of a viper. For I at once had a full view of the whole damage, which my dear coutitry would have fuffered, if only two or three of thefe noxious inre(^s had efcaped me. The poflerity of many families, and everrthe inhabitantsr of whole provinces, would have had fufHcient reafon to deteft me as the caufe of fo great a calamity. I afterwards fent fome of them, though well fecured, to count 'Teffirtt anxl to Dr. Linnaeus, together with fin account of their deftrudive quali- ties. Dr. Linnaus has already inferted a defcription of them in an Academical Dif- fertation, which has been drawn up under his prefidency, and treats of the damages made by infedts.-f* He there calls this in- fcdl the Brucbus of North- America, J If -:j1f^ was , »,■'•.»*' * Though Mr. Kalm has fo carefully avoided peenpling Europe with this infeft, vet Dr. Linnteus aflures us m his Syftma Naturat that the urathem countries of Eurofe are al- ready infefted with it ; Sc»poU mentions it among hit. In/eaa Caruielica p. 65. and Geoffrey among his Parifian Infe3tt Vol. I. p. 267. |. 4. f. 9. has given a fine figure of it. F. t Bifl*. de Noxa Infe&orum, Anr^sn. Acad. Vol. 3* p. 347- X In his Syftema Naturae, he calls it Brmcbus Ptfit or the Peafe Beetle; and fays that the Graeula ^/eula, or Purfh daw <^ Catejby, isthegreatcftdeftroyerof them, and though firrf ned of a IV of ntry hrce me. rrthe have s the vards d, to ;ethcr [uali- 'ted a IDif- under lages lis in- % i« was )liiiS IS fn his te are aA- \t Infiaa InftSst lit. F. or the jr Furfh thoueh this Penfyhaniat Pbiiadeipbia, 177 was very peculiar that every pea in the paper was eaten without exception. When the inhabitants of Penjylvania fow peafe procured from abroad they are not commonly attacked by thefe infedts for the fird year j but in the next they take pofTeflion of the peafe. It is greatly to be wished that none of the (hips which annu- ally depart from New Tork or Pen/^ivania, may bring them into the European coun- tries. From hence the power of a Angle defpicable infedt will plainly appear; as alfo, that the ftudy of the ceconomy and of the quaHties of infeds, is not to be looked upon as a mere padime and ufelefs employ-, ment.* . ...%<^. The RJbus radicans is a (hrub or tree which grows abundantly in this country, and has in common with the ivy called He- dera arhorea, the quality of not growing without the fupport of either a tree, a wall, or a hedge. I have feen it climb ing to. the very top of high trees in the M woods, this bird has been profcribed by the legiflature of PtnjfjihHi- niat New Jerfiy^ and iVirw En^ni as a maize-thief, they feel however the impnidence of extirpating this bird } . for s quantity of worms which formerly were eaten by thefe bird 3 ^ dcftroy their meadows at prefent. F. )- * If the peafe were fteeped before they are fown, in a He of lime water and fome diilblved arfenic, thepupaoranrelia of (he infea would be killed. F. / ill «78 OHober 1746. woods, and its branches (hoot out every where little roots, which faften upoi^ the tree and as it were enter into it. When the ftem is cut, it emits a pale brown Tap of a difagreeable fcent. This ikp is fo iharp that the letters and charac- ters made upon linnen with it, cannot be got out again, but grow blacker the more the cloath is warned. Boys commonly marked their names on their linnen with this juice. If you write with it on paper, the letters never go out, but grow blacker from time to time. This fpecies of Sumach has the fame noxious qualities as the poifonous fumach, or Poifon-treet which I have above defcribed, being poifonous to fome people, though not to every one. Therefore all that has been faid of the poifon tree is likewife ap* Elicable to this ; excepting that the former as the ftronger poifon. However I have feen people who have been as much fwelled ^om the noxious exhalations of the latter, as they could have been from thofe of the former. I likewife know that of two fif- ters, the one could manage the tree without being afiedfced by its venom, though the other immediately felt it as foon as the ex- halations of the tree can^e near her» or when cyer ibe came a yard too near the tree. very ipon > it. pale This arac- ot be more nonly I with paper» lacker ) fame [inachy bribed, though lat has ' ife ap- fornaer I have [welled latter, of the wo fif- ithout jh the ;he ex- ^er, or •arthe tree» Penfylvania, Germantown. i/o* tree, and even when fhe ftood in the way of the wind, which blew diredfy from this (hrub. But upon me this fpecies of fumach has never exherted its power, though I made above a hunolred experiments upon myfelf with the greatcH: ilems, and the juice once (quirted into my eye, without doing me any harm. On another perfon'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 ibales fell from it. O&ober the loth. In the morning I ac- companied Mr. Cock to his country feat, which is about nine miles from Philadelphia to the north. ■ i ^' ' 3 TH0t7GH the woods of PenJ^Ivania tifford many oaks, and more fpecies of them than are found further north, yet they do not build fo many (hips in this province as they do in the northern ones, and efpccially in New England. But experience has taught the people that the fame kind of trees is more durable the further it grows to the north, and that this advantage decreafes the more it grows in warm climates* It is like wife plaiki that the trees in the fouth grow more every year, and form thicker ringlets than thofein the north. The^r- Ma . mcr i8o Oiiober 1748. mer have likewife much greater tubes for the circulation of the fap than the latter. And for this reafon they do not build To many (hips in PenMvania, as they do in New England, though more than in Virginia and Maryland', but Carolina builds very few, and its merchants get all their (hips from New England. Thofe which are here made of the beft oak, hard- ly are ferviceable above ten, or at moft twelve years i for then they are fo rotten, that no body ventures to go to fea in them. Many captains of (hips come over from England to Norths America, in order to get (hips built. But moft of them choofe New England, that being the moft northerly province ; and if they even come over in (hips which are bound for Philadelphia, they frequently on their arrival fet out from Pen^ fylvania for Ne*w England, The Spaniards in the Wefi Indies are faid to build their (hips of a peculiar fort of cedar, which holds out againft putrefadtion and wet ; but it is not to be met with on the continent in the Englijh provinces. Here are above nine different forts of oak» but not one of them is comparable to the (ingle (pecies we have in Sweden, with regard, ito its good- nefs. And therefore a (hip of European oak cofts a great deal more than one made jof American oak. Many Penfylvania, Germantown. i8i ' Many people who chiefly employed themfclves in gardening, had found in a fucceirion of years, that the red Beet, which grew out of the feed which was got from J^ew Tork, became very fweet and had a very fine tafte ; but that it every year loft part of its goodnefs, if it was cultivated from feeds which were got here. The people were therefore obliged to get as many feeds of red beet every year from New York, as were wanted in their gardens. It has likewife been generally obferved, that the plants which are produced from Englijh fe«ds are always much better and more a- greeable, than thofe which come from feeds of this country. / »»^.'^> ^^ In the garden of Mr. Cock was a raddifh 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 fuch a fize. That fcecies of Convolvulus which is commonly called Batatas, has here the name of Bermudian potatoes. The common people, and the gentry without diftinftion planted them in their gardens. This is done in the fame manner as with the com^ mon potatoes. ' Some people made Kttl'e hif- locks, into which they put thefe potatoes ; but others only planted them in flat bed^. M 3 The l82 OBober 174^. The foil mud be a mixture of fand and earthi and neither too rich, nor too poor. When they are going to plant them, they cut them» as the common potatoes, taking care how- ever that a bttd or two be left upon each piece which is intended to be planted. Their colour is commonly red without, and yellow within. They are bigger than the common fort, and have a fweet and very tgreeable tafte, which I cannot find in the other potatoes, iii artichokes or in any other root, and they almoft melt in the mouth. It is not long fince they have been planted here. They are drefled in the fame manner as commom potatoes, and eaten either along with them, or by them<^ felves. They grow very faft and ver / well here ; but the greateil difficulty cor ifts in keeping them over winter, for they w il bear neither cold, nor a great heat, n r wet. They mufl therefore be kept durin' winter in a box with fand in a warm re pi. In Penfylvania wher^ they have no 'alves in their chimnies, they are put in fucn a box with fand, at fome diftance from the fire, lind there they are fecured both againft frdft and againft over great heat. It will not Ite^cr the purpofe to put them into dry fand 11^, a cellar, as is commonly done with the CQinmOd, fprt of potatoes. For the moif- '^pk Penfyhania, Germantown, •83 o)oiftur6 which is always in cellars^ pene- trates the Tandy and makes them putre- fy. It would probably be very eafy to keep them in Sweden in warm rooms^ during the cold feafon. But the difficulty ties wholly in bringing them over to Swe^ den. I carried a coniiderable number of them with me on leaving America^ and took all pofTible care in preferving them^ Dttt we h^d a very violent florm at fea, by which the (hip was fo greatly damaged, that tiHe watei" g6t in every where, and wetted oufr cloaths, bed» and other moveables fo much, that ^c could wring the watsr out of them. It is therefore no wonder that my Bermuda potatoes were rotten ; but as they are now cultivated in Portugal and Bpaint nay even in England^ it will be eaiy to bring them into Sweden. The drink which the Spaniards prepare from thefe po-^ tatoes in their American pofTeffions is not ufual in Penfyhania.* Mr. Cock had a paper mill, on a little brook, and all ^he coarfer forts of paper are manufactured in it. It i& now annually rented iot fifty pounds Penfyhania cur-^- .•|.-4-i«fetimv • M4 :' OSioher 4 ^-^ * Mr. Wller defcribes this liquor in his Gardener*! Didio' oiiary under the ar(ide of Ctnvohu/ut, (pecies the 17th. an4^ 184 OSiober 1748. '*ii OSiober the nth. I have already men- tioned, that every countryman has a great- er or leiTer 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 forpyes, tarts, and the like. However he cannot expedl an equal quantity of fruit every year. And I was told, that this year had not by far af- forded fuch a great quantity of apples as the preceding ; the caufe of which they told me, was the continual and great drought in the month of May, which had hurt all the blofToms 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. ' '^i .-^^ iii fcj^Hfe r^tiait' . The Polytrichum commune, z. fpecies of mofs, grew plentifully on wet and low meadows between the woods, and in feve- ral places quite covered them, as our mofT- es cover the meadows in Sweden. It was likewife very plentiful on hills. •' • Agriculture was in a very bad ftate hereabouts. When a perfon had bought a piece of land, which perhaps had never been ploughed fince the creation, he cut down part of the wood, tore up the roots, plou£;hed the ground, fowed corn on it. mv \ I >M Penjyhaniat Germantown, lis and the firft time got a plentiful crop. But the fame land being tilled for feveraV years fucceilively, without being manured, it at laft muft of courib lofe its fertility. Its poiTeflbr therefore leaves it fallow, and proceeds to another part of his ground, which he treats in the fame manner. Thus he goes on till he has changed a great part of his poifeflions into corn-fields, and by that means depri- ved the ground of its fertility. He tnen returns to the firft field, which now is pret- ty well recovered; this he again tills as long as it will afford him a good crop, but when its fertility is exhaufted, he leaves it fallow again, and proceeds • to the reft as before. "?rt 1 H rtv-p -^^h -, ••tr^-^ri t^rf^ih It being cuftomary here, to let the cat- tle go about the jfields and in the woods both day and night, the people cannot col- led: much dung for manure. But by leaving the land fallow for feveral years together, a great quantity of weeds fpring up in it, and get fuch ftrength, that it requires a confi- derable time to extirpate them. From hence it likewife comes, that the corn is always fo much mixed with weeds. The great richnefs of the foil, which the firft European colonifts found here, and which had never been ploughed before, has given rife to this negledt of agriculture, which is ftiU 1 86 OBober 1748. li U fiill obferved by many of the inhabitantsw But they do not confider> that when the earth is quite exhaufted^ a great fpace of Hxtitf and an infinite deal of labour is neceiTary to bring it again into good or-> der; ef^ecially in thefe countries which afe almoft every funamer fo fcorched up^ by the exceffive heat and drought. The foil of the corn-fields confided of a thin mouldy greatly mixed with a brick coloured clay^ and a quflntity of fmall par^ tides of glimmer. This latter canie from the ftones which are here almofl every where to be met with at the depth of a foot or thereabouts. Thefe little pieces of glimmer made the ground fparkle, when the fun (hone upon it. tj ai ^1:1. 'it h A1.M06T all the houfes hereabouts were built either of ilone or bricks ; but thofd «>£ itone were more numerous. German-* town^ which is about two Englijh miles longj. had no other houfes, and the coun- try houfes thereaboutSt were all built of ilone. But there are feveral varieties of that ftone which is commonly made ufe of in building. Sometimes it confifled of a black dr grey glimmer, running in undulated veins, the fpaces between their bendings being filled up with a grey, loofei {mi&^ iiiii Penfyhaniat Germantown. 187 grained limeftone, which was eafilj friable* Some tranfparent particles of quartz were icattered in the mafsi of which the gltm^ mer made the greateft part. It was very eafy to be cut^ and with proper tools could readily be fhaped into any form. Some^ times however the pieces confided of a blacky fmall-grained glimmer^ a white finall-gratned fandftone, and fome particles of quartz, and the feveral conflituent parta were well mixed together. Sometimes the ftone had broad ftripes of the white lime<- ftone without any addition of glimmer. But moA commonly they were much blended together, and of a grey colour. Sometimes this flone was found to confift of quite fine and black pieces of glimmer, and a grey, loofe and very fmall-^grained limeftone. This was likewife very cafy to be cut, being loofe. These varieties of the flone are com- monly found clofe together. They were every where to be met with, at a little depth, but not in equal quantity and good- nefs; and not always eafy to be broken. When therefore a perfon intended to build a houfe, he enquired where the heft flone could be met with. It is to be found on corn-fields and meadows, at a depth whick varies from two to £\% feet. The pieces were .» x88 OSfober 1748. r were different as to (ize. Some were eight or ten feet long, two broad, and one thick. Sometimes they were dill bigger, but fre- quently niuch lefs. Hereabouts they lay in Arata one above another, the thicknefs of each Aratum being about a foot. The length and breadth were different, but commonly fuch as I have before mentioned. They mufl commonly dig three or four feet before they reach the firfl flratum. The loofe ground above that ftratum, is full of little pieces of this flone. This ground is the common brick coloured foil, which is univerfal here, and confifts of fand and clay; though the former is more plen- tiful. The loofe pieces of glimmer which ihine fo much in it, feem to have been broken off from the great ilrata of (lone. It mufl be obferved that when the people build with this flone, they take care to turn the flat fide of it outwards. But as that cannot always be done, the flone be- ing frequently rough on all fides, it is eafi- ]y cut fmooth with tools, fince it is foft, and not very difHcult to be broken. The flones however are unequal in thicknefs, and therefore by putting them together they cannot be kept in fuch flraight lines as bricks. It fometimes likewife happens that pieces break off when they are cut, and tJt) 7 leave Penfyhania, Germantown, 189 nes as that and leave leave holes on the outfide of the wall. But in order to fill up thefe holes, the little pieces of (lone which cannot be made ufe of are pounded, mixed with mortar, and put into the holes; the places thus filled up, are afterwards fmoothed, and when they are dry, they are hardly diftinguifh- able from the reft at fome diftance. At laft they draw on the outfide of the walU ftrokes of mortar, which crofs each other perpendicularly, fo that it looks as if the wall confiflecl wholly of equal, fquare ftones, and as if the white (Irokes were the places where they were joined with mqrtar. The, infide of the wall is made fmooth, co- vered with mortar and whitewafhed. It has not been obferved that this kind of Aone actra^s the moifiure in a rainy or wet feafon. In Philadelphia and its environs, you find feveral houfes built of this kind of ilone^ • u:; 1- v'f The houfes here are commonly built in the Englijh manner. One of Mr. Cock'^ negroes (hewed me the fkin of a badger (Urfiis Meles) vrhich 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 Pbiladel^ phia. OSiober 190 OSIobir 1748. ' 0Sia6er tht 12th. In the morning we went to the river Skuiiii/, partly to gather feeds, partly to colledt plants for the herb* al, and to make all forts of obfervations. The Skulkill is a narrow river, which falls into the Delaware, about four miles from Philadelphia to the fouth j but narrow as it is, it rifes on the weft fide of thofe high mountains, commonly called the blue moun- tains, and runs two hundred Englijh miles, and perhaps more. It is a great difadvan- tage to this countrv, that there are feveral cataradts in this river as low as Philadel- phia, for which reafon there can be no na- vigation on it. To day I made fome de- fcriptions and remarks on fuch plants as the cattle liked, or fuch as they never touched. ; I OBSERVED feveral little fubterrancous walks in the fields, running under ground in various directions, the opening of which was big enough for a mole : the earth, which formed as it were a vault above it, and lay elevated like a little bank, was near two inches high, full as broad as a man's hand, and about two inches thick. In un- cultivated fields I frequently faw thefe fubterraneous walks, whichdifcovered them* felves by the ground thrown up above them, which when trod upon gave way, and made it inconvenient to walk in the field. Tke» Penfyhansa, PbikuUlpbia. 191 , These walks are inhabited by t kind of mole,^ which I inteod to defcribe more accurately in another work. Their food is commonly roots : I have obferved the folr lowing qualities in one which was caught. It had greater (liiTnefs and ftrength in its kgs, than I ever obferved in other animals in proportion to their fize. Whenever it intended to difj. it held its legs obliquely, like oars. I laid my handkerchief before it, and it began to flir in it with the fnout, and taking away the handkerchief to fee what it had done to it, I found that in the fpace of a minute it had made it full of holes, and it looked as if it had been pierc- ed very much by an awl. I was obliged to put fume books on the cover of the box in which I kept this animal, or elfe it was flung off immediately. It was very irafci- ble, and would bite great holes into any thing that was put in its way; I held a Aeel pen*cafe to it, it at firft bit at it with great violence, but having feU its hardnefs, it would not venture again to bite at any thing. Thefe molea do not make, fuch hills as the European onti, but only (uc|i walks as I have already deferibed. ^ Twia swi^ial u prqbthly thf Sm:^ crifi^us of Da Luumutj who %s it is like the mole and lives in Penj^Ivania. F', 192 - OSlober 1748. OSfoier the 1 3th. There is a plant here, from the berries of which they make a kind of wax or tallow, and for that reafon the Swedes call it the Ta/Iow Jbrub, The En- glijh call the fame tree the Candleberry'tree^ or Bayberry-bufh i and Dr. Linnaus gives it the name of Myrica cerifera. It grows abundantly on a wet foil, and it feems to thrive particularly well in the neighbour- hood of the fea, nor have I ever found it hieh up in the country far from the fea. The berries grow abundantly on the female ihrub, and look as if flower had been ftrewed upon them. They are gathered late in autumn, being ripe about that time, and are then thrown into a kettle or pot full of boiling water s by this means their fat melts out, floats at the top of the water and may be fkimmed off into a veffel; with the fkimming 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 colour ; it is for that reafon melted over again, and refined, by which means it acquires a fine and pret- ty tranfparent green colour : this tallow is dearer than conimon tallow, but cheaper than wax. In Philadelphia they pay a (hil- ling Penjylvania currency, for a pound of this tallow i biit a pouiid of c<;:^^(9on tallow only Penfyhania, Philadelphia, 193 only came to half that money» and wax . cofts as much again. From this tallow they make candles in many parts of this pro- vince, but they uitially mix fome common tallow with it. Candles of this kind, do not eafily bend, nor melt in fummer aa , common candles do \ they burn better and (lower, nor do they caufe any fmoak, but rather yield an agreeable fmell^ when they are extinguifhed. An eld Swede of ninety- one years of age told me, ^hat this fort of candles had formerly been mtsch in ufe with his country men. At prefent they do not make fo many candles of this kind> if they can get the tallow of animals ; it be- ing too troublefome to gather the berries* r However thefe candles are made ufe of by poor people, who live in the neighbourhood of a place where the bu(hesgrow, and have not cattle enough to kill, in ordertofupply them with a (ufficient quantity of tallow« From the wax of the candleberry tree they likewife make a foap here, which has an a- greeable fcent, and is the bed for (having. This wax is likewife ufed by dodtors and furgeons, who reckon it exceeding good . for plailers upon wounds. A merchant of this town once fent a quantity of thefe can- dles to thofe American provinces which had Roman Catholic inhabitants, thinking he ..V. .... V N would ". ;; «l iir 194 OSlober 1748. would be well paid, fince wax candles are made ufe of in the Roman Catholick churches i but the clergy would not take them. An old Swede mentioned that the root of the candleberry tree was formerly made ufe of by the Indians, as a remedy againft the tooth ach, and that he himfelf having had the tooth ach very violently, had cut the root in pieces and applied it round his tooth ; and that the pain had ' been leiTened by it. Another Swede aflu- red me that he had been cured of the tooth ach, by applying the peel of the root to it. In Carolina, they not only make candles out of the wax of the berries, but like wife fealing^wax. \n)m\\ ' OSlober the 14th. Penny Royal is a |>lant which has a peculiar ftrong fcent, and grows abundantly on dry places in the country. Botaiiifts call it Cuntla pulegioides. It is reckoned very wholefome to drink as a tea when a perfon has got cold, as it promotes perfpiration. I was like wife told, that on feeling a pain in any limb, this plant, if applied to it, would give imme- diate relief. The goods which are «ihipped to London from New England are the following : all forts of fifh caught near Newfoundland and tlfewhcre; train«oil of feveral forts'; whale- bone 'y tar,, pitchy mafts ^ new ihips, of which a great Penfyhania, Philadelphia, 195 a great number is annually built ; a few hides^ and fometimes fome forts of wood. The Englijh iflands in America^ as Jamaica and Barbadoes, get from New England, fi(h» fle(h, butter, cheefe, tallow, horfes, cattle 1 all forts of lumber, fuch as pails, buckets^ and hogfheads ; and have returns made in rum^ fugar, melaffes, and other produces of the country, or in ca(h i the greated part of all which, they fend to London (the money efpecially ) in payment of the goods received from thence, and yet all this is infufficient to pay off the debt. - a* >y Ohober the 15th. The Alders grew here in confiderable abundance on wet and low places, and even fometimes on pretty high ones, but never reached the height of the European alders, and commonly flood like a bufh about a fathom or two high. Mr. Bar tram, and other gentlemen who had frequently travelled in the'fe provinces, told me that the more you go to the fouth, the lefs are the alders, but that they are higher and taller, the more you advance to the north. I found afterwards myfelf, that the alders in fome places of Canada, are little inferior to fhe Swedijh ones. Their bark is employed here in dying red and brown. A Bwedijh inhabitant of America, told me that he had cut his leg to the very bone, and that fome coagulated blood had •■■ ^ N 2 already i .1 >l!i li!i 196 OBohef 1748. already been fettled within. That he had been advifed to boil the alder bark, and to wafli the wound often with the water : that he followed this advice, and had foon got his leg healed, though it had been very dangerous at fird. The Phytolacca decandra was called Poke by the Englijh. The Swedes had no parti- cular name for it, but made ufe of the £;i-> glijht with fome little variation into Paok, When the juice of its berries is put upon paper or the like, it ftrikes it with a high purple colour, which is as fine as as any in the world, and it is pity that no method is as yet found out, of making this colour lail on woollen and linen cloth, for it fades very foon. Mr. Bartram mentioned, that having hit his foot againd a (lone, he had got a violent pain in it ; he then bethought himfelf to put a leaf of the Phytolacca on his foot, by which he loft the pain in a fhort time, and got his foot well foon after. The berries are eaten by the birds about this time. The Englijh and fcveral Swedes make ufe of the leaves in, fpring, when they are juft come out, and are yet tender and foft, and eat them partly as green cale> and partly in the manner we eat fpinnage. Sometimes they likewife prepare them in the firft of thefe ways, when the ftalks are already grown a little longer, breaking off none Penfyhantay Philadelphia, 197 none butthe upper fprouts which are yet ten- der, 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 kaves are no longer foft, you may expert death as a confequence which feldotn fails to follow, for the plant has then got a power of purging the body to excefs. I have known people, who, by eating great full grown leaves of this plant, have got fuch a ftrong dyfentery, that they were near dying with it ; its berries however are eat- en in autumn by children, without any ill confequence. t. ' Woollen and linen cloth is dyed yel- low with the bark of hiccory. This like- wife is done with the bark of the black oak, or Linnaus*s ^ercus nigra, and that variety of it which Catejby in his Natural Hijlory of Carolina, vol. i. tab. 19. calls ^ercus marilandica. The flowers and leaves o£ the Impafiens Noli tangere or balfamine, likewife dyed all woollen fluffs with a fine yellow colour. •- > v;!i The Collinfonia canadenjis was frequently found in little woods and bufhes, in a good rich foil. Mr. Bertram who knew the coun-< try perfedly well, was furc that Penfylva^ nia, and all the parts of America in the fanic climate, were the true and original places where this plant grows. For further N3 to i!'l \i\, 198 OSiober 1748. to the fouth, neither he nor MefTrs. Clayton and Mitchel ever found it, though the latr ter gentlemen have made accurate ohferva-r tions in Virginia and part of Maryland. And from his own experience he knew» that it did not grow in the northerly parts. I have never found it more than fifteen min. north of forty-three deg. The time ©f the year when it comes up in Penfyhania^ is fo late, that its feed has but juft time fufScient to ripen in, and it therefore feems unlikely, that it can fucceed further north. Mr. Bertram was the firft who difcovered it, and fent it over into Europe. Mr. Juf" Jieu during his d^y at London^ and Dr. Linnaus afterwards, called it Collin/onia, from the celebrated Mr. Peter Collin/bn, a mer- chant in London, and fellow of the Englijh and Swedijh Royal Societies. He well de- ferved the honour of having a plant called after his name, for there are few people that have promoted natural hiflory and all ufeful fciences with a zeal like his ; or that have done as much as he towards colleding, cultivating, and making known all forts of plants. The Collin/onia has a peculiar fcent, which is agreeable, but very ftrong. It al- ways gave me a pretty violent head-ach whenever I pafTed by a place where it flood \n plenty^ and cfpecially when it was in flower. Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 199: flower. Mr. Bartram was acquainted with a better quality of this plant, which was that 6i being an excellent remedy againft all forts of pain in the limbs, and againft a cold, when the parts affeded are rubbed with it. And Mx, Conrad Wetter ^ interpreter of the language of the Indians in Fenfylvania^ had told him of a more wonderful cure with this plant. He was once among a com- pany of Indiana, one of which had been flung by a rattle fnake, the favages gave him over, but he boiled the collinfonia, and made the poor wretch drink the water, from which he happily recovered. Some- what more to the north and in New York they call this plant Horfeweed, becaufe the horfes eat it in fpring, before any other plant comes up. OSlober the i6th. I asked Mr. Frank-^ lin and other gentlemen who were well ac* quainted with this country, whether they had met with any figns, from whence they could have concluded that any place which was now a part of the continent, had for-* merly been covered with water ? and I got the following account in anfwer. .% .uiviv,' fi I, On travelling from hence to the fouth, you meet with a place where the highroad is very low in the ground between two mountains,' On both (ides you fee 3f^i N4 nothing : i ? 200 OSiober 1748. .^f 1.3 li. nothing but oyfter (hells and mu(cle ihells in immenfe quantities above each other} however the place is many miles oS the fea. ^« *.&'*- **■ 2. Whenever they dig wells, or build houfes in town, they find the earth lying in feveral flrata above each other. At a depth of fourteen feet or more, they find globular ftones, which are as fmooth on the outfide as thofe which lie on the fea-{hore, and are made round and fmooth by the rolling of the waves. And after having dug through the fand, and reached a depth of eighteen feet or more, they difcover in fome places a (lime like that which the fea throws up on the (hore, and which commonly lies at its bottom and in rivers : this ilime is quite full of trees, leaves, branches, reed, char- coal, &C« J i v^iiii :s-.a*v-^r** 3. It has fometimes happened that new houfes have funk on one fide in . a fhprt time, and have obliged the people to pull them down again. On digging deeper, for a very hard ground to build upon, they have found a quantity of the ?.bove dime. Wood, roots, &C. ^mm»io»l^^|^^J«^4•'^t?Wi Are not thefe reafons fufiicient to make one fuppofe that thofe places in Phiiadelpbia which are at prefent fourteen feet and more under ground* formerly were the bottom of thq Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 201 the fca, and that by fevcral accidents, fand, earth, and other things were carried upon it? or, that the Delanvare formerly was broader than it is at prefent ? or, that it has changed its courfe ? This laft ftill of- ten happens at prefent ; the river breaking off the bank on one iide, and forming one on the other. Both the Swedes and Englijh often {hewed me fuch places. OBober the i8th. At prefent I did not find above ten different kinds of plants in bloilbm : they were, a Gentiana, two fpc- cies of After, the common Golden Rod, or Solidago Virga aurea, a fpecies of Hieracium, the yellow wood Sorrel, or Oxaliscorniculata, the Fox Gloves, or Digitalis purpurea, the Hamamelis Firginiana, or Witch Hazel, our common Millefoil, or Achillaa Millefolium^ and our Dandelion, or Leontodon Taraxacum^ All other plants had for this year laid aiide their gay colours. Several trees, efpecially thofe which were to flower early in fpring, had already formed fuch large buds, that on opening them all the parts of fructification, fuch as Calyx, Corolla, Stamina and Piftillum were plainly diflinguifhable. It was therefore eafy to determine the genus to which fuch trees belonged. Such were the red maple, or Acer rubrum, and the Laurus ajlivalis, a fpecies of bay. Thus nature prepared to i- . bring fl02 OSiober 1748. bring forth flowers, with the firft mild weather in the next year. The buds were at prefent quite hard, and all their parts prefled clofe together, that the cold might by all means be excluded. The black Walnut trees had for the great- eft part dropt their leaves, and many of them were entirely without them. The walnuts themfelves were already fallen off. The green peel which enqlofed 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 Cornus fiorida was called Dogwood by the Englijh, and grew abundantly in the woods. It looks beautiful when it is adorn- ed with its numerous great white flowers in fpring. The wood is very hard, and is therefore made ufe of for weaver's fpools, joiner's 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. i^'•-^ •-' M haa L^iim^ October the 19th. The "Tuliptree grows every where in the woods of this country. The botaniils call it Liriodendron tulipiferat becaufe its Howers both in refped to their fize, and in refpedt to their exterior ii^rm^ and Penjyhaniat Fhiladelphia. 203 and even in fome meafure with regard to their colour, refemble tulips. The Swedes called it Canoe tree* for both the Indians and the Europeans often make their canoes of the flem of this tree. The Englijhmen in Penfyhania give it the name of Poplar^ It is reckoned a tree which grows to the greated height and thicknefs of any in North America^ and which vies in that point with our greateft European trees. The white oak and the fir in North America^ however are little inferior to it. It cannot therefore but be very agreeable to fee in fpring, at the end of May (when it is in bloflbm) one of the greatefl: trees covered for a fortnight together with flowers* which with regard to their fhape, fize, and partly colour are like tulips, the leaves have like- wife fomething peculiar, the Englijh there- fore in fome places call the tree the oldwo^ mans /mock, becaufe their imagination finds fomething like it below the leaves. Its wood is here made ufe of for canoes, boards, planks, bowls, difhes, fpoons, door pofls, and all forts of joiners work. I have feen a barn of a confiderable iize whofe walls, and roof were made of a fingle tree of this kind, fplit into boards. Some joiners reckoned this wood better than oak, be-^ paiife this latter frequently is warped^ which ',..s , the I 204 OSiober 1748. '.m:-\ the other never does, hut works very eafy ; others again . valued it very little. It is certain, that it contracts fo much in hot weather, as to occaiion great cracks in the boards, and in wet weather it fwells foasto be near burfting, and the people hardly know of a wood in thefe parts which varies fo much in contracting and expand- ing itfelf. The joiners however make much ufe of it in their work, they fay there are two fpecies of it 5 but they are merely two varieties, one of which in time turns yellow within, the other is white, the former is faid to have a loofer texture. The bark (like Ruffia glafs) is divifible intb very thin leaves, which are very tough like baft, though I have never feen it employed as fuch. The leaves when cruihed and ap- plied to the forehead are faid to be a reme- dy againft the head ach. When horfes are plagued with worms, the bark is pounded, and given them quite dry. Many people believe its roots to be as efficacious againft the fever as the jefuits bark. The trees gfrowinall forts of dry foil, both on high and low grounds, but too wet a foil will not agree with thenfi. OBober the 20th. The Beaver freeh to be met with in feveral parts of Fenfylvd" nia and New Jerfey^ in a poor fwampy foil, or F^nfylvania^ Philadtlpbia. 205 or on wet meadows. Dr. Linnaus calls it Magnolia glauca ; both the Swedes and £n- glijh call it Beaver tree, becaufe the root of this tree is the dainty of beavers, which are caught by its means, however the Swedes fometimes gave it a different name, and the Englifl} as improperly called it Swamp Saff'a" fras, and White Laurel, The trees of this kind dropt their leaves early in autumn, though fome of the young trees kept them all the winter. I have feldom found the bea- ver tree to the north of Pcnjylvama, where it begins to flower about the end of Mi^. The fcent of its blofToms is excellent, ror by it you can difcover within three quarters of an Englijh mile, whether thefe little trees (land in the neighbourhood, provided the wind be not againft it. For the whole air is filled with this fweet and pleafant fcent. It is beyond defcription agreeable to travel in the woods about that time, ef- pecially towards night. They retain their flowers for three weeks and even longer, according to the quality of the foil on which the trees iland -, and during the whole time of their being in blofTom, they fpread their odoriferous exhalations. The berries likewife look very fine when they are ripe, for they have a rich red colour, and hang in bunches on ilender flalks. The \\.'.. ^ • cough. ^66 O^ober 174S. cough, and other peroral difeafes are cured by putting the berries into rum or brandy, of which a draught every morning may be taken ; the virtues of this remedy were uni- verfally extolled, and even praifed for their falutary effedts in confumptions. The bark being put into brandy, or boiled in any other liquor, is faid not only to eafe pec- toral difeafes, but likewife to be of tome fervice againft all internal pains and heat ; and it was thought that a decoction of it could flop the dyfentery. Peffons who' had caught cold, boiled the branches of the beaver tree in water, and drank it 10 ^£heir great relief. A Swede, called Lars Lackt gave the following account of a cure effected by this tree : One of his relations, an old man, had an open fbrvv in his leg, which would not heal up again, though he had, had much adv«ce and ufed many reme- diest An Indian at lafl: effeded the cure in the following manner. He burnt fome of thi$ wood to charcoal, which he reduced to powder, mixed with the frefh fat of pork, and rubbed the open places feveral times. This dried up the holes, which before were continually open, and the legs of the old man were quite found to his^ death. The wood is likewife made ufe of for joiner's planes, 'r- -".- ;m >'»u>-v^-^'fs.vr '• --i^-fhi - ■ ■ -f O^ober 4.^ Penfyhanidf Philadelphia. 207 -^OSioher the 2 ad. Upon trial it has been found that the following animals and birds, which are wild in the woods of iVbr/z^ Amc" rica^ can be made nearly as tradtable as domeftic animals. The wild Cotr/ and Oat^m, of which feveral people of diilindiion have got young calves from thefe wild cows» which are to be met with in Carolina, and other provinces to the fouth of Penfyhaniot and brought them up among the tame cattle ; when grown up, they were perfed^ly tame, but at the fame time very unruly, fo that there was no en- clofureflrbng enough to reiift them, if they had a mind to break through it ; for as they pofTefs a great flrength in their neck, it was eafy for them to overthrow the pales with their horns, and to get into the corn-fields ; and as foon as they had made a road, all the tame cattle followed them ;■ they like- wife copulated with the latter, and by that means generated as it were a new breed. This American fpecies of oxen is Linnaus^ Bos Bifon, 0, i^'rsui tifh i\ , j i American Deer, can likewife be tamed ; and I have feen them tame myielf in different places. A farmer in New jferfiy had one in his poiTefHon, which he had caught when it was very young; and at prefencit was fo tame, that in the day time it run \% .11 II > 208 OSiober 1748. run into the wood for its food, and towards night it returned home, and frequently brought a wild deer out of the wood, giv- ing its mailer an opportunity to (hoot it. Several people have therefore tamed young deer, and make ufe of them for hunting wild deer, or for decoying them home, efpecially in the time of their rutting. Beavers have been fo tamed that they have gone on fifhing, and brought home what they had caught to their mafters. This often is the cafe with Otters, of which I have feen fome, which were as tame as dogs, and followed their mafters wherever they went ; if he went out in a boat, the otter went with him, jumped into the water, and after a while came up with a fi(h. The Oj>ojfumt can likewife be tam- ed, fo as to follow people like a dog. The Raccoon which we (Swedes) call Siuppt can in time be made fo tame as to run about the flreets like a domeflic animal ; but it is impoflible to make it leave off its habit of ilealing. In the dark it creeps to the poultry, and kills in one night a whole ftock. Sugar and other fweet things mufl be carefully hidden from it, for if the chefts and boxes are not always locked up, it gets into them, eats the fugar, and licks up the treacle with its paws : the ladies therefore have ards ntly giv- )tit. sung iting ome, they lome ftcrs. i^hich me as jrevcr t, the 3 the ^ith a tam- Penfylvania, philaMphia, 209 liave every day fome complaint agaihft it» and for this reafon many people rather for- bear the diverfion which this ape-like ani^ mal affords. The grey andjfying Squirrels are fo tamed by the boys, that they (it on their (boul- ders, and fx)llo^ them every where. The Turkey Cocks and Hens run about in the woods of this country, and diflfer in nothing from oar tame one$, except in their fuperior (ize, and redder, ihcugh more palatable flefh. When their eggs arfc found in the wood, and put under tame Turkey hens, the young ones become tam6 ; how- ever when thty grow up, it fometimes happens that they fly away ; their wings are therefore commonly clipped, efpecially when young. But the tamed turkeys are commonly much more irafcible, than tho(b which are naturally tame. The Indians likewife employ thcmfelves in taming thenl and ketping them nfear their huts. Wild Gee/e have likewife been tamed in the following manner. When the wild get^t iBril come hither in fpring, and (lop a nttle while (for they do not breed in Pen" fyhdnia) the people try to (hoot them in th6 wing, which however is generally meffc thah^e-. They then row to the place where O the 0 2IO OBt^ber 1748. the witd goofe fell, catch it, and keep it for fome time at home, by this means many of them have been made fo tame, that when they were let out in the morning, they re- turned in the evening, but to be more fure of them, their wings are commonly clipped. I have feen wild geefe of this kind, which the owner aiTured me, that he had kept for pipre than twelve yeai's -, but though he kept eight of them, yet he never had the pleafure to fee them copulate with the tame ones, or lay eggs***-'* ■'■^yian ^t4 :>.:fc^iisi;;^r^O 2-: /ui^wr;^' have * The fame is to be met witK in Mdnjeards^i Katural tiif* toty of Birds, page 38. tab. 58. F. \ ; f.THERB.ii aimuch leflTer fpecies of l^mmifl^^biridy by Limueus called Trecbilus mtHtmus, being the lead bird known i Sir Hatu Sloarm^s living one, welgf)ed onl^ twenty grains, ind Mr. Edwartis^s dry one forty-five. It is drawn in Ed- noards*s birds f t. 150,, in its natural fize, together v^ith it» egg. F. tl± OShber 1748. have obferved that they have fluttered chiefs ly 2ho\}^ th^ Impatiens Nolitangere^ and the Monarda with ciimfon flowers. An inha- bitant of the country is fure ^o have a num- ber of thefe beautiful and agreeable litU^ birds before his window all the fummer 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 lit- tle active creatures flying about the flowers like bees, and fucking their juices with (heir long and narrow bills. The flowers df the above-mentioned Monarda grow ver^ tkUlatedy that is, at diflferent diftances they furround the flalk, as the flowers of our mint (Mentha) baftard hemp (Gakapjis) mother-won (heonurus) and dead nettle (Lamium), It is therefore diverting to fee (hem putting their bills into cfvery iierwer m the circle. As foon as they have fucked the juice of one flower, they flutter to the Hett. One that has not feen them would hafrdfy believe vet how fhort a fpace of time (hey have had their tongues. in all the flow- ers of a plant, which when large and with aloffgtube, the littk bird by puttiiig its head into thcm^ looks as if it crept with half its body into them. ^-tf'ii-'. > During their fucking the juice Wtol tile flowers they never fettle on it, but flutter Penfyhania, Philadelphia, 213 flutter continually like bees» bend their feet backwards, and move their wings fo quick* that they are hardly vilible. During this fluttering they make a humming like bees, or like that which is occaiioned by the turning of a little wheel. After they have thus, without refting, fluttered for a while, they fly, to a neighbouring tree or poft, and refuoie their vigour again. They then return to their humming and fucking^ They are not very (hy, and I in company with icveral other people, have not been full two yards from the place where they fluttered about and fucked the flowers i and though we fpoke and moved, yet they were no ways difturbed ; but on going towards them, they would fly off with the fwiftnefs of an arrow. When feveral of them were on the fame bed, the e was always a vlo? lent combat between them, in meeting each other at the fame flower (for envy was Ukewife predominant amongfl thefe little creatures) apd they attacked with fucH im* petuofity* that it would feem as if , the Arongeft would pierce its antagonift through and through* with its long bill. During the fight, they feem to ftand in the aki keeping themfelves up, by the incredibly fwift motion of their wings. When the windows towards the garden are open» they :? i:iv;ci ' O 3 puriue ■M 1 il: t ^ I -■lit il* i I ' 214 OSfoher 174S. purfue each other into the rooms, fight a Httle, and flutter away again. Sometimes they come to a flower which is withering, and has no more juice in it ; they then in a fit of anger pluck it oflT, and throw it on the ground, that it may not miflead them for the future. If a garden contains a great number of thefe little birds, they are fcen to pluck off the flowers in fiich quantities, that the ground is quite covered with them, land it ftems as if this proceeded from a motion of envy, ^^'^^^^-^^-^m'^^hf ^y^m^mm^ Commonly you hear no other found than their humming, but when they fly againll each other in the air, they makie a chirping poife like a fparrow or chicken. I have fometimes walked with feveral other people in fmall gardens, and thefe birds have on all fides fluttered about us, with- out appearing very (hy. They are fo fmall that one would eafily miftake them for great humming-bees or butterflies, and thdrflight refembles that of the former, ^nd is incre- dibly fwift. They have nevet been ob- fervcd to feed on infefts or friiit j the nec- tar of flowers, feems therefore to be their only food. Several people havfe caught fome humming birds on account of their fihgular beauty, and have put them into cages, where they died for want of a proper food. ^^ir However Penjyhania, Philadelphia, 215 Howevet Mr. Bar tram has kept a couple of them for feveral weeks together, by feed- ing them with water in which fugaf had ]been diiTolved, and I am of opinion that it would not be difficult to keep Ihem all win- ter in a tjot'houfe. .''-'.',' .c. •' ;^*;5r:r The humming bird always builds its nefl: in the middle of a branch of a tree, and it is fo fmall, that it cannot be feen froni the ground, but he who intends to fee it mufl get up to the branch. For this reafon it is looked upon as a great rarity if a nefl is accidentally found, efpecially as the trees in fummer have fo thick a foliage. The neft is likewife the lead of all ; that which is in my pofTeilion is quite round, and coniifls in the iniide of a brownifh and quite foft down, which feems to have been collected from the leaves of the great mullein or Verbqfcum ThapfuSf which are often found covered with a foft wool of this colour, and the plant is plentiful here. The outfide of the ned has a coating of .green mofs, fuch as is com- mon on old pales or enclofures and on trees; the inner diameter of the nefl is hardly a geometrical inch at the top, and its depth half an inch. It is however known that the humming birds make their nefts likewif^' of fiax» hemp, mofs, hair and other fuch foft O A. ;;*T^^<, materials I Vjl 2l6 * Odiober 1748. matcnals ; they are. iaid tq lay two eggs« each of the (ize of a pea. ' ia>! f P^iuT the 25th, I employed this day and 4^e next -in packing up all the Ceedf gathered this-^autump, for I had an oppor** tunity of fending them Xq England hy x\if^ fhips which failed ahout this time! From England they were forwarded to Sweden. OSiaher the 27th. In the morning I fet out on a little journey to New Tork, in com-^ pany with Mr. Peter Cock, with a view to fee the country, and to enquire into the fafeft road, whjch I could take in going to Canada, through the defart or un-* inhabited country between it and thcEngli/b provinces. That part where we travelled at prefeni was pretty well inhabited on both fides of the road, by EngU/hmen, Germans and othec Europeans. Plains and hills of different di- menfions were fcen alternately^ mountains and- ftones, I never faw, excepting a few pebbles. Near almoft every farm was a great orchard with peach and apple trees, fome of which were yet loaded with frpit. •The. enclofures were in fome parts low enough, for the cattle to leap over th^pi with eafej to prevent this thelK)gs had 4 triangular wooden yoke : this cuftom was a%} h9>.yQ iSilready obfejrved, common over Penjyhania^ New Frankfurt, 217 all the EngUJb plantations^ To the horff s neck was fafteried a piece of wood> which at the lower end had a tooth or hook, faft-^ eningin the enclofure, and Aopping the horfe, jufl v/hen it lifted its fore feet .to leap over ; but I know not whether thi$ be ^ good invention with regard to horfes. Thoy were likewife kept in bounds by a piece of wood, one end of which was faftened to one of the fore feet, and the other to one of the hind feet, and it forced them to walk pretty (lowly, as at the fame time it mad^ it impoilible for them to leap over the en- clofures. To me it appeared that the horfes were fubjedt to all forts of dangerous accir dents from this piece of wood. Near: New Frankfurt we rode over ^ little ftone bridge, and fomewhat further* eight or nine Englijb miles from Pbiladel- pbia we pafTed over another, which wa$ likewife of flone. There are not yet any mileftones put up in the country, and th^ inhabitants only compute the diftances by guefs. We were afterwards brought over a river in a ferry, where we paid three- pence aperfon, for ourfelves and our horfes. At one of the places where, we Aopt to have our horfes fed, thp people had a Mocking-rbird in a cage; and it is here reckoned the befl finging bird, though im plumage »*•• 2l8 OBober 1748. plumage be very fimple, and not {howy at all. At this time of the year it does not ling. Ltnnaus calls it Turdus polyghttos^ and Catejhy in his Natural HiJIory qf Caro" Una, Vol. I. p. 27. tab. 27, has likewife defer ibed and drawn this bird. The peo- ple faid that it built its nefts in the buihes and trees, but is fo ihy, that if any body come and look at its eggs, it leaves the nefty never to come to it again. Its young ones require great care in' being bred up. If they are taken from their mother and put into a cage, (he feeds them fpr three or four days ; but feeing no hopes of fetting them at liberty, (he Hies away. It then often happens, that the young ones die foon after, doubtlefs becaufe they cannot accuilom themfelves to eat what the people give them. But it is generally imagined, that the laft time the mother feeds them, (he finds means to poifon them, iii order, the fooner to deliver them from (lavery and wretchednefs. Thefe birds ftay all fummer in the colonies, but retire in autumn to the fouth, and ftay away all winter. They have got the name of Mock^ ing'birdsy on account of their fkill in imi- tating the note of almoft evei*y bird they hear. The fong peculiar to them is eitcel- lent, and varied by an infinite <:hange of . notes -t,- Penfyhania, New BriJIoL 219 notes and melody ; feveral people arc there- fore of opinion, that they are the heft fing- ing birds in the world. So much is certain, that few birds come up to them ; this is what makes them precious : the Swedes call it by the fame name as the Englijh, About noon we came to New Briftoh a fmall town in Fenfyhania^ on the banks of the Delaware y about fifteen Englijh from Philadelphia, Mod of the houfes are built of (lone, and fland afunder. The inhabi- tants carry on a fmall trade, though moft of them get their goods from Philadelphia. On the other fide of the river, almoft di- rectly oppofite to New BrifioU lies the town of Burlington^ in which the governor of New Jerfey refides. We had now country feats on both fides of the roads. Now we came into a lane enclofed with pales on both fides, including pretty great corn-fields. Next followed a wood, and we perceived for the fpace of four Englijh niiles nothing but woods, and a very poor foil, on which the Lupinus perenhis grew plentifully and fiicceeded well. I was overjoyed to fee a plant come on fo well in thefe poor dry places, and even began to meditate, how to improve this difcovery in a foil like that which it inhabited. But I afterwards had the mortification to find that the !-.l,i*t ;I20 r.* OSioher 1748. the horfe< and cows eat altnoft all the other plants, hm left the lupine, which was however very green, looked very fre{h» and was octcemely foft'to the touch. Perhaps means niay be found out of making this plant palatable to the cattle. In the even* ing we arrived ^tTr^ntcn, after having pre- viously pafled the Delaware in a ferry. OSlober the 28th. Trenton is a long narrow town, iituate at fome diflance from the river Delaware^ on a fandy plain } it belpngs to New Jerfeyt and they reckon it thirty miles from Pbtladelpbia, It has two fmall churches, one for the people htf longing to the church of England, the other for the prefbyterians* The houfes are partly built of (lone, though mod of them are r^ade of wood or planks, commonly two ftorles high, together with a cellar be-r low the building, and a kitchen under ground, clofe to the cellar. The houfes ftand at a moderate diflance from one ano- ther. They are commonly built fo, that th^ iireet paiTes along one fide of the houf- es, while gardens of different dimenfions bound the other fide ; in each garden is a drav^r-well 5 %\it place is reckoned very healr thy. pur landlprd told i:^s, that twenty-tWQ years ago, when he fitA: fettled here, th^rev^a^ hardly more than one houfe ; but from thajt time »< ' New Jerfeyt Trenton, 2±t time Trenton has cilcreafcd fo mucJh, that there are at prcfent near a hundred hdufes. The hoafes were within divided intofeveral rooms by their partitions of boards. The inhabitants of the place carried on a fmall trade with the goods which they got froni Philadelphia, but their chief gain confided in the arrival of the numerous travellers between that city and New York ; for they are commonly brought by the Trenton Yachts from Philadelphia to Trenton, or from thence to Philadelphia, But. from Trenton further to Nenb Brunpivickr, the tra- vellers go in the waggons which fet'out every day for that place. Several of the in- habitants however likewife fubfift on the carriage for all forts of goods, Which are every day fent in great quantities, either from Philadelphia to New York', or from thence to the former place \ for between Philadelphia and Trenton all goods go by water, but between Trenton 2ind New § run/- ioick they are all carried by land, and both thefe conveniences belong to people of thi^ FaR the yachts which g6 between this place and the capital of Penfihatiia, they ufually pay a fhilling atid fix-pence of Pen- J^hania Currettcy per perfon, and every <5ne pays beHdeS fbr iiis baggage.' fivtry paf- *-' , fenger I til v;j|l I it:H 222 OSiober 1748. f I fenger muft provide meat and drink £01* himfelf, or pay fome fettled fare : between 'Trenton and New Brunfwick a perfon pays two (hillings and fixpence, and ihq baggage is likewife paid for feparately. > ' We continued our journey in the morn- ing ; the country through which we pafTed was for the greateft part level, though fometimes there were fome long hills, fome parts were covered with trees, but far the greater part of the country was without woods ; on the other hand f never faw any place in Americay the towns excepted, fo well peopled. An old man, who lived in this neighbourhood and accompanied us for fome part of the road, however aflured me, that he could well remember the time, when between Trenton and New Brunfwick there were not .above three farms, and he reckoned it was about fifty and fome odd years ago. During the greater part of the day we had very extenfive corn-fields on both fides of the road, and commonly towards the fouth the country had a great declivity. Near almoft every farm was a fpacious or- chard full of peaches and apple trees, and in fome of them the fruit was fallen from the trees in fuch quantities, as to cover near- ly the whole furface. Part of it they left to rot, fince they could not take it all in „, . and New Jerfey^ Trenton, 223 and confumc it. Wherever we paflcd by we were always welcome to go into the fine orchards, and gather our hats and pock- ets full of the choiceft fruit» without the pofledor's fo much as looking after it. Cherry trees were planted near the farms, on the roads, 5cc. The barns''^ had a peculiar kind of con-> Arudtion hereabouts, which I will give a concife defcription of. The whole build- ing was very great, fo as almod to equal a fmall church ; the roof was pretty high, covered with Wooden (hingles, declining on both (ides, but not fleep : the walls which fupport it, were not much, higher than a full grown man ; but on the other hand the breadth of the building was the more coniiderable : in the middle was the threfhing floor, and above it, or in the loft or garret they put the corn which was not yet threfhed, the flraw, or any thing elfe, according to the feafon : on one fide were ftables for the horfes, and on the other for the cows. And the fmall cattle had like- wife their particular flables or ftyes; on both ends of the buildings were great gates. ♦ i> f Thb. anthor fecms to comprehend more .by this wcM'd, than what it commonly includes, for he defcribes it as a bailding, which contuns both a barn and (tables. F. . . . J ■ ;:".vo fi24. ' OSiober 1748. Kb that one could cotiK:: in ^^ith a cart and horfes through one of them, and go out at the other : here was therefore under one roof the threfhing floor, the barn, the fta*- bles, the hay loft, the coach houfe, &c. This kind of buiMings is chiefly made ufe of by the Dutch and Germans ; for it is to *be obferved that the country between TV^/i- ton and New Tork, is inhabited by few Englifbmen, but inftead of them by Gertnans or Dutcb^* the latter of which efpecially are numerous. Beforb I proceed, I find It hecefliry to remark one thing with regard to the Indi- ans, or old Americans. For this account may perhaps meet with readers, who, like many people of my acquaintance, may be of opinion that all North America, was al- moft wholly inhabited by favage or heathen nations, and they may be a(loni(hed, that I do not mention them more frequently in my account. Others may perhaps imagine, that when I mention in my journal, that the country is much cultivated, that th fe- Verai places, hoofes of ftone or Wo6d^ar6 builtr totmd which are corti-flekts, gardens; and * flits kind, of building is fitqttefit in th« iM^bfder- «tM%, Alldndt iuid PruJ!a» and theitfbhi it is ft6 Wfttde^ that it iseiiiployedby people who, wettnftdto tHem in dithr own coantry. F. New J/ir/eyt itriHton* ii5 % and orchards^ th&t I am fj^akjiig cf the ' property of the //f/fti;}/ 1 to uAd^ceive thiittt, I here give the following etplication. The <:ountry efbeciatiy all along' the coaftd, in the £/7g-/^ colonies, is inhabited by Euro*- peans, who in fome places are already fo numerous, ^that few parts of Europe are more populous. The Indiarh have k>\d ttte country to th'^ Europeans, add have retired further up : in moft parte yoo may travel twenty Swedijh miles> or about- a himdred and twenty Engtijh miles, from the fea ihore, before you reach the firft habk^itions of the Indians. And it is very poffible-fe^ a perfon ta have been at Pbtkdelpifia aAd other towns on the fea fhore for half > year together, without io much £ls ffiefng an In» dian* I intend in the fequel to give a ttlore circumflantial account df them, their reti'^ gion, manners, oeconomy, and Other par-* ticulars relatii^ to them : at prefent 1 re^ turn to the fequel of my journals ,^;#J Aboctt nine Engliih miles from ^V^^/bff, the ground began to change its eolouri hitherto it eon^fted of a confiderable quan- tity of hassel coloured clay, but at prefent the earth was a reddish brown, fo that it fc ttimes had a purple colour, and fome-* titiv^s looked like logwoods This colour canMi from a red UnAeftone which appcoach^* P e4 226 OBober 1748. ed very near to that which is on the moun- tain Kinnekutte in Weji Gotif/and, and makes a particular ftratum in the rock. The American red limeilome therefore feems to be merely a variety of that I faw in Sweden, it lay in flrata of two or three fingers thick- nefs ; but was diviiible into many thinner plates or fhivers, whofefurface was feldom £at and fmooth, but commonly rough : the ilrata themfelves were frequently cut off by horizontal cracks. When thefe ftones were expofed to the air, they by degrees (hivered and withered into pieces, and at lafl turn- ed into duft. The people of this neighbour- hood did not know how to make any ufe of it ; the foil above is fometimes rich and fometimes poor : in fuch places where the people had lately dug new wells, I perceiv- ed, that moil of the rubbifh which was thrown up confiiled of fuch a fpecies of ftone. This reddiih brown earth we always faw till near New Brunfwick, where it is particularly plentiful. The banks of the river, (hewed in many places nothing but ftrata of Limejkne, which did not run ho- rizontally, but dipped very much. m About ten o'clock in the morning we came to Frince-town, which is fitiiated in a plain. Mofl of the houfes are built of wood, and are not contiguous, fo that there V . arc New y^rfeyt Prsnce-'town. 227 are gardens and paftures between them. As thefe parts were fooner inhabited by EurO'- feans than Penfyhania, the woods were likewife more cut away, and the country more cultivated, fo that one might have' imagined himfelf to be in Europe^ We now thought of continuing our jour- ney, but as it began to rain very heavily, and continued fo during the whole day and part of the night, we were forced to flay till next morning. OSiober the 29th. This morning we proceeded on our journey* The country was pretty well peopled; however there were yet great woods in many places : they all confifted of deciduous trees : and I did not perceive a iingle tree of the fir kind, till I came to New Brunfwick. The ground was level, and did not feem to be every where of the richefl kind. In fome places it had hillocks, Ic^ng themfelves almofl imperceptibly in the plains, which were commonly crofTed by a rivulet. Almofl near every farm-houfe were great orchards. The houfes were commonly built of timber, and at fome diflance by themfelves flood the ovens for baking, confifling comn!K>nly of clay. 'j^ On a hill covered with tr^s, and called Rockbillt I faw feveral pieces of flone or P2 rock, 1^28 .'A.- OShber 1748*^ t^v A rocky fo bigy that they would have reqoi« red diree men to roU them down^ fiUt beiides thefe there were f^w great ftones ii^ the country:; for moft of thofe which we iaWy could eafily be lifted up by' a fingte man. In another place we perceived a number of little round pebbles, but we did not meet with either mountains or rocks. About noon we arrived at New Brun-^ fwicki a pretty little town in the province of New jer/ey, in a valley on the weft fide of the river Rareton ; on account of it& Ibw iitoationy it cannot be feen (coming from P€i0l*oattia) befcs-e you get to the top of the kilC which is quite cloie up to it: the town extendi north and fouth along ^the river. Tike German inhabitants have two churches one of ^one and the other of wood. The Englijh church is likewifebf the ktter kind^ but the prefbyterians were build- ing one of flone : the town houfe makes likewiie a pretty good appearance. Some of the other houfes are built cf bricks^ but moft of thenfi are made either whoUy of woody or of biiicks and vtroodj the wooden houfes are not made of ftrong tioibei^y but mo-ely of boards or planks, which are within joined by laths : fijch houies as condft iof bofll wood and bricks, have only the wall toward the ftreet of bricks» ali^ odier ^des being merely of planks. This ^ peculiar New Jerfey, New Brunfwick, izg peculiar kind of oftentation would eafil/ Ifiad a traveller, who pailes through the town in hade, to believe that moft of the boufes are built of bricks. The houfes were covered 'With (hinglesi before each door there was ao elevation, to which you aibend by fome fteps from the flreet; it refcmbled a fmall balcony, and had fome benches on both fides, on which the people fat in the evening, in order to enjoy the^ fr»{k air^ and to have the pleafure of view- ing thofe who pafTed by. The town hag only one ftreet lengthways, and at its nor^ thern extremity there is a ftreet acrofs ; both of thefe are of a confidetable length. ^ The river Rareton paffes hard by the town, and is deep enough for great yachts to come up ; its breadth near the town is within the reach of a common gun (hot $ the tide comes up feveral miles beyond the town, the yachts were placed lengthways along the bridge ; the river has very high and pretty ileep banks on both (ides, but near the town there are no fuch banks, it being (ituated in a low valley. One of the ftreet&is almoil entirely inhabited by Dutcbt men, who came hither from Albany, and for that reafon they call it Albany Jireeti Thefe Dutch people only keep company among themfelves, and feldom or nev'er go ^n mongfl the other inhabitants, living as it were * ■;, P 3 quite 230 ^\.y OSlober 1748. quite feparate frc*n them. New Brunfivick belongs to New Jer/ey, however the greateft part, or rather all its trade is to New Tork, which is about forty English miles diftant 1 to that place they fend corn, flour in great quantities, bread, feveral other ne-* cefTaries, a great quantity of linfeed, boards timber, wooden veffels, and all forts of carpenters work. Several fmall yachts are every day going backwards and forwards between thefe two towns. The inhabitants likewtfe get a coniiderable profit from the travellers, who every hour pafs through, on the high road. ^ The fleep banks confifl of the red Iime« ftone, which I have before defcribed. It is here plainly vifible that the ftrata are not horizontal, but coniiderably dipping, efpe- cially towards the fouth. The weather and the air has in a great meafure difTolved the ftone here : I enquired, whether it could not be made ufe of, but was aiTured, that in building houfes it was entirely ufe* lefs; for, though it is hard and perma- nent under ground, yet on being dug out, and expofed for fome time to the air, it firfi crumbles iiito greater, then into lefler pieces, and at lad is converted into duft. An inhabitant of this town, however tried to b^ild a houfe with this fort of Hone, but . -^ -^-. ...-^,,-.._ its New Jerfeyt New Brunfwick, 231 its outfides being expofed to the air, fooo began to change To much, that the owner was obliged to put boards all over the wall* to preferve it from falling to pieces. The people however pretend that this ftone is a ve V good manure, if it is fcatter- ed upon tne corn-fields in its rubbifh ftate, for it is faid to ftifie the weeds : it is there- fore made ufe of both on the fields and in gardens.* Towards the evening we continued our journey, and were ferried over the river Rareton, together with our horfes. In a very dry fummer, and when the tide has ebbed, it is by no means dangerous to ride through this river. On the oppofite fhore the red juniper tree was pretty abundant. The country through which we now pafT- ed Was pretty well inhabited^ but in mofl places full of fmall pebbles. We faw Guinea Hens in many places where we pafTed by. They fometimes run about the fields, at a good diflance from the farm-houfes. About eight Englifh miles from New Brunfwick f the road divided. We took that on the left, for that on the right leads P 4 to ^ * Probably it is a ftone marie; a bine and reddifli fpe- des of this kind is ufed with good fuccers, in the coanty of Bamff in Scptland, :i ^v OHober 1748* '=T tp Amhoyt the chief fca-town in New Jeff ^. . The country now made a charming appearance ; ibpe parts beipg high» others forming valliesr and all of them well cultin yated. From the hills you had a profpeiS; of houfes, farms, gardens, corn-fields, fo* rei^s, lakes, iflands, roads, and paftures.r,. \ In mofi: of the places where we travelled (hi? day the colour of the ground was reddifh. I make no doubt, but therp W^e ftrata of the before^mentioned red li^xeftone under it. Sometimes the ground ^OQked very like a cinnabar ore. WoodtBRidge is a fmall village in a plaiPy confifting of a few bouies : we i);opferved a water mill, fo fituated, that when the tide flowed, the water ran into a pond : but when it ebbed, the floodgate was drawn up, and the mill driven by the water, flowing out of the pond. About eight o'clock in the morning we arrived at the place where we were to crofs 6m6)^n-^v- '-rKV^xy^ ?»; the *K . * Dr. Lintueust in his Travels through Wtfir^efhia, has given a drawing of the machine by which woad is prepared, mi the 128th. jpage. New T$rk, ^17 th« water, ii* order to como to the town of New Tork, We left our hbrfes here and went on board the yacht : Wc were to go . eight Englifb miles by fea ; however we landed about eleven o'clock in the morning at Niw Tork» We faw a kind of wild ducks in immenfe quantities upon the water : thd people called them Blue biltst and they fecmed to be the fame with our Pintail ducks, or Linnaus*% Anas acuta : but they were very (hy. On the ftiore of the conti- nent we faw fome very fine Hoping corn-^ fields, which at prefent looked quite green, the corn being already come up. We faw many boats in which the fifhermen were bufy catching oyders : to this purpofe they make ufe of a kind of rakes with long iron - teeth bent inwards; thefe they ufed either fing\y Or two tied together in fuch a man- ner, that the teeth were turned tow^ards each otheF. . i OSlgber the 31ft. About New Terk they find innumerable quantities of excel-^ lent oyfters, and there are few places which have oyfters of fuch an exquiiite tafte, and of ib great a fize : they are pickled and feni to the Wejl Indies and other places ; which is done in the following manner. A9 ibon a& the oy^tore are caught, their fhellsi are ppenedy and . the fi(h wafhed dean f"^^ i fome 238 OShber 1748. fome water is then poured into a pot, the cyders are put into it, and they muft boil for a while ; the pot is then taken oiF from the fire again, the oyflers taken out and put upon a difh, till they are fomewhat dry : then you take fome mace, allfpice, black pepper, and as much vinegar as you think is fuiHcient to give a fouri(h tafle. All this is mixed with half the liquor in which the oyflers were boiled, and put over the fire again. While you boil it great care is to be taken in fcumming off the thick fcum ; at lafl the whole pickle is poured into a glafs or earthen vedel, the oyflers are put to it, and the veffel is well flopped to keep out the air. In this manner, oyflers will keep for years together, and may be fent to the mofl diflant pacts of the world. The merchants here buy up great quan- tities of oyflers about this time, pickle them in the above-mentioned manner^ and fend them to the Wefi Indies : by which they fre- quently make a confiderable profit : for, the oyflers, which cofl them five fhillings of their currency, they commonly fell for a piflole, or about fix times as much as they gave for them ; and fometimes they get even more: the oyflers which are thus pickled have a very fine flavour. The fol- lowing is another way of preferving oyflers : % '' ' '' ■■ ' *cy New Tork* ^ 239 the boil from Iput dry: slack think 1 this 1 the ic fire \ is to bum ; into a e put ) keep s will ent to they are taken out of the fhells» fried with butter, put into a glafs or earthen vefTel with the melted butter over them, fo that they are quite covered with it, and no air can get to them. Oyfters prepared in this manner have likewife an agreeable tafte, and are exported to the U^ejl Indies and other parts. Oysters are here reckoned very whole- feme, fome people aiTured us, that they had not tclt the leaf): inconvenience, after eating a confiderable quantity of them. It is likewife a common rule here that oyflers are bed in thofe months which have an r in their name, fuch as September, OSiober, &;c ; but that they are not fo good in other months ; however there are poor people, who live all the year long upon nothing but cyders with bread. The fca near New York, afFords annu- ally the grcateft quantity of oyfters. They are found chiefly in a muddy ground, where they lie in the dime, and are not fo fre- quent in a fandy bottom : a rockey and a ilony bottom is feldom found here. The oyfter (hells are gathered in great heaps, and burnt into a lime, which by fome people is made ufe of in building houfes, but is not reckoned fo good as that made of limeftone. On our journey to New Tark, we ' ....... faw w £40 OSiober 1740, / faw high heaps of 03^fter fhells near the farm-houfes, upon the fea ihore t and about lHew Tork, we obferved the people had car- ried them upon the fields which were Town with wheat. However they were entire^ and not crufhed. The Indians wh6 inhabited the coait be-^ fore the arrival of the Europeans^ have made oyflers and other fhellfifh their chief foods and at prefent whenever they come to a fait water where oyfters are to be got> they are very adive in catching them, and fell them in great quantities to other Indians who live higher up the country : for this reafon you fee immenfe numbers of oyfler and mufcle fhells piled up near fuch places, where you are certain that the Indians for- merly built their huts. This circumflance ought to make us cautious in maintaining that in all places on the fea fhore, or higher up in the country, where fuch heaps of fhells are to be met with, that the latter have lain there ever fince the time that thofe places were overflowed by the fea. Lobsters are likewife plentyfully caught hereabouts, pickled much in the fame way as oyflers, and fent to feveral places. I was told of a very remarkable circumfbince a« bout thefe lobflers, and I have afterwards frequently heard it mentioaed. The coaA V. _ ■ "^ " of New Tork, 241 : bc- nade •oodj to a they dfell idians Tthis ayftcr laces, s for- [lance lining ligher fhells have thofe oF New Tork had already European inhabi- tants for a confiderable time, yet no lobfters were to be met with on that coaft; and though the people fiflied ever fo often, they could never find any ligns of lobflers being in this part of the fea : they were there- fore continually brought in great well boats from New England^ where they are plen- tiful 5 but it happened that one of thefe wellboats broke in pieces near Heilgate^ about ten Englijh miles from New Torh^ and all the lobflers in it got off. oince that time they have fo multiplied in this part of the fea, that they are now caught in the greateft abundance. November the ift. A kind of cold fe- ver, which the Englijh in this country call Fever and Ague^ is very common in feveral parts of the Englijh colonies. There are however other parts, where the people have never felt it. I will in the fequel defcribe the fymptoms of this difeafe at large. Several of the moft coniiderablc In- habitants of this town, afTured me that this difeafe was not near fo common in New Tork, as it is in Penjylvania, where ten were feized by it, to one in the former province ; therefore they were of opinion* that this difeafe was occafioned by the va- pours arifing frotn ilagnant frefh water, from Q^ marihes. *«■ ."^ 242 November 1748. #- mar(hesy and from rivers j for which reafon thofe provinces fituated on the fea fhore, could not be fo much affedted by it. How- ever the carelefnefs with which people eat quantities of melons^ water melons, peach- es, and other juicy fruit in fummer, was reckoned to contribute much towards the progrefs of this fever ; and repeated exani- ples confirmed the truth of this opinion. The jefuit's bark was reckoned a good re- medy againfl it. It has however often been found to have operated contrary to expefba- tion, though I am ignorant whether it wag adulterated, or whether fome miflake had been committed in the manner of taking it. Mr. Davis van Hornet a merchant, told- me that he cured himfelf and feveral other people of this fever, by the leaves of the common Garden Sage, or Sahia officinalis of Linnaus, The leaves are crudied or pound- ed in a mortar, and the juice is preyed out of them ; this is continued till they get a fpOonful of the liquid, which is mixed with lemon juice. This draught is taken about the time that the cold fit comes oni and after taking it three or four times, the fever does not come again. The bark of the white oak was reckoned the beft remedy which had as yet been found againfl the dyfentery. It is reduced to a .^:..iv ; . i-^ powder^ pow iurei hdp fpeec likev done a br of b( expoi fous ihore, here j refem ft con white^ both \ betwe( with h Tork, ihells I en boti here. A on in further pie inl catch made prefent Englijh, <:i Kew Tork. ■cV*. 243 am- iion. rc- been sdka- powder> and then taken : (bme people af- fured me that in cafes where nothing would hdpy this remedy had given a certain and fpeedy relief. The people in this place likewi£e make ufe of this bark (as is ufually done in the Englijh colonies) to dye wool a brown colour^ which looks like that of bohea tea, and does not fade by being expofed to the fun. Among the nume- rous fhells which are found on the fea fhore, there are fome which by the Englijb here are called Clams, and which bear fome refemblance to the human ear. They have a confiderable thicknefs, and are chiefly white, excepting the pointed end, which both without and within has a blue colour^ between purple and violet. They are met with in vaft numbers on the fea fhore of New Torky Long JJland, and other places. The ihells contain a large animal, which is eat- en both by the Indians and Europeans fettled here. >: A CONSIDERABLE Commerce is carried on in this article, with fuch Indians as live further up the country. When thefe peo* pie inhabited the coaft, they were able to catch their own clams, which at that time made a great part of their food; but at prefent this is the bufinefs of the Dutch and Englijhy who live in Long IJland and other .^.». Qjs maritime* » 244 November 1748. T maritime provinces. As foon as the (hells are caught, the fifh is taken, out of them, drawn upon a wire, and hung up in the open air, in order to dry by the heat of the fun. When this is done, the fifh is put into proper vefTels, and carried to Albany upon the river Hudfon y there the Indians buy them, and reckon them one of their beft dishes. Befides the Europeans ^ many of the native Indians come annually down to the fea fliore, in order to catch clams, proceeding with them afterwards in the manner I have juft defcribed. ,4.v * The fhells of thefe clams are ufed by the Indians as money, and make what they call their wampum; they likewife ferve their women for an ornament, when they intend to appear in full drefs. Thefe wam* pums are properly made of the purple parts of the (hells, which the Indians value more than the white parts. A traveller, who goes to trade with the Indians, and is well flocked with them, may become a confide- rable gainer 1 but if he take gold coin, or bullion, he will undoubtedly be a lofer; for the Indians who live farther i>p the country, put little or no value upon thefe metals which we reckon fo precious, as I have frequently obferved in the courfe of my travels. The Indians formerly made ^.^ ,„ . ^ ^' their New Tork. 245 fielts lem, the fthe I put Ibany dians their many down lamsy 1 the jy the they fervc I they wam- parts more who s well nfide- in, or lofer ; p the thefe , as I irfe of made their their own wampums, though not without a deal of trouble : but at prefent the Euro' peans employ themfelves that way ; efpeci- ally the inhabitants of Albany , who get a confiderable profit by it. In the fequel I intend to relate the manneir of making the wampum. 'November the 2d. Besides the different fefts of chriflians, there are many Jews fet- tled in New York, who polfefs great privi- leges. They have a fynagogue and houfes* and great country feats of their own pro- perty, and are allowed to keep (hops in town. They have like wife feveral fhips, which they freight and fend out with their own goods. In fine they enjoy all the pri- vileges common to the other inhabitants of this town and province. During my refidence at New Tork^ this time and in the two next years, I was fre- quently in company with Jews. I was in- formed among oither things, that thefe peo- ple never boiled any meat for themfelves on faturday, but that they always did it the day before j and that in winter they kept a fire during the whole faturday. They com- monly eat no pork ; yet I have been told by feveral men of credit, that many of them (efpecially among the young Jews) when travelling, did not not make the lead: difH- .1 .... 0^3 ,r- culty 246 November 1748. culty about eating this, or any other meat that was put before them ; even though they were in company with chriflians. I was in their fynagogue lad evening for the firft time, and this day at noon I vifited it again* and each time I was put into a particular feat which was fet apart for (Irangers or chrifti- ans. A young Rabbi vtzd the divine fervice, which was partly in Hebrew, and partly in the Rabinical dialedt. ^ Both men and wo- jnen were dreffed entirely in the Englijh fa(hion ; the former had all of them their hats on, and did not once take them off 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 reprefent fack cloth. But I obferved that the wealthier fortof people had a much richer cloth than the poorer ones, ^any of the men had Hebrew books, in which they fang and read alternately. The Rabbi flood in the middle of the fynagogue, and read with his face turned towards the eaft ; he fpoke however fo fail, as to make it almofl impofjible for any one tp under- hand what he faid.^ New * As there are no Jews in Sweden, Prof. Kalm was an ut- ter ftranger to their manners and religious cuftoms, and iSicrefore relates them as a kind of novelty. F. «ia # New York, 247 - New York, the capital of a province of the fame name is iituated under forty deg. and forty min. north lat. and forty feven deg. and four min. of weflern long, from London ; and is about ninety feven Englijh miles diftant from Philadelphia, The Stu- ation of it is extremely advantageous for trade : for the town (lands upon a point which is formed by two bays ; into one of which the river Hudfon difcharges itfelf, not far from the town ; New Tork is there- fore on three (ides furrounded with water : the ground it is built on, is level in fome parts, and hilly in others : the place is generally reckoned very wholefome. ' The town was firfl founded by xhtDutch : this, it is faid, was done in the year 1623, when they were yet matters of the country : they called it New Amfierdanii and the coun- try itfelf New Holland, The Englijh^ towards the end of the year 1664, taking pofTeflion of it under the condudt of Des Cartes^ and keeping it by the virtue of the next treaty of peace, gave the name of New Tork to both the town, and the province belong- ing to it : in (ize it comes neareft to Bofton and Philadelphia, But with regard to its fine buildings, its opulence, ar d extendve Commerce, it difputes the preference with 0^4 them : c .u. • ■ *i? November 1748. them : at prefent it is about half as big again as Gotbenburgh in Sweden, 1 i The flreets do not run To (Iraight as thofe of Pbiladelpbiat and have fometimes con(i« derable headings : however they are very fpacious and well built, and mod of them are paved, except in high places, where it has been found ufelefs. In the chief ftreets there are trees planted, which in fummer give them a fine appearance, and during the exceflive heat at that time, afford a cooling (hade : I found it extremely pleafant to walk in the town, for it feemed quite like a garden : the trees which are planted for this purpofe are chiefly of two kinds. The IVater beecb^ or Linnaus's Platanus pccidentalis, are the moft numerous, and give an agreeable (hade in fummer, by their great and numerous leaves. The Locuft tree, or Linnaus^s Robinia Pfeud^ Acacia is likewife frequent ; its fine leaves, and thq odoriferous fcent which exhales from its flowers, make it very proper for being planted in the ilreets near the houfes, and in gardens. There are likewife lime trees and elms, in thefe walks, but they are not by far fo frequent as the others : one feldom met with trees of the fame fort next'to each other, they being in general planted alter-> nately. Besides I^ew Tork. ^^ 249 ' Besides numbers of birds of all kinds which make thefe trees their abode, there are likewife a kind of frogs which frequent them in great numbers in fummer, they are Dr. Lmnaus*s Rana arborea, and efpecially the American variety of this animal. They are very clamorous in the evening and in the nights (efpecially when the days had been hot» and a rain was expelled) and in a manner drown the finging of the birds. They frequently make fuch a noife> that it is difficult for a perfon to make himfelf heard. Most of the houfes are built of bricks ; and are generally ftrong andneat, and feveral flories high. Some had, according to old architedture, turned the gable-end towards the flreets ; but the new houfes were alter- ed in this refpedt. Many of the houfes had a balcony on the roof, on which the people ufed to fit in the evenings in the fum- mer feafon ; and from thence they had a pleafant view of a great part of the town, and likewife of part of the adjacent water and of the oppofite fhore. The roofs are commonly covered with tiles or fhingles : the latter of which are made of the white firtree, *or Pinus Strobus (Linn, fp. plant, page 1419.) which grows higher up in the country. The inhabitants are of opinion that •50 November 2748. that a roof made of thefe (hingles is as durable as one made in Penfyhania of the White Cedar, or Cuprejfus thyoides (Linn. fpec. plant, page 1422.) The walls were whitewashed within, and I did not any where fee hangings, with which the people in this country feem in general to be but little acquainted. The walls were quite covered with all forts of drawings and pic- tures in fmall frames. On each fide of the chimnies they had ufually a fort of alcove ; and the wall under the windows was wain- fcoted, and had benches placed near it. The alcoves, and all the wood work were painted with a bluifh grey colour. There are fcveral churches in the town, which deferve fome attention. i. l^be Englijh Church f built in the year 1695, at the wefl end of the town, confiOis of (lone, and has a fleeple with a bell. 2. T^he new "Dutch Church, which is likewife built of ftone, is pretty large, and is provided with a fleeple ; it alfo has a clock, which is the only one in the town. This church ilands almofl due from north to fouth. No particular point of the compafs has here been in general attended to in erec- ting facred buildings. Some churches, Hand as is ufual from <:afl to wefl, others from fouth to norths and others in different pofitions. 6. New Tork. 2JI at pofitions. In this Dutch churchy there is neither altar, vedry, choir, fconces, nor paintings. Some trees are planted round it, which make it look as if it was built in a wood. ' 3. T/fe old Dutch church t which is alfo built of ftone. It is not fo large as the new one. It was painted in the inlide, though without any images, and adorned with a fmall organ, of which governor Burnet made them a prefent. The men for the moil part fit in the gallery, and the women below. 4, The Prejoyterian Churchy which is pretty large, and was built but lately. It is of (lone, and has a (leeple and a bell in it. 5. The German Lutheran Church, 6. The German Reformed Church. 7. The French Churchy for proteftant refugees. 8. The ^aker*8 Meeting hou/e, 9. To thefe may be added the Jewijh Synagogue, which I mentioned before. Towards the fca, on the extremity of the promontory is a pretty good fortrefs, called Fort George, which entirely com- mands the port, and can defend the town, at leaft from a fudden attack on the fea iide. Beiides that, it is likewife fecured on the north or towards the fhore, by a palii- fade, which however (as for a coiliiderable time the people have had nothing to fear from T>. t< V* r*^' ,74' ;0? :f^- 252 November 1748. from an enemy) is in many places in a very bad {late of defence. There is no good water to be met with in the town itfelf, but at a little diftance there is a large fpring of good water, which the inhabitants take for their tea, and for the cifes of the kitchen . Thofe however, who are lefs delicate in this point, make ufe of the water from the wells in town, though it be very bad. This want of good water lies heavy upon the horfes of the Grangers that come to this place ; for they do not like to drink the water from the wells in the town. ' -'■•-'' * -* '-"'-^ ■;..^,.,..r. . The port is a good one : fhips of the greatefl burthen can lie in i% quite clofe up to the bridge : but its water is very fait, as the fea continually comes in upon it -, and therefore is never frozen, except in extra- ordinary cold weather. This is of great advantage to the city and its commerce ; for many fhips either come in or go out of the port at any time of the year, unlefs the winds be contrary j a convenience, which as I have before obferved, is wanting at Fhiladelphia, It is fecured from all violent hurricanes from the fouth-eaft hy Longljland which is fituated juft before the town : therefore only the dorms from the fouthweft ^re dangerous to the {hips which ride at anchor l^ew Tork. .^i 253 anchor here, becaufe the port is open only on that fide. The entrance however has its faults : one of them is, that no men of war can pafs through it ; for though the water is pretty deep, yet it is not fufficicnt- ly fo for great fhips. Sometimes even mer- chant (hips of a large fize have by the roll- ing of the waves and by finking down be- tween them, flightly touched the bottom, though without any bad ccnfequences. Befides this, the canal is narrow ; and for this reafon many ihips have been loft here, becaufe they may be eaiily caft upon a fand, if the (hip is not well piloted. Some old people, who had conftantly been upon this canal, afTured me, that it was neither deeper, nor Ihallowcr at prefent, than in their youth. The common and low water at J>Jew lork, amounts to about fix feet, Englijh meafure. But at a certain time in every month, when the tide flows more than commonly, the difference in the height of the water is feven feet. ' New York probably carries on a more extenfive commerce, than any town in the Englijh North American provinces ; at leaft it may be faid to equal them : Bojion and Philadelphia however come very near up to it. The trade of New Tork extends to many difference between high at New Torky 254 November 1748. many places> and it is faid they fenci more (hips from thence to London, than they do from Philadelphia, They export to that capital all the various forts of fkins which they buy of the Indians^ fugar, logwood* and other dying woods, rum, mahogany^ and many other goods which are the pro<» duce of the Weji Indies j together with all the fpecie which they get in the courfe of trade. Every year they build feveral (hips here, which are fent to London, and there fold ; and of late years they have (hipped a quantity of iron to England^ In return for thefe, they import from London ftufFs and every other article of Englijh growth or manufadture, together with all forts of foreign goods. England, and efpecial- ly London, profits immenfely by its trade with the American colonies ; for not only New Tork, but likewife all the other £»- glijh towns on the continent, import fo many articles from England, that all their fpecie, together with the goods which they get in other countries, muft altogether go to Old England, in order to pay the amount, to which they are however infufficient. From hence it appears how much a well regulated colony contributes to the increafe and welfare of its mother country. New York fends many fhips to the Wefi Indies £i2kk'. New York* ^^l Indies^ with flour, corn, bifcuit, timbers, tuns, boards, flefh, fi(h, butter, and other provifions ; f'gether with fome of the few fruits that grow here. Many ihips go to Bojion in New Englandy with corn and flour, and take in exchange, flefli, butter, timber, different lorts of fifh, and other articles, which they carry further to the Weji Indies. They now and then take rum from thence, which is diftilled there in great quantities, and fell it here with a confiderable advantage. Sometinr*js they fend yachts with goods from New York to Philadelphia^ and at other times yachts are fcnt from Philadelphia to New York ; which is only done, as appears from the gazettes, becaufs certain articles are cheaper at one place than at the other. They fend fhips to Ireland every year, laden with all kinds of WeJi India goods y but efpeciaily with linfeed, which is reaped in this province. I have been alTurcd, that in fome years no lefs than ten ihips have been fent to Ireland^ laden with nothing but linfeed ; becaufe it is faid the flax in Ireland does not afford good feed. But probably the true reafon is this : the people of Ireland^ in order to have the better flax, make ufe of the plant before the feed is ripe, and therefore are obliged to fend for foreign feed ; and hence % .1 1 0 256 November 1748. it becomes one of the chief articles in trade. At this time a bu(hel of linfeed is fold for eight fhillings of New Tork currency, or exadtly a piece of eight. The goods which are (hipped to the Weji Indies, are fometimes paid for wit^i ready money, and fometimes with Weft India goods, which are either Hrfl brought to New Tork, or immediately fent to Eng- land or Holland, If a fhip does not chufe to take in Weft India goods in its return to New Tork, or if no body will freight it, it often goes to Newcaftle in England 10 take in coals for ballad, which when brought home fell for a pretty good price. In many parts of the town coals are made ufe of, both for kitch- en fires, and in rooms, becaufe they are reckoned cheaper than wood, which at prefent cofts thirty ihillings of New Tork currency per fathom ; of which meafure I have before made mention. New Tork has likewife fome intercourfe with SoutA Caro- lina i to which it fends corn, flour, fugar, rum, and other goods, and takes rice in re- turn, which is almoil the only commodity exported from South Carolina* The goods with which the province of New Tork trades are not very numerous. They chiefly export the ikins of animals, which New Tork* 2S7 in which are bought of the Indians about OJwego; great quantities of boards, coming for the mofl part from Albany ; timber and ready made lumber, from that part of the country which lies about the river Hud/on i and laflly wheat, flour, barley, oats and other kinds of corn, which are brought from New Jerfey and the cultivated parts of this province. I have feen yachts from New Brunfwicky laden with wheat which lay loofe on board, and with flour packed up into tuns ; and alfo with great quanti- ties of linfeed. New Tork likewife exports fome flefh and other provifions out of its own province, but they are very few ; nor is the quantity of peafe which the people about Albany bring much greater. Iron however may be had more plentifully, as it is found in feveral parts of this province, and is of a confiderable goodnefs i but all the other produdts of this country are of lit- tle account. Most of the wine, which is drank here and in the other colonies is brought from the Ifle of Madeira and is very flrong and fiery. No manufadlures of note have as yet been edablifhed here ; at prefent they get all manufadtured goods, fuch as woollen 258 November 1748, and linen cloth, &;c. from England^ and efpecially from London. The river Ht(dfon is very convenient for the commerce of this city ; as it is naviga- ble for near a hundred and fifty Englijh miles up the country, and falls into the bay not far from the town, on its weftern iide. During eight months of the year this river is full of yachts, and other great- er and lefTer veifels, either going to New Tork or returning from thence, laden ei- ther with inland or foreign goods. I CANNOT make a juft eftimatc of the fhips that annually come to this town or faU from it. But I have found by the Pen^ fyhania gazettes that from the firft of De^ cember in 1729, to the fifth of December in the next year, 2 1 1 fhips entered the port of New Tork y and 222 cleared it; and fince that time there has been a great increafe of trade here. .•:v".) -^..s-;>:^;■';i>i,o': ■ -ty :n ' - The country people come to market in New Torkt twice a week much in the fame manner, as they do at Philadelphia ; with this difference, that the markets are here kept in feveral places. '* The governor of the province of New Tork, refides here, and has a palace in the fort. Among thofe who have been entrufl- ed with this pofl, WilHam Burnet deferves to tfew Tork. ±S9 to be had in perpetual remembrance. He was one of the fons of Dr. Thomas Burnet (fo celebrated on account of his learning) and feemed to have inherited the know- ledge of his father. But his great afliduity in promoting the welfare of this province, is what makes the principal merit of his charadter. The people of New Tork there- fore ftill reckon him the beft governor they ever had, and think that they cannot praife his fervices too much. The many aftro- nomical obfervations which he made in thefe parts, are inferted in feveral EngUJJj works. In the year 1727, at the acceffion of king George the II. to the throne of Great Britain^ he was appointed gover- nor of New England, In confequence of this he left New Tork, and went to Boftoni where he died univerfally lamented, on the yth, oi September I J 2(). .^ (/. An affembly of deputies from all the particular diftrids 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 miniature. Every thing relating to the good of the province is here debated. The governor calls the affembly, and diffolves it at pleafure : this is a power which he ought only to make ufe of, either when no farther debates are R2 neceflary. 26o November 1748. neceiTary, or when the members are not fo unanimous in the fervice of their king and country as is their duty : it frequently however happens* that, led afide by ca- price or by interefted views, he exerts it to the prejudice of the province. The colony has ibmetimes had a governor, whofe quar- rels with the inhabitants, have induced their reprefentatives, or the members of the aiTembly, through a fpirit of revenge, to oppofe indifferently every thing he pro- pofed, whether it was beneficial to the country or not. In fuch cafes the govern- or has made ufe of his power; diifolving the affembly, and calling another foon af- ter, which however he again diiTolved upon the leafl mark of their ill humour. By this means he fo much tired them, by the many expences which they were forced to bear in fo (horc a time, that they were at lad glad to unite with him, in his endeavours for the good of the province. But there have likewife been governors who have called aiTemblies and diiTolved them foon after, merely becaufe the reprefentatives did not adl according to their whims, or would not give their affent to propofals which were perhaps dangerous or hurtful to the com- mon welfare. '■''■ ...^,;. ; . The king appoints the governor accord- ing this. New Tork, 261 :om- ing to his royal pleafure ; but the mhabi-^ tants of the province make up his excel- lency's falary. Therefore a man entrufted with this place has greater -or leffer reve- nues, according as he knows how to gain the confidence of the inhabitants. There are examples of governors in this, and other provinces of North Americat who by their difTenfions with the inhabitants of their refpedtive governments, have loft their whole falary, his Majefty having no power to make them pay it. If a governor had no other refource in thefe circumftances, he would be obliged either to refign his o(I:ce, or to be content with an -income too fmall for his dignity ; or elfe to conform himfelf in every thing to the inclinations of the in- habitants : but there are feveral ftated pro- fits, which in fome meafure make up for this. I. No one is allowed to keep a pub- lic houfe without the governor's leave } which is only to be obtained by the pay- ment of a certain fee, according to the cir- cumftances of the perfon. Some governors therefore, when the inhabitants refufcd to pay them a falary, have hit upon the expe- dient of doubling the number of inns in their province. 2. Few people who intend tc be married, unlefs they be very poor, will have their banns publifhed from the R 3 pulpit; 262 November 1748. pulpit ; but inftead of this they get licences from the governor, which impower any mi- nifler to marry them. Now for fuch a li- cence the governor receives about half a guinea, and this colledted throughout the whole province, amounts to a confiderable fum. 3. The governor figns ah paflports, and efpecially of fuch as go to fea ; and this* gives him another means of fupplying his expences. There are feveral other advan- tages allowed to him, but as they are very trifling, I fhall omit them. . ,.. At the above aflembly the old laws are reviewed and amended, and new ones are made : and the regulation and circulation of coin, together with all other affairs of that kind are there determined. For it is to be obferved that each EngliJJj colony in North America is independent of the other, and that each has its proper laws and coin, and may be looked upon in feveral lights, as a (late by itfelf. From hence it hap- pens, that in time of war, things go on very (lowly and irregularly here : for not only the fenfe of one province is fometimes diredly.oppofite to that of another; but frequently the views of the governor, and thofe of the aflembly of the fame province, are quite different : fo that it is eafy to fee, that> while the people are quarrelling about tho New Tork, 263 the bed and cheapeft manner of carrying on the war, an enemy has it in his power to take one place after another. It has commonly happened that whilft fome pro- vinces have been fufFering from their ene- mies, the neighbouring ones were quiet and ina(ftive, and as if it did not in the lead concern them. They have frequently ta- ken up two or three years in confid'ering whether they fhould give affiftance to an opprefled filler colony, and fometimes they have exprefly declared themfelves againft it. There are inflances of provinces who were not only neuter in thefe circumdances, but who even carried on a great trade with the power which at that very time was attack- ing and laying wafte fome other provinces. The French in Canada, who are but an inconfiderable body, in comparifon with the Englijh in America, have by this pofition of affairs been able to obtain great Advan- tages in times of war; for if we judge from the number and power of the Englijh^ it would feem very eafy for them to get the better of the French in America.* -.•'.R4 -• ' --It * This has really happened by a greater union and exer- tion of power from the colonies and the mother country ; fo that Canada has been conquered and its pofTeflion has beeq confirmed to Great Britain in the laft peace. F< IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 4 fff. ^. v^ lilll.0 ^^tii «« m ■2.2 £ lis HO I.I 6" V .Sciences Corporation 4^ •'^ <^ V 23 WIST MAIN STRIIT WnSTM,N.Y. 14SM (71«)t72-4S03 v\ '^ ) itt .^ 264 November 1748. It is however of great advantage to the crov^n of England, that the North Ameri^ can colonies are near a country, under the government of the French^ like Canada, There is reafon to believe that the king never was earned in his attempts to expel the French from their pofTeillons there ; though it might have been done with little difRculty. For the Englijh colonies in this part of the world have encreafed fo much m their number of inhabitants, and in their riches, that they almoft vie with Old England, Now in order to keep up the authority and trade of their mother country, and to anfwer feveral other pupofes, they are forbid to eflabliQi new nianufadtures, which would turn to the difadvantage of the Britijh commerce : they are not allowed to dig for any gold or iilver, unlefs they fend them to England immediately ; they have not the liberty of trading to any parts f hat do not belong to the Britijh dominions, excepting fome fettled places, and foreign traders are not allowed to fend their (hips to them. Thefe and fome other reftridions, occafion the inhabitants of the Englijh colo- nies to grow lefs tender for their mother country. This coldnefs is kept up by the many foreigners fuch as Germans, Dutch and French fettled here» and living among the iv>w York, ^. 265 the Englijhf who commonly hive no par« ticular attachment to Old England ; add to this like wife that many people can never be contented with their poilefHons, though they be ever fo great» and will always be deiirous of getting more, and of enjoying the pleafure which arifes from changing 1 and their over great liberty, and their luxury often lead them to licentioufnefs. I HAVE been told by Englijhmen, and not only by fuch as were born in America f but even by fuch as came from Europep that the Englijh colonies in North- America^ in the fpace of thirty or fifty years, would be able to form a ilate by themfelves, en- tirely independi'tnt on Old England, But as the whole country which lies along the fea (hore, |is unguarded, and on the land fide is harrafled by the French, in times of war thefe dangerous neighbours are fuffici* ent to prevent the conne\\ty always came into my habitation without being afked : thefe viiits 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 colonifts in New Tork were Dutchmen : when the town and its territo- ries were taken by the Englifi, 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 priviledges and immunities which they were poileiled of before, or to leave the place with all their goods : mod of them chofe the former 3 and therefore the inha- bitants both of the town and of the pro- vince belonging to it, are yet for the great- eft part Dutchmen-, who ftiU, efpecially 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 : for moft of the young people now fpeak prin- cipally Englijh, and go only to the Engiijb church ', and would even take it amifs, if they were called Dutchmen and not Englijh" men, Li..)* U .Vic.t i. .":■? f ; Though tjo November 1748. Though the province of New York ha^ been inhabited by Europeans^ much longer than Penjyhania, yet it is not by far fo po- pulous as that colony. This cannot be af- cribed to any particular difcouragement a- rifing from the nature of the foil ; for that is pretty good : but I was told of a very different reafon, which I will mention here. In the reign of ^een Anne about the year 1709, many Germans came hither, who got a tradt of land from the government on which they might fettle. After they had lived there for fome time, and had built houfes and churches, and made corn-fields and meadows, their liberties and privileges were infringed, and under feveral pretences they were repeatedly deprived of parts of their land. This at lafl rouzed the Germans ; they returned violence for violence, and beat thofe who thus robbed them of their pofTedions. But thefe proceedings were looked upon in a very bad light by the government : the mod adtive people among the Germans be- ing taken up, they were very roughly treated, and punifhed with the utmoft rigour of the law. This however fo far exafperated the reft, that the greater part of them left their houfes and fields, and went to fettle in Pen^ fyhania : there they were exceedingly well received, got a confiderable tradt of land, and Vi New Tork, 271 and were indulged in great privileges which were given them forever. The Germans not fatisfied with being themfelves removed from Neiv Tork^ wrote to their relations and friends and advifed them, if ever they intended to conve to America^ not to go to New Tork, where the government had (hewn itfelf fo unequitable. This advice had fuch influence, that the Germans, who afterwards went in great numbers to Nort/j America, conftantly avoided New Tork and always went to Penfylvania, It fometimes happened that they were forced to go on board fuch (hips as were bound to New Tork ; but they were fcarce got on (hore, when they haftened on to Penfylvania in (ight of all the inhabitants of New Tork, But the want of people in this province may likewife be accounted for in a different manner. As the Dutch, who firft culti- vated this country, obtained the liberty of ftaying here by the treaty with En<^/and, and of enjoying all their privileges :d ad- vantages without the leafl limitation, each of them took a very large piece of ground for himfelf, and many of the more power- ful heads of families made themfelves the po(re(rors and maflers of a country of as great an extent as would be fufHcient to form a middling and even a great pari(h. Mod of ifi 272 November 1748. of them being very rich, their envy of the Engli/h led them not to fell them any land, but at an excedive rate ; a practice which is flill punctually obfervcd among their defcendants. The Englijh therefore as well as people of different nations, have little encouragement to fettle here. On the other hand they have futHcient opportunity in the other provinces, to purchafe land at a more moderate price, and with more fecurity to themfelves. It is not then to be wondered, that fo many parts of New York are dill uncultivated, and have entirely the appear- ance of defarts. This inilance may teach us how much a fmall miflake in a govern- ment will injure population. November the 3d. About noon we fet out from New Tork on our return, and continuing our journey, we arrived at Fhi^ ladelphia on the fifth of November, In the neighbourhood of this capital (of Penfylvania) the people had a month ago made their cyder, which they were obliged to do, becaufe their apples were fo ripe as to drop from the trees. But on our journey through New Tork we obferved the people flill employed in prefiing out the cyder. This is a plain proof that in Penfylvania the apples are fooner ripe than in New Tork i but whether this be owing to the nature. if the land, ^hich their swell little other nthe more ty to ered, flill pear- teach rern- e fet and (of ago igcd 3e as rney opk 'der. ania New the ure. Racooiii /^//^y. /f' V -n MX All cai th< fori mel in nini me American Pol.b-Cat, Penfyhanitit Philadeipbia, 275 nature of the foil, or a j^'reater heat of the fummer in Pbiladelpbiat or to fome other caufe I know not. However there is not the lead advantage in making cyder fo early: for long experience had taught the hufband- men that it is worfe for being made early in the year ; the great heat in the begin- ning of autumn being faid to hinder the fer- mentation of the juice. ;. . \r\ There is a certain quadruped which is pretty common not only in Penfyhania, but likewife in other provinces both of South and North America, and goes by the name of Polecat among the Englijh, In New Tork they generally call it Skunk* The Swedes here by way of nickname called it Fifliatta, on account uf the horrid Aench it fometimes caufes as I (hall prefent- ly (how. The French in Canada^ for the fame reafon call it Btte puante or Ainking animal^ and Enfant du diable or child of the devil. Some of them likewife call it Pekan : Catejby in his Natural Hijiory of Carolina, has defcribed it in Vol. 2. p. 62. by the name of Putorius Americanus ftriatus and drawn it plate 62. Dr. Linnaus calls it Fiverra Putorius,* This animal, which is S very * Or thit animal and of the above-mentioned JUc9on is u reprefentation given plate 2. both from original drawings ; the G«rm*n and the Smoedijh edition of Frof. KaM% worj^ beipg both without this plate. F. J 274 .V November 1748. V:" very iiiliilar to the Marien'f is of about the fame fize and cominonly black : on the back it has a longitudinal white ftripe and two others on each fide, parallel to the former. Sometimes but very feldom, fome are feen which are quite white. On our return to Philadelphia VfQ faw one of thefe animals not far from town near a farmer's houfe, killed by dogs. And afterwards I had dur- ing my ftay in thefe parts feveral oppor- tunities of feeing it and of hearing its qua- lities. It keeps its young ones in holes in the ground and in hollow trees ; for it does not confine itfelf to the ground, but climbs up trees with the greateft agility : it is a great epemy to birds ; for it breaks their eggs and devours their young ones; and if it can get into a hen rooi it foon def- troys all its inhabitants. This animal has a particul r quality by which it is principally known when it is purfued by men or dogs it r ns at firfi: as faft as it can, or climbs upr 1 a tree ; but if it is fo befet by its purfu( s, as to have no other way of making its eicape, it fquirts its urine upon them. This according to fome it does by wetting its tail with the urine whence by a fudden motion it fcatters it abroad ; but others believe, that it could fbnd its urine equally far without the help of its tail; I find the former of thefe accounts 10^ Perifyhania, Philadelphia, 275 to be the moft likely. For, fome credible people alTured me, that they have had their faces wetted with it all over i though they flood above eighteen feet off from the ani- mal. The urine has fo horrid a flench that nothing can equal it : it is fomething like that of the Crane/bill or Linnceus\ Geranium robertianurriy but infinitely ftronger. If you come near a polecat when it fpreads its ftench, you cannot breathe for a while, and it feems as if you were flifled ; and in cafe the urine comes into the eyes, a perfon is likely to be blinded. Many dogs that in a chace purfue the polecat very eagerly, run away as fafl as they can when they are wetted: however,. if they be of the true breed, they will not give over the purfuit till they have caught and killed the polecat; but they are obliged now and then to rub their nofes in the ground in order to relieve themfelves. Clothes which have been wet\'ed by this animal retain the fmell for more than a nionth ; unlefs they be covered with frefh foilv and fuffered to remain under it for twenty four hours together j when it will in a great meafure be removed. Thofe likewife who have got any of this urine upon their face and hands, rub them with loofe earth i and fome even hold their hands in the grOtind for an hour j as wafhing will not help theiHi S 2 fo 276 November 1748. ■I >- L, fo foon. A certain man of rank who had by accident been wetted by the polecat, flunk fo illy that on going into a houfe, the people either ran away, or on his open- ing the door, rudely denied him entrance. Dogs that have hunted a polecat are fo ofFenfive for fome days afterwards, that they cannot be borne in the houfe. At Phila- delphia I once faw a great number of people on a market day throwing at a dog that was fo unfortunate as to have been engaged with a polecat jull before, and to carry about him the tokens of its difpleafure. Per- fons when travelling through a foreft are often troubled with the ftink which this creature makes -, and fometimes the air is fo much infeded that it is neceflary to hold ones nofe. If the wind blows from the place where the pole-cat has been, or if it be quite calm, as at night, the fmell is more ftrong and difagreeable. , . * urv^ In the winter of 17499 a pole-cat tempt- ed by a dead lamb, came one night near the farm houfe where I then flept. Being Immediately purfued by fome dogs, it had recourfe to its ufual expedient in order to get rid of them. The attempt fucceeded, the dogs not choofing to continue the purfuit : the flink was fo extremely great that, though I was at fome diftance it aficded me in the fame manner as if I had ( I Penfyhania, Philadelphia, 277 had been (lifled ; and it was fo difagreeable to the cattle that it made them roar very loudly : however, by degrees it vanifhed. Towards the end of the fame year one of thefe animals got into our cellar, but no 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 fufpedling that it was done by the cat (he (hut up all avenues, in order to prevent their getting at it But the next night be- ing awoke by a noife in the cellar, fhe went down, and though it was quite dark, faw an animal with two (hining eyes, which feem- ed to be all on fire ; (he however refolutely killed it, but not before the polecat had filled the cellar with a moft dreadful ftench. The maid was fick of it for feveral days ; and all the bread, fle(h, and other provifions kept in the cellar were fo penetrated with it, that we could not make the lead ufe of them, and were forced to throw them all away. From an accident that happened at New Tork to one of my acquaintances, I conclude that the polecat either is not always very (hy, or that it (leeps very hard at night. This man coming home out of a wood in a fummer evening, thought that he faw a plant S 3 (landing 'fi-U A 278 November 1748. flanding before him ; (looping to pluck it, he was to his cod convinced of his miflake, by being all on a fudden covered with the urine of a polecat, whofe tail as it ftood up- right, the good man had taken for a plant : the creature had taken its rqvenge fo effec- tually that he was much at a lofs how to get rid of the ftench. However though thefe animals play fuch difagreeable tricks, yet the Englijh, the Swedes, the French, and the Indians in thefe parts tame them. They follow their maA ters like domeflic animals, and never make ufe of their urine, except they be very much beaten or terrified. When the Indi- ans kill fuch a polecat, they always eat it$ flefli, but when they pull off its fkin, they take care to cut away the bladder, that the ilefli ipay not get a tafte from it. I have fpoken with both Englijhmen and French- men, who aflured me that they bad eaten of it| and found it very good meat? and not inuch unlike the flefh of a pig. The fkin which is pretty coarfe, 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. u November the 6th. In the evening I W.^nt put of town Jo ^Jr. Bartram, I found / a mm Penfyhanidt Philadelphia. 279 a man with him, who lived in Carolina and I obtained feveral particulars about that province from him ; a few of which I will here mention. •« - H • Tar, pitch and rice arc the chief pro^ dudls 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 purpofe are com- monly fuch as are dried up of themfelves; 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 Ofirobothnia. In fome parts of Carolina they like wife make ufe of the branches. Th<; 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 and fmear 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 confiflence of pitch. They make two kinds of tar in the North American colonies : one is the common tar, which 1 have above defcribed, and which is made of the flems, branches, and roots of fuch firs, as were already confiderably dried out before; which is the mod common Avay in this country. The other way in peeling the bark from ;i^vv/.- S4 the nBo November 1748. the firs on one fide, and afterwards letting them fland another year ; during which the refin comes out between the cracks of the Aem. The tree is then felled and burnt for tar ; and the tar thus made is called green tar, not that there is that difference of colour in it, for in this refpedt ^!iey are both pretty much alike ; but the latter is called fo from being made of green and frefh trees ; whereas common tar is made of dead trees : the burning is done in the fame manner as in Finland. They ufe only black firs ; for the white firs will not ferve this purpofe, though they are excellent for boards, mafls» &;c. green tar is dearer than common tar. It is already a pretty general complaint that the fir woods are almoil wholly deftroyed by this pra(ftice, RiCB is planted in great quantity in Ca- rolina I it fucceeds befl in marfhy and fwampy grounds, which m^y be laid un* der water, and likewife ripens there the foonef^. Where thefe cannot be had, they mufl choofe a dry foil ; but the rice pro- duced here will be much inferior to the other : the land on which it is cultivated mufl never be manured* In Carolina they fow it in the middle of Aprils and it is ripe \n September I it is planted in rows like peafe, And commoQly fifteen inches fpace is left between -i; J Penfyhania, Philadelphia, 281 afe, left between the rows ; as foon as the plants are come up, the field is laid under water. This not only greatly forwards the growth of the rice, but likewife kills all weeds, fo as to render weeding unnecefTary. The ilraw of rice is faid to be excellent food for cat- tle, who eat it very greedily. Rice requires a hot climate, and therefore it will not fucceed well in Virginia^ the fummer there being too (hort, and the winter too cold ; and much lefs will it grow in Penfylvania* They are as yet ignorant in Carolina of the art of making arrack from rice : it is chief- ly South Carolina that produces the greatefl quantity of rice ; and on the other hand they make the moft tar in North Carolina. November the 7th. The flranger from Carolina whom I have mentioned before, had met with many oyfler {hells at the bot- tom of a well, feventy Englifh miles dif- tant from the fea, and four from a river : they lay in a depth of fourteen Englifh feet from the furface of the earth : the water in the well was brackifh ; but that in the river was frefh. The fame man, had at the building of a faw-mill, a mile and a half fcom a river, found, iirft fand, and then clay filled With oyfter ftells. Under thefe be found feveral bills of fea birds as he call- ed them, which were already quite petri- fied : they were probably Glojfopetra. There 1 ft82 w November 1748. '■\ * There arc two fpecies oi foxes in the Mnglijb colonies, the one grey, and the other red : but in the fequei I (hall fhew that there are others which fometimes ap- pear in Canada. The grey foxes are here con- ftantly, and are very common in Penfyha- nia and in the fouthern provinces : in the northern ones they are pretty fcarce, and the French in Canada, call them Virginian Poxes on that account : in (ize they do not quite come up to our foxes. They do no harm to Iambs ; but they prey upon all forts of poultry, whenever they can come at them. They do not however feem to be looked upon is animals that caufe a great deal of ditmage ; for there is no reward given for killing them : their fkin is great- ly fought for by hatters, who employ the hair in their work. People have their clothes lined with it fometimes : the greafe is ufed againfl: all forts of rheumatic pains. Thefe foxes are faid to be lefs nimble than the red ones : they are fometimes tamed ; though they be not fuffered to run about but are tied up. Mr. Catejby has drawn and defcribed this fort of foxes in his Na- tural biftory of Carolina, by the name of the grey American fox, vol. 2. p. 78. tab. 78. A ikin of it was fold in Philadelphia for two {hillings apd fix-pence in Penfylvanian cur- rency, v'^ • * ' .''*—*"• - •' The si •■; i , Pcnfylvanidi Pbiladelpbia, 283 The red Foxes are very fcarce here : they are entirely the fame with the European fort. Mr. Bar tram, and feveral others afTured me, that according to the unani- mous teftimony of the Indians, this kind of foxes never was in the country, before the Europeans fettled in it. But of the man* ner of their coming over I have two dif- ferent accounts : Mr. Bartram and feveral other people were told by the Indians, that thefe foxes came into America foon after the arrival of the Europeans, after an extra- ordinary cold winter, when all the fea to the northward was frozen : from hence they would infer, that they could perhaps get over to America upon the ice from Greenland or the northern parts of Europe and Afia* But Mr. Evans, and fome others affured me that the following account was ftill known by the people. A gentleirian of fortune in New England, who had a great inclination for hunting, brought over a great number of foxes from Europe, and let them loofe in his territories, that he might be able to indulge his paflion for hunting,* This is faid to have happened :'• almoft • Neither, of thefe accounts appear to be fatisfadory; and therefore I am inclined to believe that thefe red foxes originally came over from jijia^ (mod probably from Kam- tchatka 't^ 284 November 1748. almoft at the very beginning of New Eng" land's being peopled with European inha- bitants. Thefe foxes were believed to have fo multiplied, that all the red foxes in the country were their offspring. At prefent they are reckoned among the noxious crea- tures in thefe parts; for they are not content- ed, as the grey foxes with killing fowl ; but they likewife devour the lambs. In Pen^ Jjflvansa therefore there is a reward of two millings for killing an old fox, and of one (hilling for killing a young one. And in all the other provinces there are likewife rewards ofFer'd for killing them. Their (kin is in great requeft, and is fold as dear as that of the grey foxes, that is two (hil- tcbatka where this fpecies is common, fee Milier*a Account of the NavigatioMs of the Ruffiausj &c.) though in remote times, and thus fpread over North America. It is perhaps true that the Indians never took notice of them till the Europtans were fettled among them; this, however, was becaufe they never had occafion to ufe their ikins : but when there was a demand for thefe they began to hunt them, and, as they had not been much accuftomed to them before, they eJleemed them as a novelty. What gives additional com- firmation to this is, that when the Ruffians under Commo- dore Bering landed on the weftern coaft oi America, they faw five red foxes which were quite tame, and feemed not to be in the leaft afraid of men : now this might very well have been the cafe if we fuppofe them to have been for many generations in a place where no body difturbed them ; but we cannot account for it, if we imagine that they had been ufed to a country where there were many inhabitants} Qr where they had been much hunted. F, W fp or or thi at or Penfyhaniaf Philadelphia, 285 lings and fix-pence, in Penfylvanian cur- rency. They have two varieties of Wolves here, which however feem to be of the fame fpecies. For fome of them are yellowi(h« or almofl pale grey, and others are black or dark brown. All the old iS^^^if/ related, that during their childhood, and ftill more at the arrival of their fathers, there were exceffivc numbers of wolves in the country* and that their howling and yelping might be heard all night. They like wife fre- quently tore in pieces, fheep, hogs, and other young and fmall cattle. About that lime or foon after, when the Swedes and the Englijh were quite fettled here, the Indians were attacked by the fmall pox : this difeafe they got from the Europeans, for they knew nothing of it before : it killed many hundreds of them, and mod of the Indians of the country, then called New Sweden died of it. The wolves then came, attracted by the flench of fo many corpfes, in fuch great numbers that they devoured them all, and even attacked the poor fick Indians in their huts, fo that the few healthy ones had enough to do, to drive them away. But fince that time they have difappeared, fo that they are now feldom feen« and it is very rarely that they commit 286 tfovmier 1784. any diforders. This is attributed to the greater cultivation of the country, and to their being killed in great numbers. But further up the country, where it is not yet fo much inhabited, they are flill very abun- dant. On the coafts of Penfyhania and New Jcrfey, the fheep (lay all night in the fields, without the people's fearing the wolves : however to prevent their multi- plying too much, there is a reward of twen- ty (hillings in Fenfyhania^ and of thirty in "New Jerfey, for delivering in a dead wolf, and the perfon that brings it may keep the (kin. But for a young wolf the reward is only ten (hillings of the Penjyhanian cur- rency. There are examples of thefe wolves being made as tame as dogs. * ' . The wild Oxen have their abode princi- pally 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 fer- vants and the lower clafs of people. But the hide is of little ufe, having too large pores to be made ufe of for (hoes. How- ever the poorer people in Carolina, fpread thefe hides on the ground indead of beds. The Vifcumjilamentofum, ov Fibrous mijle" toe, is found in abundance in Carolina ; the inhabitants make ufe of it as (Iraw in their *^»,^ , beds. Penfyhania^ Philadelphia. 287 beds» and to adorn their houfes ; the cat^ tk are very fond of it : it is likewife em- ployed in packing goods. The Spartium fcoparium grew in Mr. Bar trams garden from Englijh feeds ; he faid that he had feveral bufhes of it, but that the froft in the cold winters here had killed mod of them : they however grow fpontancoufly in Sweden, Mr. Bart ram had (omt Truffles, orL/«- nauj*s Lycoperdon Tuber, which he had got out of a fandy foil in New Jerfey, where they are abundant. Thefe he ihewed to his friend from Carolina, and afked him whether they were the Tuckahoo' o^ ihc In- dians. But the Granger denied it, and ad- ded that though thefe truffles were likewife very common in Carolina, yet he had never ktn them ufed any other way but in milk, again ft the dyfentery^ and he gave us the following defcription of the Tuckahoo. It grows in feveral fwamps and marfhes, and is commonly plentiful. The hogs greedily dig up its roots with their nofes in fuch places ; and the Indians in Carolina likewife gather them in their rambles in the woods, dry them in the fun fhine, grind them and bake bread of them. Whilft the root is fVefh it is harfh and acrid, but being dried it iofes the greateft part of its acrimony. To Ji V »2, 288 November ly/fi. To judge by thefe qualities the Tuckabott may very likely be the Arum Virginianum. Compare with this account, what ihall be related in the fequel of the I'ahim and Huckah. After dinner I again returned to town. November \h^ 8th. Several Englijh and Swedijh oeconomifls kept bee-hives, which afforded their pofTeflbrs profit : for bees fuc- ceed very well here : the wax was for the moft part fold to tradefmen : but the honey they made ufe of in their own families, in different ways. The people were unani- mous, that the common bees were not in North America before the arrival of the Europeans j but that they were firfl brought over by the Englijh who fettled here. The Indians likewife generally declare, that their fathers had never feen any bees either in the woods or any where elfe, before the Europeans had been feveral years fettled here. This is further confirmed by the name which the Indians give them : for having no particular name for them in their language, they call them Englijh Jlies^ be- caufe the Englijh firft brought them over : but at prefent they fiy plentifully about the woods of North America, However it has been obferved that the bees always when they fwarm, ipread to the fouthward, and u( li. aever Penjyivania, Philadelphia. 289I hever to the northward. It feems as if they do not find the latter countries fo good for their conftitution : therefore they cannot flay in Canada i and all that have been car-^ ried over thither, died in winter. It fcem- ed to me as if the bees in America were fomewhat fmaller than ours in Sweden. They have not yet been found in the woods on the other fide of the Blue Mountains f which confirms the opinion of their being brought to America of late. A man told Mr. Bartram, that on his travels in' the woods of North America^ he had found another fort of bees, which, in (lead of fe« parating their wax and hodey, mixed it both together in a great bag. But this ac* count wants both clearing up and confirm-* November the 9th. All the old Swedes and Englijhmen born in America whom I ever queftioned, afierted that there were not near fo many birds fit for eating at prefent, as there ufed to be when they were chiU dren, and that their decreafe was vifible. They even faid, that they had heard their fathers complain of this, in whofe child- hood the baysy rivers and brooks were quite covered with all forts of water fowl^ fuch as wild geefe, ducks, and the like^ Bot at prefent there is fometimes ilof ^ T fingl^ (- "•illi?*^ ^90 November 1748. iingle bird lipon them ; about fixty or fe- venfy years ago, a tingle perfon could kill eighty ducks in a morning ; but at prefent you frequently wait in vain for a iingle one. A Swede above ninety years old, afiured me that he had in his youth killed twenty-three ducks at a fhot. This good luck no body is likely to have at prefent, as you are forced to ramble about for a whole day, without getting a fight of more than three or four. Cranes * at that time came hither by hundreds in the fpring : at prefent there are but very few. The nvild "Turkeyst and the birds which the Swedes in this country call Partridges and Hazel" Jberis were in whole flocks in the woods. But at this time a perfon is tired with walking before he can ftart a fingle bird. The caufe of this diminution is not dif- ficult to find. Before the arrival of the Europeans, the country was uncultivated, and full of great forefts. The few Indians that lived here feldom diflurbed the birds. They carried on no trade among themfelves. Iron', and gun powder were unknown to thetn. ai^W 3" -a 5'. f *itj: .rf ,i •When Captain Amada$^ the firft Englijhnati thut ever landed in North America^ fet foot on ihore (to ufe his t *< words) y«c<6 a fitch of Cranes (the mofi part 'white) arofe v i,r us 'with/uch a cry, redoubled by nanj ecchoes^ as if an armie of men had fijoiAjted alltogethtr. Penjyhania, Philadelphia. 291 them.' One hundredth part of the fowl which at that time were fo plentiful here» would have fufficed.to feed the few inhabit- tants ; and confidering that they cultivated their fmall maize fields, caught fifh, hunt-> ed flags, beavers, bears, wild cattle, and other animals whofe flefh was delicious to them, it will foon appear how little they diflurbed the birds. But (ince the arrival of great crouds of Europeans, things are greatly changed : the country is well peo- pled, and the woods are cut down : the people increafing in this country, they have by hunting and fhooting in part extirpated the birds, in part feared them away : ia fpring the people flill take both eggs, mo- thers 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 diminiflied greatly, yet there are others, which have rather in- creafed than decreafed in number, fmce the arrival of the Europeans: this can mofl properly be faid of a fpecics of daws which the Englip call Blackbirds * and the Swedes Maize thiev^s^ Dr. Linnaus calls them Gra^ T 2 cttla If? 'Properly Jhining blackbirds. 2g2 November ij/fii eula ^ifcula. And together with thein> the feveral forts oi Squirrels among the qua- drupeds have fpread s for thefe and the for- mer, live chiefly upon maize, or at lead they are moft greedy of it. But as popula- tion iiicreafes, the cultivation of maize in- creafes, and of courfe the food of the above- mentjoned animals is more plentiful : to this it is to be added, that thefe latter are rarely eaten, and therefore they are more at liberty •to multiply their kind. There are likewife 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 com- plaints of the great decreafe of eatable fowl, not only in this province, but in all the parts^ of North America, where I have been. Aged people had experienced that with the fi(h, which I have juft mentioned of the birds : in their youth, the bays, rivers, and brooks, had fuch quantities of fiHi that at one draught in the morning, they caught as many as a horfe was able to carry home. But at prefent things are greatly altered ; and they often work in vain all the night Iong,» with all their fifhing tackle. The caufes of this decreafe of fifh, are partly the fame with thofe of the diminution of the number of birds ; being of late caoght T \ ^ by "♦ -Wf • V «» Pen^hania, Philadelphia. 293 by a greater variety of contrivances, and in different manners than before. The nu- merous mills on the rivers and brooks like- virife contribute to it in part : for it has been obferved here, that the fi(h go up the river in order to fpawn in a (hallow water ; but when they meet with works that pre- vent their proceeding, they turn back, and never come again. Of this I was affured by a man of fortune at Bojion: his father was ufed to catch a number of herrings throughout the winter and almoft always in fummer, in a river, upon his country feat : but he having built a mill with a dyke in this water, they were loft. In this man- ner they complained here and every where of the decreafe of fifh. Old people alTerted the fame in regard to oyfters at New Tork j for though they are ftill taken in coniiderable quantity, and are as big and as delicious as can be wifhed, yet all the oyfter-catchers own, that the number dimini(h^s greatly every year: the moil natural caufe of it, is probably the immoderate c^tchin^ of them at all times of the year. .-.w*.v - Mr. Franklin told me that in that part of New England, where his father lived, two rivers fell info the fea, in one of which, they caught great numbers of herring, and in the other not one. Yet the places where ^^t*-- ' T3 thcfo 294 November 1748. thefe rivers difcharged themfelves into the fea, were not far afunder. They had ob- ferved that when the herrings came in fpring to depofit their fpawn, they always fwam up the river where they ufed to catch them, but never came into the other. This cir- cumilance led Mr. Franklin*s father who was fettled between the two rivers, to try whether it was not pofl^ble to make the herrings likewife live in the other river. For that purpofe he put out his nets, as they were coming up for fpawning, and he caught fome. He took the fpawn out of them, and carefully carried it acrofs the land into the other river. It was hatched^ and the confequence was, that every year jdifterwards th^y caught mor^ herrings in that river j and this is ^ill the cafe. This leads one to believe that the fifh always like to fpawn in the fame place where they \irei:e hatched* and from whence they firfl: put out to feai beingasit were accuftomed iloit. The following is another peculiar obfer- vation. It has never formerly been knovvh that codfish vvere to be caught at cape Hin- jtopeni they were always caught at the tp juth of the Delaware : but at prefent they are numerous in the forrner place.. From hence it may be concluded ths^ frih likewife change n^m f. Penjylvania^ Philadelphia, 295 cb^ngs their places of abode, of their own accord. A CAPTAIN of a fhip who had beep in Greenland^ afTerted from his own experir ence, that on pafTing the Seventieth d^ of north lat. the fummer heat was there much !greater» than it is below that degree. From hence he concluded^ that the fum^ mer heat at the pole itfelf, muH; be flill more exceilive, fince the fun (hines therp for fuch a long fpace of time, without ev^ fetting. The fame account with (imil^ confequences drawn from thence, Mr^. Franklin had heard of the fhip captains in Bojion, who had failed to the moft northern parts of this hemifphere. But flill more afloniihing is the account he got from capr tain Henry Atkins^ who ftill lives at Bojim* He had for fome time been upon '^he fiilx- ery along the coafls of New England, But not catching as much as he wished, he failed north, as far as Greenland, At lad he went fo far, that he difcovered people, who had never feen Fiuropeans before (and what is more aftoniihing) who had no idea of the ufe of fire, which they had never employed; and if they had known it, they qpuld,bayp made no ufe of their knowledge, as there were no trees in the country.. But ttxey eiU the birds and fidi which they caught quitp .nu T 4 . raw. tg^ November 1748. .1 t t raw. Captain Atkins got Ibme very fcarcf ikins in exchange for forne trifles. It is already known from feveral ac<» counts of voyages, that to the northward neither trees nor bullies, nor any ligneous plants are to be met with, fit for burning. But is it not probable that the inhabitants of fo defolate a country, like other northern nations which we know, burn the train oil of fifhes, and the fat of animals in lamps, in order to boil their meat, to warm their fubterrantous caves in winter, and to light them in the darkefl feafon of the year ? elfe their darknefs would be infupportable. f' November x\\t nth. In feveral writings we read of a large animal, which is to be met with in New England and other parts of North America, They 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 horns. This has induced many people to believe that it is the Moofe-deer fp famous in North America^ and that the horns found, were of animals of this kind, which had former- ly lived in that ifland, but were gradually deflroyed. It has even been concluded, |hat Ireland, in diflant ages either was con- p^dl^d with North America^ or that a num- %- . * ber Fenfyhania, Phiiadelphia. 297 htr of little iflands, which are loft at pre- fent, made a chain between them. This led me to enquire, whether an animal with fuch exceflive great horns, as are afcribed to the Moofe-deer, had ever been feen in any part of this country. Mr. Bartram told me, that notwithftanding he had care* fully enquired to that purpofe, yet there was no perfon who could give him any in- formation, which could be relied upon^ and therefore he was entirely of opinion, that there was no fuch an animal in North America, Mr. Franklin related that he had, when a boy, feen two of the animals which they call Moofe-deer^ but he well remembred that they were not near of fuch a fize as they muft have been, if the horns found in Ireland were to fit them : the two animals which he faw, were brought to Bojion in order to be fent to England to Queen jinn. The height of the animal up to the back was that of a pretty tall horfe ; but the head and its horns were dill high- er : Mr. Dudley has given a defcription of the Moofe^deer which is found in North America, On my travels in Canada, I of- ten enquired of the Frenchmen^ whether there bad ever been feen fo large an animal in this country, as feme people fay there is in North America 3 and with fuch great -: . V . V horns ,% 298 November 1748. horns as are fometimes dug out in Ireland, fiut I was always told, that they had never heard of it, and much lefs feen it : fome added, that if there was fuch an animal, they certainly mufl have met with it, in fonie of their excurfions in the woods. There are elks here, which are either of the fame fort with the Swedijh ones, or a variety of them : of thefe they often catch fome which are larger than common, whence perhaps the report of the very large animal with ex- ceflive horns in North America fifft had its rife. Thefe elks are which is fat and fmooth to the touch* and is eafily cut and worked. Here an() there are fome glittering fpeckles. of that fort of afbefl, whofe fibres come from a center like rays, or Star AJbeJL This flonc is not found in flrata or folid rocks, but here and there fcattered on the fields. Another flone is called Soapjhne by many of the Swedes, being as imooth as foap on the outlide. They make ufe of it for rubbing fpots out of their cloaths. It might be called Saxum talcofum parti^ cuius fpataceisf granatifque immixtis, or a talc with mixed particles of fpar and gar- nets. A more exadt defcription I referve for another work. At prefent I only add that the ground colour is pale green, with fome dark fpots, and fometimes a few of a greenifh hue. It is very fmooth to the touch, and runs always waved. It is like* wife ealily fawed and cut, though it is not very fmooth. I have feen large (lones of it, which were a fathom and more long, pro-i^ portionably broad, and commonly fix inches or a foot deep. But I cannot determine any thing of their original fize,as I have not been at the place wh^re they are d4g*..ai>d have r ■^«,lj»»v-y y ' ' ■' • ■ '-■•'' jjo»« x_f ij t •*. ..j.>t 1,'.., oniv • t .'.V'^wi'^^^'^ !-? ,1'* JOO November 1748. only feen the ftones at Pbiladelpbiat which are brought there ready cut. The particles of talc in this flone are about thirty times as many as thofe of fpar and garnet. It is found in many parts of the country, for example in the neighbourhood of Cbejler in Pen/yhania, The Englijh likewife call it Soapjlone/^ and it is likely that the Swedes have borrowed that name from them. This fton^ was chiefly employed in the following manner. Firft, the people took foots out of their cloaths with it. But for this purpofe the whole ftone is not equally ufeful, for it includes in its clear particles fome dark ones which confift wholly of fer- pentine ftone» and may eafily be cut with a knife ; fome of the loofe flone is fcraped oflF like a powder, and ftrewed upon a greafy fpot, in (ilk or any other ftuflf; this im- bibes the greafe, and after rubbing oflF the powder the fpot difappears : and as this ilone is likewife very durable in the fire, the country people make their hearths with it, efpecially the place where the fire lies, and woere the heat is the greateft, for the ftone ftands * It (eemt to be dther the Aibftance commonly called Frttifb CbaU, or perhaps the Seap'tteA, which is common i|i Cornwall near the Lixard point, and which coniifts befides of fome particles of talc, chiefly of an earth like na|;nefi», which latter with acid of vitriol* yields an earthy vitriolic iUt» QtEf/om/alt, Ft Penfylvania^ Philadelphia, 30 1 ftands the Aronged fire. If the people can get a Aifficient quantity of this (lone, they lay the fleps before the houfes with it^ inftead of bricks, which are generally ufed for that purpofe* The walls round the court yards, gar- dens, burying places, and thofe for the Hoping cellar doors towards the (Ireet, which are all commonly built of brick, are covered with a coping of this (lone ; for it holds excellently againil all the effects of the fun, air, rain and ^orm, and does not decay but fecures the bricks. On account of this quality, people commonly get the door polls in which their hinges are faften- ed made of this ftone : and in feveral pub- lick buildings, fuch as the houfe of af- fembly for the province, the whole lower wall is built of it, and in other houfes the corners are laid out with it. The Salt which is ufed in the Engli(h North American colonies is brought from the Weft Indies, The Indians have in fome places fait fprings from which they get fait by boiling. I (hall in the fequel have oc-> cafion to defcribe fome of them. Mr. Franklin was of opinion that the people in Penfylvanta could eaiier make good fait of fea water, than in New England, where fometimes fait is made of the fea water on • iheii? 302 November 1748. tlleir coaft ; though their fituation is more northerly. Lead^ore has been difcovered in Penjylvania, but as it is not to be met with in quantity, no body ever attempted to ufe it. Loadjlones of confiderable goodnefs have likewife been found ; and I myfelf poflefs feveral pretty pieces of them. * '^:. Iron is dug in fuch great quantities' in Penjyhania and in the other American pro- vinces of the Englip, that they could provide with that commodity not only England^ but almoft all Europe, and per- haps the greater part of the globe. The ore is httt commonly infinitely eafier got in. the mihes, than our Swedijh ore. For in many places with a pick ax, a crow-foot and a wooden club, it is got with the fame eafe With which a hole clan be made in a hard foil : in many places the people know nothing of boring, blafting and firing ; and the Ore is likewife very fufible. Of this iron they get fuch quantities, that not only the numerous inhabitants of the colonies themfelves have enough of it, but great quantities, are lent to the Weji Indies, and they have lately be- gan %ven to trade to Europe with it. This iron is reckoned better for ihip building than our Swedijh iron> or any other, becaufe ialt l^ater doe^ not corrode it fo much. Some people believed that without reckon- ii--^ ing .«. Penfyhania. Philadelphia, 303 ing the freight, they could fell their iron in England at a lower rate than any other nation; efpecially when the country be- comes better peopled and labour cheaper. The mountain flax, * or that kind of ftone, which Bi(hQ^ Browallius calls Ami- antus Jibris feparabilibus molliufculis, in his ledtures on mineralogy which were pub- lifhed in 1739, or the amiant with foft fibre* which can eafily be feparated, is found a- bundaiitly in Penfyhania. Some pieces are very foft, others pretty tough : Mr. Frank-^ tin told me that twenty and fome odd years ago, when he made a voyage to England^ he had a little purfe with him, made of the mountain flax of this country, which he prefented to Sir Hans Sloane^ I have likewife feen paper made of this ftone: and ! have likewife received fome fmall piece$ of it, which I keep in my cabinet, Mrl Franklin had been told by others that oij expofing this mountain flax to the opeii air in winter, and leaving it in the cold and v*^et, it would grow together, and more fit for fpinning. But he did not venture to *";r''\- \. -• •■■''\ ' deter- ':dt iiuVi -^i: " -i;! i-; ;"^v^ ■ . : it .j-.w^r. * Aftiidiitft* (Afisftus) fibrofus, fibris (eparabilibas flexilt. bus tenacibus, tinn. Sy^. nat, p< 5;. AfniaWus fibris mollibus parallelis facile feparabillbas, ttdll Mhi. 140. Mountain Flax, Linum montanum, Forfier^i Mineralogy, p. 17. F« 3H November 1748. I determine how far this opinion was grounc!'^ ed. On this occafion he related a very pleafant accident, which happened to him with this mountain flax : he had, feveral years ago, got a piece c\i it, which he gave to one of his journeymen printers, in order to get it made into a fhezt at the paper mill. As foon as the fellow brought the paper, Mr. Franklin rolled it up, and threw it in- to the fire, telling the journeyman he would fee a miracle, a fheet of paper which did not burn : the ignorant fellow afTerted the contrary, but was greatly aflonifhed^ upon feeing himfelf convinced. Mr. Franklin then explained him, though not very clear- ly, the peculiar qualities of the paper. As foon as he was gone, fome of his acquaint- ance came in, who immediately knew the paper. The journeyman thought he would ihew them a great curiofity and adonifb them. He accordingly told them that he had curioufly made a fheet of paper, wh^nh would not burn, though it was thrown in- to the fire. They pretended to think it impoflible, and he as flrenuoufly maintain- jcd his affertion. At lafl they laid a wager about it ; but whilfl he was bufy with flir- ring up the fire, the others flyly befmeared the paper with fat : the journeyman, who was not aware of it» threw it into the fire, ..„ and Penjyhania, Pbiladeiphtd, 305 find that moment it was ali in flames t this aftonifhed him fo much, that he was almofl fpeechlcfs j upon which they could not help laughing, and fo difcovered the whole arti-^ fice. In feveral houfes of the town^ a number of little ^//^i run about, living underground and in holes in the wall. The length of their bodies is one geometrical line. Their colour is either black or dark red : they have the cuftom of carrying off fweet things* if they can come at them, in common with the ants of other countries. Mr. Franklin Was much inclined to believe that thefe lit- tle infedls could by fome means commu-^ nicate their thoughts or deiires to each other, and he confirmed his opinion by fome examples. When an ant finds fome fugar^ it runs immediately under ground to its hole, where having flayed a little while* a whole army comes out* unites and march- es to the place where the fugar is, and carries it off by pieces : or if an ant meets with a dead fly, which it cannot carry alone, it immediately haflens home, and foon after fome more come out, creep to the fly and carry it away. Some time ago Mr. Franklin put a little earthen pot with treacle into a clofet. A number of ants got into thepoty and devoured th« treacle very U quietly* 3o6 November 1748. quitely. But as he obferved it he (hook them out, and tied the pot with a thin firing to a nail which he had faftened in the ceiling ; fo that the pot hung down by the ftring. A fingle ant by chance remained in the pot : this ant eat till it was fatisfied ; but when it wanted to get off, it was under great con- cern to find its way out : it ran about the bottom of the pot, but in vain : at lad it found after many attempts the way to get to the ceiling by the firing. After it was come there, it ran to the wall, and from thence to the ground. It had hardly been away for half an hour, when a great fwarm of ants came out, got up to the ceiling, and crept along the firing into the pot» and began to eat again : this they continued till the treacle was all eaten : in the mean time one fwarm rinning down the firings and the other up. November the 12th. A man of fortune who has long been in this province afferted, that, by twenty 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 com- monly foretold by that on the firfl of No- vernier, old flile, or twelfth new flile ; if that whole day be fair, the next winter will bring .but little rain and fnow along .^ij^fiu... u . with Penfyhania, Philadelphia, ^of ^ith it : but if the fird half of the day bd clear, and the other cloudy, the beginning of winter would accordingly be fair, but its end and fpring would turn out rigorous and difagreeable : df the fanie kind were the other prefages. I have like wife in other places heard of finiilar figns of the weather j but as a mature judgment greatly lefTens the confidence in them, fo the meteorological obfervations have fufficiently (hewn, how infinitely often thefe prophecies have failed. Pensylvania abounds in fprings, and you commonly meet with a fpring of clear water on one or the other, and fometimes on feveral fides of a mountain. The people near fuch fprings, ufe them for every purpofc of a fine fpring water. They alfo condudt the water into a little flone building near the houfe, where they can confine it, and bring frefh fupplies at pleafure. In fummer they place their milk, bottles of wine and other liquors in this building, where they keep cool and fre(h. In matiy country houfes, the kitchen or buttery was fo fitu- a.ted, that a rivulet ram under It, and had the water near at hand. ' Not only people of fortune^ but Cveri others that had fome pofTefiions, common-^ ly had fi(h ponds in the country near theif houfes < They always took care that frefli U 2 water 3o8 November 1748. water might run into their ponds, which is very falutary for the fi(h : for that purpofe the ponds were placed near a fpring on a hill. November the 13th. I saw in feveral parts of this province a ready method of getting plenty of grafs to grow in the mea- dows. Here mufl be remembered what I have before mentioned about the fprings, which are fometimes found on the tides of hills and fometimes in vallies. The mea- dows lie commonly in the vallies between the hills : if they are too fwampy and wet> the water is carried off by feveral ditches. But the fummer in Penfylvania is very hot ; and the fun often burns the grafs fo much^ that it dries up entirely. The huibandmen therefore have been very attentive to pre- vent this in their meadows : to that pur- pofe' they look for all the fprings in the neighbourhood of a meadow : and as the rivulets flowed before by the fhortefl way into the vallies, they raife the water as much as potiible and necefTar)', to the higher part of the meadow, and make feve- ral narrow channels from the brook, down into the plain, fo that it is entirely wa- tered by it. When there are fome deep- er places, they frequently lay wooden gut- ters acrofs them> through virhich the water flows tie 41 IS' Penfyhania» near Germantown. 309 flows to the other fide ; and from thence it is again by very narrow channels car- ried to all the places where it feems ne- cefTary. 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 rifes till it is fo high as to run down where the people want it. Induf- try and ingenuity went further : when a brook runs in a wood, with a diredion not towards the meadow, and it has been found by levelling, and taking an exadt furvey of the land between the meadow and the ri- vulet, that the latter can be condudbed 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 Englijh mile and further, partly acroft vallies in wooden pipes, till at lad it is ' brought where it is wanted, and where it can be fpread as above-mentioned. One that has not feen 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 managed look wretchedly. The meadows commonly lie in the vallies, and one or more of their (ides have. a declivity. The water can therefore eafily be brought to U 3 run 3 lO November 1748. \"- fun down in them. Thefe meadows which are fo carefully watered, are commonly mowed three times every fummer. But it is lijcewife to be obferved, that fummer continues feven months here. The inha- bitants feldom fail to employ a. brook or fpring in this manner, if it is not too far from the meadows to be led to them. The leaves were at prefent fallen from all the trees ; both from oaks, and from all thofe which have depiduous leaves, and they covered the ground in the woods fix inches deep. The great quantity of leaves which drop annually, would necieflarily feem to encreafe the upper black mould greatly. However, it is not above three or four inches thick in the woods, and under it lays a brick coloured clay, mixed with a fand of the fame colour. It is remarkable, that a foil which in all probability has not been ilirred, fhould be covered with fo little black mould ; but I ihall fpeak of this in the fequel. November the 14th. The Squirrels which run about plentifully in the woods are of different fpecies ; I here intend to defcribe the mofl common forts, more accurately. THE^r^j^ Squirrels are very plentiful in penfylvania and in the other provinces of North America, Their fhape correfponds ^ with .»«',-v Penfyhaniat near Germantown, 311 with that of our Swedijh fquirrel ; but they differ from them, by keeping their grey colour all the year long, and in fize being fomething bigger. The woods in all thefe provinces, and chiefly in Penfyhaniat con- fift of trees with deciduous leaves, and in fuch thefe fquirrels like to live. Ray in his Synopfis ^adrupedumt p. 215, and Catejby in his Natural Hijlory of Carolina^ Vol. 2. p. 74, tab. 74, call it the Virginian greater grey Squirrel i and the latter has added a figure after life. The Swedes call it grao Jckornf which is the fame as the English grey Squirrel* Their nefts are commonly in hollow trees, and are made of mofs, Araw, and other foft things : their food is chiefly nuts ; as hazel nuts, chinquapins, chefnuts, walnuts, hiccory nuts, and the acorns of the 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 nume- rous trees : of thefe the fquirrels gather great flores for winter, which they lay up in holes dug by them for that purpofe : they likewife carry a great quantity of them into their nefls. . As foon as winter comes, the fnow ^nd cold .confines them to their holes •iv^i ^ i for I ' 8'* November F748. 1-1 for feveral days, efpecially when the wea* ther is very rough. During this time they confume the little (lore, which they have brought to their nefts ; as foon there- fore IS the weather grows milder, they creep out, and dig out part of the ilore which they. have laid up in the ground : of this they eat fome on the fpot, and carry the reft into their nefts on the trees. We frequently obferved that in winter, at the eve of a great froft, when there had been fome temperate weather, the fquirrels, a day or two before the froft, ran about the woods in greater numbers than common, partly in order to eat their Hll, and partly |o ftor^ their nefts with a new provifion for the enfuing great cold, during which they did not venture to come ovit, but lay fnug in their neils : therefore feeing them run ii^ the woods in greater numbers than ordina- ry, was a fafe prognoftic of an enfuing cold. The bogs which are here droven into the woods, whilft there is yet no fnow in them, often do confiderable damage to the poor fquirrels, by rooting up their (lore-holes, and robbing their winter provisions. Both the Indians, and the European Americans, take great pains to find out thefe {lore- holes, whether in trees or in the ground, 9$ all the nuts they contain are choice, an() not n e Pen/yhania, near Germantown, 313 not only quite ripe, but likewife not pierc- ed by worms. The nuts and acorns which the Dormice f or Mus Cn'cetus, Linn, ftore up in autumn, are all in the fame conditi- on. The Swedes relate, that in the long winter, which happened here in the year 1741, there fell fuch a quantity of fnow, that the fquirrels could not get to their ilore, and many of them were flarved to death. ; The damage which thefe animals do in the maize fields, I have already defcribed : they do the more harm, as they do not eat all the corn, but only the inner and fweet part, and as it were take off the hufks. In fpring towards the end of Aprils when the oaks were in full flower, I once obferved a number of fquirrels on them, fometime^ five, fix, or more in a tree, who bit off the flower flalks a little below the flowers, and dropt them on the ground : whether they eat any thing off them, or made ufe of them for fome other purpofe I know not : but the ground was quite covered with oak flowers, to which part of the flalk adhered. For this reafon the oaks do not bear fo much fruit by far, to feed hogs and other animals, as they would otherwife do. Of all the wild animals in this country, the fquirrels are fome of the eafiefl to tame, efpecially 3'4 November 174S. efpecially when they are taken young for {that purpofe. I have feen them tamed fo far, that they would follow the boys into the woods and run about every where, and when tired would fit on their (houlders. 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 they eat^ they fit almofl up-^ right, hold their food between 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 fhewed no fear of Grangers, and would fuffcr themfelves to be touched by every body, without offering to bite. They fometimes would leap upon flranger's cloaths and lie flill 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 rea-o dily give over. Thofe who go a fhooting birds and other animals, are therefore very Xtt^i.- i. angry Penjyhaniaf near Germantown, 315 angry at them, as this noife difcovers them» and alarms the game. Though a grey fquirrel does not feem to be very (by, yet it is very difficult to kill ; for when it per- ceives a man, it climbs upon a tree, and commonly chufes the higheft about it. It then tries to hide itfelf behind the trunk, fo that the (hooter may not fee it, and though he goes ever fo fad round the tree, yet the fquirrel changes its place as quick- ly, if not quicker: if two boughs bend to- wards each other, the fquirrel lies in the middle of them, and preffes itfelf fo clofe, that it is hardly vilible. You may then fhake the tree, throw flicks and flones to the place where it lies, or (hoot at it, yet it will never (lir. If three branches join, it takes refuge between them, and lies as clofe to them as poflible, and then it is fuf- ficiently fafe. Sometimes it efcapes on a tree where there are old nefts of fquirrels, or of large birds : it (lips into fuch, and can- not be got out, either by fhooting, throw- ing, or any thing elfe ; for the grey fquir- rels feldom leap from one tree to ano- ther, except extreme danger compels them. They commonly run diredtly up the trees and down the fame way, with their head ^raight forward. Several of them which lihot 3 i6 XT^ November 1748. ■v^ A-^- I (hot in the woods, had great numbers of fleas. I HAVE already mentioned that thdfe iquirrels are among the animals, which at prefent are more plentiful than they for- merly were, and that the infinitely greater cultivation of maize, which is their favou- rite food, is the caufe of their multiplica- tion. However it is peculiar, that in fome years a greater number of fquirrels come down from the higher countries into Pen^ Jyhaniay and other Englijh colonies. They commonly come in autumn, and are then very bufy in the woods gathering nuts and acorns, which they carry into hollow trees or their ftore -holes, in order to be fuffici- ently provided with food for winter. They are ib diligent in ftoring up of provifions, that though the nuts have been extremely plentiful that year, yet it is difficult to get a conliderable quantity of them. The peo- ple here pretended from their own experi- ence to know, that when the fquirrels came down in fuch numbers from the higher parts of the country, the winter enfuing was un- commonly rigorous and cold, and for that reafon they always look upon their coming down, as a fure fign of fuch a winter. Yet this does not always prove true, as I experi- enced in the autumn of the year 1749; at that time Penfyhaniaf near Germant own. 317 time a great number of fquirrels caiine down into the colonies, yet the winter was very mild and no colder than common. But it ap- peared 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 ge- nerally return the next year to the place from which they Ci ae. . v ./ J Some people reckon fquirrcl flefh a great dainty, but the generality make no account of it. The fkin is good for little, yet fmall flraps are fometimes made of it, as it is very tough : others ufe it as a furr lining, for want of a better. Ladies {hoes are like-* wife fometimes made of it. - ^^t The Rattle fnake often devours the fquirrels, notwithftanding all their agi- lity. This unwieldy creature, is faid to catch fo agile an one, merely by fafcination« I have never had an opportunity of feeing how it is done : but fo many credible peo- ple afTured me of the truth of the fadt, and afferted that they were prefent, and paid peculiar attention to it, that I am almod forced to believe their unanimous accounts. The fafcination is effeded in the following manner : the fnake lies at the bottom of the tree upon which the fquirrcl fits ; its ^vi'iFiVju eyes jiS , *vk '^ November' 1784. ' >H eyes are #xed upon the little animal, anv^ from that moment it cannot efcape ; it be> gins a doleful outcry, which is fo well known, that a perfon pafling by, on hear- ing it, immediately knows that it is charm- ed by a fnake. The fquirrel runs up the tree a little way, comes downwards again, then goes up, and now comes lower again. On that occafion it has been obferved, that the fquirrel always goes down more than it goes up. The fnake ftill continues at the root of the tree, with its eyes fixed on the fquirrel, with which its attention is fa entirely taken up, that a perfon accidental- ly approaching, may make a confiderable noife, without the fnake's fo much as turn- ing about. The fquirrel as before- men^ tioned comes always lower, and at lad leaps down to the fnake, whofe mouth is already wide open for its reception. The poor lit- tle animal then with a piteous cry runs in- to the fnake's jaws, and is fwallowed at once, if it be not too big ; but if its fize will not allow it to be fwallowed at once, the fnake licks it feveral times with its tongue, and fmoothens it, and by that means makes it fit for fwallowing. Every thing elfe remarkable at this enchantment, I have defcribed in a treatife inferted in the Memoirs tf the Royal Swedijh Academy of ^-,'. Sciences, \ Penfylvanta, near Germantown, J 15 Stiences, in the Volume for the year 175 3 j I therefore am not fo circumftantial here. The fame power of enchanting is afcribed to that kind of fnake, which is commonly called the Slack fnake in America^ and it is faid to catch and devour fquirrels in the fame manner as the former.* But thefe little animals do confiderable damage to the maize, not only whilft it is upon the ftalk, as I have before obOjrved, but even when it is brought home into the barns : for if they can come at it without any obftacle, they can in a few nights bring a whole bufhel away into their lurking holes< The government in nioft of the North American colonies, has therefore been obliged to offer a certain premium, to be paid out of the common treafury, for the head of a fquirrel. It feems inconceivable what a fum of money has been paid for grey and black fquirrel's heads, in the pro- vir. r * It has. been obferved, that only fuch fqairreU and birds as have their nefls near the place where fuch fnakes come to» make this pitiful noife, atid are fo bufy in running up and down the tree and the neighbouring branches, in order to draw oft' the attention of the fnake from their brood, and of- ten they come fo very near in order to fly away again, that being within reach of the fnakes, they are at laft bit, poi. ^ ibned and devoured ; and this will, I believe, perfeAly account for the powers of fafcinating birds and fmall creature* in the fiiakes. F. 326 J^ovem6er 1748. '"^. vince of Penfyhania only, from the firft of January 1749, to the firft of January 1750 1 for when the deputies from the feveral dif- trids of the province met, in order to deli- berate upon the affairs of the province^ each of them complained that their treafu-^ ries were exhaufted by paying fo much for fquirrels : for at that time the law had ap- pointed ^ reward of three-pence for each fquirrel's head. So far extended the ven- geance 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 thoufand pounds of Pen^* fyhania currency, had been expended in paying thefe rewards : this I was aiTured of by a man vho had looked over the accounts himfelf. a ^ f. ^ 1 Many people, efpecially young men^ left all other employment, and went into the woods to (hoot fquirrels : but the go- vernment having experienced how much three-pence per head took out of the trea- fury, fettled half that fum upon each fquir- rel's head. Flying Squirrels are a peculiar kindi which feem to be the fame with thofe which inhabit Finland, and which Dr. Linnaus in his Fauna Svecica, No. 38. calls Sciurui volans. The American flying fquirrel at the utmofl firft of 17501 •al dif- 0 deli- Dvincey treafu-* ich for lad ap- »r each le ven- :atures^ els. It that in of P^«- ided in Aired of Lxounts 1 men^ nt into he go- much le trea- fquir- |r kind« which dnnaus )Ciurui at the lutmoil Penjyhaniat near Germantown, 32 1 utmofl is only a variety of that which we have in Finland, Catejby in his Natural Hijlory of Carolina, Vol. 2, p. 76, y/, has defcribed it, and tab! y6, yy, drawn it after life. He likewife calld it Sciurus volans, Edwards in his Natural Hijlory of Birds reprcfcnts it, t. 191. They are met with .in the woods, but not very frequently. They are fcarce ever feen in the day time, unlefs they are forced out by men who have difcovered their nefts : for they fleep in the day time, but as foon as it grows dark, they come out and run about almoft all night. They live in hollow trees, and by cutting one down, feven or more flying fquirrels are frequently found in it. By tlxe additional fkin with which Provi- dence has provided them on both fides, they can fly from one tree to another. They expand their fkins like wings, and contra^ them again as foon as they can get hold of the oppofite tree. Some people fay that they fly in a horizontal line ; but others af- ferted that they flrfl went a little down- wards, and then rofe up again, when they approached the tree to which ihey would fly: they cannot fly further than four or Ave fathoms. Among all the fquir- rels in this country, thefe are the mod ea- flly tamed. The boys carry them to fchool, X or 'V ^.tfey- <-^^ ^ 322 November 174S. or wheicver they go, without the;r ever at- tempting to efcape : if even they put their fquirrel alide, it leaps upon them again im- mediately, creeps either into their bofom, or their ileeve, or any fold of the clothes, and lies down to ileep : its food is the fame with that of the grey fquirrel. There is a fmall fpecies of fquirrels abounding in the woods, which the Englijh call ground Squirrels, Catejby has defcribed and drawn them from life, in the 2d. Vol. of his Natural Hiflory of Carolina, p. y^, tab. j^f and Edwards in his Natural Htf" tory of Birds, t. 181.* He and Dr. Lin^ neeus call it Sciurus firiatus, or the Jlreaked SquirreL Thefe do not properly live in trees, as. others of this genus, but dig holes in the ground (much in the fame manner as rabbets) in which they live, and whither they take refuge when they perceive any danger. Their holes go deep, and com- monly further inwards divide into many branches. They are alfo cunning enough to "^V ' . .. -^ ''■ .:--- i. ,. *^ As Catejby and Edijoards have both reprefented the flying Squirrel in a fitting attitude, I have given here, plate I. a fi- gureofone with the expanded membrane, and joined to it on Jdie fame plate, a more accurate figure of the ground SquirreL It is not yet made out with certainty, whether the Ameri' tan flying iquirrei, and that found in Finland and in the north of Europe and Jfia^ be the fame animal. The Ameri- tan kmd has a flat pennated tail, but the Euttpean kind % lous^ one, which attbrds a very dUtuv^uiihing chara^er. F. /^f^yS99.P/ /, ever at- »ut their ^ain im- bofom, clothes, he fame fquirrels I Englijh efcribed 2d. Vol. P- 1^^ »r. Lin* Jireaked live in ig holes manner whither ive any d corn- many enough to iiStie flying late I. a fi- led to it on id Squirrel* the jimeri' ind in the he Ameri" 'an kind » uaftes. F» ^,?*^- Flying S qui r re l . Ground Squirrel t t b h f< V tl tl tl ft V( fo b( le d( th th th tei th an oti tn fq, vei un Tl roi vir Penfylvaniat near Germantown, 323 to make fometimes an opening or hole to the furface of the ground from one of thefe branches. The advantage they have from hence> is that when they droll about for food, and the hole is ftopt up through which they went out, they may not expofe themielves to be caught, but prefently find the other hole, into which they may re- treat : but in autumn, when the leaves fall from the trees, or fometime after, it is di* verfion to fee the confternation they are fometimes in when purfued ; for their holes being; eafily covered with the great fall of leaves, or by the wind, they have a great deal to do, to find them on a fudden : they then run backwards and forwards, as if they had loft their way : they feem to know the places where they have made their fub- terraneous walks, but cannot conceive where the entrances are. If they be then purfued^ and one claps his hands, they know no other refuge than that of climbing upon a tree; for it is to be obferved that thefe fquirrels always live under ground, and ne- ver climb upon trees unlefs purfued, and unable in the hurry to find their holes. This kind of fquirrels is much more nume- rous in Penjyhania, than in any other pro- vince of North America through which I have travelled. Its length is commonly (ix X 2 inches^ •v>i 3^4 November 1748. inches, without the curved tail ; and it is very narrow. The (kin is ferruginous, or of a reddifh brown, and marked with five black ftreaks, one of which runs along the back, and two on each fide. Their food confifls of all forts of corn, as rye, barley, wheat, iiiaize, and of acorns, nuts, &c. They gather their winter provifions in au« tumn, like the common grey fquirrels, and keep them in their holes under ground. If they get into a granary, they do as much mifchief as mice and rats. It has often been obferved that if, after eating rye, they come to fome wheat, they throw up the former, which they do not like fo well as the wheat, in order to fill their belly with the latter. When the maize is reaped in the fields, they are very bufy in biting off the ears, and filling the pouches in their mouth with corn, fo that their qheeks are quite blown up. With this booty they hailen into the holes which they have made in the ground. As a Swede was making a mill-dyke, pret- ty late in autumn, he employed for that purpofe the foil of a neighbouring hill, and met with a hole on a fubterraneous walk belonging to thefe fquirrels : he followed it for fome time, and difcover- ed a walk on one fide like a branch, parting from the chief ftem : it was near two feet Ipret- that hill, leous he ►ver- •ting feet Penjyhania, near Germantown, 325 long, and at its end was a quantity of choice acorns of the white oak, which the little careful animal had (lored up for win- ter. Soon after he found another walk on the fide like the former, but containing a fine flore of maize : the next had hiccory nuts, and the laf): and mofl hidden one con« tained fome excellent chefnuts, >yhich might have filled two hats. In winter thefe fquirrels are feldom feen, for during that feafon they live in their fubterraneous holes upon the provifions, which they have flored up there. How- ever on a very fine and clear day they fome- times come out. They frequently dig through the ground, into cellars in which the coun- try people lay up their apples, which they partly eat, and partly fpoil, fo that the mafler has little or nothing left. They handle the maize flores full as roughly as the apples, But the cats are their great enemies, who devour them and bring them home to their young ones : their flefh is not eaten by men, and their fkin is not made ufe of. Of all the fquirrels in the country, thefe are the moil difHcult to be tamed; for, though they be caught very young, yet it is dangerous to touch them with naked hands, as they bite very fharp when one is X 3 not 326 November 1748. not aware of them. Many boys, who had loft a deal of time in trying to tame thefe fquirrels, owned that they knew of no art to make them quite tame ; at leaft they are never fo far tamed as the other fpecies. In order to do any thing towards taming them they muft be caught when they are very fmall. Some people kept them in that ftate in a cage, becaufe they looked very pretty. I SHALL take an other opportunity of fpeaking of the black and ferruginous fquir« rels, which likewife inhabit this country. November the 15th. In the morning I returned to Philadelphia, Mr. Cock told me to day, and on fome other occafions af- I terwardsy an accident which happed to him, and which feemed greatly to confirm a pe- culiar fign of an imminent hurricane. He failed to the JVeJl Indies in a Imall yachf, and had an old man on board, who had for ft confiderable time failed in this fea. The old man founding the depth, called to the mate to tell Mr. Cock tc launch the boats immediately, and to put a fufficient num- ber of men into them, in order to tow the yacht during the calm, that they might reach the ifland before them, as foon as poflible, as within twenty-four hours there would be a ftrong hurricane. Mr. Cock aiked him what reafons he had to think fo^^ . the Penjyhaniap Philadelphia. 327 the old man replied, that on founding, he faw the lead in the water at a dillance of many fathoms more tiian he had feen it be- fore 5 that therefore the water was become clear all of a fudden, which he looked up- on as a certain iign of an impending hur- ricane in the fea. Mr. Cock likewife faw the exceffive clearnefs of the water. He therefore gave immediate orders for launch- ing the boat, and towing the yacht, fo that they arrived before night in a fafe harbour, fiut before they had quite reached it the waves began to rife more and more, and the water was as it were boiling, though no wind was perceptible. In the enfuing night the hurricane came on, and r^ged with fuch violence, that not only many fhips were loft, and the roofs were torn off from the houfes, but even Mr. Cock*s yacht and other fhips, though they were in fafe harbours, were by the wind, and the vio- lence of the fea, waflied fo far on (hore, that feveral weeks elapfed, before they could be got off. An old Dutch fkipper faid, that he had once caught a dogfifti in the bay of New Torkt which being cut open, had a quan- tity of eels in his ftomach. November the 1 8 th. Mr. Bar tram fhewed me an earthen pot, which had been found X 4 in 328 November 1748. c. in a place, where the Indians formerly liv- ed. He, who firft dug it out, kept greafe and fat in it to fmear his Hioes, boots and all forts of leather with : Mr. Bartrcm bought the pot of that man ; it was yet entire and not damaged : I could perceive no glaze or colour upon it, but on the out- fide it was very much ornamented and up- on the whole well made. Mr. Bartram fhewed me feveral pieces of broken earthen veflels which the Indians formerly made ufe of. It plainly appeared in ail thefe that they were not made of mere clay ; but that different materials had been mixed with it, according to the nature of the places where they were made. Thofe Indians, for exam- ple, who lived near the fea fhore, pounded the (hells of fnails and mufcles, and mixed them with the clay. Others who lived further up in the country, where mountain cryftals could be found, pounded them and mixed them with their clay ; but how they proceeded in making the vefTels, is entirely unknown : it was plain, that they did not burn them much, for they were fo foft that they might be cut in pieces with a knife : the workman(hlp however feems to have been very good ; for at prefent they find whole vefTels or pieces in the ground, which are not damaged at all, though they h B ly liv- greafe ts and irtrcm ras yet :rceive le out- id up- artram arthen ade ufe fe that ut that ^rith it, where exam- ounded I mixed lived )untain m and wthey ntirely id not fo foft with a Penfyhania, Philadelphia. 329 have lain in the ground above a century. Before the Europeans fettled in North Ame* rica, the Indians had no other velTcls to boil their meat in, than thefe earthen pots of their own making : but lince their arri- val, they have always bought pots, kettles, and other neceflary veffels of the Europeans, and take no longer the pains of making fome, by which means this art is entirely lofl among them. Such veffels of their own conftrudtion are therefore a great rarity even among the Indians, I have feen fuch old pots and pieces of them, confiding of a kind of Serpentine Jione^ or Linnaus's Talcum, Syft. nat. 3. p. 52. Mr. Bartram likewife (hewed me little pieces of a black Jlate, which is plentifully found in fome parts of the river SkullkilL There are pieces to be found, which are four feet and above fquare : the colour and configuration is the fame as in the Table Jlate (Schijius tabularis, Linn,) Syft. nat. 3. p. 37. except that this is a little thicker. The inhabitants of *iie country thereabouts (in the neighbourhood of the Skullkill) cover their roofs with it ; Mr. Bartram afTured me, that he had feen a whole roof com- pofed of four fuch Hates. The rays of the fun, heat, cold, and rain do not adt upon the ftone. Mr, 33® November 1748. Mr. Bartram further related, that in fe* veral parts of the country, caves or holes were to be met with, going deep into the mountains : he had been in feveral of them and had often found a number of Stala^ites^ Linnaus's Stala^ites JiillatitiuSf Syft. nat. 3. p. 183. of different dimeniions at the tops they differed in colour, but the greatefl curiofity was, that in fome of the caves Mr. Bartram had found Stalactites, whofe outward fide was as it were wreathed from top to bottom ; he had fent fome pieces of it to London, and had none at present. November the 20th. This morning I fet out in company of a friend, on a jour- ney to Racoon in New Jerfey, where many Swedes live, who have their own church. We had three miles to go before we came to the ferry which was to bring us over the Delaware. The country here was very low in fome places : the plains on the banks of the river, were overflowed at every high water or flowing of the tide, and at the eb- bing they were left dry again. However the inhabitants of the country hereabouts, m&de ufe of this plain : for that purpofe they had in feveral places thrown up walls or dykes of earth towards the river, to pre- vent its overflowing the plains, which they made Fenfylvaniay Philadelphia. 331 made ufe of as meadows. On them the Water-beeches f Plat anus occidentalism Linn.) were planted in great numbers on both iides the road, quite clofe together : thefe in fummer afford a pleafant fhade, on ac- count of the abundance and iize of their leaves, and make the road extremely de- lightful, as it refembles a fine fhady walk. The Delaware has nearly the fame breadth here, which it has near Philadelphia, Near the place where the ferry is to be met with, feveral pretty houfes were buiit on both (ides, where travellers might get all kinds of refrefhment. On our journey from Pen~ fylvania tc New Jerfey, we were brought over the Delaware in a ferry belonging to, and kept in repair by the Penjylyania-men i but on our return we were obliged to take the ferry belonging to the New Jerfey lide. As foon as we had crofTed the river, we were in a different province, for the Dela-> ware makes the divifion between Penfylva-^ nia and New Jerfey ^ fo that every thing to the weft of it belongs to the former, and all to the eaft, to the latter province. Both thefe provinces have in moft things differ- ent laws, and their peculiar coin. We now purfued our journey further, and foon obferved that the country on this fide appeared very different from that on the o r. s: ^■^ 332 November ly^d. the other ; for in Penfyhania the ground coniifls of more clay and black mould, and is very fertile j but in New Jerfey it is more fandy and very poor, fo that the horfes weiit very deep in fand in feveral parts of the road. Near the place where we were brought over, and a little way along the fhore was a thick iirwood : the trees were not very high, but in their greateft vigour ; between them appeared now and then a low bufh of oak. But after travelling about three Englifh miles, the firwood ended, and we faw no more trees of this kind till we came to the church in Raccoon. In all the parts of Penjyhania where I have been, I have found few firwoods ; on the other hand, they are abundant in New Jerfey^ and efpecially in the lower part of that province. We af- terwards found all the day long no other treeSy than fuch as have deciduous leaves ; moft of thefe were oaks of different forts, and of confiderable height, but they flood every where far enough afunder, to admit a chaife to pafs through the wood without any inconvenience, there being feldom any fhrubs or underwood between the trees, to obftrudt the way. The leaves were all fallen, and covered the ground more than a hand's breadth : this had an appearance of encreafihg the upper black foil greatly. In feveral fiil ;round \, and s more horfes irts of 3 were ng the s were igour ; hen a about d, and ecame larts of found ley are ally in Veaf- other aves J fortSy flood admit thout any is, to re all Ihan a ice of In jveral New Jer/ey, near Gloucejler. 333 feveral places flowed a fmall rivulet. The country was commonly plain, but fome- times formed a few hills with an eafy de- clivity, though no high mountains appear- ed, and in a few places we found fome fmall flones not bigger than a fifl. Single farm houfes were fcattered in the country, and in one place only was a fmall village : the country was yet more covered with fo- refts than cultivated, and we were for the greateft part always in a wood. This day and the next we pafTed feveral Kills, or fmall rivulets which flowed out of the country into the Delaware with no great defcent nor rapidity. When the tide came up in the Delaware, it likewife rofe in fome of thefe rivulets a good way ; formerly they muft have fpread to a conliderable breadth by the flowing of the tide, but at prefent there were meadows on their banks, form- ed, by throwing up ftrong dykes as clofe as pofllble to the water, to keep it from overflowing. Such dykes were made along all rivers here to confine their water ; there- fore when the tide was highefl, the water in the rivets was much higher than the meadows : in' the dykes were gates through which the water can be drawn from, or led into the meadows; they were fometimes placed on the outward iide of the wall, fo that 334 November 174S. that the water in the meadows forced it open., but the river water fhut it. In the evening we came into the houfe of a Swede called Peter Rambo, and we ftaid the night at his houfe. The pines which we had feen to day, and which I have mentioned before, were of that kind which has double leaves and ob- long cones covered with aculeated fcales. The Englijh to diftinguifli it call it the Jerfey Pine; commonly there were only two fpines or leaves in one fafcicle, as in our common Swedifh pines, but fometimes three ; the cones had long fpines, fo that they were difficult to be touched. Thefe pines look at a didance wholly like the Swedifh ones, fo that if the cones were not regarded, they might eafily be taken for the fame fpecies. Of thefe pines they make a great quantity of tar, of which I fhall ipeak in the fequel ; but as mod of them are but fmall, they are good for nothing elfe 5 for if they be employed as pofts, or poles in the ground, they are in a fhort time rendered ufelefs by rotting : as foon as they are cut down the worms are very greedy of them 3 they foon eat through the wood, and only a few weeks after it is cut down 5 how- ever it is made ufe of as fuel where no other ..... i wood New y^rfeyt Racoon, 335 wood is to be got, in fever al places they make charcoal of it, as I intend to mention in the fequeL There is another thing which deferves notice, in regard to thefe trees, and which feveral people, befides myfelf, have experienced. In the great heat of the fummer, the cattle like to ftand in the fliade of thefe trees, preferably to that of the oak, hiccory, walnut, water- beech and other trees of this kind, whofe foliage is very thick ; and when the cattle find the latter with the former, they always choofe to fland under the firs and pines, though the other trees with annually deci- duous leaves could afiford a better fhade : and if there be but a fiugle pine in a wood, as many cattle from the herd as can ftand under it, throng to it. Some people would infer from hence, that the refinous exhalations of thefe trees, were beneficial to the cattle, and which made them more inclined to be near firs and pines, than any other trees. The Spoon treCf which never grows to a great height, we faw this day in feveral places. The Swedes here have called it thus, becaqfe the Indians who formerly lived in thefe provinces, ufed to make their fpoons and trowels of the wood of this tree. In my cabinet of natural curiofities, I have aipooo 33^ November 1748. a fpoon made of this wood by an Indian^ who has killed many (lags and other ani- mals on the very fpot where Philadelphia af- terwards was built ; for in his time that fpot was yet covered with trees and (hrubs. The Englifti call this tree a Laurel, becaufe its leaves referable thofe of the Laurocera- fus. Dr. Linnceusy conformable to the pe- culiar friendfhip and goodnefs which he has always honoured me with, has been pleafed to call this tree, Kalmiafoliis ovatis, corym- his terminalibus, or Kalmia latifolia. It fuc- ceeds beit on the (ide of hills, efpecially on the north fide, where a brook pafies by; therefore on meeting with fome fteep places (on hills) towards a brook, or with a fteep fide of a hill towards a marfh, you are fure to find the Kalmia, But it frequently ftands mixed among beech trees. The higher the Kalmias ftand on the north fide of a moun- tain, the lefs they grow : I have feen them not only in Penfyhania and New Jerfey, but even in New Tork^ but there thfey are more fcarce : I never found them beyond the forty-fecond deg. of north lat. though I look ever fo great care to look for them : they have the quality of preferving their fine green leaves throughout winter, fo that when all other trees have loft their ornaments^ and ftand quite naked, thefe chear New yerfe^t RaccQon. 337 Indian^ sr ani- ^hia af- le that (hrubs. becaufe rocera- the pe- I he has pleafed corynt' It fuc- ially on es by; > places a fteep ire fure 1 (lands her the moun- them "Jerfey, i6y are )eyond oughl them : their er, fo their thefe chear chear the woods wUK th^ir greca foliage. About the. moo^ of May they begin to flower ia thefe parts* and then the^r beauty rivaUthat of moil of the known treet in nar ture : the flowers are innumerable, , and (it in great bunches. Before they open» thejr have a line red colour, but as they are exr panded* the fun bleaches them, fo that fome are quite white; many preferve the colour of rofes. Their Hiape is flnguUrs for they refemble a crater of the ancients : their fcent however is none of the. moil agreeable. In fome places it was cuftomary to adorn the churches on chriflmas day or new^years day with the fine branches of this tree» which are thep thick covered with leaves. But thefe trees are known for ai^other remarkable quality ; their leaves are ppifon to ibme animals, and food for others : e^-* periepce has taught the people that whei^ iheep eat of thefe leaves, they either die immediately, or fall very fick, and recover with great difficulty. The young and more tender ib$ep are killed by a fmall portion, but the elder ones ^an bear a ftronger ^Qi Yet this food will like wife prove mgrtal to theoi* if ih9,y take too much .of i£ : this ^me QO|cious tSs&. it fLjews in regard to calves which jeat too much .of the \^%\m% 4- . ¥ . they \\ 338 ."IV Novemker 1748.^^^ they either die, or do not recover eafily. I can remember, that in the autumn of the year 1748* fome calves eat of the leaves, but izW very iick, fwelled, foamed at the tnouth, and could hardly (land, however they were cured by giving them gunpowder and other medicines: the iheep are mod expofcd to be tempted by thefe leaves in winter i for after having been kept in ftables, for fome months they are greedy of all greens efpecially if the fnow dill lies upon the fields, and therefore the green out poifonous leaves of the Kalmia, are to them very tempting. Horfes, oxen and cows which have eaten them, have likewife been very ill after the meal, and though none of them ever died of eating thefe leaves, yet mod people believed, that if they took too great a portion of them, death would cer- tainly be the refult. For it has been ob- ferved that when thefe animals only eat fmall quantities, yet they fuffer great pains. On the other hand the leaves of the Kalmia are the food of flags, when the fnow covers the ground, and hides all other provifions from them. Therefore, if they be (hot in winter, their bowels are found filled with thefe leaves i and it is very extraordinary, that if thofe bowels are given to dogs, they become quite ilopid and as it were drunk, v^L? : and New Jefeyt Raccoon, 339 lafily. I in of the I leaves, 1 at the however npowdeif are mod leaves in n ftablesy y of all lies upon een out ; to them ad cows vife been I none of avesy yet took too )uld cer- been ob- only eat at pains. sKalmia w covers rovifions e (hot in led with >rdinary» gs, they e drunk* and and often fall fo (ick, that they feem to be at' the point of death, but the people, who have eaten the venifon, have not felt the lead indifpoiition. The leaves of the Kal- mia are likewife the winter food of thofe birds, which the Swedes in North America call Hazel-hens, and which ilay here all winter^^ for when they are killed, their crop isTfound quite filled with them. The wood of the Kalmia is very hard, and fome people on that account, make the axis of their pullies of it. Weavers (buttles are chiefly made of it, and the weavers are of opinion, that no wood in this country is better for this purpofe, for it is compact, may be made very fmooth, and does not eafily crack, or burfl. The joiners and turners here, employ it in making all kinds of work, which requires the befl wood ; they chiefly ufe the root becaufe it is quite yellow ; the wood has a very fuitable hard- nefs and finenefs, and from the center, fpread as it were fmall rays, which are at fome diftance from each other. When the leaves of the Kalmia are thrown into the fire, they make a crackling like fait. The chimney fweepers make brooms in winter of the branches with the leaves on them, fince they cannot, get others in that feafon. In the fummer of the year 1750, a certain ^ijiy/oiil: Y 2 kind 340 l^ovemder 1748. kind of worms, devoured the leaves of air moft all the trees in Penfyhattia ; yet they did not venture to attack the leaves of the Kalmia. Some people aflerted> that when a fire happened in the woods, it never went further, as foon as it came to the Kalmias* or Spoon trees. November the 21ft. The Swedes and all the other inhabitants of the country phnt great quantities of maize» both for them- felves and for their cattle. It was aiTerted that it is the bed food for hogs, becaufe it makes them very fat, and gives their fleih an agreeable flavour, preferable to all other meat. I have given in two diiTertatwna up- on this kind of corn to the Swedijb Royal Academy of Sciences, vihxcYi ft and in their Memoirs, one in the Volume for the year 1751, in the laft quarter, and the other m the firft quarter of the Volume for the year 1752, and thither I refer my readers. The wheels of the carts which are hero made ufe of, are compofed of two different kinds of wood. I'he felloes were made of what is called the Spanijb oak, and. the ^okes of the white oak. :jaTHE SaJfajVas tvee grows every where in this place. 1 have already obferv-^ ed feveral particulars in regard to it# and intend to add a few more here. On s I throwing New Jerjfy, Raccoon. 34« of ai* 5tthey of the when r went ilmia8» md all pUnt them- (Terted aufe it irfleih 1 othec »na up- 1 Royal I their e year her in e year • -e here flferent ade of id. the where tbferv-^ to iu . On owing -(•?♦ '♦ throwing ^me of the wood into the fire, it caufes a crackling as fait does. The wood is made ufe of for pods belonging to the enclofures, for it is laid to lafl a long time in the grocmd : but it is likewife faid, that there is hardly any kind of wood, which is more attacked by worms than this, when if is expofed to the air without cover, and that in a ilhort time it is quite worm-eaten through and through. The Swedes related, that the Indians who formerly inhabited thefe parts, made bowls of it. On cutting fome part of the faiTafras tree, or its fhoots, and holding it to the nofe, it has a ilrong but pleafant fmell. Some people peel the root, and boil the peel with the beer which they are brewing, becaufe they believe ift wholefome for the fame reafon. The peel "is put into brandy, either whilil it is diftil*- ling, or after it is made. An old Swei/e remembered that his mo- ther cured many people of the dropfy, by a decoction of the root of faiTafras in water drank every morning : but (he uied, &t the ^me time to cup the patient on the feet. The old man afiured me, he had often feen people cured by this means, who had •been brought to his mother wrapped up in fheets. Y 3 When 342 November y^Af^, When a part of a wood is defined for cultivation, the faiTafras trees are commonly left upon it, becaufe they have a very thick foliage, and afford a cool (hade to the cattle, during the great heats. Several of the Swedesy wafh and fcour the vefTels in which they intend to keep cyder, beer or brandy, with water in which the faffa- fras root or its peel has been boiled ; which they think renders all thofe liquors more wholefome. Some people get their bed- pofls made of faiTafras wood, in order to expel the bugs ; for its ilrong fcent it is faid prevents thofe vermin from fettling in them. For two or three years together this has the defired effedl ; or about as long as the wood keeps its flrong aromatic fmell; but after that time it has been obferved to lofe it efFedt. A joiner (hewed me a bed, which he had made for himfelf, the pofts of which were of faiTafras wood, but as it was ten or twelve years old, there were fo many bugs in it, that it feemed likely, they would not let him ileep peaceably. Some Englijhmen related, that fome years ago it had been cuftotnary in London, to drink a kind of tea of the flowers of faiiafras, be- caufe it was looked upon as very falutary ; but upon recolledling that the fame potion 'was much ufed againft the venereal difeafe. New Jerfey, Raccoon, 343 ed for monly I very lade to several veiTels , beer ; fafTa- which \ more if bed- •der to It it is ling in )gether as long rfmell; rved to a bed, Dofts of s it was bmany f tbey Some ago it rink a as, be- lutary ; potion difeafe, it it was foon left off, left thofe that ufed it» fhould be looked upon aa^fesEted with that difeafe. In Penfyhania fome people put chips of fafTafras^ into their chefts, where they keep all forts of woollen (luffs, in or- der to expel the moths (or Larva, or ca- terpillars of moths or tinies) which com- monly fettle in them in fummer. The root keeps its fmell for a long while : I have feen one which had lain five or fix years in the drawer of a table, and dill prefer ved the ftrength of its fcent. A SWEDE named Rambo, related that the Indians formerly dyed all forts of leather red with the bark of the chefnut oak. Some old people remembered that in the year 1697, there had been fo rigorous a ^yrinter, that the ice in the river Delaware ^was two feet thick. ^.November the 22d. Aoke Helm was one of the moft confiderable Swedes in this place, and his father came over into this country along with the Swedifh governor Prince*, he was upwards of feventy years of age. This old man told us, that in his youth there was grafs in the woods, which grew very clofe, and was every where two feet high.; but, that it was fo much lefTened at prefent, that the cattle hardly find food enough, and that therefore four cows now give no more milk than one at that time ; Y4 but 344 Navembi^r 1748. /i but the caufes 6i this %\^tt^iiotiiktt eafy to find. Id the y^ung^er years of ^^ I Towards night we found fome G/ow Worms in the wood, their body was linear, coniifting of eleven articulations, a little pointed before and behind ; the length from head to tail was five and a half geometrical lines ; the colour was brown and the arti- culations joined in the fame manner as in the onifci or woodlice. The antenna or feel horns wereihortand filifcM^m, or thread- jb'v ' . fliaped; New Jerfey^ Raccoon, 35» fhapcd; and the feet were faftened to the foremotl articulations of the body : when the infedt creeps, its hindtnoft articulations are dragged on the ground, and help its motion. The extremity of the tail con- tain a matter which fhines in the dark, with a green light : the infe£t could draw it in, fo that it was not vifible. It had rained conliderably all day, yet they crept in great numbers among the bufhes, fo that the ground feemed as it were fown with ftars. I ihall in the fequel have occafion to mention another kind of infed^s or flies v^hich fhine in the dark, when flying in the air. November the 24th. Holly, or Ilex Aquifolium, grows in wet places, fcattered in the foreft, and belongs to the rare trees ; its leaves are green both in fummcr and in winter. The Swedes dry its leaves, bruifc them in a mortar, boil them in fmall beer, and take them againd the pleurify. Red is dyed with brafll wood, and like- wife with a kind of mofs, which grows on the trees here : blue is dyed with Indigo, but to get a black colour, the leaves of the common field forrel (Rumex Acetofella) are boiled with the fluff to be dyed, which is then dried, and boiled again with log-ijoooi and copperas : the black colour thus produ- ced. . n 35^ ,^N$vem6er, 1748. cec|» is faid to be very durable. The peo-« pie fpin and weave a great part of their every day's apparel, and dye them in their houfes. Flax is cultivated by many people, and fucceeds very well, but the ufe of hemp is not very oopi^mon. Rye, wheat, and buck-wheat are cut with the .(ickle» but oats are mown with a fcythe. The (ickles which are here made ufe of are long and narrow, and their (harp edges have clofe teeth on the inner fide. The field lies fallow during a year, and in that time the cattle may graze on it. All the inhabitants of this place from the highefl to the lowed, have each their orchard, which is greater or lefs according |o their wealth. The trees in it are chiefly peach trees, apple trees and cherry trees : compare with this what I have already faid upon this fubjed; before. A LITTLE before noon, we left this place and continued our journey, pafl the Swedi/f} church in Raccoon, to Pet/s groves. The country, on the fides of this road, is very fandy in many places and pretty near level. Here and there appear finglefarms* yet they are very fcarce, and large extenfive pieces of ground are flill covered with fof f eft^, \yhich chiefly confifl of fevcral.fpecifis o^Qak mi hiQQQry^ However we could M^ ' ' ' go New yerfey. Raccoon, 35} go with cafe through thefe woods, as there are few bu(he8 (or under-wood) and flonea to be met with. It was not only eafy to ride in every part of the wood on horfe- backr but even in mod places there was. AjfHcient room for a fmall coach or a cart. Sometimes a few lying trees which had been thrown on the ground by a hurricane,, or had fallen down through great age, cauf- ed fome hindrance. November the 25th. During my (lay at Raccoon,zt this time and all the enfuing win- ter, I endeavoured to get the mod informa- tion from the old Swedes relating to the in- creafe of land, and the decreafe of water in thefe parts ; 1 Hiall therefore infert the an- fwers here, which I have received to my queftions. They are as I got them, and i ihall only throw in a few remarks which may ferve to explain things : the reader therefore is left at liberty to draw his own inferences and concludons. c One of the Swedes, called King, who was above fifty years of age, was convinced, that about this time the little lakes, brooks^ Springs and rivers had much lefs water^ thaxi they had when he was a boy. He Gould mention fev/cral lakes on which the people went in large boats in his youth, and had £ifiicient water even in the hotted Z fummers; .1^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^ .<.*. ^ ■** lU ■2.2 Sf U£ 120 I.I 6" HiobgraiJiic _Sciences Corporation ^sj <^ 23 WBT MAIN STMIT WnSTH,N.Y. I4SM (716) •73-4503 ;\ 354 November 1748. fummers ; but now, they were either en-» tirely dried up, or for the greateft part; and in the latter cafe, all the water was loft in fummer. He had himfelf feen the fi(h dying in them, and he was apt to believe that at this time it did not rain fo much in fum- mer, as it did when he was young. One of his relations, who lived about eight miles from the river Delaware^ on a hill near a rivulet, had got a well, dug in his court yard : at the depth of forty feet, they found a quantity of (hells of oyfters and mufcles, and likewife a great quantity of reed, and pieces of broken branches. I afked, to what caufes they afcribed what they had difcovered ? and I was anfwered, that fome people believed thefe things had lain there ever (ince the deluge, and others, that the ground increafed. Peter Rambo, a man who was near fixty years of age, aflured me that in feverd places at Raccoon^ where wells had been dug, or any other work carried deep into the ground, he had feen great quantities of mufcle (hells and other marine animals. On digging wells, the people have fbme- times met with logs of wood at the depth of twenty feet, fome of which were putrid fied« and others as it were burnt. They once found a great fpoon in the ground, at New Jerfey, Raccdon* 355 tt this depth. Query* Is it not probable, that the burnt wood which has been thus dug up» was only blackened by a fubterra- neous mineral vapour? People however have concluded from this, that America has had inhabitants before the deluge. This man (Peter Rambo) further told me» that bricks had been found deep in the ground ; but may not the brick coloured clay (of which the ground here chiefly confifts, and which is a mixture of clay and fand) in a hard Aate have had the appearance of bricks ? I have feen fuch hardened clay, which at fird light is eafily miftaken for brick. He likewife a/ferted, that the water in rivers was ftill as high as it ufed to be, as far back as memory could reach ; but little lakes, ponds, and waters in marflies are vifibly decreafed« and many of them dried up. i Maons Keen, a Swede above feventy years old, afTerted, that on digging a well he had feen at the depth of forty feet, a great piece of chefnut wood, together with roots and ftalks of reed, and a clayey earth like that which commonly covers the (hores of fait water bays and coves. This clay had a iimilar fmell and a faline tafte. Maons Keen and feveral other people inferred from hence, that the whole country where Rac- coon zxAPemti neck are fituated, was ancient- Z 2 ly 35^ November 1748. ly quite overflowed by th« fea. They like- wUe knew, that at a great depth tin thfi ground, fnch a trowel as the Indians mgko ufe of, had been found. SvcN Lock, and William Cobb^ both above fifty years of age agreed, that in many places hereabouts, where wells had been dug, they had feen a great quantity of reed, moftly rottea, at the depth of twenty or thirty feet and upwards. As Ctibb made a well for himfelf, tho workmen after digging twenty feet deep, came upon fo thick a branch, that they could not get forwards, till it was cut in two places ; the wood was ftill very hard. It is very common to find near the furface of the earth, quantities of all forts of leaves not quite putrified. On making a dyke feme years ago, along the' river on which the church at Raccoon diHi/dti ; and for that purpofe cutting through a bank, it was found quite full of oy fter fhclls, though tlus place is above a^huodred and twenty J^ngliili miles from, the neareft fea fhore. Theie men, and all the inhabitants of Raccoon^ concluded from this circumf^ance (of their own accord^ and without being lod to the thought) thait this tf their ; to the a part ;yltke« which in in their youth were full of water, even in tht hotteft feafon, now hardly formed a narrow brook in fummer, except after heavy rains ; but it did not appear to them that the rivers had loft any water. AoKE Helm, found (on digging a well) firft fand and little ftones, to the depth of eight feet ; next a pale coloured clay, and then a black one. At the depth of fifteen feet he found a piece of hard wood, and ieveral pieces of mundick or pyrites. Me told me that he knew feveral places in the Delaware, where the people went in boats* when he was young ; but which at prefent were changed into little iflands, fome of which were near dn Englijh mile in length. Thefe iflands derive their origin from a (and or bank in the river; on this the water wafhes fome clay, in which ruflies come up> and thus the reft is generated by de« grees. On a meeting of the oldeft Swedes in the parifti of Raccoon, I obtained the following anfwers to the queftions which I aflced them on this account. Whenever they dig a well in this neighbourhood, they always find at the depth of twenty or thirty feet, great numbers of oyfter fhells and clams : the latter are, as was above-mentioned, a kind 3 of 358 November t 1748. of laree (hells, whith are found in bays., and of which the Indians make their mo-^ ney. In many places, on digging wells a quantity of rufhes and reeds have been found almoft wholly undamaged; and once on fuch an occafion a whole bundle of 6ax was brought up, found between twenty and thirty feet under ground i it feemed as lit-* tie damaged as if it had been lately pul under ground ; all looked at it with afto- ni(hment, as it was beyond conception how it could get there ; but I believe the good people faw fome American plants, fuch as the wild Virginian fla5^, or Linum Virginia^ num, and the Antirrhinum Canadenfe^ which look very like common flax, yet it is re^ markaUe that the bundle was really tied together. The Europeans on their arrival in America, found our common 6ax neither growing wild nor cultivated by the Indians, how then could this bundle get into the ground ? Can it be fuppofed, that pad ages have feen a nation here, fq early ac-> quainted with the ufe of flax ? I would ra- ther abid^ by the opinion, that the above American plants, or other fimilar ones, have been taken for flax. Charcoal and fire- brands have often been found under ground: The Swedijh churchwarden, Eric Ragni//bn, told me that he had feen a quantity of them, which Newjerfyt Raccoon, 359 which had been brought up at the digging of a well : on fuch occafions, people have often found (at the depth of between twen- ty and fifty feet) great branches and blocks. There were fomc foots where twenty feet under the furface of the earth, the people had found fuch trowels as the Indians ufe : from thefe observations they all concluded, that this trad of land had formerly been the bottom of the fea. It is to be obferved, that moft of the wells which have hitherto been made, have been dug in new fettle- ments, where the wood was yet (landing, and had probably ftood for centuries toge- ther. From the obfervations which have hitherto been mentioned, and to which I fhall add fimilar ones in the fequel, we may, with a confiderable degree of certain- ty conclude, that a great part of the pro- vince of New Jerfey, in ages unknown to pofterity, was part of the bottom of the fea, and was afterwards formed by the ilime and mud, and the many other things which the river Delaware carries down along with it, from the upper parts of the country : however Cape May feems to give fome occaiion for doubts, of which I fhajl fpeak in the fequel. Z4 Novem' 360 Y^ovember 1748. November the 27th. The American ever- greens are 1 . Ilex Aquifoliumt holly. 2. Kalmia latifblia, the fpoon tree. 3. K0imiaangufif/'oiia,tinoxhtr{peciesofit. 4. Magnolia glauca, the beaver tree. The vouag trees of this kind only keep >their leaves^ the others drop them. 5. Fifcum album, or cnifletoe; thiS'tom* XDonly grows upon the Nyja aguatica, or tupelo tree, upon the Liquidambar ftyr^i^ flud, or fweet gum tree, the oak apd \\mifi tree, fo that their whole fummits were frcr ^uently quite green in wiDter. 6. Myrica cerifera, or the candleberry tree; of this however only fonie of the youngeft fhrubs prefer ve fome leaves, but moft of them had already loft them. 7. Finns Abies, the pine. t.y 8. Pinus Mvejirist the fir. 1^ 9. Cuprejgus tbyoides, the white cedar. 10. Juniperus Firginiana, the red cedar. Several oaks and other trees dropt their leaves here in winter, which however keep them ever green, a little more to the fouth, and in Carolina^ November the 30th. It has been ob- ferved, that the Europeans in North Ame- rica, whether they were born in Sweden, England, New JerJ^f Raccoon, 361 England, Germany or Motion J; or in North America, of European ft of their teeth after they came to America : I afked, whe- ther they did not think that it arofe from the frequent ufe of tea, as it was known, that ftrong tea, as it were enters into and corrodes the teeth; but they anfweredy that they had loft their teeth before they ■A had New Jerfeyt Raccoon* 3^3 had began to drink tea, but continuing my enquiries, I found at lad a Aifficicnt cauft» to account for the lofs of their teeth : each of thefe women owned, that they were ac- cuflomed to eat every thing hot, and no- thing was good in their opinion, unlefs they could eat it as fad as it came from the fire. This is Hkewife the cafe with the women in the country who lofe their teeth much fooner and more abundantly than the men. They drink tea in greater quantity and mucn oftener, in the morning, and even at noon, when the employment of the men will not allow them to fit at the tea-table. Befides that, the Englijbmen care very little for tea, and a bowl of punch is much more agree- able to them. When the Englijh women drink tea, they never pour it out of the cup into the faucer, but drink it hot as it is out of the former. The Indian women in imi- tation of them, fwallow the tea in the fame manner. On the contrary thofe Indians whofe teeth are found, never eat any thing hot, but take their meat either quite cold, or only jud milk warm. I ASKED the Swedijh churchwarden in Philadelphia, Mr. Bengt/on, and a number of old Swedes, whether their parents and countrymen had Hkewife lofl their teeth as fpon as the American colonics ; but they told 3^4 'November 1748. told tne that they had preferved them to a very great age. Bengtjon aflfured me, that his father at the age of feventy, cracked peach ftones and the black walnuts with nis teeth, notwithftanding their great hard- nefs, which at this time no body dares to venture at that age. This confirms what I have before faid, for at that time the ufe of tea was not yet known in North America, No difeafe is more common here, than that which the Englijh call fever and ague» which is fometimes quotidian, tertian or quartan. But it often happens, that a per- K>n who has had a tertian ague, after lofing it for a week or two, gets a quotidian ague in its (lead, which after a while again ehanges into a tertian. The fever com- monly attacks the people at the end of Au^ gttfl, or beginning of September, and com- monly continues during autumn and win- ter till towards fpring, when it ceafes en- tirely. Strangers who arrive here, common- ly are attacked by this ficknefs the firfl or fecond year after their arrival; and it is more violent upon them, than upon the natives, fo that they fometimes die of it ; but if they cfcape tne firft time, they have the advantage of not being vilited again the next year, or perhaps never any more. It is commonly New ytrfey^ Raccoon, 565 commonly faid here, that Aran^ers get the fever to accuftom them to the climate. Tho natives of European offspring, have annual fits of this ague in fome parts of the coun- try : fome however are foon delivered fronn it, with others on the contrary it continues for (ix months together, and others are affliaed with it till they die. The Indi<^ ans alfo fuffer it, but not fo violently as tho Europeans. No age is fecured again ft it 3 in tnofe places where it rages annually, you fee old men and women attacked with it ; and even children in the cradle, fome- times not above three weeks old : it is likewife quotidian, tertian or quartan with them. This autumn the ague was more violent here, than it commonly ufed to be. People who are afflidled with it, look as pale as death, and are greatly weakened, but in general are not prevented from doing their work in the intervals. It is remark-* able, that every year there are great parts of the country where this fever rages» and othecs where icarce a fijogle perfon has been taken ill. It likewife is worth notice, tkit there are places Whet^e the people can- not cemcmber that it fornoierly prevailed in tbkeir country, though «( pucifent it begins to grow mw« eoiomciB : yet there was no oiheif yifibte difff r«ne« bfitweco the iieveral .■:> ji-%\ •; places 366 November 1748. places. All the old Swedes, Englifhrnen, Germans, dec. unanimoufly afferted, that the fever had never been fo violent, and of Aich continuance when they were boys, as it is at prefent. They were like wife ge- nerally of opinion, that about the year 1680, there were not fo many people af- flided with it, as about this time. How- ever others equally old, were of opinion that the fever was proportionably as com- mon formerly, as it is at prefent ; but that it could not at that time be fo fenfibly per- ceived, on account of the fcarcity of inha- bitants, and the great diflance of their fet- tlements from each other ; it is therefore probable that the eKFcds of the fever have at all times b^en equal. It would be difficult to determine the true caufes 0 this difeafe % they feem to be numerous, ; id not always alike : fome- times, and ' believe commonly feveral of them unite. I have taken all poffible care to found tk opinions of the phyficians here on thar he i. and I here offer them to the reader, anu-?/ -: Some of them think that the pcculi-^ ar qualities of the air of this country caufe this fever; but moft of them aifert that it r!is generated by the ftanding and putrid water, which it feems is confirmed by ex-* -V perience. New Jerfey^ Raccoon, 3^7 it "^ ■*<: 4 perience. For it has been obferved in this country, that fuch people as live in th« neighbourhood of Morales or Swamps, or in places where a flagnant, (linking water is to be met with, are commonly infefted with the fever and ague every year, and get it more readily than others. And this chiefly happens at a time of the year when thofe flagnant waters are mod evaporated by the exceflive heat of the fun^ and the air is filled with the mofl noxious vapors;. The fever likewife is very violent in all places which have a very low fituation, and where fait water comes up with the tide twice in twenty four hours, and unites with the flagnant, frefh water in the country. Therefore on travelling in fummer over fuch low places where frefh and fait water unite, the naufeous flench arifing from thence often forces the traveller to flop his nofe% On that account mofl of the inhabi* tants of Penn*s neck, and Sa/em in New Jer* /dy, where the ground has the above-men-p tioned quality, are annually infefled with the fever to a much greater degree, than the inhabitants of the higher country. If an inhabitant of the higher part of the country, where the people are free from the fever, , removes into the lower parts, he may be well afliired that the fever will attack him 368 NovAmlfer 1748. bim at the ufual time, and that he wHlgct k. again every year, as long as he contiaues in that country. People, of the liveliieil complexiion on coming into, the low parts of the country, and couHiauing there foi fome time, have entirely loft their colour and becbme quite pale. However this can- not be the fble caufe of the fever,, as I haivs been in feveral parts of the country which had a low iituation^and had ftagnant waters near themi, where the people declared they feldom fuflSered from this ficknefs : but ikite places were. about two or three degrees more northerly^ ' • Others were of opinion that diet did very much towards it> and chiefly laid the blame upon the inconfiderate and intern^ perate confumption of fruit. This is par-f ticularly the ca£b with thie Europeansr who come into America t and are not ufed to its climate and its fruit; for thofc who are born here can bear mbre» yet are not en- tirely free from the bad effeds of eating too fHiich. I have heard many Engl^cmen^ QermanSf and others fpeak from their own jBxperienjce on thii account ^ they owned; iHat they had often tried, and wnfe ctertain that after eating a watei* melon once or twice before they had bieid&fafled, thejr ihrould have the fever add ague ;ini a ievir ai i days iVifw yerfty. Raccoon, aiget tuiues vteliidl re fof colour scan- [ hanro which viraters i they tthi4 smore ■ . ■ r let did lid the ntem^ s par-^ who to its o are ot en-!- ng too V OWA wncd^ ertasn mce or tkejr feW days 3^9 days' iaf ter. Yet It- ij» remarkal>k> ' that the French in Canada told me th^t i^vi(bn 'to the Minm,^ an Indian nation which is nearly in the fanie latitude ■^khPenJ^/vania and New Jer/ey, they could not «at a Water" mel6n without feeling the (baking iits of ai^'agiie, and that the Indians therefore warned .th«m not to eat of fo dangerous 'i fruit. Query, Does not this lead us to think that the greater heat in Pet^hania, and the country of the Illinoist wbi<^h are both five or fix degrees more foutberlytban Canada^ makes fruit in fome meafur^ mord dangerous ? In the Englijh North American co}6Aies» every countryman plants a num ber of^ water me- lons, which are «aten wh iUl the people make hay, or during the harveft when they have nothing upon their ftomach^^ in order tO'COG^ them during the great heat^ as that juicy frttit feems very proper to give re- fi^Chmeht. In the fame manner melons* cUetiniberSy -gourds* fquafhes, mulberries, ap^es, peathes,^ cherries, and fuch like '^mit are eaten here in fummer, and altoge- thet contribiite-co the attacks of the ague.* 4^ii..:a A a But 37P Nvoimbtr 1748'. ; Bu T : that the manner, of living contributes greatly jtptfarda it, may he concluded from the;U(ia^iaa[ous accounts o£ old people, cQUf c^rniag'^he times of- their childhood; ac- cprding.lQ whi^h^ the inhabitants of thefe parts,; were at that time not fubjedt to fo many dife^fes as they] are at prefi:nt« and people were feldprn, fick. All the old iSwe/Zfi likewife agreed,, that their country* men, ; who firft came: intp l^orth America^ attained to a great age, apd their children nearly to the fame ; bu; that their giiand children, . and great grand children did not reach the s^ge of their anceflors, and thek health wafs not near fo;yigprous and durable. But the S'wedes w^o ;fir(( fettled in America» liyed very frugally ; they were poor, and could .not l>uy rum, brandy, or other ftroiig ]iquorj5» which they ieldom diftiHed them- felve^, as few of them bad si diftilUng vef- fel. However they fopnetimes had a good Arong beer. . They did; not underijband the art of making cydei:,^ wh^h is now fp com- mon in the country: teg, coffee, choco- late, which are at prefenteven the country people's da^y breakfaft, ' were wholly uiir known to them : moH; (^ them had never tafted fugar or punch.^: , The tea which is jiow:diran)c. Is eit^Vj very old, or nitxed with all forts of herbs, fo thai^ it no lo^iger :. f. dcferves :i a New Jerfey^ Raccoon, 37» dfcferves the name of tea : therefor^ it can- not have any good eiFe^ upon thofe who ufe it plentifully; befides, it cannot fail of relaxing the bowels, as it is drank both in the morning and in the afternoon quite boiling hot. The Indians, the offspring of the firft inhabitants of this country, are a proof of what I have faid. It is well known that their anceftors, at the time of the firA arrival of the Europeans, lived to a vtry great age. According to the common ac- counts, it was then not uncommon, to find people among the Indians, who were above a hundred; years old : they lived frugally, and drank pure water : brandy, rum, wine, and all the other ftrong liquors, were istter- ]y unknown to them ; but iince the chrif* tians have taught them to drink thefe li* quors^ and the Indians have found them too palatable, thofe who cannot re(i(l their appetites^ hardly reach half the age of their parents^ w; LfASTLY^ fome people pretended that the lofs> of marky odoriferous plants, with which the woods were filled at thcm^arrival of the Europeans, but which the cattle has now ^xtirpatedj might be looked upon as acauff} of the greater progrefs of the fever at preient.. The number of thofe ftrong pUnts.p^af;09cd a pleafant fcent: to dfe tn A a 2 the '■^t?l!^ 372 November 1748. the A^oods every morning and evenin|;. It is therefore not unreafonable to think that the noxioufnefs of the 'efRuvia from putrify- ing fubftahces was then prevented, fo that they were not fo dangerous to the inhabi- tants. Several .emedies are employed againft this difeafe: the jefuit's bark was formerly i certain one, but at prefent it has not always this tf£t€t, though they fell it genuine, and for the very beft. Many people acc^ufed it of leaving fomething noxious in the body. Yet it was commonly obferved, that when the bark was good, and it was taken as foon as the fever m^de its appearance, and before the body was weakened, it was 'almoft (xxrc to conquer the fever, fo that the cold fits never returned, and ho pain or i(ifrne(s remained in the limbs; but when the di- feafe is rooted in, and has con(iderably Weak- ened the patients, or they are naturally very weak, the fever leaves them after ufingthe jefuit's bark, but returns again in a fort- night's time^ and obliges them to takt tht bark again ; butth^ confequenee frequently 18 a pain-and'a KlifFnefs in their limbs,- ahd fometimes in their 'bowels, i^hich almoft hinders th^m from Walking : this paincon- timies fbr feveral years together, and even accompanies fome iloihe grave* Thtlbad » '- cfFcdt New Jerfeyt Raccoon. 373 k that itrify- b that ihabi- igainft icrly i always le, and ufedit I body, wheii as foon before almoft le'cotd biffhefs he di- ly very ng the fort- ke tht ueiitly Sy ahd almdft neon- d' even kbad efFea efFedl is partly attributed to the bark» which can feldom be got genuine here, and partly to the Ijtde care which the patients take in ilfing the bark. A man of my acquaintance was particularly dexterous in expelling the ague by the ufe of the jefuit's bark. His niann^r of proceeding was as follows : when it was pofiible, the patient muft ufe the re- medy as foon as the fever begun, and be- fore it was fettled in his body : but before he took the medicine, he was to take a dia- phoretic remedy, as that had been foun4 very falutary ; and as the fever is frequent- ly of fuch a nature here, as not to make the patient fweat, even when the hot fit is upon him, a perfpiration was to be brought about by fome other means. To that pur- pofe the patient took his dofe on the day when he had his cold fit, and was not al- lowed to eat any thing at night. The next morning he continued in a warm bed, drank a quantity of tea, and was well covered that he might perfpire plentifully. He conti- nued fo till the perfpiration ceafed, and then left the bed in a hot room, and waih> ed his body with milk warm water, in orr der to qleanfe it from the impuri^es that fettled on it from the perfpiration, and tp prevent their ilopping up oi the pores. The patient was then dried again, and at laft he A a 3 took 374 November 1748. took the bark feveral times in one day. This was repeated twice or thrice on the ^days after he had the ague, and it com- monly left him without returning, and moft people recover fo well, that they do not look pale ifter their (icknefs^ The bark of the root of the ^ulip tree^ or Liriodendron Tulifjfera, taken in the fame manner as the jcfuit's bark, fometimes had a fimilar elFedl. Several people peeled the roots of the Cornusjloridat or Dog wood^ and gave this peel to the patients i and even fome people,^ who could not be cured by the jcfuit's barki» have recovered by the help of this. I have likewife feen people cured of the fever, by taking brimftone reduced to powder, and mixea with fugar every nieht before they went to bed» s^nd every mornine before they got up : they took it three or four times in the intervals, and at each time drank fome warm liquor, to wa(h the powder down. However others that tried the fame remedy did not find much relief frpni it. Some people colledted the yellow bark of the peach tree, efpecially that which is on the root and boiled it in water, till half of it was evaporated by boiling. Of this de- codtion the patient took every morning about a wine glafs full, before he had eaten any New Jerfey, Raccoon. 17S any thing. This liquor has a diiagreeable taftcy and contrads the mouth and tonguo like alum ; yet feveral perfons at Raccoon who had tried many remedies in vain, were cured by this. Others boiled the leaves of the Poten'^. tilla reptanSf or of the Potentilla canddenfis^ in water^ and made the patients drink it before the ague fk came on, and it is well known that feveral perfons have recovered by this means. ^ The people who are fettled upon the river Mobawk in New Tork, both Indians and Europeans colled: the root of the Geum rhaie, and pound it. This powder fome of them boil in water till it is a pret- ty ftrong decodlion : others only infufe cold water on it and leave it fo for a day $ others mix it with brandy. Of this me- dicine the patient is to take a wine glafs full on the morning of the day when the fever does not come, before he has eat- en any thing. I was afTured that this was one of the fared remedies, and more cer- tain than the jefuiVs bark. The people who live near the iron mines, declared that they were feldom or never vifited by the fever and ague ; but when they have the fever, they drink the water of fuph fountains, as arife from the * A a 4 iron 37^ November 1748. iron ^ine$i i^nd have a flrong cM^ftt uSvt i ia|id they aiTured me that thU rcmcdx was iofallible. Other people therefoct who did not. live very far from fuch fpringSy went to them for a few days, when they had the feyer, in order to drink the water, which cornmoniy cured. them% I HAVE already £hown above* that ikge * mixed with lemon. juice, has been found very iklutary againft the ague. It was however liniverfally remarkable, that that which curei^ one perfon of it, has no effedt upon another. The pleurify is liknwife a difeafe which the people of this country are (nuch fubjedfc to. The Swedes in this province call it ftitcbes and burning, and they always mean the pleurify whenever they mention thofe words. Many of. the old Swedes toH mt that they had heard very little of it when they were young, and that their parents had known Aill lefs of it in their childhood ; but that it was fo common now, that many people died every year of it : yet it has been obferved, that in fome yeiairs this di* feafe has been very moderate, and taken few people away with it, whilft in other years it makes great havock: it likewife is more violent in fbme places than in others. In the autumn of the year 1728, it fwept , . away New Jtrfey^ Raccoon* 377 wept away tway many at Penn*% neck, m place belovr Raccoon, and nearer to the Delaware, wbera a liumber of Swedes are fettled. Almoil aQ the Swedes there died of it» though they were very numerous. From hence it hap* peiled that their children who were left in a very tender age» and grew up among the Englijh children, forgot their mother tongue, fo that few of them underftand it nt prefent. Since that time, though the picurify has every year killed a few people at Fcnn*% neck, yet it has not carried o^Fainy confiderable numbers. It refted as it were till the autumn of the year 1748, but then- it began to make dreadful havock, and every week fix or ten of the old people died. The difeafe was fo violent, that when it at- tacked a perfon, he feldom lived above two or three days ; and of thofe who were taken ill with it, very few recovered. When the picurify was got into a houfe, it killed moft of the old people in it : it was a true picu- rify, but it had a peculiarity with it, for it commonly began with a great fwelling un- der the throat and in the neck, and with ^ difficulty of fwallowing. Some people look- ed upon it as contagious ; and others feri- oufly declared, that when it came into a fa- mily, not only thofe who lived in the fame houfe fuffered from it, but even fuch rela- tiona — 1% 37^ Ntivemhir I748« tkmi ai lived ftr ofF. There have been fe- veral people at Pinn*9 neck, who, withoBC vtfidnff their fick friends, have got the- plettri^ and died of it : I do not difpute the troth of this, thoueh I do not agree to the conclufion. The pleuri^ waathe moft vio-; lent in November i yet iome old people died of it even in the next winter i bat children^ ^vere pretty free from it. The phyficians did not know what to make of it, nor how to remedy it. It it difficult to determine the caufes of fuch violent difeafes. An old Englijh fur- geon who lived here gave the following reafon. The inhabitants of this country drink great quantities of punch and other ilrong liquors in fummer, when it is very hot ; by that means the veins in the dia- phragm contrad, and the blood grows thick. Towards the end of O&ober and the begin- ning of November^ the weather is apt to alter very fuddenly, fo that heat and cold change feveral times a day. When the people during this changeable weather are in the open air, they commonly get this difeafe. It is likewife certain that the air is more unwholefome one year, than ano- ther, which depends upon the heat, and other circumftances : this peculiar quality of the air muft of courfe produce a pleurify. .4 It Penfyhania^ Pbikdetpbia. 379 It is Remarkable, that both in the year 1728, and in the prefeiit, when fo manf^ people died at PeHn'% neck, few died at Raccoon, though the two places are near each other, and feem to have the fame foil and climate. But there is this dtfierence that Penn*B neck lies remarkably low, and Raccoon pretty high. The people in the former place have fettled between mar(het and fwamps, in which the water ftagnatet and putripes ; and mod of thefe places are covered with trees, by which means the we( is (hut up dill more, and near fuch marflies, are the houfes. Laftly the water at Penn*s neck is not reckoned fo good as that in Raccoon, but has fome tafte. It likewife becomes brackilh in feveral little rivers whei> the Delaware during the tide rifes very high, and runs up into them. On the banks of thefe rivulets live many of the Swedes, and take water for common ufe from them. Decemher the 3d. This morning I fet out for Pbiladelphia, where I arrived in the evening. Wild grapes are very abundant in the woods, and of various kinds ; a fbecies of them which are remarkable for their ^zt, grow in the marfhes, and are greedily eaten by the Raccoon : they are therefore called marjh if 38o .\i'- Desemiir IJ^S* r^ mKfh gr^P^f tmt the Englijh call ih^m fox grapes i thfy bi^ve nol; an agreeable flavour, aqd^re.feldom eat^n by the inbabitanta of thi$ country, who make ufe of a fmall kind of wild grapes, which grow on a dry foil, and pretty late in aMtumn when they i^re quite ripe, are eaten raw, and have a very good flavour, being a mixture of fweet and acid: fotne people dry thefe grapes when gathered and bs^ke tbeni in tarts, &;c. they, iikewife make ufe of them as dried fweetmeats. The Swedes formerly made a pretty good wine from them ; but have now left it off. However fome of the £«- glifb flill prefs an agree;able liquor from thefe grapes, which they aflured me was as good 98 the bed claret, and that it would keep for feveral years. Th9 manner of preparing this fort of wine has been defcribed at large in an al- inanack ,of this country, for the year 1743, and is as follows : the grapes are coUedted from the twenty firft ol September to about the eleventh of November, that is as they grow ripe : they mud be gathered in dry weather^ and after the dew is gone off: the grapes are cleared of the cobwebs, dry leaves, and other things adhering to them. Next a great hogihead is prepared which has either had treacle or brandy in ; it is wa0ied ' ■";■♦ i*V V i> very ** )OUC they, dry ofF: dry Hem. has Oied* very Penfyhania^ Pbiladelpbia. 381 very ckian, 0f an hour : this is fulHcient to CquttTit the good juioe out of them : ^ an 'additio^ nal ^preflure Wotild even cruib the uilripe Irapos, and gi^e^the wh6le a^i&grdea^ ble flavour. The hogihead is then tid« vered with a thiiak blanket^f^btft if ithett is no'cellar, or itJs very cold* two are fprc?ad ever it. -Under this covering the juice Js kft CO ferment for the firfl time, and in the next four or five days it feriHi^nts and worki very (Irongly. As foorias the feitfflentationt eeafes, a hole is>tlnade aboUt fi^ Inches frbttn ihe bottom, land fofne of the juice is tapped 6fF about twi^b in ^ a' diy. > As foon ^ a& thk is dear and fettled, > it is pocited into all akifcet^ of a tniMing iiliefs jf^r fVom>twei]lty buihd^ df gi^es, they get > about as 'mttiiy * kn^Ws df }ikite*: 'th^ aDker' r^iins tln-> T:gd:j touched 38a .V. Diceinker 1748. touched, iaad the mud in. it ferment %(t'* cond titnerr at this: tirme it is neceflary that the^anker; hie quite fuUj; the fcum which lettloB at the bungbole^.mufl be takcin of^t and the[ anker always $lled up with more mu(l, which is kept ready for, that pur^ pofe ; this is continued till chriftmas, when the anker may be flopped up ; at laft the wineistready in F^^ri^tfry and bottled. It is likeWife ufual here, to put fome of the ripe grapes into a vefTel in order to make a vinegar^ • and that which is got by this Qieans is very good. Several people made brandy from tl^fe grapes which has a very pleafant tafte; buti is ftill more pleafaht^ if the fruits of the perfimon are mixed with it. The wood b9m hj their 3^ .ti\'j 'KI>ecemher 174S. V '.vV-l. their window« they httd. feoli Isvery thing i^ery plainly on the othier fide -of th^ river, fo that it appeared much nearer than ufual, arid that this commonly foreboded rain. This prefage Was Ijkew^fe pretty exa^ly flailed. ■'• -^'1''',' f^-*'-^^ .f^i^v^ u...., .j.>^4Li { IThe Ifrdlanfe hirforii' the' aMyal of Chc Europidnsy h^ no hotiori of the tife of ir&n, though thfil^ ftietal was abundefnt in their Country. - -ffOWevct they knew in Tome iMeafu^e how tb make ufe of copper. Some Dutchmen whb lived here, ftill ipreferve e of, al for t^ins rts of lirds of a pper Penfyhania^ Philadelphia, 385 topper ore along with them. Some peo- ple have conjeSuredi that the Spaniards, after difcovering Mexico ^ failed along the coafts of North America^ and landed now and then, in order to enquire whether any gold or filver was to be met with, and that they perhaps made thefe holes in the moun-* tains : but fuppoiing them to have made fuch a voyage along the coa{l:s> they could not immediately have found out the copper mine^; and they probably did not ftop to bla{^ this ore, as they were bent only upon gold and filver ; it is therefore almoft un- doubted that the Indians dug thefe holes : or may we be allowed to fufpe(^ that our old Normans, long before the difcoveries of Columbus, came into thefe parts and met with fuch v^ins of copper, when they fail- ed to what they called the excellent Wine- land,* of which our ancient traditional re- cords called Sagor fpeak, and which un-r doubtedly was North America. But in re-r gard to this^, I. iball have occa0on in the fequel better to e^cplain my fentiments. It was remarkable, that in all thofe places where fuch holes have lately been found in the mountains, which manifeflly feem to Bb , , have VtQtii V, i I, ,tM'i\ * Si:b for this opinion the fcarce and curioas work intitledf, Tetfei biftoria FinloHdia antiqna ftu partis Amtricte feptentri' tntUis, Hafnw 171^* i^tSi, ¥, 386 December 2748 . have been dug iyy men, they were tlway* covered with t great quantity of earthy aft if thi^y were intended to remain hidden from ih'angerSv ^«^o> Decemhr the 6th . Ok long voyages the £iilor8 fometimes catch fuch fi{h as are , known to none of the (hip's company ; but as they are very greedy >after fre(h provifi^ dns, they feldom abilain from eating, them, however it proves often venturing too >maich^ experience having ftiowii, that their want of caution has often coft them their lifves^ for ibmetimes poifonous ii(h are caught^ that apoweiful . i -i i*i .i\k.i.^ iii\ * Thi9 lexpeninem With theiilWv, fmipofticlifCttelMili <}f the filh would be To ftroi^ asto a£k as a folvept upon the ifilver; but there may be poflbns, which would i;ot afiedtthe filver, and however proye fatal to men ; the foreft way there- foiiB would be iofuBpKiiii:^3«''ippetste, which muiy iMCome £ttal not only to a tew n^^n of tte <^ltm, 4int alfo e&iaaiger the whole flilp, by the loft of neceiimr hmik, M* ^"1^ Penfyhdnhf Philade^ifia, 387 Indian^ who pofTefled Rhode yiand had fold it to the Englijh for a pair of fpedacle« : it is largo enough for a prince's domain, and makes a peculiar government a^ preienc. This Indian knew to fet a true value upon a paif of fpedacles : for undoubtedly if thofe glafies were not Co plentiful, and only a few of them could be found, they would on account of their great ufe, bear the fame price with diamonds. The fervants which are made ufe of in the Engtijh American colonies are either free persons, or Haves, and the former are again of two diflEerent forts. I. T|ioBE who are quite free ferve by the year, they are not only allowed to leave their fervice at the etcpiration of their year, but may leave it at any time when they do not agtee with their mailers. However in that cafe they are in danger of lofing their wages^ which are very cOniiderable. A man fecvant who has fome abilities^ gets between 6xteen and twenty pounds in Pen^ Jyhania currency, but thofe in the country do not get ib much. A fervant maid gets eight or ten pounds a year : thefe fervants have their tood befides their wages, but mud bay their own clothes, and what they get of thefe diey muft thank their mailer's goodncis for. B b 2 2. The 388 December 1748. 2. The fecond kind of free fervants con-* iift of fuch perfons as annually come from Germany f Engiand and other coun tries, in order to fettle here. Thefe new comers are very nuniierous every year : there are old and young ones, and of both fexes ; feme of them have fled from opprefTion^ under which they fuppofed themfelves to have laboured. Others have been driven from their country by perfecution on account of religion; but moft of them are poor, and have not money enough to pay their paffagc, which is between iix and eight pounds flerling for each perfon ; therefore they agree with the captain that they will fuifer themfelves to be fold for a few years, on their arrival. In that cafe the perfon who buys them, pays the freight for them, but frequently very oW people come over, who cannot pay their pa0age, they there- fore fell their children, fo that they ferve both for themfelves and for their parents : there are like wife fome who pay rpart of their parage, and they are fold only for a (hort time. From. thefe circumftances it appears, that the price of the poor foreigners who come over to North America i% noX equal, and that fome of them ib-ve longer than others : when their time is expired* they get a ne>y fuit of clothes from their mailer ;ners Is not rhgcr |ired» Itbeir lafter Penjyhania, Philadelphia, 389 maften and fome other things : he is like-> vnh obliged to feed and clothe them during the years of their fcrvitude. Many of the Germans who come hither, bring money enough with them to pay their paf-, fage, but rather fufFer thcmfclves to be fold, with a view that during their fervitude they Tnzyget {omc knowledge of the language and quality of the country, and the like, that they may the better be able to confider what they fliall do when they have got their liberty Such fervant« are taken preferable tO' all others, becaufe they are not fd dear; for to buy a Ncgroe or black (lave, requires too' m^ch money at once; and men or maids who get yearly wages, are likewife too deaf; but this kind of fervants may 43e got for half the money, and even for lefs; for they commonly pay fourteen pounds, Penjyhdnia currency, for a perfdn who is to ferve four years, and fo on in proportibn; Their wages therefore are not above three pounds P^w^^/vtfWftf currency per ann. This kind of fervants, xhii Englijh tall fern^ngs. When a perfon has bought iuch a iervant for a certain number of year^, and has an ihtehtiori io fell hrm again, he is at liberty to do fo; but he is obliged, it the expira- tion of the term of the fervitudfe to provide the ufual (bit of cloaths for the fervatit, un- ' '^ B b 3 lefs ' 'I 390 December 1748. lefs he has made that . part of the bai^ain with the purchafer. The Eug^ .and Irijb commonly fell themfelves for four yearSy but the Germans frequently agree with the captain befor<: they fct out, to pay him a certain fum of money, for a cer- tain number of perfons ; ^^ foon as ,they ar- rive in Amerkat they go about and try to get a man who will pay the paflage for them. In return they give according to the circumftances one, or feveral, of their children to ferve a certain number of years, at laft they make their bargain with the highed bidder. 3. The Negroes or Blacks make the third kind. They are in a manner ilavesi, fpr when a Negro is once bought, he is the purchafer's fervant as long as he lives, un- iefs he gi 't^s him to another, or makes him free. However it is not in the power of the mailer to kill his Negro for a fault, but he mufl: leave it to the magiflrates tO; pro- ceed according to the laws. Formerly the Negroes were brought oyer from Africa, and bought by almoft every one who could aflford it. The quakers alone fcruplcid to have flaves i but they are no longer fo nice, and they have as niany Negroes as other people. However many people cannot con* quer the idea of its being contrary to the laws argain h . and : four agree »ut, to a cer- kcy ar- try to ige for ing to f their years, th the e third isifpr I is the Sy UQ- 9s him wcr of |t> but o. pro- ly the ifrka, could led to nice» other It coa^ Ito the laws Pen/ylvania, Pbiladeipbia. 391 la^s of chriftianity to keep flanres. There are likewife feveral free Negroes in town» who have been lucky enough to get a very zealous quaker for their mafter, who gave them their liberty, after they had faithniUy ferved him for fome time. ' At prefent they feldom bring over any Negroes to the Bnglijh colonies, for thofe which were formerly brought thither have multiplied confiderably. In regard to their marriage they proceed as follows : in caie you have not only male but likewife fer male Negroes, they mud intermarry, and then the children are all your (laves : but if you pofTefs a male Negro only, and he has an inclination to marry a female belong- ing to a different mailer, you da not hinder your Negro in fo delicate a point; but it is no advantage to you, for the children be* long to the mafter of the female; it is therefore advantageous to have Negro- women. A man who kills his Negro muft fulFer death for it : there is not however an example here of a vi^hite man's having been executed on this account. A few years agO' it happened that a mafter killed his (lave ; his friends and even the magiftrates fecretly advifed him to leave the country, as otherwife they could not avoid taking him prifoner, and then he would be con- B b 4 demned 392 December 1748. demned to die according to the laws of the country, without any hopes of faving him. This lenity was employed towards him, that the Negroes might not have the fatif-^ fadtion of feeing a matter executed for kill- ing his flave ; for this would lead them to all forts of dangerous defigns againft their mafters, and to value themfelves too much. The Negroes were formerly brought from Africa^ as I mentioned before $ but )iow this feldom happens, for they are bought in the Weji Indies, or American IJlands, whi- ther they were originally brought from their own country : for it has been fouild that on tranfporttng the Negroes from Africa^ immediately into thefe northern countries, they have not fuch a good flate of health, as when they gradually change places, and are fir ft carried from Africa to the Weftln^ dies, and from thence to North America, It has frequently been found, that the Ne^ groes cannot ftand the cold here fo well as the Europeans or whites ; for whilft the latter are not in the Itaft affeded by the cold, the toes and fingers of the former are frequently frozen. There is likewife a ma- terial difference among them in this point ; for thofe who come immediately from Afri^ ca, cannot bear the cold fo well as thofe who are either born in this country, or have Fenfyhania^ Pbiladtlpbia, 393 have been here for a confiderable time } for the frofl eaiily hurts the hands or feet of the Negroes which come from Africa, or occaiions violent pains in their whole body, or in fome parts of it, though it does not at all affedt thofe who have been here for fome time. There are frequent examples that the Negroes on their pafTage from Africa^ if it happens in winter, have fome of their limbs deflroyed by frofl on board the (hip, when the cold is but very inconfiderable and the fsilors are fcarce obliged to cover their hands. L was even afTured, that fome Negroes have been feen here, who have had an exceilivc pain in their legs, which after- wards broke in the middle, and dropt en- tirely from the body, together with the fle(h on them. Thus it is the fame cafe with men here^ as with plants which are brought from the fouthern countries, and cannot ac- cuftom themi^Lve^ to a colder climate. The price of Negroes differs according to their age, health and abilities. A full grown Negro cofls from forty pounds and upwards to a hundred of Penfyhania cur- rency. There are ieven exainples that a gentleman has paid hundred pounds for a black flave at Philadelphia, and refufed to fell him again for! the fame money. A Ne- gro boy, or girl, of two or three years old, can hardly be got ^ for lefs than eight or fourteen 394 December 1748. fourteen pounds in Penfyhanian currency « Not only the quakers, but likewife feverd chrifttans of other denominations fometimcs fet their Negroes at liberty; This is dojie in the following manner : when a gentle-^ man has a faithful Negro who has done him great fervices, he ibmetimes declares him independent at his death. This is however very expenfive ; for they are oblige cd to make a pnjvifion for the Negro thus fet at liberty, to afford him fubfiftefKre when he is grown old^that he may not be driven by neceflity to wicked adtions, or that he may be at any body's charge^ for thefe free Negroes become very lazy and indolent afterwards. But the children which the free Negro has begot during his fcrvi- tude are all Oaves, though their father be free. On the other hand chafe Negro chil- dren are free whofe parents ai-e at liberty. The Negroes in the North American colo- nies are treated more mildly^ and fed belter than thofe in the Wefi IndieSk They liavc as good food as die reft of the fervants, and they poiTefs equal advant7.ges in all things^ except their being obliged to ferve their whole life time, and get no other wages than what their mafter's goodnefs allows them : they are likewife clad at their mafter's expencc. On the contrary, in the Weji Indies^ and efpecially in the Spantfh JJlands rages [lows Itheir the lands Penfyhaniai Philade^bia, 395 Ifiands they are treated very criitlly 1 there- fore no threats make more imprcffiot) upon a Negro here» than that of fcdding him over to the IVeJi Indksi in cafe he would not r^form^ It has Jikewife been frequent* ly found by experience, that when yott fhow toa rauch remifihefs to thefe Negroes, they grow fo obftiilated, that they will no longer do any t&iag but of their own ac- cord: therefoi-e a Arid: difcipjiiue is Htty neceffary^ if their mafter expels to be fir tiisiied with their fervices. rr ' in Ih the year i;62o, fpme Negroes were bi'ought to N$rtb America in ^ Dutch ihip» ^!^d in Virginia they bought twenty of theod. Thefe are faid ' to have been the £r(l that came hither. When the Indians, who were then more numerous in the country than at prefenty faw theie black people for the firft time» they thou^t they were a true breed of Devils, and therefore they called them Mf$itto for a great while: this word in their language fi^t6es not only God» but ^Ukewlfe the Devil, Some tin>e before that» when they fa w 'the firil: European ihip on their icoafts, they were perfe^ly perfuaded thatjGod himfelf was in the fiiip. This ft6f9»utit I got from fome Indians, who pre* ferved it among them as a tradition which they had received from their anceftors : therefore jthe arrival of the Negroes fcemed ..A to 39^ .v,v beeemier 1748. / to them to have confufed every thing ^ hut iince that tiitie^ they have entertained lefs difagreeabl'e notions of the Negroes, for at prefent many live among them, and they even fom^times intermarry, as I myfelf have feen. • ^ The Negroes have thereJFore been up- wards pf a hundred and thirty years in this country : but the winters' here efpecially iii New England and New Tofk^ are as fevere a« our Swedijh winters. I therefore very carefully enquired whether the cold had irot been obiibrved, to affeA the colour of the Negroes, and to change it, fo that the third or fourth generation from the firft that came hither, were not fo black as tbei^ah^ ceftors. But I was generally anfwered, that there was not the kail difference of ooloui to be perceived; and that a Negro born here of parents which were like wife < bom in this country, and whofe anceflors both men and women had all been bkcks born in this country, up to the third or fourth generation, was not at all different in coi lour, from thofe Negroes who are brought dirc^ly over from I^r/rtf. 'From hence many pepple conclude, that a Negro 6r his pofterity do not change colour, though they continue ever fo long in a cold climate ; but the mixing of a white man with a Negrd woman, or pf a Negro with a white woman 0] has Penfyhaniai Philadelphia, 397 has a di£rerent cfFed, therefor^ to prevent any difagreeable mii^tures of the white peo- ple and Negrc^Sf and that the Negroes may not form too great an opinion of them^ felves^ to the difad vantage of their mailers, I am told there is a law made prohibiting the whites of both fexes to marry Negroes, under pain of death, and deprivation of the clergyman who marries them : but that the whites and blacks fometimes-mix, ap- pears from children of a mixed complexion, which are fometimes born; It is likewife greatly to be pitied, that the mafters of thefe Negroes in mod of the Englijh colonies take little care of their fpiritual welfare, and let them live on in their pagan darknefs. There are even fome, who would be vefy ill pleafed at, and would by > all means hinder their N^oes from be* ing intruded in the dodtrines of chriftianity, to this they are partly led by the conceit of its being fhameful, to have a fpiritual brother or fifter among fo defpicable a peo- ple, partly by thinking that they fhould not be able to keep their Negroes fo meanly afterwards ; and partly through fear of the Negroes growing too proud, on feeing themfelves upon a level with their mafters in religious matters. Several writings are well known, which mention^ that the Negroes in South Ame^ ricd J98 D€ttmier 1748, ricahxvt a kind of poiibn with which the^ kill each other, though the eifedt b not iUdden» but happens a long time afier the peribn has taken it : th^ fame 4angerous and endeavours by money and entreaties to moi^ehim to deliver htim from the poifon.; but if the Negro: is malicious, he doss not only deny that he ever poifoned ihim, but Jikewife that he knows a remedy agaiitft: it: this poifon does not kill immediately* £or fometimes the lick perfon dies fome years after. But from the moment he has. the poifon he falls into a confumption and enjoys few days of good health : fuch a poor wretch often knows that he is potJboed, the moment he gets the poifon. The Negroes commonly employ i^t on fuch of their brethren as behave well^ ztfi beloved by their mafters, and ieparate f s it were lirom their countryqien, or do aot Uke to converge with them; They have like wife often other reafonsfor their enmir tys but then are few examples of their , J..; i : hairing Penfylvaniaf Pbiladeipbia. ^^ having poifoned their mafters. Fethaps the mild treatment thev receivt, k-eeps then! from doing it, >or perhaps they feiu- that thej may be difoovered, and that in Aich 'a caie» the ievereft punifhments W04ild be inHid^d on them. • > , 'They never difcover what the poifon coniifls of, and keep it fecret beyond con*- ception. It is probable that it is a very commrocureit. Therefore it can- not be a plant, as feveral learned meil have thought; for -that is iiot to be met with every where. I have heacxi many ac- counts here of Negroes who have been killed by this poifon. 1 (hall only mention ome incident which happened during my flay in this country* A man here had a N^gtx) who was coming I in the ed.faim Would IS obli- ne into >m the 0 drink )ok'the beer is rpofely us uh** of the s dofo M with >mach 1 it is nown^ en fell hated ithey bad at d for. medi- at the him: id no ■ i -i ADVERTISEMENT. THE whole Sheet Map of a great Part of North America^ intended for the Illuftration of thefe Travels, could not be got rea- dy in Time for the firft Volume, on Account of its Size and the great many Names of Places brought into it, which muft give it a Superiority above any Map hitherto publiflied of this Part of the World: but the Tranflator hopes, the Public will the more readily excufe this Omiflion, as it will greatly tend to make the Map more perfedt, and as the fecond Volum6 will foon appear, where itfhall undoubtedly be inferted. At the fame Time he intreats the Encouragers of this Work to compleat the Subfcriptions for the fecond Vo- lume, and to favour him with the Lifts of Subfcribers as foon as poilible; and if any more Gentlemen will favour him with their Subfcriptions, he will look upon it as an incentive the more vigoroufly to go on with the reft of the Publication. -<