OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LI 1 ~ " If OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Lll Vis UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA /TO QJ/^Q LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFOR ^g$^ <5V-/ra . - UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFOR TRAVELS INT Q NORTH 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 on various fubje&s. BY PETER K A L M, Profeflbrof Oeconomy in the Univerfity of Aobo in Swecftm Finland* and Member of the Swedijb Royal Academy of Sciences. TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY JOHN REINHOLD FORSTER, F. A. S. Enriched with a Map, feveral Cuts for the Illuftration of Natural Hiftory, and fome additional Notes. THE SECOND EDITION. IN TWO VOLUMES, VOL. i. LONDON, Printed for T, LOWNDES, N 77, in Fleet-ilrget. THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID \ -> TO THE HONOURABLE J 77,2- * / PAINES BARRINGTON, Qne of his Majefty's Juftices of the Grand Seffions for the Counties of ANGLE s E Y, CAERNARVON, and M E R i o N E T HV>*?^"* SIR,, IPrefume to prefix YOUR name to a performance which will in fome meafure difplay to the Eritijh na- tion,, the circumftances of a country which is fo happy as to be under its protection. EVERY lover of knowledge, efpeci- ally of natural hiffory, muft be fenfible of YOUR zealous endeavours to promote every branch of ib.f It was my great happinefs to fall within YOUR notice, and to receive very fubftantial and fea- fonable dtvours from YOUR patronage and iv DEDICATION. and recommendations. I fhall ever re- main mindful bf YOUI! generality and humanity towards me ; but muft lament that I have no other means of expreffing my gratitude than by this publick ac- knowledgment. ACCEPT then, SIR, my earned wifhes for YOUR profperity, and think me with the trueft efteem. YOUR moft obliged ^ and obedient i|pj tumble Servanfy C^^" JULY 2^th, IT^Oi Reinhold Forftenz; PREFACE, PROFESSOR Ka/m's Travels through North America, were originally written in the Swedijh language, but foon after tranf- lated into German by the two Murray 's, both of whom are Swedes, and one a pupil of Dr. Lin- tuzus, from which we may conclude that this tran flat ion correfponds exactly with the original. BARON Ste?i Charles Rielke, Vice-prefident of the Court of Juftice in Finland, was the firft who made a propofal to the Royal Academy of Sci- ences at Stockholm, to fend an able man to the northern parts of Siberia and Iceland, as places which are partly under the fame latitude with Sweden, and to make there fuch obfervations and collections of feeds and plants, as would improve the Swedifk hufbandry, gardening, manufactures, arts and fciences. Dr. Linnaus found the pro- pofal juft, but he thought that a journey through North America would be yet of a more exten- five utility, than that through the before -men- tioned countries; for the plants of America were then little known, and not fcientifically de- fcribed; and by feveral trials, it feemed probable that the greateft part of the North American ^plants, would bear very \v*ll the -Swedijh win- ters; and what was more important, a great 3 many vi P R E F A C -E. many American plants promifed to be very ufe- ful in hufbandry and phyfic. THUS far this journey was a mere fcheme; but as Captain Triewald, a man well known for his Abilities in England, gave his Obfervations on the Cultivation of Silk in a feries of Memoirs to the Royal Academy of Sciences, and mentioned therein a kind of mulberry-tree, which was dif- covered by Dr. Linn&Uf, and which bore the ri- gours of the Siiwtifh climate as well as a fir or pine tree ; this circumftance revived the propo- fal of fuch a journey in the year 1745. Count Teffin, a nobleman of eftabliihcd merit both in the political and learned world, becoming prefi- dent of the Royal Academy, it was unanimoufly agreed upon to fend Profeffor Kalm to North America. The expences were at firft a great ob- ilacle; but the Royal Academy wrote to the three univerfities to aflift them in this great and ufeful undertaking. Aobo fent firft her fmall con- tribution, Lund had nothing to fpare, but Upfala made up this deficiency by a liberal contribu- tion. COUNT Piper was intreated to give a family exhibition to Mr. Kalm, which he readily pro- mifed; but as the Academy had obtained from the convocation of the univerlity of Upfala and the magiftrates of Stockholm, another exhibition of the family of Helmsfield for Mr. Kalm, Count Piper refufed to grant his exhibition, as being contrary to the.ftatutes of the univerfity and without any precedent, that one perfon fliould enjoy two exhibitions. The prelent king of Sweden being then prince royal, fucceilbr to the throne, PREFACE. -vil throne, and chancellor of the univerfity, wrote to the convocation, and expreffed his wifhes to have from the treafury of the Univerfity for fo tffeful a purpofe, about 1000 plates, or about 150!. fterling. The univerfity complied generouily with the defire of her chancellor, and gave or- ders that the money fhould be paid to me Royal Academy. The board for promoting manufac- tures gave 300 plates, or about 45!. Mr. Kalm fpent in this journey his falary, and befides very near 130!. of his own fortune ; fo that at his re- turn he found 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 given this detail from Mr. Kalm's long preface, to (hew the reader with what public fpirit this journey has been fup- ported in a country where money is fo fcarce, and what a patriotic and laudable ardor for the promotion of fciences in general, and efpecially of natural hiflory and hufbandry, animates the uni- verfities, the public boards, and even the -private perfons, in this cold climate, which goes fo far, that they chufe rather to fpend their own pri- vate fortunes, than to give up fo beneficial and ufeful a fcheme. We have the fame inftance in Dr. Haffelquijl, who with a fickly and confump- tive conftitution, went to Afia Minor, Egypt, and Pale/line, and collected fuch great riches in new plants and animals, that Dr. Linn&us y $ fyf- tem would never have contained fo many fpecies, had he not made ufe of thefe treafures, which the queen of Sweden generoufly bought, by paying the debts of Di\ Haffelquift* who died in his attempt a 2 to viii P R E F ACE. to promote natural hiftory. The Reverend Mr. OJbeck, in his voyage to China, made an infinite number of ufeful and interefting obfervations t the expence of his whole falary, and published them by the contributions of his pariih. The Reverend Mr. Toreen died by the fatigues of the fame voyage, and left his letters published along with OJbeck, as a monument of his fine genius, and fpirit for promoting natural hiftory. We here look upon the expences as trifling, but they are not fo in Sweden, and therefore are certainly the beft monuments to the honour of the na- tion and the great Linnszus, who in refpedt to natural hiftory is the frhnum mobile of that counr try. PROFESSOR Kalm having obtained leave of his Majefty to be abfent from his poft as profef- for, and having got a paflport, and recommen- dations to the feveral Sivediflj minifters at the courts of London, Paris, Madrid, and at the Hague, in order to obtain paflports for him in their refpe&ive ftates, fet out from Upfala, the 1 6th of OBober 1747* accompanied by Lars Tungsram, a gardener well flailed in the know- ledge of plants and mechanics, an$ who had at the fame time a good hand for drawing, whom he took into his fervice. He then fet fail from Gothenburg^, the nth of December, but a vio- lent hurricane obliged the fhip he was in to take ihelter in the harbour of Gr&m/tad in Norway, from which place he made excuriions to Aren- dal and Cbrijiianfand. He went again to fea February the 8th, 1748, and arrived at London the jyth of the fame month. Ke {laid in Bng~ land PREFACE. ix land till Auguft I5th, in which interval of time he made excurfions to Woodford in Eflex, to Lit" tie Gaddefden in Hertford/hire, where William Ellis, a man known by his publications in htif- bandry lived, but whole practical hufbandry Mr. Kalm found not to be equal to the theory laid down in his writings; he like wife faw fuing- hoe in Buckingbamfhire, Etc?i, and feveral other places, and all the curioftties and gardens in and about London : at laft he went on board a fliip, and traverfed the ocean to Philadelphia in Pen- Jyfoania, which was formerly called New Sweden, where he arrived September the 26th. The reft of that year he employed in collecting feeds of trees and plants, and fending them up to Swe- den; and in feveral excurfions in the environs of Philadelphia. The winter he paffed among his countrymen at Raccoon in New Jerfey. The next year, 1749, Mr. Kalm went through New Jerfey and New Tork, along the river Hudfon, to Albany, and from thence, after having crofted the lakes of St. George and Cbamplain, to Montreal and Que- bec, he returned that very year, againft winter, to Philadelphia, and fent a new cargo of feeds, plants, and curioiities to Sweden. In the year 1750, Mr. Kalm faw the weftern parts of Pen- fyhania and the coaft of New Jerfey , Tung- Jlrcem ftaid in the former province all the fum- mer for the collection of feeds ; and Prof. Kalm in the mean time paffed New Tork and the Blue Mountains, went to Albany, then along the ri- ver Mohawk to the Iroquois nations, where he got acquainted with the Mohawk's, Oneidas, T*uf- faroras, Onandagds 9 and Kayugaws. He then viewed x PREFACE. viewed and navigated the great lake Ontario^ and faw the celebrated fall at Niagara. In his re- turn from his fummer expedition, he croffed the Blue mountains in a different place, and in a Qffiober again reached Philadelphia. IN 1751? he went at Newca/i/e on board a {hip for England, and after a paffage, fubjeft to many dangers in the mod dreadful hurricanes, he arrived, March the 27th, in the Thames, and two days after in London. He took paffage for Gothenburgh May the 5th, and was the i6th of the fame month at the place of his deftination,, and the i3th of June he again arrived at Stock- holm^ after having been on this ufeful expedition three years and eight months. He has fmce af- fumed the profeflbrfhip at Aobo, where, in a fmall garden of his own, he cultivates many hundreds of American plants, as there is not yet a public botanical garden for the ufe of the univerfity, and he with great expectation wifhes to fee what plants will bear the climate, and bear good and ripe feeds fo far north. He pub- liihed the account of his journey by intervals, for want of encouragement, and fearing the ex- pences of publishing at once, in a country where few bookfellers are found, and where the author does very often embrace the bufinefs of bookfelier, in order toreimburfehimfelffor theexpences of his publication. A paflage crofs \b& Atlantic ocean is a new thing to the Swedes, who are little ufed to it, unlefs they go in the few Eq/i India (hips of their country. Every thing therefore was new to Mr. Kalm, and he omitted no circumftance unob- fcrved which are repeated in all the navigators from PREFACE. xl from the earlier times down to our own age. It would be a kind cf injuflice to the public, to give all this at large to the reader. All that part defcribing 'England and its curiofities and huf- bandry we omitted. The particulars of the pafiage from England to Penjyhania we abridged: no circumftance interefting to natural hiftory or to any other part of literature has been omitted. From his arrival at Philadelphia, we give the ori- ginal at large, except where we omitted fome trifling circumftances, viz. the way of eating oyfters, the art of making apple-dumplings, and fome more of the fame nature, which flruck that Swedijh gentleman with their novelty. MR. Kalm makes ufe of the Swedi/h meafure ; its foot is to the Eng/t/h.foot, as 1134 to 1350. For his meteorological obfervations he employ- ed the thermometer of Prof. Celjius, generally made ufe of in Sweden, and his was of Celfiuss own making; the interval from the point of freez- ing to the point of boiKng water, is equally di- vided in this thermometer into TOO parts. In the names of plants, we have chiefly employed after his directions the Linnaan names, in the laft edi- tion of his Spec. Plantarum, and Syftema Nature, Vol. 2. But as his defcriptions of animals, plants, and minerals are very (hort, he promifes to give them at large fome time hence in a Latin work. HE gives you his obfervations as they occurred day after day, which makes him a faithful rela- ter, notwithftanding it takes away all elegance of ftyle, and often occafions him to make very fuddcn xii PREFACE. fuddea tranfitions from fubjects very foreign to one another. AT laft he arms himfelf with a very noble in difference againft the criticifm of feveral people, founded on the great aim he had in view by his performance, which was no lefs than public uti- lity. This he looks upon as the true reward of his pains and expences. THE Map, and drawings of the American birds and animals, were not in the original, but copi- ed from original drawings, and real birds and ani- mals from North America. ' WE find it neceffary here to mention, that as many articles in Mr. Kalms travels required il- liiftrations, the publifher has taken the liberty to join here and there fome notes, which are mark- ed at the end with F. The other notes not thus- marked were kindly communicated by the pub- liiher's friends. PETER I fkill in me, Gravefend on boarc, Lawfony bound for Pbilade^ was fo late as fix o'clock in weighed anchor and failed a good way ~^... Thames before we again came to anchor. Aug. 6th. VERY early in the morning we re- fumed 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 Ken~ tljh coaft, which confifts of fteep and almoft per- pendicular chalk hills, covered at the top with fome foil and a fine verdure, and including ftrata of flints, as it frequently is found in this kind of chalk-hills in the reft of E?igland. And we were delighted in viewing on them excellent corn-fields, covered for the greateft part with wheat, then ripening. AT fix o'clock at night, we arrived at Deal, a little well known town, fituate at the entrance of a bay expofed to the fouthern and eafterly VOL. I. B winds. -6 but ,na ufed as - , o'cjpck we tided down Dover, %nd faw plainly the celebrated Cdindsn in his Britan- ~ v/onhrmed, that here England had been for- merly joined to France and Flanders by an ifth- mus. Both iliores form here two oppofite points; and both are formed of the fame chalk hills, which have the fame configuration, fo that a perfon acquainted with the Engliflj coafts and ap- proaching thofe of Picardy afterwards, without knowing them to be fuch, would certainly take them to be the English ones.* Aug. gth 1 2th. WE tided and alternately failed down the channel, and pafled Dungnefs, Fairligbt, the IJle of Wight, P or tf mouth > the Pe- ninfula of Portland and Bolthead, a point behind which Plymouth lies ; during all which time we had very little wind. * * The fame opinion has been confirmed by Mr, Bffon in hia Hifl. Natvrelh* ' Aug. The Channel. 3 "Aug. I3th. TOWARDS night we got out of the Englijh channel into the Bay ofBifcay. Aug. 1 4th. WE had contrary wind, and this increafed the rolling of the (hip, for it is gene- rally remarked that the'Zfoy of Bifcay has the greateft and broadeft waves, which are of equal fize of thofe between America and Europe ; they are commonly half an Engli/b mile in length, and have a height proportionable to it. The Baltic and the German ocean has on the contrary fliort and broken waves. WHENEVER an animal is killed on board the (hip, the failors commonly hang fome frefli pieces of meat for a while into the fea, and it is faid, it then keeps better. Aug. 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 roll- ed the water in great (beets, in one dirediion, and the north-eafterly wind curled the furface of thefe waves quite in another. By the beating and darning of the waves again ft one another, with a more than ordinary violence, we could fee that we pafled a current, vvhofe direction the captain could not determine. Aug. 1 6th zift. THE fame favourable breeze continued to our great comfort and amazement, for the captain obferved that it was very uncom- mon to meet with an eafterly or north-eafterly B 2, wind 1748, wind between Europe and the Azores (which the failors call the Weftern I/lands) for more than two days together; for the more common wind is here a wefterly one : but beyond the Azores they find a great variety of winds, efpecially about this time of the year ; nor do the wefterly winds continue long beyond thefe ifles j and to this it is owing, that when navigators have pafled the Azores, they think they have performed one half of the voyage, although in reality it be but one third part. Thefe ifles come feldom in fight ; for the navigators keep off them, on account of the dangerous rocks under water furrounding them. Upon obfervation and companion of the journal, we found that we were in forty-three deg. twenty-four min. north lat. and thirty and a half degrees weft long, from London. Aug. 22d. ABOUT noon the captain aflured us, that in twenty-four hours we fhould have a fouth-weft wind : and upon my enquiring into the reafons of his foretelling this with certainty, he pointed at fome clouds in the fouth-weft, \vhofe points turned towards north-eaft, and faid they were occafioned by a wind from the oppolite quarter. At this time I was told we were about half way to Pen/ylvania. Aug. 23d. ABOUT feven o'clock in the mor- ning the expected fouth-weft wind fprung up, and foon accelerated our courfe fo much, that we went at the rate of eight knots an hour. Aug. 24th. THE wind fhifted and was in our teeth. We were told by fome of the crew to expect a little ftorm, the higher clouds being very thin and ftriped and fcattered about the fky like Sea between Europe and America. $ like parcels of combed wool, or fo many fkains of yarn* which they faid forebode a ftorm. Thefe ftriped clouds ran north-weft and fouth-eaft, in the diredion of the wind we then had. Towards night the wind abated and we had a perfect calm, which is a fign of a change of wind, Aug. 25th and a6th. A WEST wind fprung up and grew flronger and ftronger, fo that at laft the waves warned our deck. Aug. 27th. IN the morning we got a better wind, which went through various points of the compafs and brought on a florm from north-eaft, towards night. OUR captain told me an obfervation founded on long experience, viz. that though the winds changed frequently in the Atlantic ocean, efpe- cially in fummer time, the moft frequent how- ever was the weftern ; and this accounts for the paflage from America to Europe commonly be- ing morter, than that from Europe to America. Beiides this, the winds in the Atlantic during fummer are frequently partial, fo that a ftorm may rage on one part of it, and within a few miles of the place little or no ftorm at all may be felt. In winter the winds are more conftant, extenfive and violent; fo that the fame wind reigns on the greater part of the ocean for a good while, and caufes greater waves than in fum- mer. Aug. 30th. As I had obferved the night be- fore fomc ftrong flames of lightening without any fubiequent clap of thunder, I enquired of our captain, whether he could affign any reafons for it. He told me thefe phcenomena were B 3 6 x September 1748. pretty common, and the confequence of a pre- ceding heat in the atmofphere ; but that when lightening^ were obferved in winter, prudent navigators were ufed to reef their fails, as they are by this fign certain of an impendent florm ; and fo likewife in that feafon, a cloud rifing from the north-weft, is an infallible forerunner of a great tempeft. Sept. yth. 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. three min. north lat. and between fifty- three and fifty- four deg. weft long, from London. BESIDES the common waves rolling with the wind, we met on the 4th and 5th inft. with waves coming from fouth-weft, which the cap- tain gave as a mark of a former ftorm from that quarter in this neighbourhood. Sept, 8th. WE croffed by a moderate wind, a fea with the higheft waves we met on the \vhole paffage, attributed 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 thole we obferved before. Sept. gth. IN the afternoon we remarked that in forne 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 fuppoftd to be caufed by the fand, or, as fome fay, by the weeds under water. Ocean between Europe and America. j Sept. 1 2th. WE were becalmed that day, and as we in this fituation obferved a {hip, which we fufpefted to be a Spani/h privateer, our fear was very great ; but we faw fome days after our arrival at Philadelphia the fame {hip arrive, and heard that they feeing us had been under the fame apprehenfions with ourfelves. Sept. J 3th. CAPTAIN Lawfon, who kept his bed for the greater part of the voyage, on account of aa indifpofition, affured us yefterday we were in all appearance very near America: but as the mate was of a different opinion, and as the fail- ors could fee no land from the head of the mail, nor find ground by the lead, we fleered on di- redly towards the land. About three o'clock in the morning the captain gave orders to heave the lead, and we found but ten fathom ; the fecond mate himfelf took the lead and called out ten and fourteen fathoms, but a moment after the {hip ftruck on the fand, and this {hock was followed b^ four other very violent ones. The confirmation was incredible ; and very juftly might it bs fo ; for there were above eighty perfons on board, and the hip had but one boat : but happily our {hip got off again, alter having been turned. At day- break, which followed foon after (for the acci- dent happened half an hour paft four) we faw the continent of America within a Swediflj mile before us : the coaft was whitifh, low, and high- er up covered with firs. We found out, that the fand we ftruck on, lay oppolite Arcadia in Maryland^ in thirty- feven deg. fifty min'. north lat, WE coafted the mores of Maryland all the day, B 4 but 8 *& Bay of Delaware. but not being able to reach cape Uinlopen> where we intended to take a pilot on board, we cruized all night before the bay of Delaware. The dark- jiefs of the night made us expeft a rain, but we found that only a copious fall of dew enfued, which made our coats quite wet, and the pages of a book, accidentally left open on the deck, were in half an hour's time after fun-fetting like- wife wet, and we were told by the captain and the failors that both in England and America a copious dew was commonly followed by a hot and fultry day. Sept. 1 4th. WE faw land on our larboard in the weft, which appeared to be low, white, fandy, and higher up the country covered with firsl Cape Hinlopen is a head of land running into the fea from the weftern fhore, and has a village on it. The eaftern fhore belongs here to New Jerfey^ and the weftern to Penjyfoania. The bay of Delaware has many fands, and from four to eleven fathom water. THE fine woods of oak, hiccory and firs co- vering both mores made a fine appearance, and were partly employed in (hip-building at Phi/a- delphia; for which purpofe every year fome Eng- lift* captains take a paffage in autumn to this town, and fuperintend the building of new (hips during winter, with which they go to fea next fpring : and at this time it was more ufual than common, as the French and Spani/h privateers had taken many ILnglifh merchant fhips. A LITTLE "after noon we reached the mouth of Delaware river, which is here about three Englijh miles broad, but decreafes gradually fo much,. Ocean between Europe and America. much, that it is fcarcely a mile broad zt delphia. HERE we were delighted in feeing now and then between the woods fome farm-houfes fur-> rounded with corn-fields, paftures well flocked with cattle, and meadows covered with fine hay ; and more than one fenfe was agreeably affedted, when the wind brought to us the fined effluvia of odoriferous plants and flowers, or that of the frefh made hay : thefe agreeable fenfations and the fine fcenery of nature on this continent, fb new to us, continued till it grew quite dark. HERE I will return to fea, and give the reader a fhort view of the various occurrences belonging to Natural - Hiflory, during our croffing the Ocean. OF fea-weeds (Fiicus Linn.) we faw, Augujl the 1 6th and I7th, a kind which had a fimilarity to a bunch of onions tied together; thefe bunches were of the fize of the fill, and of a white co- lour. Near the coaft of America within the American gulf, September the nth, we met like- wife with feveral fea- weeds, one fpecies of which was called by the failors rock-weed*, another kind looked like a firing of pearls, and another was white, about a foot long, narrow, every where equally wide and quite flrait. From Augujl the 24th to September the nth we faw no other weeds, but thole commonly going under the name of Gul/weed, becaufe they are fuppofed to come from the gulf of Florida ; others call it Sargazv, and Dr. Limhtus, Pucus natans. Its Jialk is very flender, rotundato-angulated, and of a dark green j it Jias many branches and each of them I o Ocean between Europe and America. them has numerous leaves difpofed 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 refemblance to the leaves of Iceland-mofs > their colour is a yellowifli green. Its fruit in a great meafure refembles unripe juniper berries, is round, greenifh yellow, almoft fmooth on the outfide, and grows under the leaves on fhort footftalks, of two or three lines length ; under each leaf are from one to three berries, but I never have feen them exceed that number. Some berries were frnall, and when cut were quite hollow and confifted of a thin peel only, which is calculated to communicate their buoyancy to the whole plant. The leaves grow in proportion narrower, as they approach the extremities of the branches : their upper fides are fmooth, the ribs are on the under fides, and there likewife appear fmall roots of two, three, or four lines length. I was told by our mate that gulf-weed, dried and pounded, was given in America to women in childbed, and befides this it is alfo 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 ol[ Florida, from whence all this driving on the ocean is faid to come. Several little Jhells pointed like horns, and Efchartz 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 minute forimp, or a fmall crab, the latter of which is the Cancer mi nut us of Dr. Linnceus. Of thefe I collected eight, and of the former three, all which I put in a glafs with water ; the Ocean between Europe and America. 1 1 the little fhrimp moved as fwift as an arrow round the glafs, but fometimes its motion was flow, and fometimes it flood ftill on one fide, or at the bottom of the glafs. If one. of the little crabs approached, it was feized by its forepaws, killed and fucked ; for which reafon they were careful. to avoid their fate. It was quite of the ihape of a {hrimp; in fwimming it moved always on one fide, the fides, and the tail moving al- ternately. It was capable of putting its fore- paws 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 mrimps. The former moved wherr 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 Podttra of Linnteus > they came in a moment to the furface of the water. In fwimming they moved al! their feet very clofe, fometimes they held them down as other crabs do, fometimes they lay on their backs, but as foon as the motion of their feet ceafed, they al- ways funk to the bottom. The remaining fhrimps I preferved in fpirits, and the lofs of my little crabs was foon repaired by other fpecimens which are fo plentiful in each of the floating bundles of gulf-weed. For a more minute de- fcription of which I muft refer the reader to another work I intend to publim. In fome places we favv a crab of the fize of the fift, fwim- ming by the continual motion of its feet, which being at reft, the animal began immediately to 5 fink* r 2 Ocean between Europe and America. fink. And one time I met with a great red crawfijh, or hbfter, floating on the furface of the fca. BLUBBERS, or Medufe Linn, we found of three kinds : the firft is the Medufa aurita Linn. it is round, purple-coloured, opens like a bag, and in it are as 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 inftance 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 croffed more than half of the ocean between Europe and America, we met with a kind of blubber, which is known to failors by the name of the Spaniflj or Portuguese Man of War, it looks like a great bladder, or the lungs of a quadruped, compreffed on both fides, about fix inches in diameter, of a fine purple-red co- lour, and when touched by the naked {kin of the human body, it caufes a greater burning than any other kind of blubber. They are often over- turned by the rolling of the waves, but they are again {landing up in an inftant, and keep the {harp or narrow fide uppermofl, WITHIN the American gulf we faw not only thefe Spanifh Men of War, but another kind too* for which the failors had no other name but that of a blubber. It was of the fize of a pewter plate, brown in the middle, with a pale margin, which was in continual motion. OF the Lepas anatifera Linn. I faw on the goth of Augitft a log of wood, which floated on, the Ocean between Europe and America. 13 the ocean, quite covered. Of infers I faw in the channel, when we were in fight of the IJle of Wight feveral white butterflies, very like to the Papilio Braffictz Linn. < They never fettled, and by their venturing at fo great a diftance from land they caufed us juft aftonifliment. SOME common fics 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. OF Cetaceous fijh we met with Porpeffes, or as fbme failors call them Sea-hogs * (Delpbinus Phocxna Linn.) firft in the channel, and then they continued every where on this fide the Azores, where they are the only fi(h navigators meet with ; but beyond thefe iiles they are fel- dom feen, till again in the neighbourhood of America we faw them equally frequent to the very mouth of Delaware river. They always appear- ed in (hoals, fome of which coniifted of upwards of an hundred individuals ; their fwimming was very fwift, and though they often fwam along fide of our fhip, being taken as it were with the noife caufed by the (hip cutting the waves, they * The name of Porpejfi is certainly derived from the name Per- eopefce, given to this genus by the Italians \ and it is remarkable that almoft all the European nations confpired in calling them Sea-hogi, their name being in German Mecr Schwein ; the Swedijh) and Norwegian, Marfuin, from whence the French bor- rowed their Marfouin. The natives of Iceland call them Suinbual* i. e. a Svoine-ivhalej and fo likewife the Slavonian nations have their S-ivinia Morjkaya. Whether this confent arifes from their rooting the fand at the bottom of the fea in queft of Sand-eels and. Sea-worms like fwine, or from the vaft quantity of lard furround- ing their bodies, is uncertain. F. however 14 Ocean between Europe and America. however foon outwent her, when they were tired with flaring at her. They are from four to eight feet long, have a bill like in fhape to that of a goofe, a white belly, and leap up into the air frequently four feet high, and from four to eight feet in length ; though their fnoring indi- cates the effort which a leap of that nature cofts them. Our failors made many vain attempts to ftrike one of them with the harp iron from the forecaftle, when they came within reach, but their velocity always eluded their fkilL ANOTHER cetaceous fifli, of the Dolphin kind, * with which we met, is called by the failors Bottle-nofe ; it fwirns in great fhoals, has a head like a bottle, and is killed by a harpoon, and is fometirnes eaten. Thefe fifli are very large, and fome fully twelve feet long; their fhape, and manner of tumbling and fwimming, make them nearly related to Porpefles. They are to be met with every where in the ocean from the channel to the very neighbourhood of America. ONE Whale we faw at a diftance, and knew it by the water which it fpouted up. A Dog-fjh of a confiderable fize followed the fliip for a little while, but it was foon out of fight, without our being able to determine to which fpecies it belonged : this was the only cartilaginous fifh we faw on the whole paflage. * Mr. Kalm is certainly miflaken in reckoning the Bottle-noft amongft the Dolphin kind ; it has no teeth in its mouth as all the fh of that clafs have, and therefore belongs to the firit order of the Whales, or thofe that are without teeth. See Mr. Pennant's Britifh Zoology, Vol. 3. p. 43. where it is called the beaked Whale* and very well defcribed ; a drawing is feen in the expla- natory table, n. I. Perhaps it would, not be improper to call it ampullata. F a Ocean between Europe and America. i $ OF the bony fi(h, we faw feveral beyond the jfzores, but never one on this fide of thofe ifles ; one of them was of a large fize, and we faw it at a diflance ; the failors called it an Albecor, and it is Dr. Linnaufs Scomber Thynnus. THE Dolphin of the Englifh is the Dorado of the Portugueze> and Dr. Linn&us calls it Cory- phcena Hippuris ; it is about two feet and a half long, near the head fix inches deep, and three inches broad ; from the head the Dolphin de- creafes on all fides towards the tail, where its perpendicular depth is one inch and a half, and its breadth hardly one inch. The colour of the back near the head is a fine green on a filver ground, but near the tail of a deep blue ; the bdly is white, and fometimes mixed with a deep yellow, on the fides it has fome round pale brown fpots. It has fix and not feven fins as was imagined ; two of them are on the breaft, two on the belly, one at the tail extending to the anus, and one along the whole back, which is of a fine blue : when the fim is juft taken the extremities of the moft outward rays in the tail were eight inches one from another. Their mo- tion when they fwam behind, or along fide of the fhip, was very flow, and gave a fair oppor- tunity to hit them with the harpoon, though fome are taken with a hook and line, and a bait of chicken bowels, fmall fim, or pieces of his own ipecies, or the flying fim, which latter are their chief food : and it is by their chafing them, that the flying fim leave their element to find ihelter in one to which they are ftrangers. The Dolphins fometimes leap a fathom out of the water. 1 6 Ocean between Europe and America. water, and love to fwim about calks and logs of wood, that fometimes drive in the fea. They are eaten with thick butter, when boiled, and fometimes fried, and afford a palatable food, but rather fomewhat dry. In the bellies of the fifli of this fpecies which we caught, feveral ani- mals were found, viz. an Oflracion ; a little fifh with blue eyes, which was yet alive, being juft the moment before fwallowed, and meafuring two inches in length ; another little fifh > a curious marine infedl, and a flying fim, all which not yet being damaged by digeftion, I preferved in fpirits. THE Flying Fijh (Exccoetus volitans Linn.) are always feen in great fhoals, fometimes of an hundred or more getting at once out of the water, being purfued by greater fifh, and chiefly by Dolphins ; they rife about a yard, and even a fathom above the water in their flight, but this latter height they only are at, when they take their flight from the top of a wave ; and fome- times it is faid they fall on the deck of fhips. The greateft diftance they fly, is a good mufket- fhot, and this they perform in lefs than half a minute's time; their motion is fomewhat like that of the yellow-hammer, (Emberiza Citrinella Linn.) It is very remarkable that I found the courfe they took always to be againft the wind, and though I was contradicted by the failors, who affirmed that they went at any dire&ion, I neverthelefs was confirmed in my opinion by a careful obfervation during the whole voyage, according to which they fly conftantly either dire&ly Ocean between Europe and America. 17 diredly againft the wind, or fomewhat in an oblique direction*. WE faw like wife the fifh called Bonetos* (Scomber Pelamys Linn.) they were likewife in fhoals, hunting fome fmaller fim, which chace caufed a noife like to that of a cafcade, becaufe they wefe all fwimming clofe in a body j but they always kept out of the reach of our har- poons. OF amphibious animals, or reptiles ; 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. BIRDS are pretty frequently feen on the ocean, though Aquatic Birds are more common than Land Birds. THE Petrel (Procellaria Pelagica Linn.) was our* companion from the channel to the Thores of America. Flocks of this bird were always about our fhip, chiefly in that part of the fea, which being cut by the (hip, forms a fmooth furface, where they frequently 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 fifh feem to be their chief food ; in day-time they are filent, in the dark clamorous i they are reputed to forebode a ftorm, for which reafbn the failors difliking their company, complimented them With the name of witches -, but they are as fre- * IN Mr. Pennant's Britijb Zoology, vol. 3. p. 333. is the beft account of this fiih to be met with ; and in his BYitiJb Zoology , iliujiratea by Plates and brief explanations, is plate xliv. a good and exadt drawing of the fifhj the upper figure reprefenting it in front, the lower fideways. F. VOL. I. C ijuent 1 8 Ocean between Europe and America. quent in fair weather, without a ftorm following their appearance. To me it appeared as if they flayed fometimes half an hour and longer under the waves, and the failors affured me they did. They look like fwallows, and like them they Ikim fometimes on the water. THE Shearwater (Procellaria Pt(ffi?nts Linn.) is another fea-bird, which we faw every where on our voyage, from the channel to the Ame- rican coafts ; it has much the appearance and fize of the dark grey Sea-gull, or of a Duck ; it has a brown back, and commonly a white ring round its neck, and a peculiar flow way of fly- ing. We plainly faw feme of thefe birds feed on fifli. THE Tropic bird (Phaeton cetbcreus Linn.) has very much the fhape of a gull, but two very long feathers, which it has in its tail, diflinguifli it enough from any other bird ; its flight is often exceedingly high : the firft of this kind we met was at about forty deg. north lat. and forty-nine or fifty deg. weft long, from London. COMMON Gulls (Larus canus Linn.) we faw, when we were oppofite the Land's End, the moft wefterly cape of England, and when, ac- cording to our reckoning, we were oppofite Ire- land. TERNS (Sterna bir undo Linn.) though of a fomewhat darker colour than the common ones, \ve found after the forty- firft deg. of north lat. and forty-feventh deg. weft long, from London, very plentifully, and ibmetimes in flocks of fome hundreds ; fometimes they fettled, as if tired, on our (hip, WITHIN Ocean between Europe and America. 1 9 WITHIN the American gulph we difcovered a fea-bird at a little diftance from the fhip, which the failors called a Sea -hen. LAND-BIRDS are new and then feen at fea, and fometimes at a good diftance from any land, fo that it is often difficult to account for their appearance in fo uncommon a place. Augitft the 1 8th, we faw a bird which fettled on our {hip, and was perfectly like the great Titmoitfe, (Parus major Linn.) upon an attempt to catch it, it got behind the fails, and could never be caught. Sept. i ft. WE obferved fome Land-birds flying about our fliip, which we took for Sand Martins (Hirundo riparla Linn.J fometimes they fettled on our fhip, or on the fails j they were of a greyiih brown colour on their back, their bread white, and the tail fome what furcated ; a heavy fhower of rain drove them afterwards away. September the ad a Swallow fluttered about the fhip, and fometimes it fettled on the maftj it feemed to be very tired ; feveral times it ap- proached our cabin windows, as if it was willing to take fhelter there. Thefe cafes happened about forty deg. north lat. and between forty- feven and forty-nine deg. weft long, from Lon- don, and alfo about twenty deg. long, or more than nine hundred and twenty fea miles from any land whatfoever. Sept. loth. WITHIN the American gulph a large bird, which we took for an Owl, and like- wife a little bird, fettled on our fails. Sept. 1 2th. A Wood-pecker fettled on our rigging : its back was of a fpeckled grey, and it feemed extremely fatigued. And another land- C 2 bird so Ocean between Europe and America. bird of the pa/ferine clafs, endeavoured to take fhelter and reft on our fhip. BEFORE I entirely take leave of the fea, I will communicate my 6bfervations on two curious phenomena. IN the channel and in the ocean we faw, at night-time, fparks of. fire, as if flowing on the water, efpecially where it was agitated, fome- times one fingle fpark fwam for the fpace of more than one minute on the ocean before it vanifhed. The failors obferved them commonly to appear during, and after a ftorm from the north, and that often the fea is as if it were full of fire, and that fome fuch mining fparks would likewife flick to the marts and fails. SOMETIMES this light had not the appearance of fparks, but looked rather like the phofpho- refcence of putrid wood. THE Thames water which made our provifion of frefh water, is reputed to be the beft of any. It not only fettled in the oak cafks it is kept in, but becomes in a little time {linking, when flop- ped up ; however, this naufeous Imell it foon lofes, after being filled into large flone jugs, and expofed to the open frefh air for two or three hours together. Often the vapours arifing from a calk which has been kept clofe and flopped up for a great while take fire, if a candle is held near them when the cafk is opened ; and the Thames Water is thought to have more of this quality than any other ; though I was told that this even happened with any other water in the fame cir- cumflances. Now I can refume my narrative, and there- fore Penfyhanla, Pliladdptfta. 23 in a fwell. The weather indeed was fo clear, that a great number of the Germans on board flept on the deck. The cabin windows needed not the ihutters. All thefe are circum (lances which {how the uncommon goodnefs of the wea- ther. CAPTAIN Lawfoiis civility increafed the plea- fure of the'voyage. As foon as we were come to the town, and had caft anchor, many of the inhabitants came on board, to enquire for Letters. They took all thofe which they could carry, either for them- felves or for their friends. Thofe, which remain- ed, the captain ordered to be carried on (hore, and left at a cofFee-houfe ; by this means he was rid of the trouble of delivering them himfelf. I afterwards went on more with him. But before he went, he flriclly charged the fecond mate, to let no one of the German refugees out of the fhip, unlefs he paid for his paflage, or fome body elfe paid for him, or bought him. ON my leaving London I received letters of recommendation from Mr. Abraham Spalding, Mr. Peter Collinfon, Dr. Mitcbel, and others, to their friends here. It was eaiy for me therefore to get acquaintance. Mr. Benjamin Franklin, to whom Penfyhania is indebted for its welfare, and the learned world for many new difcoveries in Electricity, was the firft who took notice of me, and introduced me to many of his friends. He gave me all neceffary inftrudtions, and {hewed me his kindnefs on many oc cafions. I WENT to-day accompanied by Mr. ^acob C 4 Bengjlw, 24 September 1748. Bengfton, a member of the Swedi/h confiflory, and the fculptor Guftavus Heffelius, to fee the town and the fields which lay before it. (The former is brother of the rev. Meffrs. Andrew and Samuel Hejfiftus, both minifters at Chrlftiana in New Swe* den, and of the late Dr. John Hejfelius in the pro- vinces of Nerik and Wermcland), My new friend had followed his brother Andrew in 1711 to this country, and had fince lived in it. I found that I was now come into a new world. When- ever I looked to the ground, I every where found fuch plants as I had never feen before. When I law a tree, I was forced to flop, and afk thofe who accompanied me, how it was called. The firft plant whic hftruck my eyes was an Andr&-> fogon, or a kind of grafs, and grafs is a part of Botany I always delighted in. I was feized with terror at the thought of ranging fo many new and unknown parts of natural hiftory. At firft I only confidered the plants, without venturing on 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 moft peo- ple of this profeflion appeared to me. I and my Yimgftrcewiy the companion of my voyage, had 'a room, candles, beds, attend-ance, and three meals a day, if we chofe to have fo many, for twenty Shillings per week in Penfytvotoia curren- cy. But wood, wafhing and wine, if required, were to be paid for befides. Sept. the i6th. BEFORE I proceed I muft give a fhort defcription of T*biladj>(phia y which I fhall uiently mention in the fequel of my travels, I hers Penjyhania, Philadelphia. 25 I here put down feveral particulars which I marked during my ftay at that place, as a help to my memory. PHILADELPHIA, the capital of Penjylvania, a province which makes part of what formerly was called New Sweden, is one of the principal towns in North-America ; and next to Bojion the greateft. It is fituated almoft in the center of the Englijb colonies, and its lat. is thirty-nine deg. and fifty min. but its weft long, from Lon- don near feventy-five deg. THIS town was built in the year 1683 /or as others fay in 1682, by the well known quaker \Willlam Pen, who got this whole province by a grant from Charles thefecond, king of England-, after Sweden had given up its claims to it. Accor- ding to Pen's plan the town was to have been built upon a piece of land which is formed by the union of the rivers Delaware and Skulkill, in a quadrangular form, two Englijb miles long and one broad. The eaftern fide would therefore have been bounded by the Delaware, and the weftern by the SkulkilL They had actually be- gun to build houfes on both thefe rivers ; for eight capital ftreets, each two Englijh miles long, and fixteen lefler ftreets (or lanes) acrofs them, each one mile in length, were marked out, with a considerable breadth, and in ftrait lines. The place was at that time almoft an entire wildernefs covered with thick forefts, and belonged to three Swedijh brothers called Sven's-S which run fcattered be- tween the bendings of the other veins, and arc of a grey colour, excepting here and there fome fingle grains of fand, of a paler hue. The glim- mer makes the greateft part of the ftone 5 but the mixture is fometimes of another kind, as I fhall relate hereafter under the article, eleventh of Oc- tober. This ftone is now got in great quanti- ties in the country, is eafily cut, and has the good quality of not attracting the moifturc in a wet feafon. 28 September 1748. feafon. Very good lime is burnt every where hereabouts, for mafonry. THE houfes are covered with fhingles. The wood for this purpofe is taken from the CupreJJits tbyoides Linn, or a tree which Swedes here call the white juniper -tree, and the Englijh, the white cedar. Swamps and morafles formerly were full qf them, but at prefent thefe trees are for the greateft part cut down, and no attempt has as yet been made to plant new ones. The wood is very light, rots lefs than any other in this coun- try, and for that realbn is exceeding good for roofs. For it is not too heavy for the walls, and will ferve for forty or fifty years together. But many people already begin to fear, that thefe roofs will in time be looked upon as having been very detrimental to the city. For being fo very light, moft people who have built their houfes of flone, or bricks, have been led to make their walls extremely thin. But at prefent this kind of wood is almoft entirely deftroyed. Whenevef therefore in procefs of time thefe roofs decay, the people will be obliged to have recourfe to the 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 peo- ple be obliged to pull down the walls and to build new ones, or to take other fteps for fecqr- ing them. Several people have already in late years begun to make roofs of tiles. - AMONG the public buildings I will firft men- tion churches, of which there are feveral, for God is ferved in various ways in this country. I. THE Englifo eftablifoed church ftands in the Penfyhania, Philadelphia. 29 the northern part of the town, at fome diftancs from the market, and is/the fineft of all. It has a little, inconfiderable fteeple, in which is a bell to be rung when it is time to go to church, and on burials. It has likewife a clock which ftrikes the hours. This building which is called Chrift church, was founded towards the end of the lafl century, but has lately been rebuilt and moreador- ned. It has two Minifters who get the greateft part of their falary from England. In the beginning of this century, the Swedffi minifter the rev. Mr. Rudmann, performed the functions of a clergy- man to the Englijh congregation for near two years, during the abfence of their own clergy- man. 2. The Swedijh church, which is other wife called the church of Wcekacko, is on the fou- them part of the town, and almoft without it, on the river's fide, and its fituation is therefore more agreeable than that of any other. I mall have an opportunity of defcribing it more exadt- ly, when I mall fpeak of the Swedes in particu- lar, who live in this place. , 3. THE German Lutheran church, is on the north-weft fide of the town. On my arrival in America it had a little fteeple, but that being put up by an ignorant architect, before the walls of the church were quite dry, they leaned forwards by its weight, and therefore they were forced to pull it down again in the autumn of the year 1750. About that time the congregation receiv- ed a fine organ from Germany. They have only one minifter, who likewife preaches at another Lutheran; church in Germantown. He preaches alternately 30 September 1748. alternately one Sunday in that church, and ano- ther in this. The firft clergyman which the Lutherans had in this town, was the rev. Mr. Muhlenbergy who laid the foundations of this church in 1743, and being called to another place afterwards, the rev. Mr, Erunholz from Slefwick was his fucceffor, and is yet here. Both thefe Gentlemen were fent to this place from Hall in Saxony, and have been a great advantage to it by their peculiar talent of preaching in an edify- ing manner. A little while before this church was built, the Lutheran Germans had no clergy*- man for themfelves, fo that the every- where be- loved Swedifo, minifter at Weekacko, Mr. Dylan- tier, preached likewife to them. He therefore preached three fermons every Sunday; the firft early in the morning to the Germans ; 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 inftrudled the Ger- mans who lived feparately there. He therefore frequently preached fixteen fermons a week. And after his death, which happened in Nwem- ber 1741, the Germans firft wrote to Germany for a clergyman for themielves. This congregation is at prefent very numerous, fo that every Sunday the church is very much crowded. It has two galleries, but no veftry. They do not fing the collects, but read them before the altar. 4. THE eld Prejbyterian church, is not far from the market, and on the fouth-fide of Market- ftreet. It is of a middling fize, and built in the year 1704, as the infcription on the northern pe- diment {hews. The roof is built almoft hemi- fpherical, Penfyhania, Philadelphia^ 31 ipherical, or at leaft forms a hexagon. The whole building ftands from north to fouth, for the pref- byterians do not regard, as other people do, whe- ther their churches lock towards a certain point of the heavens or not. 5. THE new Prefbyterian church was built in theyear 1 750, by the New-lights in the north-wefl- rn part of the town. By the name of New-lights, are underftood the people who have, from differ- ent religions, become profelytes to the well known Wbitefield, who in the years 1739* 1740, and likewife in 1744 and 1745, travelled through al- moft all the Englijb colonies. His delivery, his extraordinary zeal, and other talents fo well adapted to the intellects of his hearers, made him fo popular that he frequently, efpecially in the two firft years, got from eight thoufand to twenty thoufand hearers in the fields. His intention in thefe travels, was to coiled: money for an or- phans hofpital which had been ereded in Georgia. He here frequently collected feventy pounds fter- ling at one fermon; nay, at two fermons which he preached in the year 1740, both on one Sun* day, at Philadelphia, he got an hundred and fifty pounds. The profelytes of this man, or the above mentioned new-lights, are at prefent merely a fed; of prefbyterians. For though Whitefidd was ori- ginally a clergyman of the Englifb church, yet he deviated by little and little from her dodrines; and on arriving in the year 1 744 at Bo/Ion in New England, he difputed with the prefbyterians about their dodrines, fb much that he almoft entirely embraced them. For Whitefield was no great difputant, and could therefore eafily be led by 32 September 1748. by thefe cunning people, whitherfoever they v/ould have him. This likevvife during his lat- ter ftay in America caufed his audience. to be lefs numerous than during the firft. The new-lights built firft, in the year 1741, a great houfe in the weftern part of the town, to hold divine fervice in. But a divifion arifing amongft them after the departure of Whitefald, and beiides on other ac- counts, the building was fold to the town in the beginning of the year 1750, and deftined for a /Kiool. The new-lights then built a church which i call the new Prejbyterian one. On its eaftern pediment is the following infcription, in golden letters: TempIumPre/byterianum, annuente Numine* ereffum, Anno Dom. MDCCL, 6 THE old German reformed church is built in the weft-north- weft part of the town, and looks like the church in the TLadugoordfield near Stock* .holm. It is not yet finifhed, though for feveral years together, the congregation has kept up di- vine fervice in it. Thefe Germans attended the German fervice at the Swedifo church, whilft the Swedijh minifter, Mr. Dylander* lived. But as the Lutherans got a clergyman for themfelves on the death of the laft, thofe of the reformed church made likewife preparations to get one from Dor- drecht; and the firft who was lent to them, was the rev. Mr. Slaughter, whom I found on my arrival. But in the year 1750, another clergyman of the reformed church arrived from Holland* and by his artful behaviour, fo infmuated himfelf into the favour of the rev. Mr. Slaughters con- gregation, that the latter loft almoft half his au- dience. The two clergymen then difputed for feveral Penfyfoania, Philadelphia. 33 feveral Sundays together, about the pulpit ; nay, people relate that the new comer mounted the pulpit on a Saturday, and flayed in it all night. The other being thus excluded, the two parties in the audience, made themfelves the fubjecl: both of the laughter and of the fcorn of the whole town, by beating and bruifing each other, and committing other cxceffes. The affair was inquired into by the magiftrates, and decided in favour of the rev. Mr. Slaughter, the perfon who had been abufed. 7. THE new reformed church, was built at a little diftance 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 whole audience of his anta- gonift, at the end of the year 1750, and therefore this new church will foon be ufelefs. 8. 9. THE Quakers 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, neither altars, nor pulpits, nor any other ornaments ufual in churches; but only feats and fome fconces. They meet thrice every Sunday in them, and befides that at certain times every week or every month. I (hall mention more 'about them hereafter. 10. THE Baptijis have their fervice, in the northern patt of the town. 1 1. THE Roman Catholicks have in the fouth- weft part of the town a great houfe, which is well adorned within, and has an organ. 12. THE Moravian Brethren have hired a great houfe, in the northern part of the town, in VOL. I, D which 34 September 1748. which they performed the fervice both in German and in Englijb; not only twice or three times every Sunday, but likewife every night after it is grown dark. But in the winter of the year 1750, they were obliged to drop their evening meetings f fome wanton young fellows having feveral times difturbed the congregation, by an inftrument founding like the note of a cuckoo; for this noife they made in a dark corner, not only at the end of every ftanza, but likewife at that of every line,, wh ilft they were finging a hymn. THOSE of the E&j$b church, the New-lights, the Quakers, and the Germans of the reformed religion, have each of them their burying places* on one fide out of town, and not near their churches, though the firft of thefe fometimes make an exception. All the others bury their dead in their church-yards, and the Moravian bre~ thren bury where they can. The Negroes are bu- ried in a particular place out of town. I NOW proceed to mention the other publick buildings in Philadelphia. THE T'own-ball, or the place where theaffem-' blies are held, is fituated 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 or- nament to the town. The deputies of each pro* vince meet in it commonly every Otfober, or even more frequently if circumftances require it, in order to confider of the welfare of the country, and to hold their parliaments or diets in mini- ature. There they revife the old laws, and make new ones. ON one fide of this building {lands the /- brary l Penfyfoania, Philadelphia. *7 brary, which was firft begun in the year 1742, on a publick-fpirited plan, formed and put in ex- fecution by the learned Mr. Franklin. For he perfuaded firft the moft fubftantial people in town to pay forty (hillings at the outfet, and af- terwards annually ten (hillings, all in Penfyhania currency, towards pur chafing all kinds ofufeful books. The fubfcribers are intitled to make ufe of the books. Other people are likewife at liberty to borrow them for a certain time, but muft leave a pledge, and pay eight-pence a week for a folio volume, fix-pence for a quarto, and four-pence for all others of a fmaller fize. As foon as the time, allowed a perfon for the perufal cf the vo- lume, is elapfed, it muft be returned, or he is fined. The money arifing in this manner is em* ployed for the falary of the librarian, and for pur- chafing new books. There is already a fine col- ledlion of excellent works, mcft of them Engliflj, many French and Latin, but few in any other language. The fubfcribers were fo kind to me, as to order the librarian, during my ftay here, to lend me every book, which I ihould want, with- out requiring any payment. The library was open every Saturday from four to eight o'clock in the afternoon. Befides the books, feveral mathe- matical and phyfical inftruments, and a large collection of natural curiofities, were to be feen in it. Several little libraries were founded in the town on the fame footing or nearly with this. The Court Houfe ftands in the middle of Mar- ket-Jireet, to the weft 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. D 2 THE 34-r September 1 748 . THE building of the Academy is in th number. THE town is now quite filled with inhabitant?, which in regard to their country, religion, and trade, are very different from each other. You nicct September 1748. meet with excellent matters in all trades, and things are made here full as well as in England* Yet no manufactures, efpecially for making fine cloth, are eftablifhed. Perhaps the reafon is, thaC it can be got with fo little difficulty from Eng- land, and that the breed of flieep which is brought over, degenerates in procefs of time, and affords but a coarfe wool. HERE is great plenty of provifions, and 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, and teaches or undertakes nothing againft the ftate, or againft the common peace, is at liberty to fettle, flay, and carry on his trade here, be his religious principles ever fo ftrange. No one is here mo- lefted on account of the erroneous principles of the doctrine which he follows, if he does not ex- ceed the above-mentioned bounds. And he is fo well fecured by the laws in his perfon and pro- perty, and enjoys fuch liberties, that a citizen of Philadelphia may in a manner be faid to live in his houfe like a king. ON a careful confideration of what I have al- ready faid, it will be eafy to conceive how this city fhould rife fo fuddenly from nothing, into fuch grandeur and perfedion, without fuppofing any powerful monarch's contributing to it, either by punifhing the wicked, or by giving great fup- plies in money. And yet its fine appearance, good regulations, agreeable fituation, natural advanta- ges, trade, riches and power, are by no means inferior to thole of any, even of the mcft ancient towns in Europe. It has not been neceflary to force Penfyfoania, Philadelphia* 47 force people to come and fettle here ; on the con- trary, foreigners of different languages have left their country, houfes, property, and relations, and ventured over wide and ftormy feas, in order to come hither. Other countries, which have been peopled for a long fpace of time, complain of the final! number of their inhabitants. But Penfyfoama> which was no better than a defart in the year 168 J, and hardly contained five hun- dred people, now vi.es with feveral kingdoms in "Europe in number of inhabitants. It has re- ceived numbers of people, which other coun- tries, to their infinite lofs, have either neglefted or expelled, A WRETCHED old wooden building, on a hilL near the river fomewhat north of the WickakQ church, belonging to one of the Sons of Sven, of whom, as before mentioned, the ground was- bought for building Philadelphia upon, 19 pre~ ferved on purpofe, as a memorial of the poor ftate of that place before the town was built on it. Its antiquity gives it a kind'of fuperiori.ty over all the other buildings in town, though m itfelf the worfl of all. This hut was inhabited, whilft as yet flags, dejers, elks, and beavers, at broad day-light, lived in the future flreets, church-yards, and market-places of ~ Philadelphia. The noife of a fpinning wheel was heard in this houfe, before the manufactures now eflabliihed were thought of, or Philadelphia built. But with all thefe advantages, this houfe is ready to fall down, and, in a few years to come, it will be as- difficult to find the place where it flood, as it was unlikely at the -time of its ereition, that one of the 48 September 1748, the greateft towns in America fliould in a fhort time {land clofe up to it. "Sept. yth. Mr. Peter Cock, a merchant of this town, aflured me that he had laft week himfelf been a fpe<5tator of a fnake's fwallowing a little bird. This bird, which from its cry has the name of Cat bird, (Mufcicapa Carolinenfis Linn.) flew from one branch of a tree to another, and was making a doleful tune. At the bottom of the tree, but at a fathom's diftance from the ftem, lay one of the great black fnakes, with its head continually upright, pointing towards the bird, which was always fluttering about, and now and then fettling on the branches. At firft it only kept in the topmoft branches, but by de- grees it came lower down, and even flew upon the ground, and hopped to the place where the fnake lay, which immediately opened its mouth, caught the bird, and fwallowed it; but it had fcarce finifhed its repaft before Mr. Cock came up and killed it. I was afterwards told that this kind of fnakes was frequently obferved to purfue little birds in this manner. It is already well known that the rattle-fnake does the fame. As I walked out into the fields I found feveral European and even Swedifh plants growing there. But thofe which are peculiar to America, are much more numerous. THE Virginian maple grows in plenty on the fhores of the Delaware. The EngKJh in this country call it either Buttonwood, or Water beech* which latter name is mod ufual. The Swedes call it Wattenbok, or Wajbok. It is Ltnn&us's Plat anus occidentals , See Catejby's Nat. Hift. of Carolina* Penfyfoania* Philadelphia. 49 Carolina, vol. i. p. 56* t. 56* It grows for the greateft part in low places, but efpecially on the edge of rivers and brooks. But thefe trees are eafily tranfplanted to more dry places, if they be only filled with good foil ; and as their leaves are large, and their foliage thick, they are planted about the houfes and in gardens, to afford a plea- fant (hade in the hot feafon. Some of the Swedes had boxes, pails, and the like, made of the bark of this tree by the native Americans. They fay that thofe people, whilft they were yet fettled here, made little difhes of this bark for gather- ing whortleberries. This tree-likewife grows in marflies, or in fwampy fields, where afli and red maple commonly grow. They are frequently as tall and thick as the bed of our fir trees. The feed ftays on them till fpring, but in the middle of April the pods open and (lied the feeds* Query, Whether they are not ripe before that time, and confequently iboner 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 and the ferry at Gloucejler^ 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 Swedtfh church, fome great trees of this kind ftand on the banks of the river. In the year 1750, on the J5th of May, I faw the buds {till 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 Cheljza, .near London, L. I, E and 50 September 1748. * and they now, in point of height, vie with the talleft oak, Sept. 1 8th. IN the morning I went with the Swedi/h painter, Mr. Heffelius, to the country feat of Mr. Bartram, which is about four Eng- KJh miles to the fouth of Philadelphia, at fome diftance from the high road to Maryland* Vir-> ginia, and Carolina, I had therefore the firft opportunity here, of getting an exat knowledge of the ftate of the country, which was a plain covered with all kinds ^ trees with deciduous leaves. The ground ; w| fandy, mixed with clay : but the land feemeo to be in greater quan- tity. In fome parts the wood was cut down> and we faw the habitations of fome country peo- ple, whofe corn-fields and plantations were round their farm-houfes. The wood was full of mulberry-trees, walnut-trees of feveral kinds, chefnut-trees, faflafras, and the like. Several forts of wild vines clafped their tendrils round, and climbed up to the fummits of the highefi trees ; and in other places they twined round the cnclofures, fo thick, that the latter almoft funk down under their weight. The Perjimort y or Diofpyros Virginiana Linn. fp. pi. p. 1510, grew in the marfhy fields, and about fprings. Its little apples looked very well already, but are not fit for eating, before the froft has afieded them, and then they have a very fine tafte. Ueffelius gathered fome of them, and defired my fervant to tafte of the.fruits of the land ; but this poor credulous fellow had hardly bit into therr^ when he felt the qualities they have before the froft Penjylvania, Philadelphia. 51 frail has penetrated them. For -they con traded his mouth fo that he could hardly fpeak, and had a very difagreeable tafte^ This diigufted him fo much that he" was with difficulty per- fuaded to tafte of it during the whole of our ftay in America, riotwithftandmg it lofes all its aci- dity, and acquires an agreeable flavour in autumn and towards the beginning of winter^ For the fellow always imagined, that though he Ihould eat them ever fo late in the year, they would (till retain the fune difagreeable tafte. To fatisfy the curiofity of thofe who are will- ing to know how the woods look in this country, and whether or no the trees in them are the fame with thofe found in our forefts, I here infert a fmall catalogue of thofe which grow fponta- neoufly in the woods which are neareft to Phila- delphia. But I exclude fuch fhrubs'as do not attain any confiderable height* I fhall put that tree firft in order, which is moft plentiful, and fo on with the reft, and therefore trees which 1 have found but fmgle, though near the town, will be lift, 1. ^uercus alba, the white oak, in good ground. 2. Qnercus rubra, or the black oak. 3. Quercus Hifpanica, the Spanijh oak, a variety of the preceding. 4. "juglans alba, hiccory, a kind of walnut- tree, of which three or four varieties are to be met with. 5. Rub us Occident alls, or American blackberry fhrub. 2 6* Acsr 52 September 1748, 6. Acer rubrum,. the maple tree with red flowers, in fwamps. 7. Rhus glabra* the fmooth leaved Sumach, in the woods, on high glades, and old corn-fields. 8. Vitls labrufca and Vulpina, vines of feveral kinds. \ 9. Sambucus Canadenjis, American Elder tree, along the hedges and on glades. 10. Quercus pbellos, the fwamp oak, in mo- rafles. 11. Azalea lutea, the American upright ho- ney-fuckle, in the woods in dry places. 12. Cratagus Cms galli, the Virginian Aza- role, in woods. 1 3 . Vaccinium , a fpecies of whortle- berry (hrub. 14. $uercu$ prinus, the chefnut oak, in good ground. 15. Cormis floridd) the cornelian cherry, in all kinds of ground. 1 6. Lirlodendron Tulipifera, the tulip tree, in every kind of foil. 1 7. Prunus Virginiana, the wild cherry tree. 1 8. Vaccinium -- > a frutex whortleberry* in goqd ground. 19. Prinos "oerticillatus, the winterberry tree f in fwamps. 20. Platanus occidentalism the water-beech. 21. N^ffa aquatica? the tupelo. tree, on fields and mountains. * . 22. Liqui- * Dr. Linnaus mentions only one fpecies of Nyjfa, namely aquatica ; Mr. Kalm does not mention the name of the fpecies ; but if his is not a different fpecies, it mwft at Itait be a variety, finer Penfyfoania> Philadelphia. 53 22. Liquidambar Jlyracifiua> fvveet gum tree, near fprings. 23. Bctula Alnus* alder, a variety of the Swe- dijh y it was here but a fhrub. 24. Fagtts cajianea, the chefnut tree, on corn- fields, paftures, and in little woods. 25. Jug/ans nigra, the black walnut tree, in the fame place with the preceding tree. 26. R/JUS radicans,' the twining furriach, climbed along the trees. 27. Acer Negundo, the afh-leaved maple, in morafles and fwampy places. 28. Prunus domejiica, the wild plumb tree. 29. U/mus -Americana* the white elm. 30^ 'Prunusfpinofa, floe fhrub, in low places. 31. Laurus fa/jafras, the faffafras tree, in a loole foil mixed with land. 32. Ribes nigrum> the currant free, grew in low places and in marfhe.s. 33. Fraxinus excel/ior 9 the a(h tree,' in low places, 34 1 Smuax laurtfolia, the rough bind weed with the bay leaf, in woods and on pales or en- clofures. 35. Kalmia lati folia, the American dwarf lau- rel, on the northern fide of mountains. 36. Morusrubra, the' mulberry tree, on fields, hills, and near the houfes, yj.-Rhm vernix, the poifonous Sumach, in wet places. 38, Qnerws rubra> the red oak, but a pecu- liar variety. fince he fays it grows en hills, whereas the a$u#tica grows in the waier. F. E 3 29 54 September 1 748. ''39. Hamamelis virginica, the witch hazel* 40. Diofpyros virginiana, the perfimon. 41. Pyrus coronaria, the anchor tree. 42. Junipcrus virginiana, the red juniper, in, a dry poor foil. 43. Laurus fpice-wood, in a wet foil. 44. Carptnus ojlrya, a ipecies of horn beam, in a good foil. 4C. Carpjnus bet it his, 'a horn beam, in the fame kind of foil with the former. 46. Fagus,Jjfoatica> the beech, like wife in good foil. 47. Jiiglans- ~, a fpecies of walnut tree, on hills near rivers, * 'called by the Swedes But- 'ternujlrce. 48. Pinus Americana, Penfyhanian fir-tree, on the north fide of mountains, and in vallies.*f* 49. .Eetula lent a, a fpecies of birch, on the banks of rivers. 50. Cepbalantw occidentalis, bytton wood, in Wet places. 5 1 . Pinus tada, the New Jerjey fir tree, on dry fandy heaths. 52. Cercis Canadenfis, the fallad tree, in a good foil. 53. Rolinia pfeudacada y the locuft tree, on the corn-fields. 54. Magnolia glauca^ the laurel -leaved tulip tree, in marfhy foil. 55. Filta Americana, the lime tree, in a good foil. * Quere. Is this the Juglans bdccata of Linn^us ? F. f Thi Tpecies is not to be met with in Linn. fpec. plant. F. 56. Gleditjia Penjyhania, Philadelphia. 55 56. Gledttfia triacantbos, the honey locuft tree, or three thorned acacia, in the fame foil. 57. Celtis occidentalism the nettle tree, in the fields. 58. Annonamuricatci) the cuftard apple, in a fruitful foil. WE vifited feveral Swedes, who Avere fettled here, and in very good circumstances. One of them f Andrew Rambo) has a fine houfe built of ftone, two ftories high, and a great orchard near it. We were every where well received, and ftayed over night with the above-mentioned countryman. We faw no other marks of au- tumn, than that feveral fruits of this feafon were already ripe. For befides this, all the trees were yet as green, and the ground ftill as much co- vered with flowers, as in our fummer. Thou- fands of frogs croaked all the night long in the marflies and brooks. The locufts and grafs- hoppers made likewife fuch a great noife, that it was hardly poflible for one perfon to understand another. The trees too. were full of all forts of birds, which by the variety of their fine plumage delighted the eye, while the infinite variety of their tunes were continually re-echoed. THE orchards, along which we paffed to-day, were only enclofed by hurdles. But they con- tained all kinds of fine fruit. We wondered at hrfl very much when our leader leaped over the hedge into the orchards, and gathered feme a* greeable fruit for us. 'But our aftonifhment was itill greater, when we faw that the people in the garden were fo little concerned at it, as not even 4 tc 56 September 174$. to Jook at us. But our companion told us, that the people here were not fo exad: in regard to a few fruits, as they are in other countries where the foil is not fo fruitful in them. We after? wards found very frequently that the country people in Sweden and Finland guarded their tur-r nips more carefully, than the people here do the moft exquifite fruits. 'Sept. igth. As I walked this morning into- the fields, I ohferved that a copious dew was fallen s for the grafs was as wet as if it had rained. The leaves of the plants and trees had contracted fo much mcl'lure, that the drops ran down, I found on this oc&fion that the dew was not only on the fuperior, but likewife oa the inferior fide of the leaves. I therefore care- fully confickred 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 Verbajcum Tkapjus, Qt^greaf Mullein* which, though their fuperior fide was pretty well covered with the dew, yet their inferior had but a little, EVERY countryman, even a common peafant, has commonly an orchard near his houfe, in whiph q.11 fprts of fruit, fuph 3$ peaches, apples, pears, cherries, and others, are iri plenty. The peaches were now almoft ripe. They are rare in Europe, particularly in Sweden ; for in that country hardly any people beiides the rich taflc theru. But here every countryman had an or- char$l fu!- 1 - of peach trees, whic?h were coyerec^ with Penfyfaatita, Philadelphia. 57 with fiich quantities of fruit, that we could fcarcely walk in the orchard, without treading upon thofe peaches which were fallen off; many of which were ufually left on the ground, and only part of them fold in town, and the reft was confumed by the family and ftrangers. Nay, this fine fruit was frequently given to the fwine. THIS fruit is however fometimes kept for winter ufe, and prepared in the following man- ner. The fruit is cut into four parts, the ftonc thrown away, and the fruit put upon a thread, on which they are expofed to the fun-fhine in the open air, till they are fufficiently dry. They are then put into a veflel for winter. But this manner of drying them is not very god, becaufe the rain of this feafon very eafily fpoils and pu- trifies them, whilft they hang in the open air. For this reafon a different method is followed by others, which is by far the moft eligible. The peaches are as before cut into four parts, are then either put upon a thread, or laid upon a; board, and ib hung up in the air when the fun mines. Being dried in fome meafure, or having loft their juice by this means, they are put into an oven, out of which the bread has but juft been taken, and are left in it for a while. But they are foon taken out and brought into the frefh uir; and after that they are again put 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, .thrive!' up too much, and lofe part of their flavour. They are then put up and kept for the winter. They are either baked into tarts and pyes, or boiled 5.S 'Septtmfar 1748. boiled and prepared as dried apples and pears arc? in Sweden. Several people here dry and prc- ferve their apples in the fame manner as their peaches. THE peach trees were, as I am told, firft planted here by the Europeans. But at prefent they fucceed very well, and require even lefs care, than our apple and pear trees. THE orchards have feldom other fruit than apples and peaches. Pear trees are fcarce in this province. They have cherry trees in the or- chards, but commonly on the iides of them to- wards the houfe, or along the enclofiires. Mul- berry trees are planted on fome hillocks near the houfe, and fornetirnes even in the court-yards of the houie, The black walnut trees, or Jug/ans wgra-, grow partly on hills, and in fields near the farm-houfes, and partly along the .enclo- fares ; but mo ft commonly in the forefts. 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 field, or in a wood. THE Hibifcus cfculentus* or 01tra> * 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 thereby become as thick as pulfe. This difh is reckoned a dainty by fome people, and efpeciaily by the negroes. CAPSICUM annuum, or Guinea pepper, is like- wife planted in gardens. When the fruit is ripe it is almoft entirely red, it is put to a roafted or * In Mitttr*s gardener's Pi&ionary, it is called Ketmia foliefcKSy fruftu pcnta^ncy recurve, efculento, gracilicri, et Ic boiled Penfyhania, Philaklpbia. 59 boiled piece of meat, a little of it bein^ ftrewed upon it, or mixed with the broth. Betides this, cucumbers are pickled with it. Or the pods are pounded whilft they are yet tender, and being mixed with fait are preferved in a bottle ; and this fpice isftrewedover roafted or boiled meat, or fried fifh, and gives them a very fine tafte. But the fruit by itfelf is as biting as common pepper. THIS country contains many fpecies of the plant, which Dr. Linnaeus calls Rhus, and the moft common is the Rhusfoliis pinnatis prratis lancedatis retrinque nudis, or the Rbus %labra. The Englljh call this plant Sumach. Bat the Swedes here have no particular name for it, and therefore make ufe of the Englijh name. Its berries 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 fome few years together, it grows on it in plenty, fince the berries areipread 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 drop very early in autumn, after they are turned reddifh, like thofe of our Swedijh moun- tain afh. The branches boiled with the berries afford a black ink like tindture. The boys eat the berries, there being no danger of falling fick after the repaft ; but they are very four. They feldom grow above three yards high. On cut- ting the ftem, it appears that it contains nothing but p|th. I have cut feveral in this manner, and 2 found 6o September 1748- found that fome were ten years old; but that mod of them were above one year old. When the cut is made, a yellow juice comes out be- tween the bark and the wood. One or two of the nioft outward circles are white, but the in- nermoft are of a yellowifh green. It is eafy to diftinguifh them one from another. They con- tain a very plentiful pith, the diameter of which; is frequently half an inch, and fometimes more. It is brown, and fo loofe that it is eafily pufhed out by a little ftick, in the fame manner as the pith of the elder tree, rafpberry, and blackberry buihes. This fumach grows near the enclofures, round the corn-fields, but efpecially on fallow ground, The wood feemed to burn well, and made no great crackling in the fire. Sept. 20. IN the morning we walked in the fields and woods near the town, partly for ga- thering feeds, and partly for gathering plants for my herbal, which was our principal occupation ; and in the autumn of this year, we fent part of our collection to England and Sweden. A SPECIES of R/JUS, which was frequent in the marihes here, was called the poifon tree by both Englijk and Swedes. Some of the former gave it the name vtfw amp -fumach, and my coun- trymen gave it the fame name. Dr. Linnaus in his botanical works calls it Rbus Vernix. Sp. pi. i. 380. Flor. Virgin, 45. An incifion be- ing made into the tree, a whitiih yellow juice, which has a naufeous fmell, comes out between the bark and the wood. This tree is not known for its good qualities, but greatly fo for the effec't f its poifon, which though it is noxious to fome people, Penfylvdriia, Philadelphia. 6t people, yet does not in the leaft affeft others. And therefore one perfon can handle the tree as he pleafes, cut it, peel -off its bark, rub it or the wood upon his hands, fmell at it, fpread the juice upon his fkin, and make more experiments, with no inconvenience to himfelf ; another per- ibn, on the contrary, dares not meddle with the tree, while its wood is frefh, nor can he venture to touch a hand which has handled it, nor even to expofe himfelf to the fmoke of a fire which is made with this wood, without foon feeling its bad effefts; for the face, the hands, and fre- quently the whole body, fvvells exceffively, and is affecled with a very acute pain. Sometimes bladders or blifters arife in great plenty, and make the rick perfon look as if he was infected by a leprofy. In fome people the external thin fkin, or cuticle, peels off in a few days, as is the cafe when a perfon has fcalded or burnt any part of his body. Nay, the nature of fome perfons 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 exhala- tions of this tree with it, without letting them feel the inconvenience of the fwelling, which I have juft now defcribed. Their eyes are fome- times mut up for one, or two and more days to- gether, by the fwelling. I know two brothers, one of whom could without danger handle this tree in what manner he pleafed, whereas the other could not come near it without fwelling. A perfon fometimes does not know that he has touched this poifonous plant, or that he has been near it, before his face and hands {hew it bjr their 6 September 1748. their fwelling. I have known old people whfc were more afraid of this tree than of a viper ; and I was acquainted with a perfon who, merely by the noxious exhalations of it, was fwelled to fuch a degree, that he was as ftiff as a log of wood, and was turned about in his bed. ON relating, in the winter of the year 1750, the poifonous qualities of the fwamp fumach to rny Ttingftr&m, 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 feeling the leaft inconvenience. He would therefore, being a kind of philofopher in his own way, take nothing for granted of which he had no fuf- ficient proofs, efpecially as he had his own expe- rience in the fummer of the year 1749, to fup- port the contrary opinion. But in the next fum- mer his fyftem of philofophy was overturned. For his hands fwelled, and he felt a violent pain and itching in his eyes, as foon as he touched tiic tree, and this inconvenience not only attended him when he meddled with this kind of fumach, but even when he had any thing to do with the Kfjus radicans, or that fpecies of fumach which climbs along the trees, and is not by far fo poi- ibnous as the former. By this adventure he wa$ fo convinced of the power of the poifon tree, that I could not eafily perfuade him to gather more feeds of it for me. But he not only felt the noxious effects of it in fummer, when he was Very a, Philadelphia. very hot, but even in winter, when both he and the wood were cold. Hence it -appears, that though a peribn be fecured againft the power of this poifon for fome time, yet, that in length of time, he may be affe&ed with it, as well as peo- pie of a weaker conftitution. I HAVE like wife tried experiments of every kind with the poifon tree on myfelf. I have fpread its juice upon my hands, cut and broke its branches, peeled off its bark, and rubbed my hands with it, fmelt at it, carried pieces of it in my bare hands, and repeated all this frequently, without- feeling the baneful effects fo commonly annexed to it; but I however once experienced, that the poifon of the fumach was not entirely without effedt upon me. On a hot e y in fum- mer, as 1 was in fome degree of perforation, I cut a branch of the tree, and carried it in my hand for about half an hour together, and fmelt at it now and then. I felt no effefts from it, till in the evening. But next morning I awoke with a violent itching of my eye-lids, and the parts thereabouts ; and this was fo painful, that I could hardly keep my hands from it. It ceafed after I had wafhed my eyes for a while, with very cold water. But my eye-lids were very ftiff all that day. At night, the itching return- ed ; and in the morning as I awoke, I felt it as ill as the morning before, and I ufed the fame remedy againft it. However, it continued al moft for a whole week together, and my eyes were very red, and my eye-lids were with dif- ficulty moved, during all that time. My pain ceafed entirely afterwards. About the fame time, 64 September 174?. time, I had fpread the juice of the tree very thick upon my hand. Three days after they occafion- ed blifters, which foon went off without affed> ing me much. 1 have not experienced any thing more of the effects of this plant, nor had I arty defire fo to do. However, I found that it could not exert its power upon me, when I was not perfpiring. I HAVE never heard that the poifon of this Su* mach has been mortal ; but the pain ceafes after a few days duration. The natives formerly made their flutes of this tree, becaufe it has a great deal of pith. Some people affured me, that a perfon fuffering from its noifbme exhalations, would ea- iily recover by fpreading a mixture of the wood, burnt to charcoal, and hog's lard, upon the fwelled parts. Some afferted that they had really tried this remedy. In fome places this tree is rooted out on purpofe, that its poifon may not affeft the workmen. Ireceived,asaprefent, feveral curiofities belong- ing to the mineral kingdom, which were collected in the country. The following were thofe which were moft worth attentioa- The firft was a white, and quite tranfparent cryftal. * Many of this kind are found in Penfyfoama> in feveral kinds of Hone, efpecially in a pale-grey limeftone. The pieces are of the thicknefs and length of the little finger, and commonly as tranfparent as poffible. But I have likewife got cryftals here, of the * Nitrum Cryftallus montana* Linn. Syft. nat. 3. p. 84. Cry- fallus hcxagona pellucida non colorata, Walhriufs Mineralogy, p. 100. Cryjiailus mofttana, colouilefs cryftal. farftgrs Introd. to Miaeralogy, p. 13. length Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 65 length of a foot, and of the thicknefs of a middle- llzed man's leg. They were not fo transparent as the former. THE cubic Pyrites of Bifoop Browallius,* was of a very regular texture. But its cubes were dif-' ferent in iize, for in fome of the cubes, the planes of the fides only amounted to a quarter of an inch, but in the biggeft cubes, they were full two inches. Some were exceedingly glittering, fo that it was very eafy to be perceived that they con- iifted of fulphureous pyrites. But in fome, one or two fides only glittered fo well, and the others were dark-brown. Yet moft of thefe marcafites had this fame colour on all the fides. On break- ing them they (hewed the pure pyrites. They are found near Lancafter in this province, and fometimes lie quite above the ground; but com- rnonly they are found at the depth of eight feet or more from the furface of the ground, on digging wells and the like. Mr. Hefjelius had feveral pieces of this kind of ftone, which he made ufe of in his work. He firft burnt them, then pounded or ground them to a powder, and at 1 aft rubbed them ftill finer in the ufual way; and this afforded him a fine reddiih-brown colour. FEW black pebbles are found in this province, which on. the other hand yields many kinds or marble % especially a white one, and had f6tirid a venerable old Atmrictifi favage amongft feveral others in art inn. This old man began to 1 taik with Sleidofh as foon as the liquor was getting the better of his head, and boafted that he could wrJte and read in Engtiflj. SleUorn therefore de'fired leave to aflc a queftion, which thebl-dm'an readily granted. S/e'idofri then afked him, whether he kn'ew who was firft cir- cumcifed .? and the old man immediately anfwer- ed, Father Abraham; but at the fame time afk- ed leave to propofe a queftioit in his turn, which Bleidorn granted ; the old man theft faid, who was the firft quaker ? Sleidofh faid it ^was uncertain, that fotne took one perfon for it, and fome ano- ther ; but the cunning old fellow told him, you are mistaken, fir ; Mcrdecal was the firft quaker, for he would not take oft his hat to Hainan* Many of the favages, who are yet heathen's, are laid to have fome obfcure notion of the deluge. But I am convinced Penfykania, Germant&wn. 79 convinced from my own experience, that they are not at all acquainted with it. I MET with people here who maintained that giants had formerly lived in thefe parts, and the following particulars confirmed them in this opi- nion. A few years ago fome people digging in the ground, met with a grave which contained hu- man bones of an aftonifhingfize. TheTztf/tf isfaid to have been fourteen feet long, and the osfemoris to have meafured as much. The teeth are like- wife faid to have been of a fize proportioned to the reft. But more bones of this kind have not yet been found. Perfons Hulled in anatomy, who have feen thefe bones, have declared that they were human bones. One of the teeth has been fent to Hamburgh, to a perfon who collected na- tural curiofities. Among the favages, in the neighbourhood of the place where the bones were found, there is an account handed down through many generations from fathers to children, that in this neighbourhood, on the banks of a river, there lived a very tall and ftrong man, in ancient times, who carried the people over the river on his back, and waded in the water, though it was ve- ry deep. Every body to whom he did this fer- vice gave him fome maize, fome {kins of ani- mals, or the like. In fine, he got his liveli- hood by this means, and was as it were the ferry- man of thofe who wanted to pafs the river. THE foil here confifts for the greateft part of fand, which is more or lefs mixed with clay. Both the fand and the clay, are of the colour of pale bricks. To judge by appearance the ground was none of the beft 3 and this conje&ure was verifi- ed So September 1748. ed by the inhabitants of the country. When a corn-field has been obliged to bear the fame kind of corn for three years together, it does not after that, produce any thing at all, if it be not well ma- nured, or fallowed for fbme years. Manure is very difficult to be got, and therefore people ra- ther leave the field uncultivated. In that interval it is covered with all forts of plants and trees ; and the countryman, in the mean while, culti- vates a piece of ground which has till then been fallow, or he chufes a part of the ground which has never been ploughed before, and he can in both cafes be pretty fure of a plentiful crop. This method can here be ufed with great convenience. For the foil is loofe, fo that it can eafily be ploughed, and every countryman has commonly a great deal of land for his property. The cattle here are neither houfed in winter, nor tended in the fields, and for this reafon they cannot gather a fufiicient quantity of dung. THE cattle were originally brought from Eu- rope. The natives have never had any, and, at prefent, few of them care to get any. But the cattle degenerate by degrees here, and become fmaller. For the cows, horfes, (heep, and hogs, are all larger in England, though thofe which are brought over are of that breed. But the firft generation decreafes a little, and the third and fourth is of the fame fize with the cattle already common here. The climate, the foil, and the food, altogether contribute their mare towards producing this change. IT is remarkable that the inhabitants of the country., commonly fooner acquire underftanding, but Penfyfoania> Germantowrt. $1 tut likewife grow fooner old, than the people in Europe. It is nothing uncommon to fee little children, giving fprightly and ready anfwers to queftions that are propofed to them, fo that they feem to have as much underftanding as old men* But they do not attain to fuch an age as the Eu- ropeans; and it is almoft an unheard-of thing, that a perlbn, born in this country, {hould live to be eighty or ninety years of age* But I only fpeak of the Europeans that fettled here- For the fa- vages, or firft inhabitants, frequently attained a great age, though at prefent fuch examples are uncommon, which is chiefly attributed to the great ufe of brandy, which the favages have learnt of the Europeans. Thofe who are born in E#- rope attain a greater age here, than thofe who are born here of European parents. In the laft war it plainly appeared that thefe new Americans were by far lefs hardy than the Europeans, in ex- peditions, fieges, and long fea-voyages, and died in numbers. It is very difficult for them to ufc themfelves to a climate different from their own. The women ceafe bearing children fooner than in Europe. They feldom or never have children after they are forty or forty-five years old, and fome leave off in the thirtieth year of their age. I enquired into the caufes of this, but no one could give me a good one. Some faid it was ow- ing to the affluence in which the people live here. Some afcribed it to the inconftancy and change- ablenefs of trie weather, and believed that there hardly was a country on earth in which the wea- ther changes fo often in a day as it does here. For if it were ever fo hot, one could not be certain VOL, I. G whether 82 September 1748. whether in twenty-four hours there would not be a piercing cold, Nay, fometimes the weather will change five or fix times a day. THE trees in this country have the fame qua- lities as its inhabitants. For the fhips which are built of American wood, are by no means equal in point of ftrength, to thofe which are built in Europe. This is what nobody attempts to con- tradict. When a fhip, which is built here, has ferved eight or twelve years, it is worth little; and if one is to be met with, which has been in ufe longer and is yet ferviceable, it is reckoned very aftonifhing. It is difficult to find out the caufes from whence this happens. Some lay the fault to the badnefs of the wood : others condemn the method of building the (hips, which is to make them of trees which are yet green, and have had no time to dry. I believe both caufes are joined. For I found oak, which at the utmoft had been cut down about twelve years, and was covered by a hard bark : but upon taking off this bark, the wood below it was almoft entirely rotten, and like flour, fo that I could rub it into pow- der between my fingers. How much longer will not our "European oak ftand before it moulders ? AT night we returned to Philadelphia. Sept. 23d. THERE are no Hares in this coun- try, but fome animals, which are a medium be- tween our Hares and Rabbets, and make a great devaflation whenever they get into fields of cab- bage and turneps. MANY people have not been able to find out why the North American plants, which are car- ried to Europe and planted there, for the greateft part Pen/ylvania, Philadelphia* Sj part flower fo late, and do not get ripe fruit be- fore the froft overtakes them, although it appears from feveral accounts of travels, that the winters in Penfylvania, and more fo thofe in New York, New England, and Canada, are full as fevere as our Swedi/h winters, and therefore are much fe- verer than thofe which are felt in England. Se- veral men of judgment charged me for this rea- fon to examine and enquire into this phenome- non with all poffible care. But I mail, inftead of an anfwer, rather give a few remarks which I made upon the climate and upon the plants of North America, and leave my readers at liberty to draw the conclufions. i. IT is true, that the winters in Penfylvania, and much more thofe in the more northern pro- vinces, are frequently as fevere as our Sweetijh winters, and much colder than the Engli/h ones, or thofe of the fouthern parts of Europe* For I found at Philadelphia, which is above twenty de- grees more foutherv^ than feveral provinces in Sweden, that the thermometer of profeffor Celfius fell twenty-four degrees below the freezing point in winter. Yet I was allured that the winters I fpent here, were none of the coldeft, but only .common ones, which I could likewife conclude from the Delaware's not being frozen ftrong enough to bear a carriage at Philadelphia during my ftay, though this often happens* On con- fidering the breadth of the river, which I have al- ready mentioned in my defcription of Philadel- phia, and the difference between high and low G 2 water, 84 September 1748, water, which is eight Englifh feet; it will pretty plainly appear, that a very intenfe froft is required to cover the Delaware with fuch thick ice. 2. BUT it is like wife true, that though the winters are fevere here, yet they are commonly of no long duration j and I can juftly fay, that they do not continue above two months, and fometimes even lefs at Philadelphia; and it is fomething very uncommon when they continue for three months together, infomuch that it is put into the gazettes. Nearer the pole the win- ters are fomewhat longer, and in the quite nor- thern parts they are as long as the Swedijh win- ters. The daily meteorological obfervations which I have made during my flay in America ', and which are annexed to this work, will give more light in this matter. 3. THE heat in fummer is exceffive, and without intermiffion. I own I have feen the ther- mometer rife to nearly the fame degree at Aobo in Finland. But the difference is, that when the thermometer of profeffor Celfius rofe to thirty de- grees above the freezing point, once in two or three fummers at Aobo, the fame thermometer did not only, for three months together, ftand at the fame degree, but even fometimes rofe higher, not only in Penfyfoania, but likewife in New Tork, Albany, and a great part of Canada. Dur- ing the furnmers which I fpent at Philadelphia, the thermometer has, two or three times, rifen to thirty-fix degrees above the freezing point. It may therefore with great certainty be laid, that in Penjyhania % the greateft part t April, the whole of Penfyhania, Philadelphia. 8j of May* and all the following months till Otfober, arc like our Swedijh months of June and July. So exceflive and continued a heat muft certainly have very great effects . I here again refer to my meteorological obfervations. It muft like wife be afcribed to the effects of this heat that the com- mon melons, the water melons, and the pum- pions of different forts, are fown in the fields without any bells or the like put over them, and yet are ripe as early as July, further, that cher- ries are ripe at Philadelphia about the 2 5th of May, and that in Penfyhania the wheat is fre- quently reaped in the middle of June. 4. THE whole of September, and half, if not the whole of 0<5?0&r,are the fineft months in Pen- fylvania; for the preceding ones are too hot. But thefe reprefent our July and half of Augujl. The greateft part of the plants are in flower in Septem- ber, and many do not begin to open their flowers before the latter end of this month, I make no doubt that the goodnefs of the feafon, which is enlivened by a clear fky, and a tolerably hot fun- fhine, greatly contributes towards this laft effort of Flora. Yet though thefe plants come out fo late, they are quite ripe before the middle of Oc- tober. But I am not able to account for their coming up fo late in autumn ; and I rather afk, Why do not the Centaurea Jacea, the Gentiana, Amarella, and Centauriutii, of Linnaus, and the common golden rod, or Solidago P'irgaurea, flower before the end of fummer ? or why do the com- mon noble liverwort, or Anemone Hepatica* the wild violets (Viola martla Lann.) the mezereou G 3 86 September 1748. / Daphne Mezereum Linn.) and other plants, ihew their flowers fo early in fpring ? It has pleafed the Almighty Creator to give to them this dif- pofition. The weather at Philadelphia during thefe months, is fhewn by my meteorological tables. I have taken the greatefl care in my obfervations, and have always avoided putting the thermome- ter into a-ny place where the fun could fhine upon, it > or where he had before heated the wall by his beams -, for in thofe cafes my obfervations would certainly not have been exadl. The weather, during our September and OElober, is too well known to want an explanation.* 5. HOWEVER there arefome fpontaneous plants in Penfyhania, which do not every year bring their feeds to maturity before the cold begins. To thefe belong fome fpecies ^iGentlana^Afters^ and others. But in thefe too the wifdom of the Creator has wifely ordered every thing in its turn. For almoft all the plants which have the quality of flowering fo late in autumn, are perennial, or fuch as, though they have no feed to propagate themfelves, can revive by fhooting new branches and ftalks from the fame root every year. But perhaps a natural caufe may be given to account for the late growth of thefe plants. Before the Europeans came into this country, it was inhabited by favage nations, who praftifed agriculture but * THE Englijh reader, who is perhaps not fo well acquainted with the weather of the Sivedijb autumn, may form an idea of it, fey having recourfe to the Calendar turn Flor*?, or the botanical and oeconomical almanack of SweSen, in Dr. Li*nseus*s Amcen Aca- dem. and in Mr. Stillingjleefs S>ivedijb trails, tranflated from the . Acad. 2d edition. F. Penjylvania 9 Philadelphia. 87 little, or not at all, and chiefly lived upon hunting and fifhing. The woods, therefore, have never been meddkd with, except that fometimes afmall part was destroyed by fire. The accounts which we have of the firft 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 fhore, the reft muft, for the greateft part, have been obliged to grow, perhaps for a thoufand years together, in a {hade, either below or between the trees, and they there- fore naturally belong to thofe which are only pe- culiar to woody and fhady places. The trees in this country drop their leaves in fuch quantities in autumn, that theground 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 comedown to them through the thick leaves at the top of the trees. Thefe caufes . joined together make fuch plants flower much later than they would otherwife do. May it not therefore be faid, that in fo many centuries theie plants had at laft contracted a habit of coming up very late, and that it would now require a great fpace of time to make them lofe this habit, and ufe them to quicken their growth? Sept. 24th. WE employed this whole day in ga- * Vide Hackly?* colleft. voy. m. 246. G 4 thering 88 September 1748. thering the feeds of plants of all kinds, and in putting fcarce plants into the herbal. Sept. 25th. MR. Hejfitius mz&e me a prefent of a little piece of petrified weod, which was found in the ground here. It was four inches long, one inch broad, and three lines thick. It might plainly be feen that it had formerly been wood. For in the places where it had been polifhed, all the longitudinal fibres were eafily diftinguiflia- ble, fo that it might have been taken for a piece of oak which was cut fmooth. My piece was part of a ftill greater piece. It was here thought to be petrified hiccory. I afterwards got more of it from other people. Mr. Lewis Evans told me, that on the boundaries si Virginia, a great petri- fied block of hiccory had been found in the ground, with the bark on it, which was likewife petrified. MiR.JobnBartram, an Englifhman, who lives in the country, about four miles from Philadel- phia, has acquired a great knowledge of natural philpfophy and hiftory, and feems to be born with a peculiar genius for thefe fciences. In his youth he had no opportunity of going to fchool. But by his own diligence and indefatigable application he got, without inftrudlion, fofar in Latin, as to underftand all Latin books, and even thofe which were filled with botanical terms. He has, in fe- veral fucceffive years, made frequent excurfions into different diftant parts of North America* with an intention of gathering all forts of plants which are fcarce and little known. Thofe which he found he has planted in his own botanical garden, an$ likewife fent over their feeds or frefh Penfyfvariia, Philadelphia. #9 roots to 'England. We owe to him the know* ledge of many fcarce plants, which he firft found, and which were never known before. He has fhewn great judgment, and an attention which lets nothing efcape unnoticed. Yet with all thefe great qualities, he is to be blamed for his negligence; for he did not care to write down his numerous and ufeful obfervations. His friends at London once obliged him to fend them a fhort account of one of his travels, and they were very ready, with a good intention, though not with fufficient judgment, to get .this account printed. But this book did Mr. Bartram more harm than good ; for as he is rather backward in writing down what he knows, this publication was found to contain but few new obfervations. It would not however be doing juftice to Mr. Bertrams merit, if it were to be judged of by this performance. He has not filled it with a thou- fandth part of the great knowledge which he has acquired, in natural philofophy and hiftory, efpe- cially 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 poffeffed that great quality of communi- cating every thing he knew. I (hall, therefore, in the fequel, frequently mention this gentleman. For I mould 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 Mufck-flells, or My till anatinl, are to, be met with on the north- weft fide of the town, in 90 September 1748. in the clay-pits, which were at prefent filled with water from a little brook in the neighbourhood.. Thefe mufcles feem to have been waflied into that place by the tide, when the water in the brook was high. For thefe clay-pits are not old,, but were lately made. Poor boys fometimes go out of town, wade in the water, and gather great quantities of thefe {hells, which they fell very eafily, they being reckoned a dainty. THE Virginian sizar ok, with a red fruit, or Linn&uss Lrat^gus Crus galli, is a fpecies of haw- thorn, and they plant it in hedges, for want of that hawthorn, which is commonly ufed for this purpofe in Europe Its berries are red, and of the fame fize,(hape, and tafle, with thofe of our haw- thorn. Yet this tree does not feem to make a good hedge, for its leaves were already fallen, whilft other trees frill preferved theirs. Its fpines are very long and iharp ; their length being two or three inches. Thefe fpines are applied tO'fome inconfiderable ufe. Each berry contains two ftones. MR. Bar tram affured me, that the North Ame- rican oak cannot refift putrefaction for near fuch a fpace of time as the European. For this rea- fon, the boats (which carry all forts of goods down from the upper parts of the country) upon the river Hudfon, which is one of the greateit in thefe parts, are made of two kinds of wood. That part which muft always be under water, is made of black oak; but the upper part, which is now above and now under water, and is there- fore more expofed to putrefaction, is made of red qedar, or Juniperis Virginiana, which is reckoned the Penfylvania, Philadelphia. the moft hafdy wood in the country. The bot- tom is made of black oak, becaufe that wood is' very tough. For the river being full of ftones^ and the boats frequently running again ft them, the black oak gives way, and therefore does not: eafily crack. But the cedar would not do for this purpofe, becaufe it is hard and brittle. The oak likewife is not fo much attacked by putrefac- tion, when it is always kept under water. IN autumn, I could always get good pears here ; but every body acknowledged that this fruit would not fucceed well in the country. ALL my obfervations and remarks on the qua-* lities of the Rattle-fnake, are inierted in the Me-c moirs of the bwedifo Academy of Sciences, for the year 1752, p. ;i6, and for the year 1753, p. 54, and thither I refer the reader. * BEARS are very numerous higher up in the country, and do much mifchief. Mr. Bartram told me, that when a bear catches a cow, he kills her in the following manner : he bites a hole; into the hide, and blows with all his power into. it, till the animal fwells exceffively and dies \ for the air expands greatly between the flcfli and the. hide, -j- An old Swede, called Nils Gii/iavesfon, who * Vide Medical, &c. cafes and experiments, tranflated from jthe Sivedijh, London 1758. p. 282. P. t THIS has ail the appearance of a vu]?ar error : neither doe.8- the fucceeding account of the American b.-ar- hein? carnivorous, agree with the obfqrvations of the moA judicious travellers, who deny the faft. P. BUT however, it might be feasible to reconcile both opinions,. For Europe has two or three kinds of bears, one foecies of wMch. is carnivorous, the other lives only on vegetables : the large, brown fpecies, with its fmall variety, axe reputed to be cam- o- J-OU5, 92 September 1748. who was ninety-one years of age, faid, that in. his youth, the bears had been very frequent hereabouts, but that they had feldom attacked the cattle : that whenever a bear was killed, its flefli was prepared like pork, and that it had a very good tafte. And the flefh of bears is ftill prepared like ham, on the river Morris. The environs of Philadelphia, and even the whole province of Penfyhania in general, contain very few bears, they having been extirpated by de- grees. In Virginia they kill them in feveral dif- ferent ways. Their flem is eaten by both rich and poor, fince it is reckoned equal in goodnefs to pork. In fome parts of this province, where no hogs can be kept, on account of the great numbers of bears, the people are ufed to catch and kill them, and to ufe them inftead of hogs. The American bears, however, are faid to be lefs fierce and dangerous than the 'European ones. Sept. 26th. THE broad plantain, or Plantago major 9 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 Eu- ropeans had brought it over. This doubt had its rife from the fava^es (who always had an extenfive knowledge of the plants of the country) pretending that this plant never grew here before the arrival of the Europeans. They therefore gave it a name which fignifies, the EngliJJmans rous, the black fpecies is merely phytlvorous. In cafe therefore both fpecies are found in North America, it would be very eafy to account for their being bath carnivorous and not. F. foot ; Penfyfaania, Philadelphia. 93 foot ; for they fay, that where a European had walked, there this plant grew in his foot- fteps. THE Chenopodium album* or Goofefoot with fi> nuated leaves, grows in plenty in the gardens. 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 manner it is thought that the Tanfey, (Tanacetum vulgare Linn.) 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 Ihewn to me by Mr. Bar- tram, not far from his houfe, in a little plain near Philadelphia. It was the only place where he had found it in America. And for this reafon I fuppofe it was likewife fown here amongft other European feeds. MR. Ear tram was at this time building a houfe in Philadelphia, and had funk a cellar to a con- fiderable 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 ftratum 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 ftratum confifted of little pebbles mixed with a coarfe fand. The ftones confifted either of a ' clear > or of a dark 94 September 1748. Quartz, ; * they were quite fmooth and roundifh on the outfide, and lay in a ftratum which was a foot deep. Then the brick-coloured clay mix- ed with fand appeared again. But the depth of this ftratum could not be determined. Query, Could the river formerly have reached to this place and formed thefe ftrata ? MR. Bartram\&& not only frequently found oyfter-fhells in the ground, but likewife met with fuch {hells and fnails, as undoubtedly be- long to the fea, at the diftance of a hundred and -more Englijh miles from the fhore. He has ven found them on the ridge of mountains which feparate the Englijh plantations from the habitations of the favages. Thefe mountains, \vhich the Englijh call the blue mountains, are of confiderable height, and extend in one continued chain from north to fouth, or from Canada to Carolina. Yet in fome places they have gaps, which are as it were broke through, to afford a paflage for the great rivers, which roll down into 'the lower country. THE Cajjia Chamacrifta grew on the roads through the woods, and fometimes on unculti- vated fields, efpecially when flirubs grew in then* . Its leaves are like thofe of the Senfitive flant, or Mimofa, and have likewife the quality of contracting when touched, in common with the leaves of the latter. * >uartz.um hfalinum, Linn. Syft. nat. 3. p. 65. ^uartzum folidum pellucidum, Waller it Miner. 91. Flat common Quartz, /V/far's Mineralogy, p. i^S. 'Quart&um coloratum y Linn. Syft. nat. 3. p. 65.' rfzum Jolidum opacum coloratum, Wall. Min. 9p. impure Quartz, Forft. Min, p. 16, THB Philadelphia. THE Crows in this country are little different from our common crows in Sweden. Their fize is the fame with that of our crows, and they are as black as jet in every part of their body. I faw them flying to-day in great numbers together. Their voice is not quite like that of our crows, but has rather more of the cry of the rook, or Linntzus's Corvus frugilegus. MR. Bar tram related, that, on his journies to the northern Englijh colonies, he had diicovered great holes in the mountains on the banks of rivers, which, according to his defcription, muft exactly have been fuch giants pots, * as are to be met with in Sweden, and which I have defcribed in a particular differtation read in the Royal Swe- dijh Academy of Sciences. Mr. Bartram has like wife addrefTed fome letters to the Royal So- ciety at London upon this fubjsdt. For fome people pretended that thefe holes were made by the favages, that they might in time of war hide their corn, and other valuable effefts in them. But he wrote againfl this opinion, and accounted for the origin of thefe cavities in the following manner : When the ice fettles, many pebbles ftick in it. In fpring, when the fnow 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, which were contained in it ever , * IN Sweden, and in the north of Germany ^ the round holes in. rivers, with a ftony or rocky bed, which the whirling of the wa- ter has made, are called giants pots ; thefe holes are likewife men- tioned in Mr. Grojlefs ntvj obfer^ations on Italy, Vol. i. p. 8. F. fmce 96 September 1748. fince autumn, when it firft 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 ftone by its circular motion round it, and helps to make the hole or cavity round. It is certain, that, by this turning and toffing, the ftone is at laft unfit for this purpofe : but the river throws commonly every fpring other ftones inftead of it into the cavity, and they are turned round in the fame manner. By this whirling, both the mountain and the ftone afford either a fine or a coarfe fand, which is wafhed away by the water, when in fpring, or at other times, it is high enough to throw its waves into the cavity. This was the opinion of Mr. Bar- tram about the origin of thefe cavities. The Royal Society of Sciences at London, has given a favourable reception to, and approved of them. * The remarks which I made in the fummer of the year 1743, during my ftay at Land*s-Ort, in my country, will prove that I was at that time of the fame opinion, in regard to thefe holes. I have fince further explained this opinion in a letter to the Royal Academy of Sciences ; and this letter is ftill preferved in the Academy's Me- moirs, which have not yet been publifhed. But * How far this approbation of the Royal Society ought to be credited, is to be uuderftood from the adverdfements publifhed at the head of each new volume of the Philofophical Tranfaftions. * Penjytuhnia> Philadelphia* 97 there is great reafon to doubt, whether all cavi- ties of this kind, in mountains, have the fame origin. HERE are different fpecies of Mulberry trees, which grow wild in the forefts of North and South America. In thefe parts the red mulberry trees are more plentiful than any other. How- ever, Mr. Eartram affured me, that he had like- wife feen the white mulberry trees growing wild, but that they were more fcarce. I afked him, and feveral other people of this country, why they did not fet up filk manufactures, having fuch a quantity of mulberries, which fucceed fo eaiily ? For it has been obferved, that when the berries fall upon the ground, where it is not compact, but loofe, they foon put out feveral fine delicate fhoots. But they replied, that it would not be worth while to erect any filk manufac- tures 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 therefore of opinion, that the cultivation of all forts of corn, of hemp, and of flax, would be of greater advan- tage, and that at the fame time it did not re- quire near fo much care as the feeding of jfilk- worms. By the trials of a governor in Conneffii- cut, which is a more northern province than New Tork, it is evident however, that filk- worms fucceed very well thsre, and that this kind of mulberry trees is very good for them. The governor brought up a great quantity of fiH-c worms in his court-yard ; and they fucceeded fo VOL. I. H well, 98 September 1748. well, and fpun fo much lilk, as to afford him a fufficient quantity for cloathing himfelf and all his family. SEVERAL Ibrts of Vines likewife grow wild hereabouts. Whenever I made a little excur- fion out of town, I faw them in numerous places climbing up trees and hedges. They clafp around them, and cover them fometimes entirely, and even hang down on the fides. This has the fame appearance, at a diftance, as the tendrils of hops climbing along trees. I enquired of Mr. Bartram, why they did not plant vineyards, or prefs wine from the grapes of the wild vine ? But they anfwered, that the fame objection lay againft it, which lies againft the eredtion of a 01k manufacture, that the neceffary hands were too fcarce, and it therefore was more rational to make agriculture their chief employment. But the true reafon undoubtedly is, that the wine which is preffed out of moft of the North Ame- rican wild grapes, is four and fharp, and has not near fuch an agreeable tafte as that which is made from European grapes. THE Virginian Wake robin, or Arum Virgini- cum, grows in wet places. Mr. Bar tram told me, that the favages boiled the fpadix and the berries of this flower, and devoured it as a great dainty. When the berries are raw, they have a harfh, pungent tafte, which they lofe in great meafure upon boiling. THE Sarothra Gentianoides, grows abundantly in the fields, and under the bufhes, in a dry fandy ground near Philadelphia. It looks extremely like Penfyhania, Philadelphia. 99 like our whortleberry bufhes when they firft be* gin 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 kick- ed by a vicious horfe, in fuch a manner as to have both his thighs greatly hurt, he boiled the Sa- rotbra, and applied it to his wounds. It not only immediately appeafed his pain, which before had been very violent, but he likewife, by its afliftance, recovered in a {hort time. HAVING read, in Mr. Millers Botanical Die* tionary, that Mr. Peter Collmfon had a particular Larch tree from America in his garden, I aiked Mr. Bartram whether he was acquainted with it? he anfwered, that he had fent it himfelf to Mr. Collinfon > that it only grew in the eaftern parts of New Jerfey, and that he had met with it in no other Engltfh plantation. It differs from the other fpecies of "Larch trees, its 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 before their arrival. But he looked upon peaches as an original Ame- rican fruit, and as growing wild in the greateft part of America. Others again were of opinion, that they were firft brought -over by the E#- ropeans. But all the French in Canada agreed, that on the banks of the river MiJJiJippi, and in H 2 the ico September 1748. i the country thereabouts, peaches were found growing wild in great quantity. * Sept. 27th, THE tree which the Englffi here call Perjim:n, is the Diofpyros Virginiana of Lin- naeus. It grows for the greateft part in wet places, round the water pits. I have already mentioned, that the fruits of this tree are ex- tremely bitter and (harp before they are quite ripe, and that, being eaten in that ftate, they quite contract one's mouth, and have a very dif- agreeable tafte. But as foon as they are ripe, which docs not happen till they have been quite foftened by the froft, they are a very agreeable fruit. They are here eaten raw, and feldom any other way. But in a great book, which contains a description of Virginia, you meet with differ- ent ways of preparing the Perjimon, under the article of that name, Mr, Bartram related, that they were commonly put upon the table amongft the fweet-meats, and that fome people made a tolerably good wine of them. Some of thefe Perfimon fruits were dropped on the ground in his garden, and were almoft quite ripe, having been expofed to a great degree of the heat of the fun. We picked up a few and tailed them, and I muft own that thofe who praifed this fruit as an agreeable one, have but done it juftice. It * 'Thomas Herriot, fervant to Sir Waller Raleigh, who was em- ployed by him to examine into the protiuitions of 'North America* makes no mention of the peach among the other fruits he de- cribes ; and M. du Pratz, who has given a very good account of "Louijiana. and the Mijflijtppi, fays, that the natives got their peaches from the EngUjh colony of Carolina* before the French ieukd there. P. really Pcnjyfaania, Philadelphia. 101 really deferves a place among the moft palatable fruit of this country, when the frofl has tho- roughly conquered its acrimony. THE Verb af cum Tbapfus, or great white Mul- lein, grows in great quantity on roads, in hedges, on dry fields, and high meadows of a ground mixed with land. The Swedes here call it the tobacco of the favages, but owned, that they did not know whether or no the Indians really ufed this plant inftead of tobacco. The Swedes are ufed to tie the leaves round their feet and arms when they have the ague. Some of them pre- pared a tea from the leaves, for the dyfentery. A Swede likewife told me, that a decoction of trie * roots was injected into the wounds of the cattle which are full of worms, which killed thefe worms, and made them fall out. ^ Sept. 28th. THE meadows which are fur- rounded by wood, and were at prefent mown, have a fine lively verdure. On the contrary, when they lie on hills, or in open fields, or in fome elevated fituation, efpecially fo that the fun may be able to act upon them without any obfla- cles, their grafs looks brown and dry. Several people from Virginia told me, that on account of the great heat and drought, the meadows and paftures almoft always had a brown colour, and looked as if they were burnt. The inhabitants of thofe parts do not therefore enjoy the pleafure * THESE worms are the Larvas of the Oe/lrus or Gvdfy, which depofus its eggs on the biitk of cattle, and the Larvas being hatched from thefe eggs, caufe great fojes, wherein they live tiil they are ready for their change. In the iouth of . y ufe for the fame purpofe the ciecodion of Fcratriw:, Oi tig wliit H 3 which K*'borc IO2 September 1748. which an European feels at the fight of our ver- dant, odoriferous meadows. THE American Night/hade, or the Pbytolacca decandrq, grows abundantly in the fields, and tjnder the trees, on little hills. Its black berries are now ripe. We obferved to-day fome little birds with a blue plumage, and of the fize of our Hortnlans and Yellow Hammers (Emberiza Citri- ndla and Emberiza HortulanusJ flying down from the trees, in order to fettle upon the nightmade and eat its berries. TOWARDS night I went to Mr. Eartrams country feat. Sept. 29th. THE GnapbaKxm margaritaceum grows in aftoniftiing quantities upon all unculti-? vated fields, glades, hills, and the like. Its height is different according to its different foil and fituation. Sometimes it is very ramofe, and fometimes very little. It has a ftrong, but agree- able fmell. The Englijh call it Life ever lofting* for its flowers, which confift chiefly of dry, fhining, filvery leaves (Folia calycina) do not change when dried. This plant is now every where in full bloffom. But fome have already loft, the flowers, and are beginning to drop the feeds. The EngKJh ladies were ufed to gather great quantities of this Life everlafting, and to pluck them w r ith the ftalks. For they put them into pots with or without water, amongft other fine flowers which they had gathered both in the gardens and in the fields, and placed them as an ornament in the rooms. The Englifo ladies in general are much inclined to have fine flowers all the furhrner long, in or upon the chimney?, fometimes Penfyhanuiy Philadelphia, 103 fometimes upon a table, or before the windows, either on account of their fine appearance, or for the fake of their fweet fcent. The Gnaphalium abovementioned, was one of thofe which they' kept in their rooms during the winter, becaufe its flowers never altered from what they were when they ftood in the ground. Mr. Bartram told me another ufe of this plant. A decodtion of the flowers and ftalks is ufed to bathe any pained or bruifed part, or it is rubbed with the plant itfelf tied up in a bag. INSTEAD of flax feveral people made ufe of a kind of Dogs bane> or Linnaufs Apocynum can- nablnum. The people prepared the ftalks of this plant, in the fame manner as we prepare thofe of hemp or flax, It was fpun, and feveral kinds of fluffs were woven from it. The favages are faid to have had the art of making bags, fifhing-nets, and the like, for many centuries together, before the arrival of the Europeans. I ASKED Mr. Bartram, whether he had ob- ferved in his travels that the water was fallen, and that the fea had formerly covered any places which were now land. He told me, that from what he had experienced, he was convinced, that the greateft part of this country, even for feveral miles together, had formerly been under water. The reafons which led him to give credit to this opinion were the following. i. ON digging in the blue mountains, which are above three hundred Englifli miles diflant from the lea, you find loofe oyiler and other forts of {hells -, and they are alfo Jikewife to be met with in the vallies formed by thefc mountains. H 4 ' 2. A 104 September 1748. 2. A- VAST quantity of petrified fbells are found in limeftone, flint, and fandftone, on the fame mountains. Mr. Ear tram affured me at the fame time, that it was incredible what quantities of them there were in the different kinds of ftones of which the mountains confift. 3. THE fame fhells are likewife dug in great quantity, quite entire and not mouldered, in the provinces of Virginia and Maryland, as alfo in Philadelphia and in New Tork, 4. ON digging wells (not only in Philadel- phia, but likewife in other places) the people have met with trees, roots, and leaves of oak, for the greatf ft part not yet rotten, at the depth of eighteen feet. 5. THE beft foil and the richeft mould is to be met with in the vallies hereabouts. Thefe valliesare commonly croffed by a rivulet or brook. And on their declivity, a mountain commonly rifes, which in thofe places, where the brook paffes clofe to it, locks as if it were cut on pur- pofe. Mr. Ear tram believed, that all thefe val- lies formerly were lakes; that the water had, by degrees, hollowed out the mountain, and opened a paflage for itfelf through it; and that the great quantity of flime which is contained in the water, and which had fubfided to the bottom of the lake, was the rich foil which is at prefent in the vallies, and the caufe of their great ferti- lity. But fuch vallies and cloven mountains are very frequent in the country, and of this kind is the peculiar gap between two mountains, through which a river takes its courfe, en the boundaries f i\e-w Tork and Penfyhania. The people, in a jeft, Penfyhania, Philadelphia. 105 jeft, fay, that this opening was made by the vil, as he wanted to go out of Penfyhania into New Tor k. 6. THE whole appearance of the blue moun- tains plainly {hews, that the water formerly co- vered a part of them. For many are broken in a peculiar manner, but the higheft are plain. 7. WHEN the favages are told tbat (hells are found on thefe high mountains, and that from thence there is reafon to believe that the fea muft formerly have extended to them, and even in part flown over them ; they anfwer that this is not new to them, they having a tradition from their ancestors among them, that the fea formerly furrounded thefe mountains. 8. THE water in rivers and brooks likewife decreafes. Mills, which fixty years ago were built on rivers, and at that time had a fufficient fupply of water almoft all the year long, have at prefent fo little, that they cannot be ufed, but after a heavy rain, or when the fnow mdts in fpring. This decreafe of v/ater, in part, arifes from the great quantity of land which is now cultivated, and from the extirpation of great forefts for that pur- pofe. 9. THE fea-fhore increafes likewife in time. This arifes from the quantity of fand continually thrown on fliore from the bottom of the fea, by the waves. MR. Eartram thought that fome peculiar at- tention fliould be paid to another thing relating to thefe qbfervations. The {hells which are to be found petrified on the northern mountains, are of fuch kinds as, at prefent, are not to be got in the fea, io6 September 1748. fea, in the fame latitude, and they, are not fiflied on the fliore, till you come to South Carolina. Mr. Bartram from hence took an occafion to de- fend Dr. Thomas Bur net's opinion, that the earth, before the deluge, was in a different polition to- wards the fun. He like wife afked whether the great bones, which are fometimes found in the ground in Siberia, and which are fuppofed to be elephants bones and tufks, did not confirm his opinion. For at prefent thofe animals cannot live in fuch cold countries; but if, according to Dr. Burnct, the fun once formed different zones about our earth, from thofe it now makes, the elephant may eafily be fuppofed to have lived in Siberia.* However * THE bones and tuflcs of Elephants are not only found in Ruf- Jia, but alfo in the canton of Baftl in $-m:iJJerland, in the domini- ons of the Marquis of Bareitb in Fraatonta, and more inilances are found in the Protogsea of the celebrated Leiinilx. Lately, near the river Ohio, have been discovered, a great number of (keletons of Elephants, with their tufks, and very remarkable grinders, {till iiieking in their jaw bones, were fent to the Briti/h Mufeum \ the Jate Dr. Littleton, Bifhop of Carlijle, alfo lodged fome teeth, llick- ing in their jaw bones, in the Mufeum of the Royal Society, which were brought from Peru. The rivers Chatunga and Indi- gkirka> in Siberia, are remarkable for affording, on their banks, great quantities of bones and tufks of Elephants, which being preferved there by the great froft, and in the fhort fummer of a few weeks, the rain being rare, thefe tufks are commonly fo frefli that they are employed in Ruffta as common ivory on account of the great quantity brought from thefe places to JiuJJia ; fome of them were eight feet long, and of three hundred pounds weight. There have been found grinders of nine inches diameter. But the American grinders of Elephants from near the Olio are yet more re- markable, on account of their being provided with crowns at their tops fuch as are only found in the carnivorous animals, and fuch as feed on hard bones or nuts. Whilft, on the contrary, Elephants, at prefent feeding on graffes and foft vegetables, have no fuch crow ( ns at the tops of their grin'ders. Livy, it is true, makes a diftin&ion between the AJtatic or Indian Elephants, and the African ones j and remarks the latter to be inferior to tin? former in f;ze and vi- Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 107 However it feems that all which we have hitherto mentioned, may have been the effecl: of different caufes. To thofe belong the univerfal deluge, the increafe of land, which is merely the work of time, and the changes of the courfe of rivers, which when the fnow melts, and in great floods, leave their firft beds, and form new ones. AT fome diftance from Mr. Barf rams coun- try houfe, a little brook flowed through the wood, and likewife ran over a rock. The attentive Mr. Bartram here {hewed me feveral little ca- vities in the rock, and we plainly faw that they muft have been generated in the manner I before defcribed, that is, by fuppoiing a pebble to have gour ; but whether the teeth in thefe animals are fo much differ- ent from thofe of the other variety, has never been attended to. This circumilance of the difference in the foffil grinders of Ele- phants, from thofe in the living ones, and the place where thefe /keletons were found in, viz. Siberia, Germany , and America, where at prefent no Elephants are to be met with, opens a wide field to conjectures, in regard to the way by which thefe animals were carried to thofe fpots. The flood in the deluge perhaps has carried them thither : nor is it contrary to reafon, hiitory or reve- lation, to believe thefe fkeletons to be the remainders of animals, which lived on the furface of this globe anterior to the Mofaic creation ; which may be confidered only as a new modification of the creatures living on this globe, adapted to its prefent ilate, un- der which it will remain tillcircumftances will make a new change necefTary, and then our globe will, by a new creation or revolu- tion, appear more adapted to its ftate, and be flocked with a fet of animals more fuitable to that ftate. Every man, ufed to phi- lofophy and reafoning, will find, that this plan gives a grand idea of the Creator, his ceconomy and management of the univerfe : and moreover, it is conformable to the meaning of the words of a facred writer, who fays: Pfal. civ. 29, 30. Thou hidejl thy face and they (fmall and great hearts) are troubled', thou take.Jl away their breath, they die, and return to their duft. Thou fendeft forth thy Spirit, they are treated; and thcu reneiveft the face of tJ# earth. See Dr. Hunter's remarks on t]?*j above-mentioned teeth, jn the PhilofophicalTranf. Vol. Iviii. F. remained io8 September 1748. remained in a cleft of the rock, and to have been turned round by the violence of the water, till it had formed fuch a cavity in the mountain. For on putting our hands into one of thefe cavities, we found that it contained numerous fmali peb- bles, whole furface v/as quite fmooth and round. And thefe ftones we found in each of the holes. MR. Eartram mewed me a number of plants which he had collected into a herbal on his tra- vels. Among thefe were the following, which likewife grow in the northern parts of Europe, of which he had either got the whole plants, or only broken branches. 1 . Betula alba, the common birch-tree, which he had found on the cats-bills:^ 2. Eetula nana* This fpecies of birch grows in feveral low places towards the hills. 3. Ccmarum paluftre, in the meadows, between the hills in New Jerfey. 4. Gentiana lutea, the great Gentian, from the fields near the mountains. It was very like our variety, but had not fo many flowers under each leaf. - 5. Linn&a bore alls, from the mountains in Ca- nada. It creeps along the ground. 6 . My r lea Ga le, fro m t h e n e i gh b o u rh o o d of t h e river Sufquehanna, where it grows in a wet foil. 7. Potentillafriitlcoja, from the fwampy fields and low meadows, between the river Delaware, and the river New York. 8. Orient alls Eufoptea, from the cats "bills. g. Trlglochin maritimum> from the fait fprings wards the country of the five nalicns. 3 . MR. Penjyfb&flfa, Philadelphia. 109 .Barfra7n {hewed me a letter faomEa/i Jer* fey, in which he got the following account of the difcovery of an Indian grave. In th^ April of the year 1744, as fome people were digging a cellar,, they came upon a great ftone, like a tomb-ftone, which was atlaft got out with great difficulty; and about four feet deeper under it, they met with a large quantity of human bones and a cake of maize. The latter was yet quite untouched, and feveral of the people prefent tafted it out of curiofity. From thefe circumftances it was concluded, that this was a grave of a perfon of note among the favages. For it is their cuftom to bury, along with the deceafed, meat, and other things which he liked beft. The ftone was eight feet long, four feet broad, and even fojne inches more, where it was broadeft, and fifteen inches thick at one end, but only twelve inches at the other end. It con- lifted of the fame coarfe kind of ftone that is to, be got in this country. There were no letters nor other chara&ers vifible on it. THE corn which the Indians chiefly cultivate is the Maize, or Zea Mays, Linn. They have little corn fields for that purpofe. But befides this, they likewife plant a great quantity of Squajhes, a fpecies of pumpions or melons, which they have always cultivated, even in the remoteft ages. The Europeans fettled in America got the feeds of this plant, and at prefent their gar- dens are full of it > the fruit has an agreeable tafte when it is well prepared. They are commonly boiled, then cruihed (as we are ufed to do with turneps when we make apulfeof them) and fome pepper no September 1748. pepper or other fpice thrown upon them, and the dim is ready. The Indians likewife fow feveral kinds of beans, which for the greateft part they have got from the Europeans. But peafe, which they likewife fow, they have always had amongft them, before any foreigners came into the coun- try. The fquafhes of the Indians, which now are likewife cultivated by the Europeans, belong to thofe kinds of gourds (ciicurbita) which ripen before any other. They are a very delicious fruit, but will not keep. I have however feen them kept till pretty late in winter. Sept. joth. WHEAT and rye are fown in au- tumn about this time, and commonly reaped towards the end of June, or in the beginning of July. Thefe kinds of corn, however, are fometimes ready to be reaped in the middle of June, and there are even examples that they have been mown in the beginning of that month. Barley 'and oats are fown in April^ and they commonly begin to grow ripe towards the end of July. Buck-wheat is fown in the middle or at the end of July* and is about this time, or fomewhat later, ready to be reaped. If it be fown before the above-mentioned time, as in May, or in June, it only gives iiowers, and little or no corn. MR. Eartram and other people affured me, that moft of the cows, which the Engtifo have here, are the offspring of thofe which they bought of the Swedes, when they were mailers of the country. The Englifb themfelves are faid to have brought over but few. The Swedes either brought their cattle from home, or bought them of the Dutcb> who were then fettled here, NEAR Penjyhatiia> Philadelphia. Ill NEAR the town, I faw an Ivy or Hedera Helix, planted againft the wall of a ftone building, which was fo covered by the fine green leaves of this plant, as almoft to conceal the whole. It was doubtlefs brought over from Europe, for I have never perceived it any where elfe on my travels through North America. But in its ftead I have often feen wild vines made to run up the walls. TASKED Mr. Bartram, whether he had ob- ferved, that trees and plants decreafed in proper* tion as they were brought further to the North, as Catefby pretends 5 he anfwered, that the quef- tion fhould be more limited, and then his opinion would prove the true one. There are fome trees which grow better in fouthern countries, and be- come lefs as you advance to the north. Their feeds or berries are fometimes brought into colder climates by birds and by other accidents. They gradually decreafe in growth, till at laft they will not grow at all. On the other hand, there are other trees and herbs which the wife Creator deftined for the northern countries, and they grow there to an amazing fize. But .the further they are tranfplanted to the fouth, the lefs they grow; till at laft they degenerate fo much as not to be able to grow at all. Other plants love a temperate climate, and if they be carried either fouth or north, they will not fucceed well, but always decreafe, Thus for example, Penfylvania contains fome trees which grow exceedingly well, but always decreafe in proportion as they are car- ried further off either to the north, or to the fouth. I AFTERWARDS, on my travels, had frequent proofs of this truth. The Sajjqfras, which grows in Pen- 112 OStober 1748. Penfyfoania, under forty deg. of lat. and becomes a pretty tall and thick tree, was fo little at Ofwego and FortNicholfon, between forty-three and forty- four deg. of lat. that it hardly reached the height of two or four feet, and was feldom fo thick as the little finger of a full grown perfon. This was likewife the cafe with the Tulip tree. For in Penfylvania it grows as high as our tailed oaks and firs, and its thicknefs is proportionable to its height. But about Ofwego it was not above twelve feet high, and no thicker than a man's arm. The Sugar Maple, or Acer faccharin urn, is one f the mod common trees in the woods of Canada, and grows very tall. But in the fouthern provinces, as. New Jerfey and Penfyfaa- nia, it only grows on the northern fide of the blue mountains, and on the fteep hills which are on the banks of the river, and which are turned to the north. Yet there it does not attain to a third or fourth part of the height which it has in Canada. It is needlefs to mention more exam- ples. Oct. i ft. THE gnats, which are very trouble- fome at night here, are called Mufquetoes. They are exactly like the gnats in Sweden, only fome- what lefs; and the defcription which is to be met with in Dr. Linnaeus $ Syjlema Natures, and Fauna Suecica, fully agrees with them, and they are call- ed by him Culex pipiens. In day-time or at night they come into the houfes, and when the people are gone to bed they begin their difagreeable hum- ming, approach always nearer to the bed, and at laft fuck up fo much blood, that they can hardly fly away. Their bite caufes blifters in people of a deli- Penfyfonma, Philadelphia, itg a delicate complexion. When the weather has been cool for fome days, the mufquetoesdilappear. But when it changes again, and efpecially after a rain, they gather frequently in fuch quantities about the houfes, that their numbers are afronifh- ing. The chimneys of the Englifh, which have! no valves for {hutting them up, afford the gnats a free entrance into the houfes. In fultry even- ings, they accompany the cattle in great fwarms, from the woods to the houfes or to town, and when they are drove before the houfes, the gnats fly in wherever they can. In the greatefi heat of fummer, they are fo numerous in fome places, that the air feems to be quite full of them., efpe- cially near fwamps and flagnate waters, fuch as the river Morris in New Jcrfey. The inhabi- tants therefore make a fire before their houfes, to expel thefe difagreeable g.uefts by thefmoke. The; old Swedes here, faid that gnats had .formerly been much more numerous j that even at prefent they fwarmed in vatl quantites on the fea fhore, near the fait water; and that thofe which troubled us this autumn in Philadelphia were of a more venomous kind, than they commonly ufed to be. This laft quality appeared from the blifters, which were formed on the fpots, where the gnats had inferted their fling. In Sweden I never felt- any other inconvenience from their fting than a little itching, whilil they fucked. But when they flung me here at night, my face was fo dif- figured by little red fpots and bliflers, that I was almofl afhamed to (hew myfelf, I HAVE already mentioned fomewhat about the enclofures ufual here; I now add, that moft of VOL. L I the 114 October 1748. the planks, which are put horizontally, and of which the enclofures in the environs of Pbiladd- f/jia chiefly confift, are of the red cedar wood, which is here reckoned more durable than any other. But where this could not be got, either white or black oak fupplied its place. The peo- ple were likewife very glad if they could get ce- dar wood for the ports, or elfe they took white oak, or chefnut, as I was told by Mr. Barf ram. But it feems that that kind of wood in general does not keep well in the ground for a confide- rable time. I faw fome pofts made of chefnut wood, and put into the ground only the year be- fore, whicfh were already, for the greateft part, rotten below. THE Sqffafras tree, or Laurus Sqffqfras Linn. grows in abundance in the country, and ftands fcattered *up and down the woods, and near bufhes and enclofures. On old grounds, which are left uncultivated, it is one of the firft that comes up, and is as plentiful as young birches are on thofe Swedijh fields, which are formed by burning the trees which grew on them.* The Saflafras grows in a dry loofe ground, of a pale brick colour, which confifts, for the greateft part, of fand, mixed with fome clay. It feems to be but a poor foil. The mountains round Gothen- burgh, in Sweden, would afford many places rich * IN Mr. OJbeck's Voyage to Cblna> Vol. i. p. 50. in a note, an account is given of this kind of land, which the Swedes call S&tftieland where it is obferved, that the trees being burnt, their afhes afford manure fufficient for three years, after which they are left uncultivated again, till, after twenty or more years, a new ge- neration of trees being produced on them, the country people burn them, and cultivate the country for three years again. F. enough Penfyfoania, Philadelphia. 115 enough for the Saffafras to grow in, and I even fear they would be too rich. I here faw it both in the woods amidft other trees, and more frequently by itfelf along the enclofures. In both it looks equally frefh. I have never feen it on wet or low places. The people here gather its flowers, and ufe them inftead of tea. But the wood itfelf is of no ufe in ceconomy ; for when it is fet on fire, it caufes a continual crackling, without mak- ing any good fire. The tree fpreads its roots very much, and new moots come up from them in fome places ; but thefe moots are not good for tranfplanting, becaufe they have fo few fibres, befides the root which connects them to the main flem, that they cannot well ftrikeMnto the ground. If therefore any one would plant Saf- Jhfras trees, he muft endeavour to get their ber- ries, which however is difficult, fince the birds eat them before they are half ripe. The cows are very greedy after the tender new moots, and look for them every where. THE bark of this tree is ufed by the women here in dying worfted a fine lifting orange colour, which does not fade in the fun. They ufe urine inftead of alum in dying, and boil the dye in a brafs boiler, becaufe in an iron veflel it does not yield fo fine a colour. A woman in Virginia has fuccefsfully employed the berries of the Sailafras againft a great pain in one of her feet, Which, for three years together, me had to fuch a degree, that it almoft hindered her from walking. She was advifed to broil the berries of Saflafras, and to rub the painful parts of her foot with the oil, which by this means would be got from the ber- I 2 ries. n6 Offober 1748. ries. She did fo, but at the fame time it made her vomit ; yet this was not fufficient to keep her from following the prefcription three times more, though as often as me made ufe thereof, it always had the fame effedt. However (lie was en- tirely freed from that pain, and perfectly recovered. A BLACK Woodpecker with a red head, or the PicuspileatusLinn. is frequent in \hzPenfyhanian forefts, and ftays the winter, as I know from my own experience. It is reckoned among thofe birds which deftroy the maize > bccaufe it fettles on therjpe ears, and deftroy s them with its bill. The Swedes call it T'illkroka ; but all other wood- peckers, thofe with gold yellow wiags excepted, are called Hackfpickar in the Sivedijh language. I intend to defcribe them all together more exadly in a particular work. I only obferve here, that almoft all the different fpecies of woodpeckers are very noxious to the maize, when it begins to ripen : for by picking holes in the membrane round the ear, the rain gets into it, and caufes. the ear, with all the corn it contains, to rot. Off. 3d. IN the morning I fet out for Wil- mington, which was formerly called Chriftina by the Swedes, and is thirty Engli/h miles to the fouth-weft of Philadelphia. Three miles behind Philadelphia I pafled the river Skulkill in a ferry, beyond which the country appears almoft a con- tinual chain of mountains and vallies. The mountains have an eafy flope on all fides, and the vallies are commonly crofted by brooks, with cryftal ftreams. The greater part of the country is covered with feveral kinds of deciduous trees; fgr I fcarcely few a fingle tree of the fir kind, if 3 I except Penfyfoania, Journey to Wilmington. 117 I except a few red cedars. The foreft was high, but open below, fo that it left a free profpeft to the eye, and no under-wood obOru&ed the paf- fage between the trees. It would have been eafy in fome places to have gone under the branches with a carriage for a quarter of a mile, the trees {landing at great diftances from each other, and the ground being very level. In fome places lit- tle glades opened, which were either meadows, paftures, or corn-fields \ of which latter fome were cultivated and others not. In a few places feveral houfes were built clofe to each other. But for the greateft part they were fingle. Tn part of the fields the wheat was already fown, in the Eng- lijb manner without trenches, but with furrows pretty clofe together. I fometimes faw the coun- try people very bufy in fowing their rye. Near every farm-houfe was a little field with maize. The inhabitants hereabouts were commonly ei- ther Englifo or Swedes. ALL the day long I faw a continual variety of trees ; walnut trees of different forts, which were all full of nuts; chefnut trees quite covered with fine chefnuts; mulberries, faflafras, liquidambar, tulip trees, and many others. SEVERAL fpecies of vines grew wild herea- bouts. They run up to the fummits of the trees, their cluilers of grapes and their leaves covering the items. I even faw fome young oaks five or fix fathoms high, whofe tops were crowned with vines. The ground is that which is fo common hereabouts, which I have already defcribed, viz. a clay mixed with a great quantity of fand, and covered with a rich foil or vegetable earth, The I 3 vines n8 O&ober 1748. vines are principally feen on trees which ftand fingle in corn-fields, and at the end of woods, where the meadows, paftures, and fields begin ; and likewife along the enclofures, where they cling with their tendrils round the trees which ftand there. The lower parts of the plant are full of grapes, which hang below the leaves, and were now almoft ripe, and had a pleafant fourim tafte. The country people gather them in great quan- tities, and fell them in the town. They are eaten without further preparation ; and commonly peo^ pie are prefented with them when they come to pay a vifit. THE foil does not feem to be deep hereabouts $ for the upper black ftratum is hardly two inches* This I had an occalion to fee, both in fuch places where the ground is dug up, and in fuch where the water, during heavy mowers of rain, has made cuts, which are pretty numerous here. The upper foil has a dark colour, and the next a pale colour like bricks. I have obferved every where in America, that the depth of the upper foil does not by far agree with the computation of fome people, though we can almoft be fure, that in fome places it never was ftirred fince the deluge. I (hall be more particular in this refpecft afterwards. * THE * TH F. learned Dr. Walhrius, in his Mineralogy, 8. in the note to the article, Humus communis atra t mentions, that fome people were of opinion, that the mould of our globe increafed gradually from the yearly putiefa&ion of plants and their parts, cfpecially in foch places as had been uncultivated ever fince the deluge ; and that thus, in a hundred years, half an inch of mould was produced. But he obferves, in the fame time, that this ob- fervation Penfyfaani4& journey to Wilmington. 119 THE Datura Stramonium* or "Thorn Apple % grows in great quantities near all the villages. Its height is different according to the foil it is in. For in a rich foil it grows eight or ten feet high, but in a hard and poor ground, it will fel- dom come up to fix inches. This Datura* to- gether fervation was not at all exaft; for as the common mould feldom exceeds a foot, it muft from thence follow, that fince the deluge no more than 2400 years were elapfed, though the fcripture chro- nology reckons upwards of 4000 years fince that event : befides this, he remarks, that mould always becomes more dry and com- preffed, where it is out of the reach of rain and fnow ; and where it is expofed to rain, it is carried off to lower places, and there- fore increafes and decreafes according to the qualities of its local fituation. Moreover, vegetables, it is known, profper the bed where mould is found. As the furface of our globe has been co- vered with vegetables fmce the deluge, they muft have had a mould to grow in ever lince that timej confequently it is highly- probable, that there muft have been a mould covering the furface of our globe ever fince the firft origin. I mould be led, by fome other confederations, to doubt of the infallibility of this rule for the increafe of mould. In Rujfia, on this fide the river Volga 9 are high and extenfive plains, which have been uncultivated ever fince the deluge ; for, we know from hiftory, that the Scythians, Sannatians, Huns, Cbazars, and Mogols, were fucceffively the mafters of thefe vaft countries, and were altogether nomadic na- tions, who lived without agriculture : the country has been with- out wood fince time immemorial, nor could there even fpring up any wood whatfoever, fince its rambling poffeflbrs every fpring fet fire to the old dry grafs, in order to make room for the new grafs, which, in the latter end of May, I found come up very near to my waift. And thefe vaft, defart plains, I faw every where covered with at lead two feet mould ; nay, in fome places it amounted to four feet ; this would give, according to^he former rule of half an inch per century, 4800 years, in the firft inftance ; and, in the fecond, 9600 years ; and therefore mews, that this rule for calculating the increafe of mould is very preca- rious. The chemical analyfis of plants fhews, that they confifl of water, earth, acid, alkali, oil, and an inflammable principle, independent of the laft fubftance, and called by a late German che- mill, the cauftic : thefe fubftances muft enter yearly the new- plants, and make their fubftance, and are as it were regenerated 14 ia 1 20 October 1748* . gether with the Phytolacca, or American Night*- foade y grow here in thofe places near the gardens, houfes, and roads, which in Sweden are covered with nettles and goofe-foot, which European plants are very fcarce in America. But the Da- tura and Phytolacca are the worft weeds here, liobody knowing any particular ufe of them. TURNIP-FIELDS are fometimes to be feen. In the middle of the high road 1 perceived a dead black fnake, which was four feet fix inches long, ^nd 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 prognofti- in thefe new plants, after being fet at liberty from the ftrufture of the laft year's plants by putrefaction, or by fire. Mould, che- jnically examined, has the fame analogous parts. Acid and cau- |tic are plentifully contained in the common air, and may alfo eafily be reftored to the mould, and thus circulate through a new fyitem of plants. Water comes fikewife from raia and fnow, -out of our atmofphere ; alkaline and oily particles, or a kind of/oaj> s are the only things wanting, which, when added with the former to any fubtle earth, will make a good mould ; and thefe are pro-? cluced by putrefaction or fire, from vegetable and animal fub^ fiances, and are the great promoters of vegetation. BUT the great queltion is, from whence thefe various fub- $ances, neceiTary for vegetation, originally came ? To believe they are produced from pu trifled vegetables, is begging the quef- tion, and making a circulus vitiofus in the argument. There is therefore no evafion ; they were certainly produced by the great Creator of the univerfe, and endowed with fuch qualities as make them capable of producing in various mixtures new bodies ; and u-hen they are introduced by moiilure into the firft ftamina of a plant, or a feed, they expand thefe ftamina, and conilitute a new being, capable of affording food to the animal creation. Jt is evident, Mr. Kalm hinted at the above-mentioned opinion of th i;;creafe of mould ; and this gave me an opportunity of confirming }is argument, and of Hating fairly the great quettion on which agriculture, the moil neceifary branch of human arts, depends. F. cated Penfyfoamdy 'Journey to Wilmington. 1 2 1" Cated either a ftorm, or rain, or both together. The fmaller the ring is, or the nearer it comes to the moon, the fooner 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 (Cher- mes Alni) in great abundance on the branches of that tree, which for that reafon looks quite white, and at a diftance appears as it were co- vered with mould. Qtt. 4th. I CONTINUED my journey early in the morning, and the country ftill had the fame appearance as I went on. It was a continual chain of pretty high hills, with an eafy afcent on all fides, and of vallies between them. The foil confifted of a brick-coloured mould, mixed with clay, and a few pebbles. I rode fometimes through woods of feveral forts of trees, and fome- times 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 diftance from them, fo that the fpace between the road and the houfes was taken up with little fields and meadows. Some of the houfes were built of ftone, two ftories high, and covered with mingles of the white' cedar. But moft of the houfes were wooden, and the crevices flopped up with clay, inftead 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 diftance from the houfes, and were cither 122 Qffiobcr 1748. either un^r a roof, or without any covering againfl the weather. The fields bore partly buck-wheat, which was not yet cut, partly maize, and partly wheat, which was but lately fown ; but fometimes they lay fallow. The vines climbed to the top of feveral trees, and hung down again on both fides. Other trees again were furrounded by the ivy (Hederaquin- quefoliaj which, with the fame flexibility, afcend- ed to a great height. The Smilax laurifotia al- ways joined with the ivy, and, together with it, twifted itfelf round the trees. The leaves of the Ivy were at this time commonly reddifli, but thofe of the vine were ftill quite green. The trees which were furrounded with them, looked at a diftance like thofe which are covered with hops in our country; and on feeing them from afar off, one might expedl to find wild hops climbing upon the trees. Walnut and chefnut trees were common near enclofures, in woods, and on hills, and at prefent were loaded with their fruit. The perfimon was likewife plenti- ful near the roads, and in the woods. At fame diftance from Wilmington, I palled a bridge over a little river, which falls north into the Dela- ware. The rider pays here two pence toll for himfelf and his horfe. TOWARDS noon I arrived at Wilmington. WILMINGTON is a little town, about thirty 'EngHJh miles fouth-weft from Philadelphia. It was founded in the year 1733. Part of it (lands upon the grounds belonging to the Swedijh church, which annually receives certain rents, out cf which they pay the mimfter's falary, and employ Penfyfaania, Wilmington. 123 employ the reft for other ufes. The houfes arc built of ftone, and look very pretty ; yet they are not built clofe together, but large open places are left between them. The quakers have a meeting-houfe in this town. The Swedijh church, which I intend to mention in the fequel, is half a mile out of town eaftwards. The par- fonage is under the fame roof with the church, A little river called Chriftina-kill paffes by the town, and from thence falls into the Delaware. By following its banks, one goes three miles be- fore one reaches the Delaware. The river is laid to be fufficiently deep, fo that the greateft veflel may come quite up to the town : for at its mouth or juncture with the Delaware it is (hal- lowed, and yet its depth even there, when the water is loweft, is from two fathoms to two and a half. But as you go higher, its depth encreafes to three, three and a half, and even four fathoms. The largeft fhips therefore may fafely, and with their full cargoes, come to and from the town with the tide. From Wilmington you have a fine profpeft of a great part of the river Dela~ ware, and the iliips failing on it. On both fides of the river Chrijlina-kill, almoft from the place where the redoubt is built to its juncture with the Delaware, are low meadows, which afford a great quantity of hay to the inhabitants. The town carries on a corffiderable trade, and would have been more enlarged, if Philadelphia and Newwjt/e, which are both towns of a more an- cient date, were not fo near on both fides of it. THE Redoubt, upon the river Chrijlina-kill, was erected this fummer, when it was known that 124 October 1748. that the French and Spanffi privateers intended to fail up the river, and to attempt 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 filver coin of Queen Cbrtftina* not quite fo big as a {hilling, was found at the depth of a yard, among fome other things. The Rev. Mr. T'ranberg afterwards prefented me with it. On one fide were the arms of the houfe of'ffafa, with the infcription : CHRISTINA. D. G. DE. RE. SVE. that is, Chriftina, by the grace of God, elefted Queen of Sweden ; and near this the year of our Lord 1633. On the reverfe were thefe words : MO- NET A NOVA REGN1 SVEC. or, A new coin tf the kingdom of Sweden. At the fame time, a number of old iron tools, fuch as axes, {hovels, and the like, were difcovered. The redoubt, that is now eredled, confifts of bulwarks of planks, with a rampart on the outfide. Near it is the powder magazine, in a vault built of bricks. At the ere&ion of this little fortifica- tion, it was remarkable, that the quakers, whofe tenets rejed even defenfive war, were as bufy as the other people in building it. For the fear* of being every moment fuddenly attacked by pri- vateers conquered all other thoughts. Many of them fcrupled to put their own hands to the Worjc ; but forwarded it by fupplies of money, and by getting ready every thing which was ne- ceflary. . 5th. IT was my defign to crofs the De~ la ware i Penjyfoania, Ret urn from Wilmington. 125 /aware, 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 exaft obfervations of the country, and of its na- tural hiftory. THE maize was fown in feveral places. In forne its (talks were cut fomewhat below the ear, dried and put up in narrow high flacks, 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 feed the cattle with them, all their flavour being loft. But the upper ones are cut whilft they are yet green. THE vallies between the hills commonly con- tain brooks; but they are not very broad, and require no bridges, fo that carriages and horle can eafily pafs through them; for the water is feldom above fix inches deep. THE leaves of moft trees were yet quite green, fuch as thofe of oaks, chefnut trees," black wal- nut trees, hiccory, tulip trees, and faiTafras. The two latter fpecies are found in plenty on the fides of the little woods, on hills, on the fallow fields, near hedges, and on the road. The per- fimon likewife had ftill its leaves ; however, fome trees of this kind had dropt them. The leaves of the American bramble were at prefent almoft entirely red, though fome of thefe bumes yet retained a lively green in the leaves. The Cornelian cherry likewife had already a mixture 126 Otfober 1748. of brown and pale leaves. The leaves of the red maple were alfo red. I CONTINUED my journey to Chicbefter, a borough upon the Defo&are, where travellers pafs the river in a ferry. They build here every year a number of fmall {hips for fale. From an iron work which lies higher in the country, they carry iron bars to this place, and {hip them. CANOES are boats made of one piece of wood, and are much in ufe with the farmers, and other people upon the Delaware, and fome little rivers. For that purpofe a very thick trunk of a tree is hollowed out : the red juniper, or red cedar tree, the white cedar, the chefnut tree, the white oak, and the tulip tree, are commonly made ufe of for this purpofe. The canoes made of red and white cedar are reckoned the beft, becaufe they fwim very light upon the water, and laft twenty years together. But of thefe the red cedar canoes are moil preferable. Thofe made of chefnut trees will likewife laft for |. gbod while. But thofe of white oak are hardly *Terviceable above fix years, and alfo fwim deep, becaufe they are fo heavy. The Liquidambar tree, or Liquidambar Jlyractflua 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 fo long as thofe of white oak. The fize of the canoes is different, according to the purpofcs they are deftined for. They can carry fix perfons, who, however, muft by no means be unruly, but fit at the bottom of the canoe in the quieteft manner poffible, left the boat over- fet. The Swedes in Penfyhania and New Jerfey, near Pen/ylvama, Return from Wilmington. 127 near the rivers, have no other boats to go to Philadelphia in, which they commonly do twice a week on the market days, though they be fe- veral miles diftant from the town, and meet fometimes with fevere ftorms ; yet misfortunes from the overfetting, &c. of thefe canoes, are feldom heard of, though they might well be ex- peeled, on account of the fmall fize of this kind of boats. However, a great deal of attention and care is neceflary in managing the canoes, when the wind is fomewhat violent; for they are narrow, round below, have no keel, arid therefore may eafily be overfet. Accordingly, when the wind is more brifk than ordinary, the people make for the land. THE common garden crefles grow in feveral places on the roads about Chicheft-er, and un- doubtedly come from the feeds, which were by chance carried out of the many gardens about that town. THE American brambles are here in great plenty. When a field is left uncultivated, they are the firft plants that appear on it ; and I fre- quently obferved them in fuch fields as are an- nually ploughed, and have corn fown on them* For when thefe bufhes are once rooted, they are not eafily extirpated, Such a bum runs out ten- drils fometimes four fathoms off its root, and then throws a new root, fo that on pulling it up, you meet with roots on both ends. On fome old grounds, which had long been uncul- tivated, there were fo many bumes of this kind, that it was very troublefome and dangerous walk- ing in them. A wine is made of the berries, as J have ia8 Qftoler 1748. I have already mentioned. The berries are like- wife eaten when they are ripe, and tafte well. Off. 6th. THE Chenopodium anthelminticum is very plentiful on the road, and on the banks of the river, but chiefly in dry places, in a loofe fandy foil. The Englijh, who are fettled here, call it Worm-feed, and Jerufakm Oak. It has a difagreeable fcent. In Penfyhania and New Jerfey its feeds are given to children, againft the worms, and for that purpofe they are excellent, The plant itfelf is fpontaneous in both pro- vinces. THE environs of Chichefter contain many gar- dens, which are full of apple trees, finking un- der the weight of innumerable apples. Moft of them are winter fruit, and therefore were yet quite four. Each farm has a garden, and fo has each houfe of the better fort. The extent of thefe gardens is likcwife not inconfiderable, and therefore affords the poffeflbr, all the year long, great fupplies in his houfe-keeping, both for eat- ing and drinking. I frequently was furprized at the prudence of the inhabitants of this country, As foon as one has bought a piece of ground, which is neither built upon nor fown, his firft care is to get young apple trees, and to make a garden. He next proceeds to build his houfe, iia; for here the ground is almoft mere land, but in the other province it is mixed with a good deal of clay, and this makes the ground pretty rich. The difcoveries which I made to-day, of infefts and plants, I intend to mention in another work. A SOIL Penfyhania, Return from Wilmington. 133 A SOIL like this in New Jerfey, one might be kd to think, could produce nothing, becaufe it is fo dry and poor. Yet the 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, but it is not near fo rich. The ftalks of maize are com- monly eight feet high, more or left, and are full of leaves. The maize is planted, as ufual, in rows, in little fquares, fo that there is a fpace of five feet and fix inches between each fquare, both in length and breadth ; on each of thefe little hills three or four ftalks come up, which were not yet cut for the cattle; each ftalk again has from one to four ears, which are large and full of corn. A fandy ground could never have been better em* ployed. 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. WE frequently faw Afparagus growing near the enclofares, in a loofe foil, on uncultivated fandy fields. It is likewife plentiful 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 how- ever certain, that I have like wifc feen it growing wild in other parts of America. THE Worm-feed is likewife plentiful on the roads, in a fandy ground, fuch as that near the ferry, oppofite to Philadelphia. I have already men- tioned 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 K 3 taken 134 Oftober 1748. taken out again, dried, and given to the children, either in beer, fweetened with treacle, or in any other liquor. Its effects 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 effects upon children. THE Pur/lam, which we cultivate in our gar- dens, grows wild in great abundance in the loofe foil, amongft the maize. It was there creeping on the ground, and its ftalks were pretty thick and fucculent; which circumftance very juftly gave reafon to wonder from whence it could get juice iufficient to fupply it, in fuch a dry ground. It is to be found plentiful in fuch foil, in other places of this country. THE Bidens bipinnata, is here called Spanijh Needles. It grows lingle about farm houfes, rear roads, pales, and along the hedges. It was yet partly in flower ; 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 difficult 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 faftens itfelf to the cloaths. IN the woods and along the hedges in this neighbourhood, fome fingle red Ants (Formica rubra) crept about, and their antennae or feel- horns were as long as their bodies. TOWARDS night we returned to Philadelphia. Off. 8th* THE ihore of Penfyhania has a great quantity Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 135 quantity of the fineft oyfters. About this time the people began to bring them to Philadelphia for fale. They come from that part of the more, which is near the mouth of the river Delaware. They are reckoned as good as the New York oyfters, of which I fhall make more particular mention afterwards. However, I thought that this latter fort of oyfters was generally larger, fatter, and more palatable. It is remarkable that they commonly 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 formerly a lime was burnt from them, which has been found unneceffary, there being ftones for burning of lime in this neigh- bourhood, and the lime of oyfter (hells not being as good as this other lime. The people mewed me fome houfes in this town which are built of ftone, and to the mafon work of which the lime of oyfter mells 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 plainly be perceived on them ; and thus they were as good as Hygrometers.* Several people * As the fhells of oyfters are a marine animal produ&ion, and their cavities are full of particles of Tea- water, the moifture of it flies off, leaving behind its fait ; when the fhells are burnt, and the lime is flacked, the fait mixes with the lime : and though the mortar of fuch a lime grows ever fo dry, the particles of fait im- mediately attracl the moifture of the air, and caufe that dampnefs complained of here. P. K 4 who 136 October 1748. who had lived in this kind of houfes complained of thefe inconveniences. O<5?. gth. PEASE are not much cultivated in Penfylvania at prefent, though formerly, accord- ing to the accounts of fome old Swedes, every far- mer had a little field with peafe. In New Jer- cy y and the fouthern parts of New Tork, peafe are likewife 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 defpicable infedt has obliged the people to give up fo uleful a part of agriculture. This little infeft was formerly little known, but a few years ago it multiplied exceffiveiy. It couples in fummer, about the time when the peafe are in bloflbm, and then de- pofits an egg into almoft every one of the little peafe. When the peafe are ripe, their outward appearance does not difcover the worm, which, however, is found within, when it is cut. This worm lies in the pea, if it is not ftirred, during all the winter, and part of the Ipring, and in that fpace of tirneconfumes the greateft part of the infide of the pea: In fjpring, therefore, little more than the mere thin outward fkin is left. This worm, at laft, changes into an in-fedt, of the coleoptera clafs, and in that ftate creeps through a hole of its own making in the hulk, and flies off, in order to look for new fields of peafe, in which it may couple with its cogeneric infedts, and provide food fufiicient for its pofterity. THIS noxious infed: has fpread from Penjyl-* r oania Penfyhania, Philadelphia. 137 vania to the north. For the country of New Tork 9 where it is common at prefent, has not been plagued with it above twelve or fifteen years ago; and before that time the people fowed peafc every year, without any inconvenience, and had excellent crops. But by degrees thefe little ene- mies came in fuch numbers, that the inhabitants were forced to leave off fowing of peafe. The people complained of this in feveral places. The country people about Albany have yet the plea- fure to fee their fields of peafe not infefted 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 infeft would live in Europe, and I mould think our Swedi/h winters muft 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 infecl: is fo abun- dant) as in our country, yet it continues to mul- tiply here every year, and proceeds always farther to the north. I was very near bringing fome of thefe vermin into Europe, without knowing 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 open- ing the paper, after my arrival at Stockholm, on Augiift the i ft, 1751 ; I found all the peas hollow, and the head of an infect peeping out of each. Some of thefe infefts even crept out, in order to try the weather of this new climate ; but I made hafte to fhut the paper again, in order to prevent the fpreading of this noxious infecl:.* I own, that when * THOVGH Mr. Kafa has fo carefully avoided peopling E*- 138 October 1748. when I firft perceived them, I was more fright- ened than I fhould have been at the light of a viper. For I at once had a full view of the whole damage, which my dear country would have fuffered, if only two or three of thefe noxi- ous infefts had efcaped me. The pofterity of ma- ny families, and even the inhabitants of whole provinces, would have had fufficient reafon to de- left me, as the caufe of fo great a calamity. I after- wards fent fome of them, though well fecured, to Count TeJJin, and to Dr. Linnceus > together with an account of their deftruftive qualities. Dr. Linntzus has already inferted a defcription of them in an Academical Differtation, which has been drawn up under his prefidency, and treats of the damages made by infeds.* He there calls this infeft the Brucbus of North America.^ It was very peculiar that every pea in the paper was eaten without exception. WHEN the inhabitants of Penfyfoavia, fow peafe procured from abroad, they are not com- rnonly attacked by thefe infeds for the firft year 5 but in the next they take pofleffion of the rope with this infect, yet Dr. Linnaus aflures us, in his Syflema Naturae, that the fouthern countries of Euro ft are already infefted with it ; Scopdi mentions it among his InfeSa Carniolica, p. 63. and Geoffrey, among his Parijian Infefis, Vol. i. p. 267. t. 4. f, 9. has given a fine figure of it. F. * DifT. de Ncxa Tnfedorum, Amcen. Acad. Vol. 3. p. 547. f In his Syftema Naturae, he calls it Bruehus Piji, or the Peafe Beetle ; and fays, that the Gracula Quifcula, or Purple daiv of Catejly, is the greatefl deftroyerof them, and though this bird has fceen profcribed by the legiflature of Pmfyl c v(inia > AVu> Jerfiy, and tie*v* England, as a maize- thief, they feel however the imprudence of extirpating this bird : fora quantity of worms, which formerly were^eaten by thefe birds, deftroy their meadows at prefent. F. pea. Penfyhania, Philadelphia. 139 pea. It is greatly to be wiflied that none of the fhips, which annually depart from New Tork or Penfyfoania, may bring them into the European countries. From hence the power of a {ingle defpicable infedt will plainly appear; as allb, that the ftudy of the ceconomy and of the qualities of infers, is not to be looked upon as a mere paf- time and ufelefs employment.* THE Rhus radicans is a flirub or tree which grows abundantly in this' country, and has in common with the ivy, called Hedera arborea, the quality of not growing without the fupport either of a tree, a wall, or a hedge. I have feen. it climbing to the very top of high trees in the woods, and its branches fhoot out every where little roots, which faften upon the tree, and as it were enter into it. When the ftem is cut, it emits a pale brown fap of a difagreeable fcent. This fap is fo (harp, that the letters and characters made upon linen with it, cannot be got out again, but grow blacker the more the cloth is wafhed. Boys commonly marked their names on their linen 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 noxi- ous qualities as the poifonous fumach, or Poifon- tree, which I have above defcribed, being poi- fonous to fome people though not to every one. Therefore all that has been faid of the poifon- tree is likewife applicable to this j excepting that * IF the peafe were fteeped, before they are fown, in a lye of lime water and fome diflblved arfenic, the pupa or aurelia of th* infect would be killed. F. the 140 Ottober 1748* the former has the flronger poifon. However, I have feen people who have been as much fwelled from the noxious exhalations of the latter, as they could have been from thofe of the for- mer. I like wife know, that of two fifters, the one could manage the tree without being af- fefted by its venom, though the other immedi- ately felt it as foon as the exhalations of the tree came near her, or whenever (lie came a yard too near the tree, and even when (he ftood in the way of the wind, which blew directly from this fhrub. But upon me this fpecies of fumach has never exerted its power; though I made above a hundred experiments upon myfelf v/ith the great- eft ftems, and the juice once fquirted into my eye, without doing me any harm. On another per- form' s hand, which I had covered very thick with it, the fkin, a few hours after, became as hard as a piece of tanned leather, and peeled off in the following days, as if little fcales fell from it. O5t. loth, IN the morning I accompanied Mr. Cock to his country feat. THOUGH the woods of Penfyfoania afford many oaks, and more fpecies of them than are found further north, yet they do not build fo many jftiips in this province as they do in the northern ones, and elpecially in New England. But expe- rience 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 plain that the trees in the fouth grow more every year, and form thicker ringlets, than thofe in the north, The former have like wife much greater Penfyhania, Gertnantown. 141 greater tubes for the circulation of the fap than the latter. And for this reafon they do not build fo many {hips in Penfyhania, as they do in New England, though more than in Virginia and Mary- land; but Carolina builds very few, and its mer- chants get all their (hips from New England, Thofe which are here made of the bell oak, hardly are ferviceable above ten, or at mod twelve years ; for then they are fo rotten, that no body ven- tures to go to fea in them. Many captains of {hips come over from England to North America, in order to get {hips built. But moft of them, choofe New England, that being the moft nor- therly province; and if they even come over in {hips which are bound for Philadelphia) they fre- quently, on their arrival, fet out from Penfyfoa- nia for New England. The Spaniards in the Weft Indies, are faid to build their {hips of a peculiar fort of cedar, which holds out againft putrefaction and wet ; but it is not to be met with on the con- tinent in the Englijh provinces. Here are above nine different forts of oak, but not one of them is comparable to the {ingle fpecies we have in Sweden, with regard to its goodnefs. And there- fore a {hip of European oik cofts a great deal more than one made of American oak. MANY people who chiefly employed them- felves in gardening, had found, in a fucceffion of years, that the red Beet, which grew out of the feed which was got from New York* 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 142 QSlober 174^ red beet every year from New Tork, as were want- ed in their gardens. It has likewife been gene- rally obferved, that the plants which are produced from Englijh feeds are always much better and more agreeable, than thofe which come from feeds of this country. IN the garden of Mr. Cock was a radifti, 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 lize. THAT fpecies of Convolvulus which is com- monly called Batatas, has here the name of Ber- mudian potatoes. The common people, and the gentry, without diftindtion, planted them in their gardens. This is done in the fame manner as with the common potatoes. Some people made little hillocks, into which they put thefe pota- toes ' y but others only planted them in flat beds. The foil muft be a mixture of fand and earth, and neither too rich nor too poor. When they are going to plant them, they cut them, as the common potatoes, taking care however that a bud or two be left upon each piece which is in- tended to be planted. Their colour is commonly red without, and yellow within. They are big ger than the common fort, and have a fweet and very agreeable tafte, which I cannot r find in the other potatoes, in artichokes, or in any other root; and they almoft melt in the mouth v It is not long fince they have been planted here. They are dreflfed in the fame manner as common po- tatoes, and eaten either along with them, or by themfelves. They grow very faft and very well bcre; - Ptnfyhania, Germantown, 143 here; but the greateft difficulty confifts in keep* ing them over winter, for they will bear neither cold, nor a great heat, nor wet. They muft therefore be kept, during winter, in a box with fand, in a warm room. In Penfyhania, where they have no valves in their chimnies, they are put in fuch a box with fand, at fome diftancc from the fire, and there they are fecured both againft froft and againft over great heat. It will not anfwer the purpofe to put them into dry fand in a cellar, as is commonly done with the com- mon fort of potatoes. For the moifture which is always in cellars, penetrates the fand, and makes them putrify. It would probably be very eafy to keep them in Sweden in warm rooms, during the cold feafon. But the difficulty lies wholly in bringing them over to Sweden. I car- ried a confiderable number of them with me on leaving America, and took all poffible care in pre- ferving them. But we had a very violent ftorm at fea, by which the {hip was fo greatly damaged, that the water got in every where, and wetted our cloaths, beds, and other moveables, fo much, that we could wring the water out of them. It is therefore no wonder that rny Bermuda potatoes were rotten ; but as they are now cultivated in Portugal and Spain, nay, even in England, it will be eafy to bring them into Sweden. The drink which the Spaniards prepare from thefe potatoes, in their American pofleflions, is not ufual in Pen* fyfoania.* * MR. Miller defcribes this liquor in his Gardener's Di&ion*. ar/i under the article of Convolvulus, fpecies the i;th and i8th. Ik 1C 3 MJU ,5130; . 144 Ottober 1748* ( MR, Cock had a paper mill, on a little brook, and all the coarfer forts of paper are manufac- tured in it. It is now annually rented for fifty pounds Penfylvania currency. Oct. uth. I HAVE already mentioned, that every countryman has a greater or lefler number of apple trees planted round his farm-houfe, from whence he gets great quantities of fruit, part of which he fells, part he makes cyder of, and part he ufes in his own family for pyes, tarts, and the like. However he cannot expedl an equal quantity of fruit every year. And I was told, that this year had not by far afforded fuch a great quantity of apples as the preceding; the caufe of which, they told me, was the continual and great drought in the month of May, which had hurt all the bloffoms of the apple trees, and made them wither. The heat had been fo great as to dry up all the plants, and the grafs in the fields. THE PcJy trie bum commune, a fpecies ofmofs, grew plentifully on wet and low meadows be- tween the woods, and in feveral places quite co- vered them, as our moffes cover the meadows in Sweden. It was likewife very plentiful on hills. AGRICULTURE was in a very bad ftate here- abouts. When a perfon had bought a piece of land, v/hich perhaps had never been ploughed fince the creation, he cut down part of the wood, tore up the roots, ploughed the ground, fowed rorn on it, and the firft time got a plentiful crop. But the fame land being tilled for feveral years fuc- ceffively, without being manured, it at laft muft, .of courfe, lofe its fertility. Its poffeffor there- fore leaves it fallow, and proceeds to another part of Penjyhania, Germantcwn. 145 of his ground, which he treats in the fame man- ner. Thus he goes on till he has changed a great part of his poffeffions into corn-fields, and by that means deprives the ground of its fertility. He then returns to the fir ft field, which now is pretty 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. IT being cuftomary here, to let the cattle go about the fields and in the woods both day and night, the people cannot colledt 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 confiderable 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 neglect of agriculture, which is ftill obferved by many of the inhabitants. But they do not confider, that when the earth is quite exhaufted, a great fpace of time, and an infinite deal of labour, is neceflary to bring it again into good order; efpecially in thefe countries which are almoft every furnmer fo fcorched up by the excefiive heat and drought. The foil of the corn-fields confifted of a thin mould, greatly mixed with a brick-coloured clay, and a quantity of fmall particles of glimmer. This latter came from the ftones which are here almoft every where to be met v/ith at the depth of a foot or L there- 146 Qftobcr 1748. thereabouts. Thefe little pieces of glimmer made the ground fparkle, when the fun fhone upon it. ALMOST all the houfes hereabouts were built either of ftone or bricks : but thofe of ftone were more numerous. German f own, which is about two EngKJh miles long, had no other houfes, and the country houfes thereabouts were all built of ftone. But there are feveral varieties of that ftone which is commonly made ufe of in building. Sometimes it confifted of a black or grey glim- mer, running in undulated veins, the fpaces be- tween their bendings being filled up with a grey, loofe, fmall-graincd limeftone, which was eafily friable. Some tranfparent particles of quartz were fcattered in the mafs, of which the glim- mer made the greateft part. It was very eafy to be cut, and with proper tools could readily be fliaped into any form. Sometimes however the pieces confifted of a black, fmall-grained glim- mer, a white fmall-grained fandftone, and forne particles of quartz, and the feveral conftitutent parts were well mixed together ; and fometimes the ftone had broad ftripes of the white limeftone without any addition of glimmer, but moft com- monly they were much blended together, and of a grey colour. Sometimes this ftone was found to confift of quite fine and black pieces of glim- mer, and a grey, loofe, and very fmall-grained limeftone. This was likewife very eafy to be cut, being loofe. THESE varieties of the ftone are commonly found clofe together. They were every where to be met with, at a little depth, but not in equal quantity and goodnefs, and not always eafy to be Penfyhanta, Gerwanfowx. 147 be broken. When therefore a perfon intended to build a houfe, he enquired where the beft ftone could be met with. It is to be found on corn- fields and meadows, at a depth which varies from two to fix feet. The pieces were different as to fize. Some were eight or ten feet long, two broad, and one thick. Sometimes they were ftill bigger, but frequently much lefs. Hereabouts they lay in ftrata one above another, the thick- nefs of each ftratum being about a foot. The length and breadth were different, but commonly fuch as I have before mentioned. They muft commonly dig three or four feet before they reach the firft ftratum. The loofe ground above that ftratum, is full of little pieces of this ftone. This ground is the common brick-coloured foil, which is univerfal here, and confifts of fand and clay, though the former is more plentiful. The loofe pieces of glimmer which fhine fo much in it, feem to have been broken off from the great ftrata of ftone. IT muft be obferved, that when the people build with this ftone, they take care to turn the flat fide of it outwards. But as that cannot always be done, the ftone being frequently rough on all fides, it is eafily cut fmooth with tools, iince it is foft, and not very difficult to be broken, The ftones "however are unequal in thicknefs, and therefore by putting them together they cannot be kept in fuch ftraight lines as bricks. It fometimes like wife happens that pieces break off when they are cut, and leave holes on the outfide of the wall. But in order to fill up thefs holes, the little pieces of ftone which cannot be made ufe L 2 Of 148 Ottober 1748. of are pounded, mixed with mortar, and put into the holes ; the places thus filled up, are after- wards fmcothed, and when they are dry, they are hardly diftinguifhable from the reft, at fome dif- tance. At laft they draw, on the outfide of the wall, ftrokes of mortar, which crofs each other perpendicularly, fo that it looks as if the wall confifted wholly of equal fquare ftones, and as if the white ftrokes were the places where they were joined with mortar. Theinfideof the wall is made fmooth, covered with mortar, and white- wafhed. It has not been obferved that this kind of ftone attracts the moifture in a rainy or wet feafon. In Philadelphia^^ its environs, you find feveral houfes built of this kind of ftone. THE houfes here arc commonly built in the manner. ONE of Mr. Cock's negroes fhewed me the fkin of a badger (Urfus Me/esJ which he had killed a few days ago, and which convinced me that the American badger is the fame with the Swedijh one. It was here called Ground Hog. TOWARDS night I returned to Philadelphia. Q5t. 1 2th. IN the morning we went to the river Skulkill, partly to gather feeds, partly to collect plants for the herbal, 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 ; but narrow as it is, it rifes on the weft fide of thofe high moun- tains, commonly called the blue mountains, and runs two hundred Englijh miles, and perhaps- more. It is a great difadvantage to this country, that there are feveral cataracts in this river as low * as Penfyfaania, Philadelphia. 145 as Philadelphia, for which reafon there can he na navigation on it. To-day I made forne defcrip- tions and remarks on fuch plants as the cattle liked, or fuch as they never touched. I OBSERVED feveral little fubterraneous 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 unculti- vated fields I frequently faw thefe fubterraneous walks, which difcovered themfelves by the ground thrown up above them, which when trod upon gave way, and made it inconvenient to walk in the field. THESE walks are inhabited by a kind of mole,* which I intend to defcribe more accurately in another work. Their food is commonly roots : I have obferved the following qualities in one which was caught. It had greater ftiffnefs and flrength in its legs, than I ever obferved in other animals, in proportion to their fize. Whenever it intended to dig, it held its legs obliquely like oars. I laid my handkerchief before it, and it began to ftir 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 pierced very much by an awl. I was obliged to put fome books on the cover of the box in which * THIS animal is probably the Sortx cnftatus of Dr. Linnaeus, who fays it is like the mole, and lives in Penfylvania* F. L 3 I kept 150 October 1748. I kept this animal, or elfe it was flung off im- mediately. It was very irafcible, and would bite great holes into any thing that was put in its way; I held a fteel pen-cafe to it, it at firft bit at it with great violence, but having felt its hard- nefs, it would not venture again to bite at any thing. Thefe moles do not make fuch hills as the European ones, but only fuch walks as I have already defcribed. O51. 1 3th. THERE isa plant here, from the ber- ries of which they make a kind of wax or tallow, and for that reafon the Swedes call it the Tallow Jhrub. The Englifh call the fame tree the Candle- berry -tree, orBayberry-buJh; and Dr, Linn&usgwts it the name of Myrica cerifera. It grows abundantly on a wet foil, and it feems to thriveparticularly well in the neighbourhood of the fea, nor have I ever found it high up in the country far from the fea. The berries grow abundantly on the female fhrub, and look as if flower had been ftrewed upontheiru They are gathered late in autumn, being ripe about that time, and are then thrown into a kettle or pot full of boiling water; by this means their fat melts out, floats at the top of the water, and may be flammed off in to a veffel ; with the Hum- ming they go on till there is no tallow left. The tallow, as foon as it is congealed, looks like common tallow or wax, but has a dirty green co- lour; it is for that reafon melted over again, and refined; by which mean sit acquires a fine and pretty tranfparent green colour: this tallow is dearer than common tallow, but cheaper than wax. In Philadelphia they pay a {hilling Penfyhania cur- rency, for a pound of this tallow j but a pound oif 5 common P'etifyfoania, Philadelphia. 151 common tallow only came to half that money, and wax cofts as much again. From this tallow they make candles in many parts of this province, but they ufually mix fome common tallow with it. Candles of this kind do not eafily bend, nor melt in fummer as common candles do ; they burn better and flower, nor do they caufe any fmoke, but rather yield an agreeable fmell, when they are extinguiflied. An old Swede of ninety- one years of age told me, that this fort of candles had formerly been much in ufe with his coun- trymen. At prefent they do not make fo many candles of this kind, if they can get the tallow of animals > it being too troublefome to gather the berries. However thefe candles are made ufe of by poor people, who live in the neighbourhood of a place where the bufhes grow, and have not cat- tle enough to kill, in order to fupply them with a fufficient quantity of tallow. From the wax of the candleberry tree they like wife make a foap here, which has an agreeable fcent, and is the beft for {having. This wax is likewife ufed by doctors and furgeons, who reckon it exceeding good for plafters upon wounds. A merchant of this town once fent a quantity of thefe candles to thofe American provinces which had Roman Catholic inhabitants, thinking he would be well paid, fmce wax candles are made ufe of in the Roman Catholic churches 5 but the clergy would not take them. Aa 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 L 4 piece* 152 O ticker 1748. pieces and applied it round his tooth ; and that the pain had been leffened by it. Another Swede aflured 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 likewife fealing wax, OS. 1 4th. PENNY Royal is a plant which has a peculiar ftrong fcent, and grows abundantly oa dry places in the country. Botanifts call it Cunila pulegioidcs. It is reckoned very wholefome to drink as a tea, when a perfon has got cold, as it promotes perfpiration. I was likewife told, that on feeling a pain in any limb, this plant, if applied to it, would give immediate relief. THE goods which are (hipped to London from New England are the following : all forts of fifh caught near Newfoundland and elfewhere ; train- oil of feveral forts; whalebone, tar, pitch, marts, new {hips, of which a great number is annually built, a few hides, and fometimes fome forts of wood. The Englijh iflands in America, as Ja- maica and Barbadoes, get from New England, fifh, flefh, butter, cheefe, tallow, horfes, cattle; all forts of lumber, fuch as pails, buckets, and hog- meads; and have returns made in rum, fugar, molaffrs, and other produces of the country, or in cam, thegreateft part of ail which they fend to London (the money efpecially) in payment of the goods received from thence, and yet all this is in- fufficient to pay off the debt. Off. .1 5111. THE Alders grew here in confide- rable abundance on wet and low places, and even fometimes on pretty high ones, but never reached the height of the European alders, ^nd 'commonly flood Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 153 flood like a bufh, about a fathom or two high. Mr. Bartram, and other gentlemen who had frequently travelled in thefe 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 after- wards myfelf, that the alders, in fome places of Canada, are little inferior to the Swedi/h ones. Their bark is employed here in dying red and brown. A Swediji inhabitant of America told me, that he had cut his leg to the very bone, and that fome coagulated blood had 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 fopn got his leg healed, though it had been very dangerous at firft. THE Pbytolacca decandra was called Poke by the Englijb. The Swedes had no particular name for it, but made ufe of the Englijh, with fome lit- tle variation into Paok. When the juice of its berries is put upon paper or the like, it ftrikej it with a high purple colour, which is as fine as any in the world ; and it is pity that no method is as yet found out, of making this colour laft on woollen and linen cloth, for it fades very foon. Mr. Bartram mentioned, that having hit his foot againft a ftone, he had got a violent pain in it; he then bethought himfclf to put a leaf of the Pbytolacca on his foot, by which he loft the pain in a fnort time. The berries are eaten by the birds about this time. The Englijh and feveral Swedes make ufe of the leaves in fpring, when they are juft come out, and are yet tender and foft. '154 OStober 1748- 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 but the upper fprouts, which are yet tender, and not woody; but in this latter cafe, great care is to be taken, for if you eat the plant when it is already grown up, and its leaves are no longer foft, you may expedt death as a confequence, which feldom fails to follow 3 for the plant has then got a power of purging the body to excefs. I have known people, who, by eat- ing great full-grown leaves of this plant, have got fuch a ftrong dyfentery, that they were near dying with it : its berries however are eaten in autumn by children, without any ill confequence. WOOLLEN and linen cloth is dyed yellow with the bark of hiccory, This likewife is done with the bark of the black oak, or Ltnnczuss ^uercus nigra> and that variety of it which Catejby^ in his Natural Hiflory of 'Carolina, vol. i. tab. 19, calls >uercus marilandica. The flowers and leaves of the Impntiens Noli tangere, or balfarnine, likewife dyed all woollen fluffs with a fine yellow colour. THK Collinfoma canadenfis was frequently found in little woods and buflies, in a good rich foil. Mr. Bertram, who knew the country perfefttjr well, was lure that Penfyhania^ and all the parts of America in the fame climate, were the true and original places where this plant grows. For further to the fouth, neither he nor Mefirs, Clay* ton and Mitchel ever found it, though the latter gentlemen have made accurate observations in Virginia and part of Maryland. An from his own expe- Penfyhania> Philadelphia. 155 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 of the year when it comes up in Penfyfoania, is fo late, that its feed has but juft time fufficient to ripen in, and it therefore feems unlikely that it can fucceed further north. Mr. Eartram was the firfl who difcovered it, and fent it over into Europe. Mr. Juffieu^ during his flay at London, and Dr. Linnaus afterwards, called it ColIinJontA, from the celebrated Mr. Peter Collinfon, a mer- chant in London, and fellow of the Englijh and Swedijh Royal Societies* He well deferved the honour of having a plant called after his name, for there are few people that have promoted na- tural hiftory and all ufeful fciences with a zeal like his; or that have done as much as he to- wards collecting, cultivating, and making known all forts of plants. The GolUnfonia has a pecu- liar fcenr, which is agreeable, but very ftrong. It always gave me a pretty violent head-ach whenever I pafled by a place where it flood in plenty, and efpecially when it was in flower^ Mr. Eartram was acquainted with a better qua- lity of this plant, which was that of being an ex- cellent remedy againft all forts of pain in the limbs, and againft a cold, when the parts affedted are rubbed with it. And Mr. Conrad Weijfer, in- terpreter of the language of the Indians in Pen- fyfoania, had told him of a more wonderful cure with this plant. He was once among a com- pany of Indians, 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 156 Qttober 1748. drink the water, from which he happily reco- vered. Somewhat more to the north and in New York they call this plant Horfeiveed, becauie the horfes eat it in fpring, before any other plant comes up. 051. i6th. I ASKED Mr. Franklin, and other gentlemen who were well acquainted 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 formerly been covered with water? and I got the following account in anfwer. 1. ON travelling from hence to the fouth, you meet with a place where the high road is very low in the ground between two mountains. On both fides you fee nothing but oyfter fhells and mufcle fhells in immenfe quantities above each other ; however the place is many miles off the fea. 2. WHENEVER they dig wells, or build houfes in town, they find the earth lying in feveral ftrata above each other. At a depth of fourteen feet or more, they find globular ilones, which are as fmooth on the outfide as thofe which lie on the fea-fhore, 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 flimc like that which the fea throws up on the fhore, and which commonly lies at its bottom and in rivers : this flime is quite full of trees, leaves, branches, reed, charcoal, &c. 3. IT has fometimes happened that new houfes have funk on one fide in a fhort time, ^ and Penfyhania, Philadelphia. 157 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 quan- tity of the above flime, wood, roots, &c. ARE notthefe reafons fufficient to make one fuppofe, that thofe places in Philadelphia, which are at prefent fourteen feet and more under ground, formerly were the bottom of the fea, and that, by feveral accidents, fand, earth, and other things, were carried upon it ? or, that the Delaware formerly was broader than it is at pre- fent ? or, that it has changed its courfe ? This laft ftill often happens at prefent; the river breaking oft the bank on one fide, and forming one on the other. Both the Swedes and Englifo often mewed me fuch places. Oft. 1 8th. AT prefent I did not find above ten different kinds of plants in bloflbm : they were, a Gent tana, two fpecies of After, the com- mon Golden Rod, or Solidago Virga aurea, a fpe- cies of Hieracium y the yellow Wood Sorrel, or Oxah's corniculata y the Fox Gloves, or Digitalis purpurea, the Hamamelis Virginiana, or Witch Hazel, our common Millefoil, or Acbillaa Mil- lefolium, and our Dandelion, or Leontodon a~ raxacum. All other plants had for this year laid afide their gay colours. Several trees, especially thofe which were to flower early in fpring, had already formed fuch large buds, that on opening them all the parts of fr unification , fuch as Calyx, Corolla, Stamina, and Piftillum, were plainly dif- tinguifhable. It was therefore eafy to determine the genus to which fuch trees belonged. Such were the red maple, or Acer rubrum, and the Lauras 158 October 1748. Laurut afti'valist a fpecies of bay. Thus nature prepared to bring forth flowers, with the firft mild weather in the next year. The buds were at prefent quite hard, and all their parts preffed clofe together, that the cold might by all means be excluded. THE black Walnut trees had for the greateft part dropt their leaves, and many of them were entirely without them. The walnuts themfelves were already fallen off. The green peel which enclofed 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 forida was called Dogwood by the Englifh, and grew abundantly in the woods. It looks beautiful when it is adorned with its nu- merous great white flowers in fpring. The wood is very hard, and is therefore made ufe of for weavers fpools, joiners planes, v^dges, &c. When the cattle fall down in fpring fer want of ftrength, the people tie a branch of this tree on their neck, thinking it will help them. 051. 1 9th. THE "Tulip tree grows every where in the woods of this country. The botanifts call it Liriodendron tulipifera, becaufe its flowers, both in refpcft to their fize, and in refpeft to their exterior form, 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 ftem of this tree. The Engliftmen in Penfyfoa* nia give it the name of Poplar. It is reckoned a tree which grows to the greateft height and thick- neii Penfylvama, Philadelphia^. 15^ ncfs 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, how- ever, 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 bloffom) one of the great- eft trees covered for a fortnight together with flowers, .which, with regard to their fhape, fize, and partjy colour, are like tulips ; the leaves have likewife fomething peculiar ; the Engli/h, there- fore, in fome places, call the tree the old woman s fmock, becaufe their imagination finds fomething - like it below the leaves. ITS wood is here made ufe of for canoes, boards, planks, bowls, dimes, fpoons, door pofts, and all forts of joiners work. I have feen a barn -of a confiderable fize, whofe walls and" roof were made of a fingle tree of this kind, fplit into boards. Some joiners reckoned this wood better than oak, becaufe this latter frequently is warped, which the other never does, but works very eafy; others again valued it very little. It is certain, that it contracts fo much in hot wea- ther, as to occafion great cracks in the boards, and in wet weather it fwells fo as to be near burft- ing and the people hardly know of a wood in thefe parts which varies fo much in contracting and expanding itfelf. The joiners, however, make much ufe of it in their work; they fay there are two fpecies of it ; but they are merely two varieties, one of which, in time, turns yel- low within ; the other is white ; the former is laid to have a loofer texture. The bark (like RuJJia glafs) is diviiible into very thin leaves, which 160 Qftoler 1748. which are very tough like baft, though I have never feen it employed as fuch. The leaves, when crufhed and applied to the forehead, are faid to be a remedy 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 grow in all forts of dry foil, both on high and low grounds, but too wet a foil will not agree with them. Ot. 2Oth.~ THE Beaver tree is to be met with in feveral parts of Penfylvania and New Jerfey, in a poor fvvampy foil, or on wet mea- dows. Dr. Linnczus calls it Magnolia glauca > both the Swedes and Englijh call it Beaver tree, becaufe the root of this tree is the dainty of beavers, which are caught by its means ; how- ever, the Swedes fometimes gave it a different name, and the Englijh as improperly called it Swamp Saffqfras, and White Laurel. The trees of this kind dropt their leaves early in autumn, though forne of the young trees kept them all the winter. I have feldom found the beaver tree to the north of Penfyfaama, where it begins to flower about the end of May. The fcent of its bloflbms is excellent ; for by it you can difcover, within three quarters of an Englijh mile, whether thefe little trees ftand in the neighbourhood, pro- vided 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, especially towards night. They retain their flowers for three weeks, and even Penfyfoakia, Philadelphia. 161 even longer, according to the quality of the foil on which the trees (land ; and, during the whole time of their being in bloffom, they fpread their odoriferous exhalations. The berries like wife look very fine when they are ripe, for they have a rich red colour, and hang in bunches on (len- der {talks. The cough, and other peftoral dif- eafes, are cured by putting the berries into rurn or brandy, of which a draught every morning may be taken ; the virtues of this remedy were univerfally extolled, and even praifed for their falutary effeds in confumptions. The bark be- ing put into brandy* or boiled in any other li- quor, is faid not only to eafe peftoral difeafes, but likewife to be of fome fervice againft all in- ternal pains and heat ; and it was thought that a decodtion of it could (lop the dyfentery. Perfons who had caught cold, boiled the branches of the beaver tree in water, and drank it to their great relief. A Swede^ called Lars Lack, gave the following account of a cure effected by this tree : One of his relations, an old man, had an open fore in his leg, which would not heal up again, though he had had much advice, and ufed many remedies. An Indian at laft effeded the cure in the following manner. He burnt fome of this wood to charcoal, which he reduced to powder, mixed with the frefh fat of pork, and rubbed the open places fcveral 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 joiners planes. Qft. 2ad. UPON trial it has been found that VOL. I. M the 1 62 October the following animals and birds, which are wild in the woods of North America, can be made nearly as tractable as domeflic animals. THE wild Cows and Oxen, of which feveral people of diflindion have got young calves from thefe wild cows, which are to be met with in Carolina, and other provinces to the fouth of Penfyfoania, and brought them up among the tame cattle; when grown up, they were per- fectly tame, but, at the fame time, very unruly, fo that there was no enclofure ftrong enough to refift them* if they had a mind to break through it; for as they poffefs a great ftrength 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 likewife copu- lated with the latter, and by that means gene- rated as it were a new breed. This American fpecies of oxen is Linnceufs Bos Bifon, f>. AMERICAN Deer can likewife be tamed; and I have feen them tame myfelf in different places. A farmer in New Jerfty had one in his poffefHon, which he had caught when it was very young ; and at prefent it was fo tame, that in the day-time it run into the wood for its food, and towards night it returned home, and fre- quently brought a wild deer out of the wood, giving its mailer an opportunity to {hoot it. Se- veral people have therefore tamed young deer, and make ufe of them for hunting wild deer, or for decoying them home, eipecially in the time $ their rutting. BEAVERS have been fo tanned, that they have gone Penfyfoania, Philadelphia. 163 gone on fifliing, and brought home v/hat they had caught to their mailers. 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 awhile came up with a fifli. The OpoJJum can likewife be tamed, fo as to fol- low people like a dog. THE Raccoon, which we (Swedes) call Siupp, can in time be made fo tame as to run about the ftreets like a domeftic animal ; but it is impoffi- ble to make it leave off its habit of ftealing. In the dark it creeps to the poultry, and kills in one night a whole flock. Sugar and other fweet things muft 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 every day fome complaint againft it, and for this reafon many people rather forbear the diveriion which this ape-like animal affords. THE grey and fly ing ^ Squirrels are fo tamed by the boys, that they fit on their {boulders, and follow them every where. THE Turkey Cocks and Hens run about in the woods of this country, and differ in nothing from our tame ones, except in their fuperior fize, and redder, though more palatable fleih. When their eggs are found in the wood, and put under tame Turkey hens, the young ones become tame ; however, when they grow up, it fometimes hap- pens that they fly away ; their wings are there- fore commonly clipped, efpecially when young. M z But 164 Otfober 1748. But the tamed turkeys are commonly much more irafcible than thofe which are naturally tame. The Indians likewife employ themfelves in tam- ing them and keeping them near their huts. WILD Geefe have likewife been tamed in the following manner. When the wild geefe firft come hither in fpring, and ftop a little while (for they do not breed in PenfyhaniaJ the people try to {hoot them in the wing, which, however, is generally mere chance. They then row to the place where the wild goofe fell, catch it, and keep it for fome time at home j by this means many of them have been made fo tame, that when they were let out in the morning, they returned in the evening j but, to be more fure of them, their wings are commonly clipped. I have feen \vildgeefeofthis kind, which the owner affured me, that he had kept for more than twelve years ; but though he kept eight of them, yet he never had the pleafure to fee them copulate with the tame ones, or lay eggs. PARTRIDGES, which are here in abundance, may likewife be fo far taqied, as to run about all day with the poultry, and to come along with them to be fed when they are called. In the fame manner I have feen wild Pigeons y which were made fo tame as to fly out and return again. In fome winters there are immenfe quantities of wild pigeons in Penfyfoania. Ott. 24th. OF all the rare birds of North America, the Humming-bird is the moft admi- rable, or at leaft moft worthy of peculiar atten- tion. Several reafons induce me to believe, that few parts of the world can produce its equal. Dr. Lin~ Penfyfoania, Philadelphia. 165 Dr. Linnaus calls it Trcchilus Colubru. The Swedes, and fome EngKJhmen, call it the Kings bird ; but the name of Humming-bird is more common. Cate/by, in his Natural Hiflory of Ca- rolina, Vol. i. page 65. tab. 65. has drawn it, in its natural fize, with its proper colours, and added a defcription of it. * In fize it is not much bigger than a large humble-bee, and is therefore the lead of all birds, -j- or it is much if there is a lefier fpecies in the world. Its plumage is moft beautifully coloured, moft of its feathers being green, fome grey, and others forming a mining red ring round its neck ; the tail glows with fine feathers, changing from green into a brafs co- lour. Thefe birds come here in fpring, about the time when it begins to grow very warm, and make their nefts in fummer ; but, towards au- tumn, they retreat again into the more fouthern countries of America. They fubfift barely upon the neftar, or fweet juice of flowers, contained in that part which botanifts call the neftarium, and which they fuck up with their long bills. Of all the flowers, they like thofe moft, which have a long tube ; and I have obferved that they have fluttered chiefly about the Impatiens No/i tangere, and the Monarda with crimfon flowers. An inhabitant of the country is fure to have a * THE fame is to be met with in Edwards 's Natural Hiftory of Birds, page 38. tab. 38. F. f THERE is a much lefler fpecies of humming-bird, byZ/- n on the other hand, I never faw any place in America, the towns excepted, fo well peopled. An old man, who lived in this neighbourhood, and accompanied us for fome part of the road, however affured me, that he could well remember the time, when between Trenton and New Erunfwick there were not above three 174 October 1748. three forms, 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 orchard full of peaches and apple trees, and in fome of them the fruit was fallen from the trees in fuch quantities, as to cover nearly the whole furface. Part of it they left to rot, fince they could not take it all in and confume it. Wherever we pa{Ted by, we were always welcome to go into the fine orchards, and gather our pockets full of the choiceft fruit, without the pofTeflbr's fo much as looking after it. Cherry trees were planted near the farms, on the roads, &c. THE barns* had a peculiar kind of conftruo tion hereabouts, which I will give a concife de- fcription of. The whole building was very great, fo as almoft to equal a finall church ; the roof was pretty high, covered with wooden mingles, declining on both fides, but not fteep : 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 confider- able : in the middle was the threftiing floor, and above it, or in the loft or garret, they put the corn which was not yet threfhed, the ftraw, 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 likewifc * THE author feems to comprehend more by this word, tharr what it commonly includes, for he defcribes it as a building* which contains both a barn and flables. F, their Jerfey, Trenton. 175 their particular ftables or ftyes ; on both ends of the buildings were great gates, fo that one could corrae in with a cart and horfes through one of them, and go out at the other : here was there- fore under one roof the threlhing floor, the barn, the ftables, the hay loft, the coach houfe, &c. This kind of buildings is chiefly made ufe of by the Dutch and Germans *, for it is to be obferved, that the country between 'Trenton and New York is inhabited by few Ertglijhmeti, but, inftead of them, by Germans or Dutch, * the latter of which eipecially are numerous. BEFORE I proceed, I find it neceflary to re- mark one thing with regard to the Indians ', 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 almoft wholly inhabited by favage or heathen nations, and they may be aftonifhed, 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 in feveral places, houfes of ftone or wood are built, round which are corn- fields, gardens, and orchards, that I am fpeak- ing of the property of the Indians-, to undeceive them, I here give the following explication. The country, efpecially all along the coafts, in the Englijh colonies, is inhabited by Europeans, who in fome places are already fo numerous, that few * THIS kind of building is frequent in the north of Germany, Holland, and Prujfia, and therefore it is no wonder that it is ent- ployed by people who were ufed to them in their own coun- try. F. part* 176 October 1748* parts of Europe are more populous. The In-> dians have fold the country to the Europeans, and have retired further up : in moft parts you may travel twenty Sivedifh miles, or about a hundred and twenty Engli/b miles, from the fea-fhore be- fore you reach the firft habitations of the Indians, And it is very poffible for a perfon to have been at Philadelphia and other towns on the fea fliorc for half a year together, without fo much as fee- ing an Indian. I intend in the fequel to give a more circumftantial account of them, their reli- gion, manners, ceconomy, and other particulars relating to them : at prefent I return to the fe- quel of my journal. ABOUT nine Englijh miles from Trenton, the ground, began to change its colour; hitherto it confided of a confiderable quantity of hazel-co- loured clay, but at prefent the earth was a red- dim brown, fo that it fometimes had a purple colour, and fometimes looked like logwood. This colour came from a red limeftone, which approached very near to that which is on the mountain Kinnekulle in Weft Gothland, and makes a particular ftratum in the rock. The American red limeftone therefore feems to be merely a va- riety of that I faw in Sweden, it lay in ftrata of two or three fingers thicknefs -, but was divifible into many thinner plates or fhivers, whofefurfacc was feldom flat and fmooth, but commonly rough : the ftrata themfelves were frequently cut off by horizontal cracks. When thefe ftones were ex- pofed to the air, they, by degrees, fhivered and withered into pieces, and at laft turned into duft. The people of this neighboorhood did not know how New Jerfey, Prince -town. 177 how to make any ufe of it ; the foil above is fome* times rich and Ibmetimes poor: in fuch places where the people had lately dug new wells, I perceived, that mod of the rubbifh which was thrown Up confifted of fuch a fpecies of ftone. This reddifti brown earth we always faw till near New Brunfwick, where 'tis particularly plentiful. The banks of the river {hewed, in many places* nothing but ftrata of Limeflone, which did not run horizontally, but dipped very much. ABOUT ten o'clock in the morning we came to Prince-town* which is iituatedin a plain. Moft of the houfes are built of wood, and are not conti- guous, fo that there are gardens and paftures be- tween them. As thefe parts were fooner inha- bited by Europeans 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 journey, but as it began to rain very heavily, and conti- nued fo during the whole day and part of the night, we were forced to ftay till next morning. Oft. agth. 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 lingle 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 richeft kind. In fome places it had hillocks, loling themfelves almoft imperceptibly in the plains, which were commonly crolTed by a ri- vulet. Almoft near every farm-houfe were great orchards. The houfes were commonly built of VOL. I. N timber* 178 October 1748. timber, and at fome diftance by themfelves flood the ovens for baking, confifting commonly of clay. On a hill covered with trees, and called Rock- bill, I faw feveral pieces of ftone or rock, fo big, that they would have required three men to roll them down. But befides thefe there were few great ftones in the country; for moft of thofe which we faw, could eafily be lifted up by a fin- gle 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 Brunfwick, a pretty little town in the province of Newjcrfey 9 in a valley on the weft fide of the river Rareton-, on account of its low fituation, it cannot be feen (coming from PenfyhaniaJ before you get to the top of the hill, which is quite clofe up to it: the town extends north and fouth along the river. The German inhabitants have two churches, one of ftone and the other of woodj the Englift church is of the latter kind, but thl prefbyterians were building one of ftone : the town houfe makes likewife a pretty good appearance. Some of the other houfes are built of bricks 5 but moft of them are made either wholly of wood, or of bricks and wood ; the wooden houfes are not made of ftrong timber, but merely of boards or planks, which are within joined by laths: fuch houfes as confift of both wood and bricks, have only the wall towards the ftreet of bricks, all the other fides being merely of planks. This pecu- liar kind of oftentation would eafily lead a tra- veller, who paffes through the town in hafte, to believe that moft of the houfes are built of bricks, The New Jerjey, New Brunfwick* 179 *The lioufes were covered with (hingles; before each door there was an elevation, to which you afcend by fome fteps from the ftreet; it refem- bled a fmall balcony^ and had fome benches on both fides, on which the people fat in the even- ing, in order to enjoy the frefh air, and to have the pleafure of viewing thofe who pafled by. The town has only one ftreet lengthways, and at its northern extremity there is a ftreet acrofs; both of thefe are of a confiderable length. THE river Rareton pafles 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 fteep banks on both fides, but near the town there are no fuch banks, it being fituated in a low valley. One of the ftreets is almoft entirely inhabited by Dutchmen, who came hither from Albany, and for that reafon they call it Albany ftreet. Thefe Dutch only keep com* pany among themfelves, and feldom or ne^er go amongft the other inhabitants, living as it were quite feparate from them. New Erunfmck be> longs to New Jerfey ; however the greateft part, or rather all its trade is to New fork, which is about forty EngJiJh miles diftaut ; to that place they fend corn, flour in great quantities, bread, feveral other neceffariss, a great quantity of lin- feed, boards, timber, wooden veflels, and all forts of carpenter's work, Several fmall yachts are every day going backward^ and forwards be- tween thefe two towns. The inhabitants like- N 2 wife 180 October 1748. wife get a confiderable profit from the travellers who every hour pafs through on the high road. THE fteep banks confift of the red limeftone, which I have before defcribed. It is here plainly vifible that the ftrata are not horizontal, but con- fiderably dipping, efpecially towards the fouth. The weather and the air has in a great meafure diflblved the ftone here : I enquired, whether it could not be made .ufe of, but w r as allured, that in building houfes it was entirely ufelefs ; for, though it is hard and permanent under ground, yet, on being dug out, and expofed for fome time to the air, it firft crumbles into greater, then into lefler pieces, and at laft is converted into duft. An inhabitant of this town, how- ever, tried to build a houfe with this fort of ftone, but its outfides being expofed to the air, foon began to change fo much, that the owner wa$ obliged to put boards all over the wall, to pre- ferye it from falling to pieces. The people how- ever pretend that this ftone is a very good ma-> nure, if it is fcattered upon the corn-fields in its rubbiili ftate, for it is faid to ftifle the weeds: it is therefore made ufe of both on the fields and in gardens.* TOWARDS the evening we continued our jour- ney, and were ferried over the river Rareton* toge- ther with our horfes. In a very dry fummer, and when the tide has ebbed, it is by no means dan- gerous to ride through this river. On the oppofite ihore the red juniper tree was pretty abundant. The country through which we now paffed was * PROBABLY it is a ftone marie; a blue and reddifh fpecies of kind is ufed with good fuccefs, in the county ofBarnf pretty Newjerfey, Elizaleth-town. 18 1 pretty well inhabited, but in nioft places full of fmall pebbles. WE faw Guinea Hens in many places where we pafTe affords annually the greateft quantity of oyfters. Tfiey are found chiefly in a muddy ground, where they He in the flime, and are not fo frequent in a fandy bottom : New Tork. 187 bottom : a rocky and a ftony bottom is fel~ dom found here. The oyfter {hells are ga- thered in great heaps, and burnt into a lime, which by fame people is made ufe of in build- ing houies, but is not reckoned fo good as that made of limeftone. On our journey to New Tork, we faw high heaps of oyfter fhells near the farm-houfes, upon the fea fhore ; and about New Tork, we obferved the people had carried them upon the fields, which were fown with wheat. However they were entire, and not crufhed. THE Indians, who inhabited the coaft before the arrival of the Europeans, have made oyfters and other (hell fifh their chief food ; and at prefent, whenever they come to a fait water, where oyfters are to be got, they are very ac- tive in catching them, and fell them in great quantities to other Indians, who live higher up the country : for this reafon you fee im- menfe numbers of oyfter and mufcle fhells piled up near fuch places, where you are cer- tain that the Indians formerly built their huts. This circumftance 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 ; the latter have lain there ever fince the time that thofe places were overflowed by the fea, LOBSTERS are like wife plentifully caught hereabouts, pickled much in the fame way as oyfters, and fent to feveral places. 1 was told of a very remarkable circumftance about thefe lobfters, and I have afterwards frequently heard it l88 November 1748. it mentioned. The coaft of New York had al- ready European inhabitants for a confiderable time, yet no lobfters were to be met with on that coaft ; and though the people fiftred ever fo often, they could never find any figns of lobfters being in this part of the fea : they were therefore continually brought in great well-boats from New England, where they are plentiful ; but it happened that one of thefe well-boats broke in pieces near Ilellgate, about ten Englijh miles from New Tork, and all the lobfters in it got off. Since that time they have fo multiplied in this part of the fea, that they are now caught in the greateft abun- dance. Nov. i ft. A KIND of cold fever, which the Englijh, in this country call Fever and j4gue, 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 conlider- able inhabitants of this town affured me, that this difeafe was not near fo common in New Tork, as it is in Penfylvania, where ten were feized by it, to one in the former pro- vince ; therefore they were of opinion, that this difeafe was occaiioned by the vapours arifing from ftagnant frefh water, from marfties, and from rivers j for which reafon thofe pro- vinces, fituated on the fea fhore, could not be fo much affected by it. However the carelefs- nefs with which people eat quantities of me- lons, water melons, peaches, and other juicy fruit* New Tork. 189 fruit, in filmmer, was reckoned to contribute much towards the progrefs of this fever ; and repeated examples confirmed the truth of this opinion. The jefuit's bark was reckoned a good remedy againft it. It has, however, often been found to have operated contrary to expec- tation, though I am ignorant whether it was adulterated, or whether fome diftake had been committed in the manner of taking it. Mr* Davis 'van Home, a merchant, told me, that he cured himfelf, and feveral other people, of this fever, by the leaves of the common Garden Sage, or Safoia officinalis of Linnceus. The leaves are crufhed or pounded in a mortar, and the juice is prefled 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 on $ and after taking it three or four times, the fever does not come again. THE bark of the white oak was reckoned the bed remedy which had .as yet been found againft the dyientery. It is reduced to a pow- der, and then taken : fome people affured me, that in cafes where nothing would help, this re- medy had given a certain and fpeedy relief. The people in this place likewife make ufc 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 nu- merous {hells which are found on the fea fhore, there are fome, which by the Englift here are called Clams, and which bear fome refemblance to 1748. 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 fbore of New York, Long JJland, and other pla- ces. The hells contain a large animal, which is eaten 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 people 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 Englifh, who live in Long I/land and other maritime provinces. As foon as the (hells are caught, the fifli 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 flefli is put into proper veffels, and carried to Albany upon the river Hudfon ; there the Indians buy them, and reckon them one of their beft diflies. Befides the Europeans, many of the native Indians come annually down to the fea more, in order to catch clams, proceeding with them afterwards in the manner I have juft defer ibed. THE (hells of thefe clams are ufed by the In- dians as money, and make what they call their wampum ; they Hkewife ferve their women for an ornament, when they intend to appear in full drefs* Thefq wampums are properly made of the purple parts of the {hells, which the Indians value [New Tork. 19 value more than the white parts. A traveller, who goes to trade with the Indians, and is well flocked with them, may become a confiderable gainer; but if he take gold coin, or bullion, he will undoubtedly be a lofer ; for the Indians^ who live farther up 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 own wampums, though not without a deal of trouble : but at prefent the Europeans employ ihemfelves that way ; efpecially the inhabitants of Albany * who get a confiderable profit by it. In the fequel I intend to relate the manner of making the wampum. Nov. 2d. BESIDES the different fe<3s of Chrif- tians, there are many Jews fettled in New Tork r who poflefs great privileges. They have a fyna- gogue and houfes, and great country feats of their own property, and are allowed to keep {hops in town. They have likewife feveral {hips, which they freight, and fend out with their own goods. In fine, they enjoy all the privileges common to the other inhabitants of this town and province. DURING my refidence at New Tork 9 this, time, and in the two next years, I was fre- quently in company with Jews. I was in- formed, among other things, that thefe people never boiled any meat for themfelves on Satur- day, but that they always did it the day before ; and that in winter they kept a fire during the \yhole Saturday. They commonly eat no pork ; yet I have been told by feveral men of credit, that November 1748. that many of them (efpecially among the young Jews) when travelling, did not make the leaft difficulty about eating this, or any other meat that was put before them ; even though they were in company with Chriftians. I was in their fynagogue laft 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 Grangers or Chriftians. A young Rabbi read the divine fervice, which was partly in He- brew, and partly in the Rabbinical dialecl:. Both men and women were drefled entirely in the EngKJb fafhion; 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 re- prefent fackcloth. But I obferved that the wealthier fort of people had a much richer cloth than the poorer ones. Many of the men had Hebrew books, in which they fang and read al- ternately. The Rabbi ftood in the middle of the fynagogue, and read with his face turned to- wards the eaft : he fpoke, however, fo faft, as to make it almoft impoffible for any one to under- 41and what he faid. * NEW YORK, the capital of a province of the fame name, is fituated under forty deg. and forty min. north lat. and feventy-four deg. and four min. of weftern long, from London; and is about * As there are no Jews in Sweden, Prof. Kalm was an utter ftranger to their manners and religious cuftoms, and therefore re- hues them as a kind of novelty. F. ninety- New York* $93 fcmety-feven Engtijh miles diftant from Philadel* phia. The fituation of it is extremely advan- tageous for trade : for the town {lands upon a point which is/ormed by two bays ; into one of which the river Hudfon difchafges itfelf, not far from the town ; New Tork is therefore on three fides 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 firft founded by the Dutch: this, it is faid, was done in the year 1623, when they were yet mafters of the country j they called it New Amjlerdam, and the country itfelf New Holland. The Englijh, towards the end of the year 1664, taking pofleflion of it under the conduct of Des Carfes, and keeping it by the vir- tue of the next treaty of peace, gave the name, of New Tork to both the town and the province belonging to it : in fize it comes neareft to Bofton and Philadelphia. But with regard to its fine buildings, its opulence* and extenfive commerce, ; t difputes the preference with them : at prefent it is about half as big again as Gothenburgb in Sweden. THE ftreets do not run fo ftraight as thofe of Philadelphia^ and have fometimes confiderable bendings : 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 exceffive heat at that time, afford a cooling (hade : I found it extremely pleafant to I. O walk 194 November 1748. tvalk in the town, for it feemed quite like a garden : the trees which are planted for this purpofe, are chiefly of two kinds. The Water beech, or Litmaus's Platanus occidentalis, are the moft numerous, and give an agreeable {hade in fumrner, by their great and numerous leaves. The Locuft tree, or Linn&ufs Robinia Pfcud- Acacia, is likewife frequent : its fine leaves, and the odoriferous fcent which exhales from its flowers, make it very proper for being planted in the ftreets near the houfes, and in gar- dens. There are likewife lime trees and elms in thefe walks, but they are not by far fo fre- quent as the others : one feldom met with trees of the fame fort next to each other, they being in general planted alternately. BESIDES numbers of birds of all kinds which make thefe trees their abode, there are like wile a kind of frogs which frequent them in great numbers in fummer; they are Dr. Linnaus's Rana arborca, 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 expe&ed) and in a manner drown the finging of the birds. They frequently make fuch a noife, that it is dif- ficult for a perfon to make hirnfelf heard. MOST of the houfes are built of bricks; and are generally ftrong and neat, and feveral ftories high. Some had, according to old architecture, turned the gable-end towards the ftreets; but the new houfes were altered in this refpeft. Many of the houfes had a balcony on the roof, on which the people ufed to lit in the evenings in the York. 195 the fumrner 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 co- vered- with tiles or mingles : the latter of which are made of the white fir tree, or Finns Strobus (Linn. fp. plant.) which grows higher up in the country. The inhabitants are of opinion, that a roof made of thefe mingles is as dura- ble as one made in Penfyhania of 'the White Cedar, or Cupreous thyoides (Linn. fpec. plant.) The walls were white-warned 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'co- vered with all forts of drawings and pidures in fmall frames. On each fide of the chirnnies they hsd ufually a fort of alcove ; and the wall under the windows was wainfcotted, and had benches placed near it. The alcoves, and all the wood work, were painted with a bluim grey colour. THERE are feveral churches in the town, which deferve fome attention, r. "The Englijh Church, built in the year 1695, at the weft end of the town, confiding of (tone, and has a fteeple with a bell. 2. The new Dutch Church, which is likewife built of ftone, is pretty large, and is provided with a fteeple ; it alfo has a clock, which is the only one in the town. This church (lands alrnoft due from north to fourth. No particular point of the compafs has here been in general at- tended to in ereding facred buildings. Somfc churches ftand as is ufual from e.ift to weft", others from fouth to north, and other, in difflr-- O 2 er.t 196 November 1748. ent pofitions. In this Dutch church there is nei- ther altar, veftry, choir, fconces, nor paintings. Some trees are planted round it, which make it look as if it was built in a wood. 3. The old Dutch Churchy which is alfo built of ftone. It is not fo large as the new one. It was painted in the infide, though without any images, and adorned with a fmall organ, of which governor Burnet made them a prefent. The men, for the moft part, fit in the gallery, and the women below. 4. The Prejbyterian church, which is pretty large, and was built but lately. It is of ftone, and has a fteeple and a bell in it. 5. The German Luthe- ran Church. 6. The German Reformed Church. 7. The French Churchy for proteftant refugees. 8 Thg Quaker's Meeting houfe. 9. To thefe may be ad- ded the Jewifi Synagogue 9 which I mentioned before. TOWARDS the fea, on the extremity of the promontory, is a pretty good fortrefs, called Fort George ', which entirely commands the port, and can defend the town, at leaft from a fudden attack on the fea fide. Befides that, it is likewife fecured on the north, or towards the more, by a pallifade, which however (as for a confiderable time the people have had nothing to fear from an enemy) is in many places in a very bad ftate 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 ufes of the kitchen. Thofe however, who are lefs delicate in this point, make ufe of the water from the wells in town. New Tork. 197 - town, though it be very bad. This want of good water lies heavy upon the horfes of the ftrangers that come to this place ; for they do not like to drink the water from the wells in the town. TuEporf is a good one : (hips of the greateft burthen can lie in it, 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 extraordinary cold weather. This is of great advantage to the city and its commerce ; for many {hips either come in or go out of the port at any time of the year, unlefs the winds be contrary; a convenience, which, as I have before obferved, is wanting at Philadelphia. It is fe- curea from all violent hurricanes from the fouth- eait by Long I/land, which is fituated juft before the town : therefore only the ftorms from the ibuth well are dangerous to the {hips which ride at 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 fufficiently fo for great {hips. Some- times even merchant {hips of a large fize have, by the rolling of the waves and by fmkjng down be* tween them, (lightly touched the bottom, though without any bad confequences. Befides this, the canal is narrow; and for this reafon many {hips have been loft here, becaufe they may be eafily caft upon a fand, if the {hip is not well piloted. Some old people, who had conftantly been upon this canal, aflured me, that it was neither deeper nor {hallo wer at prcfent, than in their youth, 03 THE 19 3 November 1748. .THE common difference between high ind low water, at .New York, amounts to about fix feet, 'Englifo meafure. But at a certain time in every month, when the tide fiows more than com- morrly, the difference in the height of no water is ieven feet. NEW YORK probably carries on z -Xr tenfive commerce, than any town in the Etigli/h North American provinces; at leaft it rnay.be faid to equal them : Eofton and Philadelphia how- ever come very near up to it. The trade of ffew York extends to many places; and it is faid they fend more {hips from thence to London, than they do from Philadelphia. They exnort to that capital all the various forts of ikins which they buy of the Indians, fugar, logwood, and other < lying woods, rum, mahogany, and many other goods which are the produce of the Wejl Indies; together with all the fpecie which they get in thc-courfe of trade. Every year they build feveral fhips here, which are fent to London, and there .(old; and of late years they have {hipped a quantity of iron to England. In return for thefe, they import from London {luffs, and every other article ' of Englijh growth or manufacture, together wkli all forts of foreign goods. England, and .especially Lon- don, profits knmenfely by its trade with the Ame- rican colonies; for not only New Tork, 'but" like- v/ife all the other Englifh towns on. the continent, import fo many articles from England, that all their fpecie, together with the goods whicli they get in other countries, rnuft altogether go to Old England, in order to pay the amount, to which they are however inefficient. From hence it appears New York* 199 appears how much a well-regulated colony con- tributes to the increafe and welfare of its mother country. NEW YORK fends many fhips to the Weft In- \ dies, with flour, corn, bifcuir, timber, tuns, boards, flefh, fifli, butter, and other provifions; together with fome of the few fruits that grow here. Many fhips go to Bojlon in New England, with corn and flour ; and take in exchange, flefli, butter, timber, different forts of fifli, and other articles, which they carry further to the Wejl Indies. They now and then take rum from thence, which is diftilled there in great quanti- ties, and fell it here with a confiderable advan- tage. Sometimes they fend yachts with goods from New Tork to Philadelphia, and at -other times yachts are fent from Philadelphia to New Tork-, which is only done, as appears from the gazettes, becaufe certain articles are cheaper at one place than at the other. They fend {hips to Ireland every year, laden with all kinds of Wejl India goods; but efpecially with linfeed, which is reaped in this province. I have been affured, that in fome years no lefs than ten fhips 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 rea- *fbn is this ; the people of Ireland, in order to have the better flax, make ufe of the plant be- fore the feed is ripe, and therefore are obliged to fend for foreign feed; and hence it becomes one of the chief articles in trade. AT this time a bufhel of linfeed is fold for O 4 eight goo November 1748. eight (hillings of New Tork currency, or a piece of eight. THE goods which are fhipped to the Weft In- dies, are fonietimes paid for with ready money, and fonietimes with Wejl India goods, which are either iirft brought to New Tork, or immediately feat to England cr Holland. If a flhip does not chufe to. tike in Weft India goods in its return to New Tork> or if no body will -freight it, it often goes to NeivcaJHe in England to take in coals for bal) on - which when brought home fell for a pretty good price. In many parts of the town coals are made ufe of, both for kitchen fires, and in rooms, be- caufe they are reckoned cheaper than wood, which at prefent cofts thirty millings of New J~Qrk currency per fathom j of which meafure I have before made mention. New Tork has like- wife fome intercourfe with South Carolina; to which it fends corn, flour, fugar, runv and other goods, and takes rice in return, which is almoft the only commodity exported from South Caro- lina. THE goods, with which the province of Net Tork trades, are not very numerous. They chiefly export the fkins of animals, which are bought of the Indians about OJwego ; great quan^ titles of boards, coming for the moft part from Albany; timber and ready-made lumber, from that part of the country which lies about the ri- ver Hiiifftn-y andlaflly, wheat, flour, barley, oats, and other kinds of corn, which are brought from New Jtrfiy and the cultivated parts of this pro- vince.' 1 have fcen yachts from New Brunjivic Jaden with wheat which lay -loofe on board, and with New York. 2 of with flour packed up in tuns; and alfo with great quantities of linfeed. New Tork likewife exports fome flefh and other provifions out of its own province, but they are very few ; nor is the quan- tity 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 coniiderable goodnefs ; but all the other products of this country are of i^fle account. MOST of the wine, which is drank here and in the other colonies, is brought from the Ifle of Madeira, and is very ftrong and fiery. No manufactures of note have as yet been ef- tabliihedhere ; at prefent they get all manufac- tured goods, fuch as woollen and linen cloth, &c. f/om England, and efpecially from London. TBE river Hudfon is very convenient for the erce of this city ; as it is navigable for near an h ndred and fifty Englifo miks up the coun- id falls into the bay not far from the town, on its weftern fide. During eight months of the r this river is full of yachts, and other greater i lefler veffek, either going to New Tork or returning from thence, laden either with inland or foreign goods. I CANNOT make a juft eftimate of the fhips that annually come to this town or fail from it. But I have found, by the Penfyhania gazettes, that from the firft of December in 1729, to the fifth of December in the next year, 2 i i fhips en- tered the port of New Tork> and 222 cleared it; and iince that time there has been a great in- creafe of trade here. THE 2 o 2 November 1748. THE country people come to market in New Tork 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 entrufted with this poft, William Burnet deferves 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 affiduity in promoting the welfare of this province, is what makes the principal merit of his charader. The people of New Tork therefore flill reckon him the beft governor they ever had, and think that they cannot praife his fervices too much. The many agronomical obfervations which he made in thefe parts, are inlerted in feveral Englifh works. In the year 1727, at the acceffion of king George II. to the throne of Great Britain, he was ap- pointed governor of New England. In confe- quence of this he left New Tork, and went to Bofton, where he died univerfally lamented, OQ the 7th of September 1729. AN affembly of deputies, from all the particu- lar diftrifts of the province of New Tork, is held at New Tork once or twice every year. It may be looked upon as a parliament or dyet in mini- ature. Every thing relating to the good of the province is here debated. The governor calls the afiembly, and diffolves it at pleafure: this is a power which he ought only to make ufe of, either when no farther debajtes are neceffary, or when the York. 203 the members are not fo unanimous in the fcrvice of their king and country as is their duty : it fre- quently however happens, that, led aiide by ca- price or by interested views, he exerts it to the judice of the province. The colony has fome- :es had a governor, whofe quarrels with the abitants, have induced [their reprefentatives, :he members of the affembly, through a fpi- of revenge, to oppofe indifferently every thing propofed, whether it was beneficial to the ntry or not. In fuch cafes the governor has k ufe of his power; diffolving the aflembly, calli-ng another foon after, which however again diffolved upon the leaft mark of their humour. By this means he fo much tired n, by the many expences which they were :ed to bear in fb fhort a time, that they were aft glad to unite with him, in his endeavours the good of the province. But there have :wife been governors who have called affem- s and diffolved them foon after, merely be- fe the reprefentatives did not acT: according to r whims, or would not give their affent to pofals which were perhaps dangerous or hurt- to the common welfare, .""he king appoints the governor according to royal pleafure ; but the inhabitants of the /ince make up his excellency's falary. There- a man entrufted with this place has greater iffer revenues, according as he knows how to the confidence of the inhabitants. There examples of governors, in this and other pro- es of 'North America^ who, by their diffenfions \ the inhabitants of theif refpedlive govern- J2O4 November 1748. ments, have loft their whole falary, his Majefty having no power to make them pay it. If a governor had no other refource in thefe circum- ftances, he would be obliged either to refign his office, or be content with an income too fmall for his dignity 5 or elfe to conform himfelf in every thing to the inclinations of the inhabitants : but there are feveral ftated profits, which in fome meafure make up for this. i. No one is allowed to keep a public houfe without the governor's leave ; which is only to be obtained by the pay- ment of a certain fee, according to the circum- ftances of the perfon. Some governors therefore, when the inhabitants refufed to pay them a fa- lary, have hit upon the expedient of doubling the number of inns in their province. 2, Few people who intend to be married* unlefs they be very poor, will have their banns published from the pulpit; but inflead of this they get licences from the governor, which impower any miniiter to marry them. Now for fuch a licence the go* vernor receives about half a guinea, and this col- Icfted throughout the whole province, amounts to a confiderable fum, 3. The governor figns all paiTports, and efpecially of fuch as go to fea ; and this gives him another means of fupplying his cxpences. There are feveral other advantages allowed to him, but as they are very trifling, I fliall omit them. AT the above aflembly the old laws are re- viewed and amended, and new ones are made: and the regulation and circulation of coin, toge- ther with all other affairs of that kind, are there * deter- New Tork. 205 determined. For it is to be obferved, that each Englijh 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 flate by itfelf. From hence it hap- pens, that in time of war, things go on very flowly and irregularly here: for not only the fenfe of one province is fometimes direftly op- pofite 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 quar- relling about the beft and cheapeft manner of car- rying on the war, an enemy has it in his power to take one place after another. It has com- monly happened, that whilft fome provinces have been fuffering from their enemies, the neigh- bouring ones were quiet and ina&ire, and as if it did not in the leaft concern them. They have frequently taken up two or three years in confi- dering whether they fhould give affiftance to an opprefled fifter colony, and fometimes they have exprefly declared themfelves againft it. There are inftances of provinces who were not only neuter in thefe circumflances, but who even car- ried on a great trade with the power which at that very time was attacking and laying wafte fome other provinces. THE French in Canada, who are but an incon- derable body, in comparifon with the Englijh in America* have, by this pofition of affairs, been able to obtain great advantages in times of war; /or if we judge from the number and power of 2 the 206 November 1748, the EngKJh, it would feem very eafy for them to get the better of the French in America* IT is however of great advantage to the crown of England, that the North American colonies are near a country, under the government of the French, like Canada. There is reafon to believe that the king never was earneft in his attempts to expel the French from their pofferTions there ; though it might have been done with little diffi- culty. For the Englifh colonies in this part of the world have increaiied fo rnuch in their num- ber 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 purpcfes, they are forbid to eftablifh new manufactures, which would turn to the difad vantage of the Britlfh commerce : they are not allowed to dig for any gold or filver, unlefs they fend them to England immediately : they have not the liberty bf trading to any parts that do not belong to the Britifli dominions, excepting fome fettled places; and foreign traders are not allowed to fend their fhips to them. Thefe and fome other reftrio tions, occafiori the inhabitants of the Englljh co- lonies to grow leis tender for their mother coun- try. This "jcoldnefs is kept up by the many fo- reigners, fuch as Germans, Dutch* and French, fet- tled here, and living among the Englijl, who commonly have no particular attachment to Old * THIS has really happened by a greater union and exertion of power from the colonies and the mother country ; fo that Ca- nada has been conquered, and its pofTefilon has been confirmed to Great Britaiu. in the lail peace. Jr. New Tork. 207 England-, add to this likewife, that many people can never be contented with their poffeffions, though they be ever fo great, and will always be defirous of getting more, and of enjoying the pleafure which arifes from changing 5 and their over great liberty, and their luxury, often lead them to licentioufnefs. I HAVE been told by Englijhmen, and not on* ly by fuch as were born in America* but even by fuch as came from Europe > that the EngHfh co- lonies in North America, in the fpace of thirty or fifty years, would be able to form a ftate by themfelVes, entirely independent on Old Eng- land. But as the whole country which lies along the fea-fhore is unguarded, and on the land fide is harraflcd by the French in times of war, thefe dangerous neighbours are fufficient to prevent the connection of the colonies with their mother country from being quite broken off. The E*ng~ li/h government has therefore fufficient reafon to confider the French in North America as the beft mearjs of keeping the colonies in their due fub- miffion. But I am almoft gone too far from my purpofe $ I will therefore finifh my obfervations on New Tork. THE declination of the magnetic needle in this town, v/as obferved by Philip Welh, the chief engineer of the province of New Tork, in the year 1686, to be eight deg. and forty-five min, to the weft ward. But, in 1723, it was only fevan deg. and twenty min. according to the obferva-* tions of governor gurnet. FROM hence we may conclude, that, in thirty- eight years, the magnet approaches about one deg. 5 208 November 1748. deg. and twenty-five min. nearer to the true north 5 or, which is the fame thing, about two min. annually. Mr. Alexander ', a man of great knowledge in aftronomy and in mathematics, aflured me, from feveral obfervations, that, in the year 1750, on the eighteenth of September, the deviation was to be reckoned fix deg. and twenty-two min. THERE are two printers in the town, and every week fome EngHJh gazettes are publifhed, which contain news from all parts of the world. THE winter is much more fevere here than in Penfyfoania, it being nearly as cold as in fome of the provinces of Sweden : its continuance, how- ever, is much fhorter than with us : their fpring is very early, and their autumn very late, and the heat in fummer is exceflivc. For this reafon, the melons fown in the fields are ripe at the be- ginning of Auguji ; whereas we can hardly bring them fo foon to maturity under glaffes and on hot beds. The cold of the winter I cannot juft- ly determine, as the meteorological obfervations which were communicated to me, were all cal- culated after thermometers, which were fo placed in the houfes, that the air could not freely come at them. The fnow lies for fome months toge- ther upon the ground ; and fledges are made ufe of here as in Sweden, but they are rather too bulky. The river Hudfon is about an Englijli mile and a half broad at its mouth : the differ- ence between the higheft flood and the loweft ebb, is between fix and feven feet, and the water is very brackijfo ; yet the ice (lands in it not only one, New Tork. 209 dne, but evenfeveral months : it has fometimes a thicknefs of more than two feet. THE inhabitants are fometimes greatly troubled with Mufquitoes. They either follow the hay, which is made near the town, in the low mea- dows which are quite penetrated with fait wa- ter, or they accompany the cattle at night when it is brought home. I have myfelf experienced, and have obferved in others, how f much thefe little animalcules can disfigure a perfon's face during a fmgle night ; for the flcin is fometimes fo covered. over with little blifters from their flings, that people are afhamed to appear in public. The water melons, which are cultivated near the town, grow very large : they are ex- tremely delicious, and are better than i| other parts of North America ; though they are planted in the open fields, and never in a hot-bed. I faw a water melon at Governor Clinton 's, in Sep- tember 1750, which weighed forty-'feven Englifo pounds, and at a merchant's in town another of forty-two pounds weight : however, they were reckoned the biggeft ever feen in this country. IN the year 1710, five kings, 'or Sachems, of the Iroquois, went from hence to England, in order to engage Queen Anne to make an alliance with them againft the French. Their names, drefs, reception at court, fpeeches to the Queen, opinion of England, and of the European man- ners, and feveral other particulars about them, are fufficiently known from other writings ; it would therefore be here unneceflary to enlarge about them. The kings or Sachems of the In- dians, have commonly no greater, authority over VOL. I, P their 2IO November 1748. their fubje&s, than conftables in a meeting of the inhabitants of a parifh, and hardly fo much. On my travels through the country of thefe Indians^ I had never any occafion to go and wait upon the Sachems; for they always came into my habita- tion without being afked : thefe vifits they com- monly paid in order to get a glafs or two of brandy, which they value above any thing they know. One of the five Sachems, mentioned above, died in England > the others returned fafe. THE firft colonifts in New Tor k were Dutch- men : when the town and its territories were taken by the EngliJI^ and left them by the next peace in exchange for Surinam, the old inhabitants were allowed either to remain at New Tork, and to enjoy all the privileges and immunities which they were poflefled of before, or to leave the place with all their goods : mod of them chofe the former; and therefore the inhabitants, both of the town and of the province belonging to it, are yet for the greateft part Dutchmen > who ftill, 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 principally Englijh, and go only to the Engltjh church ; and would even take it amifs if they were called Dutchmen and not Englifamen. THOUGH the province of New York has been inhabited by Europeans much longer than Penfyl-* vqnia* yet it is not by far fo populous as that co- " 4 . lony. Penfyhania, Philadelphia. 213 journey, we arrived at .Philadelphia on the fifth of November. IN the neighbourhood of this capital (of Pen- fyhania) 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 York we obferved the people {till employed in prefTing out the cyder. This is a plain proof, chat in Penjyfoania the apples are fooner ripe than in New Tork ; but whether this be owing to the nature of the foil, or a greater heat of the fum- mer in Philadelphia, or to fome other caufe, I know not. However, there is not the leaft ad* vantage in making cyder fo early ; for long ex- perience had taught the hufbandmcn that it is worfe for being made early in the year ; the great heat in the beginning of autumn being faid to hinder the fermentation of the juice. THERE is a certain quadruped which is pretty common not only in Penfyhania, but likewife in other provinces both of South and North Ame- rica, 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 Fijkatta, on account of the horrid flench it fometimes caufes, as I fhall prefently Chow. The French in Canada, for the fame reafon, call it Bete puante, or ftinking animal, and Enfant du diable, or child of the devil. Some of them likewife call it Pekan : Cafe/by, in his Natural Hiflory of Carolina, has dcfcribed it in Vol. 2, p. 62. by the name of Putorius Americanus jlri* atus, and drawn it plate 62. Dr. Linnaus calls p 3 it November it Fiverra Putorius. * This animal, which is very fimilar to the Marten, is of about the fame fize, and commonly 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, we faw one of thefe animals not far from town, near a farmer's houfe, killed by dogs. And afterwards I had, during my flay in thefe parts, feveral op- portunities 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 con- fine itfelf to the ground, but climbs up trees with the greateft agility : it is a great enemy to birds, for it breaks their eggs, and devours their young ones ; and if it can get into a hen-rooft, it foon deflroys all its inhabitants. THIS animal has a particular quality by which it is principally known : when it is purfued by men or dogs, it runs at firfl as faft as it can, or climbs upon a tree ; but if it is fo befet by its purfuers, as to have no other way of making its efcape, 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 fend its urine equally far without the help of its tail j I find the former of thefe accounts to be the moft likely. For fome credible people OF this animal, and of the above-mentioned Racoon, is a re- sntation given plai nan and the Swedifi without this plate, F, prefentation given plate 2, both from original drawings ; -andthe Swedijk edition of Prof. Kalm\ woik being both aflured Penfyfoania, Philadelphia. 215 aflured me, that they have had their faces wetted with it all over, though they flood above eigh- teen feet off from the animal. The urine has fo horrid a flench, that nothing can equal it : it is fomething like that of the Crane/bill, or L//z- xaus's Geranium robertianum, but infinitely ftronger. If you come near a polecat when it fpreads its flench, you cannot breathe for a while, and it feems as if you were ftifled ; 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 faft as they can when they are wetted j how- ever, 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 obligeinow and then to rub their nofes in the ground in order to relieve themfelves. CLOTHES which have been wetted by this animal retain the fmell for more than a month, unlefs they be covered with freili foil, and fuffer- ed to remain under it for twenty-four hours to- gether, when it will, in a great meafure, be re- moved. Thofe likewife who have got any of this tfrine upon their face and hands, rub them with loofe earth ; and fome even hold their hands In the ground for an hour, as wafhing will not help them fo foon. A certain man of rank, who had by accident been wetted by the polecat, flunk fo ill, that on going into a houfe, the people either ran away, or, on his opening the door, rudely denied him entrance. Dogs that have hunted a polecat are fo offenfive, for fome days afterwards, that th Cannot be borne in the P 4 houfe. 21 6 November 1748. hcufe. At Philadelphia I once faw'a great num- ber of people on a market day throwing at a dog that was fo unfortunate as to have been engaged with a polecat juft before, and to carry about him the tokens of its difpleafure. Perfons when travelling through a foreft, are often troubled with the ftink which this creature makes ; and fometimes the air is fo much infected that it is neceffary to hold one's nofe. If the wind blows from the place where the polecat has been, or if it be quite calm, as at night, the fmell is more ilrong and difagreeable. IN the winter of 1749, a polecat, tempted by a dead lamb, came one night near the farm houfe where I then flept. Being immediately purfued by feme dogs, it had recourfe to its ufual expe- dient in order to get rid of them. The attempt fucceeded, the dogs hot chooiing to continue the purfuit : the ftink was fo extremely great, that, though I was at fome diftance, it affected me in the fame manner. as if I had been ftifled; and it* was fo difagreeable to the cattle, that it made them roar very loudly : however, by. degrees it vanifh- ed. Towards the end of the fame year one of thefe animals got into our cellar, but no ftench 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 fufpe&ing that it was done by the cat, fhe fhut up all avenues, in order to prevent their getting at it. But the nex4: night, being awoke by a noife in the cellar, he went down, and, though it was quite dark, faw &n animal with two ihining eyes, which feemed to Penjyhania, Philadelphia. 217 to be all on fire ; me however refolutely killed it, but not before the polecat hacl filled the cellar with a mod dreadful flench. The maid v/as fick of it for feveral days ; and all the bread, fiefti, and other provifions kept in the cellar, were fo penetrated with it, that we could not make the leaft ufe of them, and were forced to throw them all away. FROM an accident that happened at New York to one of my acquaintances, 1 conclude that the polecat either is not always very my, or that it fleeps very hard at night. This man coming home out of a wood in a fummer even- ing, thought that he faw a plant flanding before him ; flooping to pluck it, he was to his cofl convinced of his miflake, by being all on a fud- den covered with the urine of a polecat, whofe tail, as it flood upright, the good man had taken for a plant : the creature had taken its revenge fo effectually, that he was much at a lofs how to get rid of the flench. HOWEVE& though thefe animals play fuch difagreeable tricks, yet the Englifh, the Swedes, the French, and the Indians, in thefe parts, tame them. They follow their mailers like domeflic animals, and never make ufe of their urine, ex- cept they be very much beaten or terrified. When the Indians kill fuch a polecat, they al- ways eat its flefh ; but when they pull off its fkin, they take care to cut away the bladder, that the flefh may not get a tafte from it. I have fpoken with both Englishmen and Frenchmen, who allured me that they had eaten of it, and found it very good meat, and not much unlike the 5-i S November 1748. the flem of a pig. The fkia, 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. November 6th. IN the evening I made a vifit to Mr. Bartram, and found him in conver- fation with a gentleman of Carolina, from whom I obtained feveral particulars ; a few of which I will here mention. TAR, pitchy and rice are the chief products of Carolina. The foil is very fandy, and therefore many pines and firs grow in it, from which they make tar : the firs which are taken for this pur- pofe are common ly fuch as are dried up of them- felves ; 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 Oftro- tothnia. In fome parts of Carolina they like- wife make ufe of 'the branches. The manner of burning or boiling, as the man defcribes it to me, is entirely the fame as in Finland. The pitch is thus made : they dig a hole into the ground, 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 confidence of pitch. They make two kinds of tar in the North American colonies : one is the common tar, which I have above defcribed, and which is made of the ftems, branches, and roots, of fuch firs, as were already confiderably dried out before ; which is .the moft common way in this country. The other way is peeling the bark from the firs on one fide, and afterwards letting them ftand ano- ther Penfyfaania, Philadelphia. ther year ; during which the refin comes out between the cracks of the item. 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 refpeft they are both pretty much alike ; but the latter is called fo from being made of green and frefli 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 j for the white firs will not ferve this purpofe, though they are excellent for boards, mafts, &c. Green tar is dearer than common tar. It is already a pretty general complaint, that the fir woods arc almoft wholly destroyed by this practice. RICE is planted in great quantity in Caro- lina - y it fucceeds beft in mariQhy and fwampy grounds, which may be laid under water, and likewife ripens there the fooneft. Where thefe cannot be had, they muft choofe a dry foilj but the rice produced here, will be much inferior to the other ; the land on which it is culti- vated muft never be manured. In Carolina they fow it in the middle of April, and it is ripe in September : it is planted in rows like peafe, and commonly fifteen inches fpace is 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 unneceffary. The ftraw of rice is faid to be excellent food for cattle, who eat it very greedi- ly, Rice requires a hot climate, and therefore i| will not fucceed well in Virginia^ the fummer there 1748. there being too fhort, and the winter too cold j and much lefs will it grow in Penfyfoania. They are as yet ignorant in Carolina of the art of making arrack from rice : it is chiefly South Carolina that produces the greateft quantity of rice ; and on the other hand they make the moft tar in North Carolina. Nov. yth. THE ftranger from Carolina, whom I have mentioned before, had met with many oyfter (hells at the bottom of a well, feventy J&nglijh miles diftant from the fea, and four from a river : they lay in a depth of fourteen EngliJIj feet from the furface of the earth : the water in the well was brackifij 3 but that in the river was frefh. The fame man, had, at the building of a faw-mill, a mile and a half from a river, found, firft fand, and then clay filled with oyfter (hells. Under thefe he found fcveral bills of fea birds as he called them, which were already quite petrified : they were probably : Glo/opetr and the Indians in Carolina likewifc gather them in their rambles in the woods, dry them in the fun -fhine, grind them, and bake bread of them. Whilft the rcfot is fre(h it is liaffli and acrid, but being dried it lofes the greatefl part of its acrimony. To judge by thefe qualities the Tuckaboo may very likely be the Arum Virgi- nianum. Compare with this account, what mall be related in the fequel of the Tabim and ^uckah. AFTER dinner I again returned to town. Nov. 8th. SEVERAL Eng/ift and Swedifo ceconomifts kept bee-hives, which afforded their poiTeflbrs profit: for bees fucceed very well here : the wax: was for the mofi part fold to tradef- men : but the honey they made ufe of in their own families, in different ways. The people were unanimous, that the common bees were not iri North America before the arrival of the Eu- ropeans -> but that they were firft brought over by the Englifo 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 feve- ral years fettled here. This*' is further confirmed by the name which the Indians give them: for, having no particular name for them in their lan- guage, they call them Englijh flies, becaufe the Englijh firft brought them over ; but at prefent they fly plentifully about the woods of North VOL. I. America. 226 November 1748. America. However it has been obferved, that the bees always, when they fwarm, fpread to the fouthvvard, and never to the northward. It ieems as if they do not find the latter countries ib good for their confutation : therefore they cannot flay in Canada* and all that have been carried over thither, died in winter. It feemed 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, 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, inftead of feparating their wax and honey, mixed it both together in a great bag. But this account wants both clearing up and confirming. Nov. 9th. ALL the old Swedes and Englifh- .flien, born in America, whom I ever queftioned, afferted that there were not near fo many birds fit for eating at prefent, as there ufed to be when they were children, and that their decreafe was vifi- blc. They even faid, that they had heard their fa- thers complain of this, in whofe childhood the bays, rivers, and brooks were quite covered with all forts of water fowl, fuch as wild geefe, ducks, and the like. But at prefent there is fometimes not a fingle bird upon them; about fixty or feventy years ago, a fingle perfon could kill eighty ducks in a morning; but at prefent you frequently wait in vain for a fingle one. A Swede above ninety years old affured me, that he had in his youth killed twenty-three ducks at a mot. Tms Penfy&wnia, Philadelphia. 227 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 hi- ther by hundreds in the fpring : at prefent there are but very few. The wild Turkeys, and the birds, which the Swedes in this country call Par- tridges and Hazel-hens, 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 difficult to find. Before the arrival of the Europeans, the country was uncultivated, and full of great fo- refts. The few Indians that lived here feldom difturbed the birds. They carried on no trade among themfelves, iron and gunpowder were un- known to them. One hundredth part of the fowl, which at that time were f j plentiful here, would have fufficed to feed the few inhabitants ; and confidering that they cultivated their frnall maize fields, caught fifh, hunted (lags, beavers, bears, wild cattle, and other animals whofe flefh was delicious to them, it will foon appear how little they difturbed the birds. But fince the ar- rival of great crouds of Europeans, things are greatly changed : the country is well peopled, and the woods are cut down : the people in- creafing in this country, they have by hunting and fhooting in part extirpated the birds, in part feared them away : in fpring the people ft ill * WHEN Captain Amadat^ the firft Englifornan that ever landed in North America l fet foot on ihore (to ufe his own words) /#o> a focke of Cranes (the mofl part ivhitt) arcfs under us with fuck a cry, rt daub ltd by many tchogs, at if an armie of men bad fronted altogether* take 228 November take both eggs, mothers, and young indifferently, becaufe no regulations are made to the contrary. And if any had been made, the fpirit of freedom which prevails in the country would not fuffer them to be obeyed. But though the eatable birds have been diminished greatly, yet there are others, which have rather increafed than de- creafed in number, fmce the arrival of the Eu- ropeans : this can moft properly be faid of a fpe- cies of daws, which the Englifh call Blackbirds* and the Swedes, Maize thieves 4 ) Dr. Linnaeus calls them Gracula Quifcula. And together with them, the feveral forts of Squirrels among the quadru- peds have fpread ; for thefe and the former live chiefly upon maize, or at leaft they are moft greedy of it. But as population increafes, the cultivation of maize increafes, and of eourfe the food of the above-mentioned animals is more plentiful : to this it is to be added, that thefe lat- ter are rarely eaten, and therefore they are more at liberty to multiply their kind, There are like- wife other birds which are not eaten, of which at prefent there are nearly as many as there were before the arrival of the Europeans. On the other hand I heard great complaints of the great decreafe of eatable fowl, not only in this pro- vince, but in all the parts of North America^ where I have been. AGED people had experienced that with the fi(h, which I have juft mentioned of the birds: in their youth, the bays, rivers, and brooks, had fuch quantities of fifh, that at one draught-in tha * PROPER \.it Jhining blackbirds. . morn- ** Philadelphia. 229 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 long, with all their fifliing 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 caught by a greater variety of contrivances, and in different manners than be- fore. The numerous mills on the rivers and brooks likewife contribute to it in part : for it has been obferved here, that the fifh go up the river in order to fpawn in a (hallow water; but when they meet with works that prevent their proceeding, they turn back, and never come again. Of this I was affured by a man of for- tune at Eofton : 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 aflerted the fame in regard to oyfters at New Tork; for though they are flill taken in confiderable quantity, and are as big and as delicious as can be wifhed, yet all the oyfter-catchers own, that the number dimi- nifhes greatly every year : the moft natural caufe of it, is probably the immoderate catching of them at all times of the year. MR. FRANKLIN told me, that in that part of New England where his father lived, two rivers fell into^the lea, in one of which they caught great numbers of herrings, and in the other not Yet the places where thefe rivers difcharged 3 them- 230 November 1748. themfelves into the fea, were not far afunder. They had obferved that when the herrings came in Ijpring to depofit their fpawn, they always fwam up the river, where they ufed to catch them, but never came into the other. This cir- cumftance led Mr. Franklins father, who was fettled between the two rivers, to try whe- ther it was not poffible to make the herrings like- wife 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 after- ter wards they caught more herrings in that river ; and this is ftill the cafe. This leads one to be- lieve that the fifli always like to fpawn in the fame pkce where they were hatched, and from whence they firft put out to fea ; being as it were accuftomed to it. THE following is another peculiar obfervation. It has never formerly been known that Codfifh. were to be caught at cape Hinlopen : they were always caught at the mouth of the Delaware ; but at preient they are numerous in the former place. From hence it may be concluded, that fith likewife change their places of abode of their own accord. A CAPTAIN of a (hip who had been in Green* land^ afferted from his own experience, that oa paffmg the feventieth deg. of north lat. the fum- mer heat was there much greater, than it is be- Ipw that degree. From hence he concluded, that $he fumjiier heat at the pole itfelf, rnuft be ftill more Penfykania, Philadelphia. 23 1 more exceffive, fince the fun fhines therefor fuch a long fpace of time, without ever fetting. The fame account, with fimilar confequences drawn from thence, Mr. Franklin had heard of the fhip- captains in Bofton, who had failed to the moft northern parts of this hemifphere. But ftill more aftoniftiing is the account he got from Captain Henry Atkins, who ftill lives ^ Bof.cn. Tie had for fome time been upon the fiihery along the coafts of New England. But not catching as much as he wifhed, he failed north, as far as Greenland. At laft he went fo far, that he difcovered people, who had never feen Europeans before (and what is more aftonifhing) who had no idea of the ufe of fire, which they had never employed ; and if they had known it, they could have made no ufe of their knowledge, as there were no trees in the country. But they eat the birds and fifli which they caught quite raw. Captain Afkins got fome very fcarce fkins in exchange for fome trifles. IT is already known from feveral accounts of voyages, that to the northward neither trees nor bufhes, nor any ligneous plants, are to be met with, fit for burning. But is it not probable that the inhabitants of fo defoiate 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 fubterraneous caves in winter, and to light them in the darkeft feafon of the year ? elfe their dark- nefs would be infuppcrtable. Nov. iith. JN feveral writings we read of a large animal, which is to be met with in New Enland, 232 November 1748. England, and other parts of North America. Thty fometimes dig very long and branched horns out of the ground in Ireland, and no body in that country, or any where elfe in the world, knows an animal that has fuch horns. This has induced many people to believe that it is the Mcofe-deer, fo famous in North America, and that the horns found were of animals of this kind, which had formerly lived in that ifland, but were gradually deftroyed. It has even been con- cluded, that Ireland, in diftant ages, either was connected with North America, or that a num 7 ber of little iilands, which arc loft at prefent, made a chain between them. This led me to enquire, whether an animal with fuch exceffive great horns, as are defcribed to the Moofe-deer, had ever been feen in any part of this country. Mr. Ear tram told me, that, notwithftanding he had carefully enquired to that purpofe, yet there -was no perfon who could give him any informa- tion which could be relied upon ; and therefore, he was entirely of opinion, that there was no fuch an animal in North America. Mr. Frank-. tin related, that he had, when a boy, feen two of the animals which they call Mocfe-deer, but he well remembered 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 Boflon, in order to be lent to England to Queen Anne. The Jieight of the animal up to the back was that of a pretty tall horfe, but the head and its horns >yerp ftill higher : Mr, Dudley has given a de- fc option Penfyhania, Philadelphia. 233 fcription of the Moofe-deer* which is found in North America. On my travels in Canada, I pften enquired of the Frenchmen, whether there had ever been feen fo large an animal in this country, as fome people fay there is in North America, and with fuch great horns as are fome- times dug out in Ireland. But 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 muft have met with it in fome of their excurfions in the woods. There are elks here, which are either of the fame fort with the Swedish 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 exceffive horns in North Ame- rica find had its rife. Thefe elks are called Orignals by the French in Canada, which name they have borrowed from the Indians : perhaps Dudley, in defcribing the Moofe-deer, meant no other animals than thefe large elks. * MR . Franklin gave me a piece of a ftone, which, on account of its indeftruftibility in the fire, is made ufe of in New England for making melting furnaces and forges. * WHAT gives flill more weight to Mr. Kalm 1 * opinion of the Elk being the Moofe-deer^ is, the name Mu/u, which the dlgonkins give to the elk, as Mr. Kalm himfelf obferves in the fequel of his work ; and this circumltance is the more remarkable, as the Al- gcnkins, before the Irokeefe or five nations got fo great a power in America, were the moft powerful nation in the northern part of this continent ; infomuch that, though they be now reduced to an inconfidcrable number, their language is however a kind of univerfal language in North America fo that there is no doubt that the elk is the famous Moojc^deer. F, *^ November 1748. IT confifts of a mixture of Lapis Ollaris, or Serpentine ftone, and of AfbejL The greatefl part of it is a grey Serpentine ftone, which is fat and fmooth to the touch, and is eafily cut and worked. Here and there are fome glitter- ing fpeckles of that fort of afbeft, whofc fibres come from a center like rays, or Star Ajbeft. This ftone is not found in ftrata or folid rocks, but here and there fcattered on the fields. ANOTHER ftone is called Soap ftone by many of the Swedes, being as fmooth as foap on the outfide. They make ufe of it for rubbing fpots out of their deaths. It might be called Saxum talcofum particulis fyataceis granatifque immixtis, or a talc with mixed particles of fpar and garnets. A more exact 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 greeniih hue. It is very fmooth to the touch, and runs always waved. It is likewife eafily fawed and cut, though it is not very fmooth. I have feen large ftones of it, which were a fathom and more long, propor- tionably broad, and commonly fix inches or a foot deep. But I cannot determine any thing of their original lize, as I have not been at the place where they are dug, and have only feen the ftones at Philadelphia, which are brought there ready cut. The particles of talc in this ftone are about thirty times as many as thofe of Ipar and garnet. It is found in many parts of the country, for example in the neighbourhood of Cbeftcr in Penjyhania. The Englijh likewife 2 call PenjyhMnia> Philadelphia. 235 call it Soap/lone, * and it is likely that the Swedes have borrowed that name from them. THIS ftone was chiefly employed in the fol- lowing manner. Firft, the people took fpots out of their cloaths with it. But, for this pur- pofe, the whole flone is not equally ufeful, for it includes in its clear particles fome dark ones which confift wholly of ferpentine ftone, and may eafily be cut with a knife ; fome of the loofe ftone is fcraped off like a powder, and ftrewed upon a greafy fpot, in filk or any other ftuff; this imbibes the greafe, and after rubbing off the powder the fpot difappears : and as this ftone is likewife very durable in the fire, the country people make their hearths with it, efpecially the place where the fire lies, and where the heat is the greateft, for the ftone ftands the ftrongeft fire. If the people can get a fufficient quantity of this ftone, they lay the fteps before the houfes with it, inftead of bricks, which are generally ufed for that purpofe. THE walls round the court-yards, gardens, burying-places, and thofe for the floping cellar doors towards the ftreet, which are all common- ly buiit of brick, are covered with a coping of this ftone; for it holds excellently againft all the effecls of the fun, air, rain, and ftorm, and does not decay, but fccures the bricks. On account of this quality, people commonly get the door * IT feems to be either the fubftance commonly called French Chalk, or perhaps the Soap-rock, which is common in Cornwall, near the Lizard point, and which contjffo befides of fome particles of talc, chiefly of an earth like magnefia ; which latter, with acid -of vitriol, yields an earthy vitriolic fait, or Epfemfalt. F. pofts, "2 3 5 Kovw&far 1748. pods, in which their hinges are fattened, made of this ft one -, and, in feveral public buildings, fuch as the houfe of affembly 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 Englijh North American colonies, is brought from the Wejl In- dies. The Indians have in fome places fait fprings, from which they get fait by boiling. I mall in the fequel have occafion to defcribe fome of them. Mr. Franklin was of opinion, that the people in Penfyhania could eafier make good fait of iea water, than in New England, where fome- times fait is made of the fea water on their coaft ; though their fituation is more northerly. Lead-ore has been difcovered in Penfyhania, but as it is not to be met with in quantity, no body ever attempted to ufe it. Loadflones of confider- able goodnefs have likewife been found; and. I rnyfelf poffefs feveral pretty pieces of them. IRON is dug in fuch great quantities in Pen* filucmia, and in the other American provinces of the Englifv, that they could provide with that commodity not only England, but almoft all Europe, and perhaps the greater part of the globe. The ore is here commonly infinitely ea- iier got in the mines than our Sw&tifb 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 can be made in a hard foil : ?n many places the people know nothing of toring, blafting, and firing ; and the ore is like- wile very fufible. Of this iron they get fuch quantise?, that not only the numerous inhabi- tants Pevfyfoania, Philadelphia. 237 tants of the colonies themfelves have enough of it, but great quantities are fent to the Weft Indies, and they have lately began even to trade to - rope with it. This iron is reckoned better for (hip building than our Swedifo iron, or any other, becaufe fait water does not corrode it fo much. Some people believed, that, without reckoning the freight, they could fell their iron in England at a lower rate than any other nation $ efpecially when the country becomes better peopled, and labour cheaper. THE mountain fax, * or that kind of ftonc, which Bifliop Rrowallius calls Amiantus fibris fe- parabilibus molliufculis, in his lectures on minera- logy, which were publifhed in 1739, or the amiant with foft fibres, which can eafily be fepa- rated, is found abundantly in Penjylvania. Some pieces are very foft, others pretty tough : Mr, Franklin told me, that, twenty and ibme 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 pre- fented to Sir Ham Shane. I have likewife feen paper made of this ftone ; and I have likewiie received fome fmall pieces of it, which I keep in my cabinet. Mr. Franklin had been told by others, that, on exppfing this mountain rlax to the open air in winter, and leaving it in the cold and wet, it would grow together/ and more * Amiantus (A/leftus) fib'rofus, fibris feparatulibus Rexili'bas t;- nacibus, Linn. Syll. nat. p. 5.-. Amiantus fibris mollibus paralleiis facile fcpurabliibus, //<=."/. ii/Iin. 140. Mou ntahr flax, Lininn ;.v.:v/ ..7 .'/*,?;, F*rjL- f. F. ii: 238 November 1748. fit for fpinning. But he did not venture to de- termine how far this opinion was grounded. 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 of it, which he gave to one of his journeymen printers, in order to get it made into a fheet at the paper mill. As foon as the fellow brought the paper, Mr. Branklin rolled it up, and threw it into the fire, telling the journeyman he would fee a miracle, a fheet of paper which did not burn : the ignorant fellow afferted the contrary, but was greatly afto- nifhed upon feeing himfelf convinced. Mr. Franklin then explained to him, though not very clearly, the peculiar qualities of the paper. As fbon as he was gone, fome of his acquaintance came in, who immediately knew the paper. The journeyman thought he would fhew them a great curiofity and aftonifli them. He accordingly told them, that he had curioufly made a flieet of paper which would not burn, though it was thrown into the fire. They pretended to think it impoflible, and he as ftrenuoufly maintained his afiertion. At laft they laid a wager about it ; but whilft he was bufy with flirring up the fire, the others ilyly befmeared the paper with fat : the journeyman, who was not aware of it, threw it into the fire, and that moment it was all in flames : this aftonifhed him fo much, that he was almoft fpeechlefs ; upon which they could not help laughing, and fo difcovered the whole arti- fice. IN feveral houfes of the town, a number of lit- tle Antt run about, living under ground, and in holes Penfyhania, Philadelphia. 239 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 car- rying 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 little infects could by fomc means communicate their thoughts or deiires to each other, and he confirmed his opinion by fome examples. When an ant finds fome fugar, it runs immediately un- der ground to its hole, where, having flayed a little while, a whole army comes out, unites> and marches 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 im- mediately 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 num<- ber of ants got into the pot, and devoured the treacle very quietly. But as he obferved it, he fhook them out, and tied the pot with a thin firing to a nail which he had faflened in the ceiling ; fo that the pot hung down by the firing. 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 concern to find its way out : it ran about the bottom of the pot, but in vain : at lafl 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 November 1748. the firing into the pot, and began to eat again i this they continued till the treacle was all eaten i in the mean time, one fwarm running down the firing, and the other up. Nov. 1 2th. 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 obfervedwith regard to the weather, vtz. that the weather in winter was commonly foretold by that on the firfl of Novem* ber, old ftile, or twelfth new ftile ; if that whole day be fair, the next winter will bring but little rain and fnow along with it; but if the firft half .of the day be clear, and the other cloudy, the beginning of winter would accordingly be fair, but its end, and fpring, would turn out rigorous and difagreeable : of the fame kind were the other prefages. I have likewife in other places heard of fimilar figns of the weather; but as a mature judgment greatly leflens the confidence in them, fo the meteorological obfervations have fufficient- ly fhewn, 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 feverafl fides of a mountain. The people near fuch fprings ufe them for every purpofe of a fine fpring water. They alfo conduct the water into a little fton'e building near the houfe, where they can confine it, and bring frefh (applies at pleafure. In fbrn- roer they place their milk, bottles of wine, and other liquors, in this building, where they keep cool ^nd frefli. In many country houfes, the kitchen Penfyfoania, near Germantown. 24! kitchen or buttery was fo fituated, that a rivulet ran under it, and had the water near at hand. NOT only people of fortune, but even others that had fome pofleffions, commonly had fifli ponds in the country near their houfes. They always took care that frefh water might run into their ponds, which is very falutary for the fifh : for that purpofe the ponds were placed near a fpring on a hill. Nov. 1 3th. I SAW, in feveral parts of this province, a ready method of getting plenty of grafs to grow in the meadows. Here muft be remembered what I have before mentioned about the fprings, which are fometimes found on the fides of hills, and fometimes in vallies. The meadows 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 Pcnfyfoania is very hot ; and the fun often burns the grafs fo much, that it dries up entirely. The huuSandmen therefore have been very attentive to prevent this in their meadows : to that purpofe they look for all the fprings in the neighbourhood of a meadow; and as the ri- vulets flowed before by the fhorteft way into the vallies, they raife the water, as much as poflible and neceflary, to the higher part of the meadow, and make feveral narrow channels from the brook, down into the plain, fo that it is entirely watered by it. When there are fome deeper places, they frequently lay wooden gutters acrofs them, through which the water flows to the other fide; and from thence it is again, by very narrow channels, carried to all the places VOL, I, R where 242 November 1748. where it feems neceffary. 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. Induftry and ingenuity went further : when a brook runs in a wood, with a direction not towards the mea- dow, and it has been found, by levelling, and taking an exaft furvey of the land between the meadow and the rivulet, that the latter can be conduced towards the former ; a dyke is made a which hems the courfe of the brook, and the water is led round the meadow, over many hills, fornetimes for the fpace of an Englljh mile and further, partly acrofs vallies in wooden pipes, till at lafl 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 ma- naged, look wretchedly. The meadows com- monly lie in the vallies, and one or more of their fides have a declivity. The water can therefore eafily be brought to run down in them. Thefe meadows, which are fo carefully watered, are commonly mowed three times every fummer. But it is likewife to be obferved, that fummer continues feven months here. The inhabitants feldorm 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 Penjyhania, near Germ&ntown. 243 have deciduous leaves, and they covered the ground in the woods fix inches deep. The great quantity of leaves which drop annually, would neceflarily 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 ftirred, fhould be covered with fo little black mould : but I fliall fpeakof this in the fequel. Nov. 1 4th. THE Squirrels, which run about plentifully in the woods, are of different fpecies ; I here intend to defcribe the moft common forts more accurately. THE grey Squirrels are very plentiful in Pen- fyfaania, and in the other provinces of North America. Their fhape correfponds with that of our Sweidifh fquirrel ; but they differ from them by keeping their grey colour all the year long, and in iize being fomething bigger. The woods in all thefe provinces, and chiefly in Penfylvdnia, confift of trees with deciduous leaves, and in fuch thefe fquirrels like to live. Ray, in his Synohjis Quadrupedwn, p. 215, and Gate/by, in his Natural Hijiory of Carolina > Vol. 2, p. 74, tab. 74, call it the Virginian greater grey Squirrel ; and the latter has added a figure after life. The Swedes call it grao Ickorn, which is the fame as the Etogii/b, grey Squirrel. Their nefts are-corn-' inonly in hollow trees, and are made of mofs, ~4lraw, and other foft things : their food is chiefly nuts; as hazel nuts, chinquapins, chefnuts, walnuts, hiccory nuts, and the acorns of the R 2 different 244 November 1748, different forts of oak which grow here \ but maize is what they are moft greedy of. The ground in the woods is in autumn covered with acorns, and all kinds of nuts which drop from the numerous trees ; of thefe the fquirrels gather great ftores for winter, which they lay up in holes dug by them for that purpofe : they likewife carry a great quantity of them into their nefts. As foon as winter comes, the fnow and cold confines them to their holes for feveral days, efpecially when the weather is very rough. Du^ ring this time they confume the little ftore which they have brought to their nefts : as foon there- fore as the weather grows milder, they creep out, and dig out part of the ftore 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 fill, and partly to ftore their nefts with a new provifion for the enfuing great cold, during which they did not venture to come out, but lay fnug in their nefts : therefore, feeing them run in the woods in greater numbers than ordinary, was a fafe prognoftic of an enfuing cold. THE hogs which are here driven into the woods, whilft there is yet no fnow in them, often do confiderable damage to the poor fquirrels, by rooting up their ftore-holes, and robbing their winter provifions. Both the Indians, and the European ay near Gcnhantown, European Americans, take great pains to find out thefe {tore-holes, whether in trees or in the ground, as all the nuts they contain are choice, and not only quite ripe, but likewifenot pierced by worms. The nuts and acorns which the Dormice, or Mus Cricetus Linn, (lore up in au- tumn, are all in the fame condition. The Swedes relate, that, in the long winter, which happened her in the year 1741, there fell fuch a quantity of fnow, that the fquirrels could not get to their ftore, and many of them were ftarved 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 April, when the oaks were in full flower, I once obferved a number of fquirrels on them, fometimes five, fix, or more in a tree, who bit off the flower-ftalks 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, 1 know not ; but the ground was quite covered with oak flowers, to which part of the ftalk 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 eafieft to tame, efpeciaily 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 R 3 fhoulders. 246 November 1748. fhoulders. Sometimes they only ran a little way into the wood, and then returned home again to the little hole that had been fitted up for them* When they eat, they fit almoft upright, 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 amongft the wool which they lay upon. Such tame fquirrels {hewed no fear of ftrangers, and would fuffer themfelves to be touched by every body, without offering to bite. They fometimes would leap upon ftrangers' cloaths, and lie Hill on them, in order to fleep. In the farm-houfes, where they were kept, they played with cats and dogs : they likewife eat bread. THE wild grey fquirrels likewife hold up their tails when fitting. As foon as they perceive a man, they continually wag their tails and begin to gnafh with their teeth, and make a great noife, which they do not readily give over. Thofe who go a {hooting birds and other animals, are therefore very angry at them, as this noife dif- covers them, and alarms the game. Though a grey fquirrel does not feem to be very {hy, yet it is very difficult to kill ; for when it perceives 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 faft round the tree, yet the fquirrel changes its place as quickly, if not quicker j if two boughs bend to- wards each other, the fquirrel lies in the middle of them, and prefies itfelf fo clofe, that it is hard- mar GermantGWu. 247 ly vifible. You may then (hake the tree, throw" flicks and ftones to the place where it lies, or fhoot at it, yet it will never ftif. If three branches join, it takes refuge between them, and lies as clofe to them as poffible, and then it is fufficiently fafe. Sometimes it efcapes on a tree, where there are old nefts of fquirrels, or of large birds : it flips into fuch, and cannot be got out, either by (hooting, throwing, or any thing elfe ; for the grey fquirrels feldom leap from one tree to another, except extreme danger compels them. They commonly run directly up the trees, and down the fame way, with their head ftraight for- ward. Several of them which I (hot in the woods had great numbers of fleas. I HAVE already mentioned, that thefe fquir- rels are among the animals, which at prefent are more plentiful than they formerly were, and that the infinitely greater cultivation of maize, which is their favourite food, is the caufe of their mul- tiplication. However, it is peculiar, that in fome years a greater number of fquirrels come down from the higher countries into Penfylvania, and other Englifo 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 flore-holes, ia order to be fufficiently provided with food for winter. They are fo diligent in ftoring up of provifions, that though the nuts have been ex- tremely plentiful this year, yet it is difficult to get a confiderable quantity of them. The peo- ple here pretended, from their own experience, to know, that when the fquirrels came down in R 4 fucK 248 November 1748. fuch numbers from the higher parts of the coun- try, the winter enfuing was uncommonly rigor- ous 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 experienced in the autumn of the year 1749 : at that time a great number of fquirrels came down into the colonies, yet the winter was very mild, and no colder than common. But it appeared that their migration was occafioned by the fcarcity of nuts and acorns, which happened that year in the higher parts of the country, and obliged them to come hither for their food. Therefore they generally return the next year to the place from which they came. SOME people reckon fquirrel flefh a great dainty, but the generality make no account of it. The fkin is good for little, yet fmall ftraps are fome - times made of it, as it is very tough : others ufe it as a furr lining, for want of a better. Ladies fhoes are likewife fometimes made of it. THE Rattle-fnake often devours the fquirrels, notwithflanding all their agility. This un- weildy creature is faid to catch fo agile an one, merely by fafcination. I have never had an op- portunity of feeing how it is done : but fo many credible people affured me of the truth of the faft, and afferted that they were prefent, and paid peculiar attention to it, that I am almoft forced to believe their unanimous accounts. The fafcination is effected in the following manner: the fnake lies at the bottom of the tree upon which the fquirrel fits ; its eyes are fixed upon the little animal, and from that moment it cannot efcape; it Ptnfy/vanJa, near Germantown. 249 it begins a doleful outcry, which is fo well known, that a perfon paffing by, on hearing it* immediately knows that it is charmed 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 ob- ferved, 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 fquir- rel, with which its attention is fo entirely taken up, that a perfon accidentally approaching, may make a considerable noife, without the fnake's fo much as turning about. The fquirrel as before- mentioned comes always lower, and at laft leaps down to the fnake, whofe mouth is already wide open for its reception. The poor little animal then with a piteous cry runs into 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 by that means makes it fit for fwal- lowing. Every thing elfe remarkable at this en- chantment, I have defcribed in a treatife infert- ed in the Memoirs of the Royal Swedijh Acade- my of Sciences, in the Volume for the year 1753, I therefore am not fo circumftantial here. The fame power of enchanting is afcribed to that kind of fnake, which is commonly called the black fnake in America, and it is faid to catch and de- vour fquirrels in the fame manner as the for- mer *. BUT *!T has been obferved,that only fuch fquirrels and birds as have their nefts near the place where iuch fnakes come to, make this pit!* 250 November 1748. BUT thefe little animals do coniiderable da* mage to the maize, not only whilft it is upon the ftalk, as I have before obferved, but even when it is brought home into the barns : for if they can come at it without any obftacle, they can in a few nights bring a whole bumel away into their lurking holes. The government, in moft of trie North American colonies, has therefore been o- bliged 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 fquirrels heads, in the province of Pettjghania only, from the firft of 'January 1 749, to the firfl of January 1750; forwhen the deputies from the feveral diftricls of the pro- vince met, in order to deliberate upon the affairs of the province, each of them complained that their treafuries were exhaufted by paying fo much for fquirrels ; for at that time the law had ap- pointed a reward of three pence for each fquir- rel's head. So far extended the vengeance taken upon thefe little creatures, i. e. upon the grey and black fquirrels. It was found, by cafting up accounts, that in that one year eight thoufand pounds of Penjyhania currency had been expend- ed in paying thefe rewards : this I was affured of pitiful noife, and arefo bafy in running, up and down the tree and the neighbouring branches, in order to draw off the attention of the fnake from their brood, and often they come fo very near in order to flyaway again, that being within reach of the fnakes, they are at laft bit, poifoned, and devoured ; and this will, I believe, perfectly account for the powers of fafcinating birds and fmall creatures in the fnakes. F. by Penfyfoania? near Germantonvn. 25 L by a man who had looked over the accounts him- felf. MANY people, efpecially young men, left all other employment, and went into the woods to {hoot fquirrels ; but the government, having ex- perienced how much three pence per head took out of the treafury, fettled half that fum upon each fquirrel's head. FLYING SQJJIRRELS are a peculiar kind, which feem to be the fame with thofe which in- habit Finland, and which Dr. Linnceus, in his Fauna Svecica, N 3?, calls Sciurus volant. The American flying fquirrel at the utmoft is only a variety of that which we have in Finland. Catef- by y in his Natural Hijiory of Carolina, Vol. 2, p. 76, 77, has defcribed it, and tab. 76, 77, drawn it after life. He likewife calls it Sciurus volant. Edwards in his Natural Eiftory of Birds repre- fents 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 almofl all night. They live in hollow trees, and by cut- ting one down, feven or more flying fquirrels are frequently found in it. By the additional Ikin with which Providence has provided them on both fides, they can fly from one tree to another. They expand their fkins like wings, and contract 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 afferted that they firft went a little downwards, and then rofe up 4 252 November 1748* again, when they approached the tree to which they would fly : they cannot fly further than fouf or five fathoms. Among all the fquirrels in this country, thefe are the moft eafily tamed. The boys carry them to fchcol, or wherever they go, without their ever attempting to efcape : if even they put their fquirrel afide, it leaps upon them again immediately, creeps either into their bo- ibm, or their fleeve, or any fold of the clothes, and lies down to fleep: its food is the fame with that of the grey fquirrel. THERE is a fmall fpeciesof fquirrels abound- ing in the woods, which the Englijh call ground Squirrels. Cafe/by has defcribed and drawn them from life, in the ad Vol. of his Natural Hiftory of Carolina,, p. 75, tab. 75, and 'Edwards in his Natural Hiftory of Birds, t. 181.* He and Dr. Ijihmeifi call it Sciurus ftriatus, or the ftreaked 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 commonly further inwards divide into many branches. They are alfo cunning enough to make fometimes an opening or hole to the furface * As Catejby and Edwards have both reprefcnted the flying Squir- rel in a fitting attitude, I have given here, plate I. a figure of ong with the expanded membrane, and joined to it on the fame plate, a more accurate figure of the ground Squirrel. IT is not yet made out with certainty, whether the American flying fquirrel, and that found in Finland, and in the north of Eu- rope and Afia* be the fame animal. The American kind has a fiat pennated tail, but the European kind a round one, which affords * diftinguilhing character. F. of Penfyhania, near Germantown. 253 of the ground from one of thefe branches. The advantage they have from hence, is, that when they ftroll about for food, and the hole is ftopt up through which they went out, they may not ex- pofe themfelves to be caught, but prefently find the other hole, into which they may retreat: but in autumn, when the leaves fall from the trees, or fome time after, it is diverfion to fee the con.- fternation 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 i they feem to know the places where they have made their fubterraneous 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 up- on a tree ; for it is to be obferved that thefe fquir- rels always live under ground, and never climb upon trees unlefs purfued, and unable in the hur- ry to find their holes. This kind of fquirrels is much more numerous in Penfyhania, than in any other province of North America through which I have travelled. Its length is commonly fix inches, without the curved tail ; and it is ve- ry narrow. The fkin 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 confifts of all forts of corn, as rye, barley, wheat, maize, and of acorns, nuts, &c. They gather their winter provifions in autumn, like the common grey fquirrels, and keep them in their holes under ground. 254 November 1748. 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 bit- ing off the ears, an'd filling the pouches in their mouth with corn, fo that their cheeks are quite blown up. With this booty they haften into the holes which they have made in the ground. As a Swede was making a mill -dyke, pretty late in autumn, he employed for that purpofe the foil of a neighbouring hill, and met with a hole on a fub terra neons walk belonging to thefe fquirrels : he followed it for fome time, and difcovered a walk on one fide like a branch, part- ing from the chief ftem : it was near two feet long, and at its end was a quantity of choice acorns of the white oak, which the little careful animal had ftored up for winter. Soon after he found another walk on the fide like the former, but containing a fine (lore of maize : the next had hiccory nuts, and the laft and moft hidden one contained fome excellent chefnuts, which Plight have filled two hats. IN winter thefe fquirrels are feldom feen, for during that feafon they live in their fubterraneous holes, upon the provisions which they have ftored up there, However on a very fine and clear day they ibfnetimes come out. They frequently dig through the ground, into cellars in which the country people lay up their apples, which they partly eat, and partly fpoil, fo that the maf- ter Penfyfoama, Philadelphia. 255 ter has little or nothing left. They handle the maize ftores full as roughly as the apples. But the cats a-re 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 arc the moft difficult to be tamed; for, though they be caught very young, yet it is dangerous to touch them with naked hands, as they bite very {harp when one is 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 another opportunity of fpeaking of the black and ferruginous fquirrels, which likewife inhabit this country. Nov. J 5th. IN the morning I returned toP/6/- ladelphia. Mr. Cock told me to-day, and on forne other occafions afterwards, an accident which hap- pened to him, and which feemed greatly to con- firm a peculiar fign of an imminent hurricane. He failed to the Weft Indies in a fmall yacht, and had an old man on board, who had for a confidera- ble time failed in this fea. The old man founding the depth, called to the mate to tell Mr. Cock to launch the boats immediately, and to put a fuf- ficient number of men into them, in brder to tow the yacht during the calm, that they might reach 1748* reach the ifland before them, as foon as poffible, as within twenty-four hours there would be a ftrong hurricane. Mr. Cock aflced him what reafons he had to think fo, the old man replied, that on founding, he faw the lead in the water at a dit* tance of many fathoms more than he had feen it before ; and that therefore the water was become clear all of a fudden, which he looked upon as a certain fign of an impending hurricane in the fea. Mr. Cock like wife faw the exceffive clearnefs of the water. He therefore gave immediate orders for launching the boat, and towing the yacht, fo that they arrived before night in a fafe harbour. But before they hacj quite reached it the waves began to rife more and more, and the water was as it were boiling, though no wind was percep- tible. In the enfuing night the hurricane came on, and raged with fuch violence, that not only many (hips were loft, and the roofs were torn off from the houfes, but even Mr. Cock's yacht and other (hips, though they were in fafe harbours, were by the wind, and the violence of the fea, wafhed fo far on fhore, that feveral weeks elapled before they could be got off. AN old Dutch flapper faid, that he had once caught a dogfifh in the bay of New Tork, which being cut open, had a quantity of eels in his fto- mach. Nov. 1 8th. MR. Bar tram (hewed rne an earthen pot, which had been found in a place where the Indians formerly lived. He, who firft dug it out, kept greafe and fat in it to frnear his fhoes, boots, and all forts of leather with : Mr. Ear tram bought the pot of that man; it was yet entire Penfyfcania, Philadelphia. 257 efttire and not damaged : I could perceive no glaze or colour upon it, but on the outfide it was very much ornamented, and upon the whole well made. Mr. Bdrtram (hewed me feveral pieces of broken earthen veflels which the Indians for-* merly made ufe of. It plainly appeared in all thefe that they were not made of mer^ clay; but that different materials had been mixed with it, according to the nature of the places where they were made. Thofe Indians, for example, who lived near the fea-fhore, pounded the ihells of fnails and mufcles, and mixed them with the clay. Others who lived further up in the coun- try, where mountain cryftals could be found, pounded them and mixed them with their clay; . but how they proceeded in making the veflels, 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 workmanfhip however feems to have been very good; for at prefent they find whole vef- fels or pieces in the ground, which are not da- maged at all, though they have lain in the ground above a century. Before the Europeans fettled in North America, the Indians had no other veffels . to boil their meat in, than thefe earthen pots of their own making: but fmce their arrival, they have always bought pots, kettles, and other ne- ceflary veflels, of the Europeans, and take no longer the pains of making fome, by which means this art is entirely loft among them. Such veflels of their own conftruction are therefore a great rarity even among the Indians. I have feen fuch old pots s and pieces of them, coniifting of a VOL. I. S kind 258 November 1748. kind of Serpentine Jlone, or Ltnnauss Talcum, Syft. nat. 3. p. 52. MR. Bartram likewife fhewed me little pieces of a black flate, 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 JIate (Schijlus tabularis Linn.) Syft. nat. 3. p. 37. except that this is a little thicker. The inhabitants of the country thereabouts (in the neighbourhood of the Skulfkill) cover their roofs with it ; Mr. Bartram affured me, that he had feen a whole roof compofed of four fuch flates. The rays of the fun, heat, cold, and rain do not ad: upon the ftone. MR. Bartram further related, that in feveral 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 Stalactites, Linnaus's Stalaffites ftil!a~ titius. Syft. nat. 3. p. 183. of different dimen- fions at the top; they differed in colour, but the greateft curiofity was, that in fome of the caves Mr. Bartram had found Stalactites, whofe out- ward fide was as it were wreathed from top to bottom ; he had fent fome pieces of it to Lon- don, and had none at prefent. Nov. 2oth. THIS morning I fet out in com- pany of a friend, on a journey to Raccoon in New Jcrfey, 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 New Je>Jey\ 259 river were overflowed at every high water or flowing of the tide, and at the ebbing they were left dry again. However the inhabitants of the country hereabouts made ufe of this plain : for that purpofe they had in feveral places thrown Up walls or dykes of earth towards the river, to prevent its overflowing the plains, which they made ufe of as meadows. On them the vFater- beeches (Platanus accident alls Linn.) were ptan-ed in great numbers on both fides the road, quite clofe together : thefe in fummer afford a plea- fant fhade, on account of the abundance and lize of their leaves, and make the road extremely delightful, 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 built on both fides, where travellers might get all kinds of refrefliment. On our jour- ney from Penfyhania to New Jerfey, we were brought over the Delaware in a ferry belonging to the Penfyhania-men\ but on our return we were obliged to v take the ferry belonging to the New yerjey fide. As foon as we had croffed the river, we were in a different province; for the De- laware makes the divifion between Per.fi:vania and New Jsrfey, 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 moil things different laws, and their peculiar coin. WE now purfued our journey farther, and foon obferved that the country on this fide ap- peared very different from that on the other j for inPenfyhania the ground confifts of more clay S 2 and 260 November 1748. and black mould, and is very fertile ; but in New "Jerfty it is more fandy and very poor, fo that the horfes went very deep in fand in feveral parts of the road. Near the place where we were brought over, and a little way along the (hore, was a thick fir wood : the trees were not very high, but in their greateft vigour ; between them appeared now and then a low bum of oak. But after travelling about three Englijh miles, the fir wood ended, and we faw no more trees of this kind till we came to the church in Raccoon. In all the parts of Penfyfoania where I have been, I have found few fir woods ; on the other hand, they are abundant in New Jerfey, and eipecially in the lower part of that province. We afterwards found all the day long no other trees, than fuch as have deci- duous leaves; moft of thefe were oaks of differ- ent forts, and of considerable 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 fhrabs or underwood between the trees, to obflrucT: the way. In feveral places flowed a fmall rivulet. The country was commonly plain, but fome- times formed a few hills with an eafy declivity, though no high mountains appeared, and in a few places we found fome fmall (tones not bigger than a fift. Single farm houfes were fcattered in the country, and in one place only was a fmall vil- lage : the country was yet more covered with forefts than cultivated, and we were for the greateft part always in a wood. THIS day and the next we pafled feveral Kills, or fmall rivulets, which flowed out of the coun- try into the Delaware with no great defcent nor rapidity. New Jerfey. 261 rapidity. When the tide came up in the De/a~ 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 deep peaceably. Some Eng- lifhmen related, that fomeyears ago it had been cufto- mary in London to drink a kind of tea of the flowers of iaffafras, becaufe it was looked upon as very ialutary -, but upon recollecting that the fame po- tion was much ufed againft the venereal difeafe, it was foon left off, left thofe that ufed it, fhould be looked upon as infeded with that difeafe. In Penfyhania fome people put chips of faflafras in- to their cherts, where they keep all forts of woollen fluffs, in order to expel the moths (or Larvtfy or caterpillars of moths or tinies) which commonly 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 flill preferved the flrength of its fcent. A SWEDE, named Ramlo> related that the In-* dians formerly dyed all forts of leather red with the bark of the chefnutoak. Nov. 22d. AOKE HELM was one of the moil considerable Swedes in this place, and his father came over into this country along with the Swcdijh governor Prince ; he was upwards of fe- venty 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 leffened at pre- lent, that the cattle hardly find food enough, and that therefore four cows now give no more milk thau New Jerfey, Raccoon. 269 than one at that time ; but the caufes of thisalte-- ration are eafy to find. In the younger years of old Helm, the country was little inhabited, and hardly the tenth part of the cattle kept which is at prefent ; a cow had therefore as much food at that time, as ten now have. Further, moft kinds of grafs here are annual, and do not for fe- veral years together moot up from the fame root, as our Swdtfo graffes : they muft fow themfelves every year, becaufe the laft year's plant dies away every autumn. The great numbers of cattle hin- der this fowing, as the grafs is eaten before it can produce flowers and fruit. We need not there- fore wonder that the grafs is fo thin on fields, hills, andpaftures in thefe provinces. This is likewife the reafon why travellers in New Jerfey, Penfyhania, and Maryland, find many difficul- ties, efpecially in winter, to get forwards with their own horfes, for the grafs in thefe provinces is not very abundant, becaufe the cattle eat it be- fore it can bring feeds : but more to the north, as in Canada, are a fufficient quantity of peren- nial graffes ; fo wifely has the Creator regu- lated every thing. The cold parts of the earth naturally bring forth a more durable grafs, becaufe the inhabitants want more hay to feed their cattle with, on account of the length of the winter. The Ibuthern provinces again have- lefs perennial grafs, as the cattle may be in the fields all the winter. However careful cecono- mifts have got feeds of perennial graffes from England, and other European ftates, and fowed it in their meadows, where they feem to thrive exceedingly well, THB 2jo November 1743* THE Perjimon (T^iofpyros Virginiana) was pretty common here : I have already mentioned it before, but I intend now to add fome more particulars. Some of its fruits began to ripen and to become fit for eating about this time, for they always ripen very late in autumn, and then the people eat them like other fruit : they are ve- ry fweet and glutinous, yet have a little aftrin* gency ; I frequently ufed to eat a great quantity of them, without feeling the leaft inconvenience. From the perfimon feveral Engliflmen and Swedes brew a very palatable liquor, in the following manner. As foon as the fruit is ripe, afufficient quantity is gathered, which is very eafy, as each tree is well flocked with them. Thefe perfimon apples are put into a dough of wheat or other flour, formed into cakes, and put into an oven, in which they continue till they are quite baked, and fufficiently dry, when they are taken out again : then, in order to brew the liquor, a pot full of water is put on the fire, and fome of the cakes are put in : thefe become foft by degrees as the water grows warm, and crumble in pieces at laft; the pot is then taken from the fire, and the water in it well ftirred about, that the cakes may mix with it : this is then poured into another vef* lei, and they continue to fteep and break as many eakes as are necefiary for a brewing : the malt is then infufed, and they proceed as uiual with the brewing. Beer thus prepared is reckoned much preferable to other beer. They likewife make brandy of this fruit in the following manner ; having collected a fufficient quantity of perfimons in autumn, they are all together putinto a veffel,. where New Jerfey, "Raccoon. 271 where they lie for a week till they are quite foft : then they pour water on them, and in that ftate they are left to ferment of themfelves, without promoting the fermentation hy any addition. The brandy is then made in the common way, and is faid to be very good, efpechlly if grapes (in particular of the fweet fort) which are wild in the woods, be mixed with the pedimon fruit. Some perfimons are ripe at the end of September, but moft of them later, and feme not before No- vender and December , when the cold firft over- comes their acrimony. The wood of this tree is very good for joiners inftruments, fuch as planes, handles to chiffels, &c. but if after being cut down, it lies expofed to fuafhine and rain, it is the firft wood which rots, and in a year's time there is nothing left but what is ufelefs. When the perfimon trees get once into a field they are not eafily got out of it again, as they fpread fo much. I was told, that if you cut off a branch, and put it into the ground, it ftrikes root ; but in very ftrong winters, theie trees often die by froft, and they, together with the peach trees, bear cold the leaft of any. Nov. 23d. SEVERAL kinds of gourds and melons are cultivated here : they have partly been originally cultivated by the Indians, and partly brought over by Europeans. Of the gourds there was a kind which were crooked at the end, and oblong in general, and therefore they were called crocked necks (Crocknacks ;) they keep almoft all winter. There is yet another fpecies of gourds which have the fame quality : others again are cut in pieces or flips, drawn upon thread, and dried ; 2jz November 1748* dried ; they keep all the year long, and are then boiled or ftewed. All forts of gourds are prepar- ed for eating in different manners, as is likewife cuftomary in Sweden. Many farmers have a whole field of gourds. SQUASHES are a kind of gourds, which the Europeans got from the Indians, and I have al- ready mentioned them before. They are eaten boiled, either with flefh or by themfelves. In the firft cafe, they are put on the edge of the difli round .the meat ; they require little care, for in- to whatever ground they are fown, they grow m it and fucceed well. If the feed is put into the fields in autumn, it brings fquafhes next ipring, though during winter it has fuffered from froit, fnow, and wet. THE Calabajhes are likewife gourds, which are planted in quantities by the Swedes and other in- habitants, but they are not fit for eating, and are made ufe of for making all forts of veffels ; they are more tender than the fquaflies, for they do not always ripen here, and only when the weather is very warm. In order to make veffels of them, they are firft dried well ; the feeds, together with the pulpy and fpungy matter in which they lie, are afterwards taken out and thrown away j the (hells are fcraped very clean within, and then great fpoons or ladles, funnels, bowls, difhes, and the like, may be made of them : they are particularly fit for keeping feeds of plants in, which are to be fent over fea, for they keep their power of ve- getating much longer, if they be put in calabafh- es, than by any other means. Some people fcrnpe the outfide of the calabafhes before they arc New Jerfey, Raccoon. 273 are opened, dry them aftefwaras, and theh clean them within ; this makes them as hard as bones : they are fometimes wafhed, fo that they always keep>their white colour. MOST of" the farmers in this country, fovv Buck-wheat, in the middle of July; it muft not be fown later, for in that cafe the frofl ruins it ; but if it be fown before July, it flowers all the fummer long, but the flowers drop, and no feed is generated. Some people plough the ground twice where they intend 'to fow buck-wheat; others plough it only once, about two weeks be- fore they fow it. As foon as it is fown the field is harrowed. It has been found by experience, that in a wet year buck- wheat has been moft like- ly to fucceed : it ftands on the fields till the frofc comes on. When the crop is favourable, they get twenty, thirty, and even forty bufliels from one. The Swedijh churchwarden Raghil/on\ in \vhofe houfe we were at this time, had got fucli a crop : they make buck-wheat cakes and pud- ding. The cakes are commonly made in the morning, and are baked in a frying pan, or on a (tone: are buttered and then eaten with tea or coffee, in (lead of loaded bread with butter, or toaft, which iheEng/i/b commonly eat at brcakfoft. The buck- wheat cakes are very good, and ere likewife uiual at Philadelphia and in other llnglijh Colonies, efpecially in winter. Buck-wheat is nn excellent food for fowls ; they eat it greedily, and lay more eggs, than they do with other food; Logs are likewife fattened with it. Bv.ck.-v/heat ftravv is of no uTe ; it is therefore left upon 'the field, in the places where it has been tbrfafhed, or VOL. I. T it 274 November 1748. it is fcattered in the orchards, in order to ferve as a manure by putrifying. Neither cattle nor any other animal will eat of it, except in the greateft neceffity, when the fnow covers the ground, and nothing elfe is to be met with. But though buck- wheat is fo common in the Englijh colonies, yet the French had no right notion of it in Canada, and it was never cultivated among them. TOWARDS night we found fome Glow Worms in the wood : their body was linear, confiding 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 articulations joined in the fame manner as in the onifci or woodlice. The antennae or feel horns were fliort and filiform, or thread-fhaped ; and the feet were fattened to the foremofl articu- lations of the body : when the infed: creeps, its hindmoft articulations are dragged on the ground, and help its motion. The extremity of the tail contains a matter which mines in the dark, with a green light : the in fed: could draw it in, fo that it was not viiible. It had rained confiderably all day, yet they crept in great numbers among the bufhes, fo that the ground feemed as it were Town with ftars. I (hall in the fequel have occafion to mention another kind of infeds or flies which fhine in the dark, when flying in the air. Nov. 24th. HOLLY, or Ilex Aquifolium, grows in wet places, fcattered in the foreft, and belongs to the rare trees4..its leaves are green both in fummer and in vyinter. Tke Swedes dry its leaves, bruife them in a mortar, boil them in imall beer, and take them againft the pleurify. c RED New yerfey. Raccoon. 275 RED is dyed with brazil wood, and likewife with a kind of mofs, which grows on the trees here \ blue is dyed with Indigo - y but to get a black colour, the leaves of the common field forrel (Rumex Acetofella) are boiled with the ftuff to be dyed, which is then dried, and boiled again with logwood and copperas : the black colour thus pro- duced, is faid to be very durable. The people 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 com- mon. RYE, wheat, and buck- wheat are cut with the fickle, but oats are mown with a fcythe. The fickles which are here made ufe of are long and narrow, and their fharp 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 higheft to the loweft, have each their orchard, which is greater or lefs according to 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 fubject before. A LITTLE before noon we left this place, and continued our journey, paft the Swedifo church ia Raccoon, to Pcils groves. The coun- try, on the fides of this road, is very fandy in many places, and pretty near level. Here and there appear fingle farms, yet they are very fcarce; and large exteniive pieces of ground are ftill co- vered with forefts, which chiefly confift of feve- T 2 ral 276 November 1748. ral fpecies of oak and hiccory. However we could go with eafe through thefe woods, as there are few bufhes (or under-wood) and ftones to be met with. It was not only eafy to ride in every part of the wood on horfeback, but even in moft places there was fufficient room for a fmall coach or a cart. Nov. 25th. DURING my ftay at Raccoon, at time and all the enfuing winter, I endeavour- ed to get the moft information from the old Swedes relating to the increafe of land, and the decreafe of water in thefe parts ; I fhall therefore infert the anfwers here, which I have received to my queflions. They are as I got them -, and I fhall 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 con- clufions. ONE of the Swedes called King, who was a- bove fifty years of age, was convinced, that a- bout this time the little lakes, brooks, fprings, and rivers had much lefs water, than they had when he was a boy. He could mention feveral lakes on which the people went in large boats in his youth, and had fufficient water even in the hotteil fummers j 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 fifh dying in them ; and he was apt to believe that at this time it did not rain fu much in fummer, 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 : New Jerfcy, Raccoon. 277 . yard : at the depth of forty feet, they found a quantity of {hells of oyilers 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 ; aad I was an- fwered, that fome people believed thefe things had lain there ever fmce the deluge, and others, that the ground increafed. PETER RAMBO, a man who was near fixty years of age, aflured me, that in feveral places at Raccoon, where wells had been dug, or any other work carried deep into the ground, he had feen great quantities of mufcle ihells and other marine animals. On digging wells, the people have fometimes met with logs of wood at the depth of twenty feet, fome of which were putrified, and others as it were burnt. They once found a great fpoon in the ground at this depth. Query, Is it not probable, that the burnt wood which has been thus dug up, was only blackened by a fub- terraneous mineral vapour ? People however have concluded from this, that America has had inha- bitants before the deluge. This man (Peter RamboJ 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 ftate have had the appearance of bricks? I have feen fuch hardened clay, which at firft fight is eafily miftaken for brick. He likewife aflerted, 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 T3 marfhes 278 November 1748. marfhes are vifibly decreafed, and many of them dried up. MAONS KEEN, a Swede, above feventy years old, aflerted, 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 com- monly covers the fhores of falt-water bays and coves. This clay had a fimilar fmell and a feline tafte. Mams Keen, and feveral other people, in- ferred from hence, that the whole country, where Raccoon and Penn's neck are fituated, was anciently quite overflowed by the fea. They likewife knew, that, at a great depth in the ground, fuch a trowel, as the Indians make ufe of, had been found. SVEN 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 rotten, at the depth of twenty or thirty feet and up- wards. As Cobb made a well for himfelf, the work- men, after digging twenty feet deep, came upon fo thick a branch, that they could not get for- wards, 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 fome years ago, along the river on which the church at Raccoon ftands j and for that pur- pofe cutting through a bank, it was found quite fall of oyfter {hells, though this place is above a hundred and twenty Englijh miles from the neareft New Jerfey, Raccoon. 279 neareft fea fhore. Thefe men, and all the inha- bitants of Raccoon, concluded from this circum- fiance (of their own accord, and without being led to the thought) that this tra6t of land was a part of the fea many centuries ago. They like- v/ife aflerted, that many little lakes, which in their youth were full of water, even in the hot- teft feafon, now hardly formed a narrow brook in fummer, except after heavy rains j 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 feveral pieces of mundick or pyrites. He 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 an Englijh mile in length. Thefe iflands derive their origin from a find or bank in the river; on this the water wafhes fome clay, in which rufoes come up, and thus the reft is ge- nerated by degrees. ON a meeting of the oldeft Swedes in the pa- rifh of Raccoon, I obtained the following anfwers to the queftions which I afked them on this ac- count. Whenever they dig a well in this neigh- bourhood, 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 of large fhells, which are found in bays, and of which the Indians make T 4 their 2 8 o November 1748. their money. 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 flax was brought up, found between twenty and thirty feet under ground ; it feemed as little damaged as if it had been lately put under ground ; all looked at it with aftonifliment, as it was beyond conception how it could get there : but I believe the good people few fome American plants, fuch as the wild Virginian flax, or Linum Virginiamim, and the Antirrhinum Canadenje, which look very like .common flax; yet it is remarkable that the bundle was really tied together. The Europeans, on their arrival in America, found our common flax neither growing wild nor cultivated by the Indians, how then could this bundle get into the ground ? Can it be fuppofed, that pall ages have feen a nation here, fo early acquainted with the life of flax ? I would rather abide by the opi- nion, that the above American plants, or other fimilar ones, have been taken for flax. Char- coal and fire-brands have often been found under ground ; The Siytdfo church-warden, Eric Rag- nilfon, told me that he had feen a quantity of them, which had been brought up at the digging of a well : on fuch occafions, people have often found (at the depth of between twenty and fifty feet) great branches and blocks. There were fome ipots where, twenty feet under the furface of the earth, the people had found fuch trowels as the Indians ufe : from thefe obfervations they all concluded, that this trad: of land had for- merly been the bottom of the fea. It is to he obferved f New Jerfey, Raccoon. 281 obferved, that moft of the wells which have hi- therto been made, have been dug in new fettle- ments, where the wood was yet ftanding, and had probably flood for centuries together. From the obfervations which have hitherto been men- tioned, and to which I fhall add fimilar ones in the fequel, we may, with a confiderable degree of certainty, conclude, that a great part of the province of New Jerfey, in ages unknown to pofterity, was part of the bottom of the fea, and was afterwards formed by the flime and mud, and the many other things which the river Dela- ware carries down along with it, from the upper parts of the country : however, Cape May feems to give fome occafion for doubts, of which I (hall Jlpeak in the fequel. Nov. 27th. THE American ever -greens are, 1. Ilex Aquifoltum, holly. 2. Kalmia latifolia, thefpoon tree. 3. Kalmia angnftifolia, another fpecies of it. 4. Magnolia glauca> the beaver tree. The young trees of this kind only keep their leaves, the others drop them. 5. Vifcum album* or mifletoe; this commonly grows upon the Nyjja aquatica, or tupelo tree, upon the Liqiiidambar flyracijlua, or fweet gum tree, the oak and lime tree, fo that their whole fummits were frequently quite green in winter. 6. Myrica cerifera, or the candleberry tree ; of this however only fome of the youngeft fhrubs preferve fome leaves, but moft of them had al- ready loft them. 7. Pinus Abies, the pine, 8. Pinus 282 November 1748. 8. Pinutfyheftris, the fir. 9. Cuprefftts tbyoides, the white cedar. 10. Juni perns Virginiana, 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 Ca- rolina. Nov. 3Oth. IT has been obfervcd, that the Europeans in North America, whether they were born in Sweden, England, Germany, or Holland ; or in North America, of European parents -, al- ways loft their teeth much fooner than common ; the women efpecially were fubjedt to this dif- agreeable circumftance ; the men did not fuffer fo much from it. Girls not above twenty years old, frequently had loft half of their teeth, with- out any hopes of getting new ones : I have at- tempted to penetrate into the caufes of this early fliedding of the teeth, but I know not whether I have hit upon a true one. Many people were of opinion that the air of this country hurt the teeth : fo much is certain, that the weather can no where be fubjeft to more frequent and fudden changes ; for the end of a hot day often turns out piercing cold, and vice verfa. Yet this change of weather cannot be looked upon as having any effed: upon the fhedding of the teeth, for the Indians prove the contrary : they live in the fame air, and always keep fine, entire white teeth ; this I have feen myfelf, and have been affured of by every body : others afcribe it to the great quantities of fruit and fweetmeats which are here eaten. But I have known many people, who New Jerjey, "Raccoon. 283 who never eat any fruit, and neverthelefs had hardly a tooth left. I THEN began to fufpeft the tea, which is drank here in the morning and afternoon, efpe- cially by women, and is fa common at prefent, that there is hardly a farmer's wife, or a poor woman, who does not drink tea in the morning: I was confirmed in this opinion, when I took a journey through fome parts of the country which were ftill inhabited by Indians. For Major General Johnfon told me at that time, that fe- veral of the Indians, who lived clofe to the Eu- ropean fettlements, had learnt to drink tea. And it has been obfef ved, that fuch of the Indian wo- men, as ufed themfelves too much to this liquor, had, in the fame manner as the "European women, loft their teeth prematurely, though they had formerly been quite found. Thofe again, who had not ufed tea, preferved their teeth ftrong and found to a great age. I AFTERWARDS found, that the ufe of tea could not entirely caufe this accident. Several young women, who lived in this country, but were born in Europe, complained that they loft moft of their teeth after they came to America : I afked, whether 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 cor- rodes the teeth j but they anfwered, that they had loft their teeth before they had began to drink tea ; but, continuing my enquiries, I found at laft a fufficient caufe to account for the lofs of their teeth : each of thefe women owned, that they were accuftomed to eat every thing hot, and nothing 284 November 1748. nothing was good, in their opinion, unlefs they could eat it as faft as it came from the fire. This is likewife the cafe with the women i:- the coun- try, who lofe their teeth much fooner and more abundantly than the men. They drink tea in greater quantity, and much oftener, in the morn- ing, and even at noon, when the employment of the men will not allow them to fit at the tea- table. Befides that, the Englijhmen care very little for tea, and a bowl of punch is much more agreeable to them. When the Englijh women drink tea, they never pour it out of the cup into the fauccr, but drink it hot as it is out of the former. The Indian women, in imitation 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 juft milk warm. I ASKED the Swediflo church-warden in Phi- ladelphia, Mr. Eengtfon, and a number of old Swedes, whether their parents and countrymen had likewife loft their teeth as foon as the Ame- rican colonifts ; but they told me that they had preferved them to a very great age. Bengtfon afTured me, that his father, at the age of feventy, cracked peach ftones and the black walnuts with his teeth, notwithftanding their great hardnefs, 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 New Jerfey, Raccoon. 2 5$ it often happens, that a perfon who has had a tertian ague, after lofing it for a week or two, gets a quotidian ague in its ftead, which, after a while, again changes into a tertian. The fever commonly attacks the people at the end of Au~ gujiy or beginning of September, and commonly continues during autumn and winter, till towards fpring, when it ceafes entirely. STRANGERS who arrive here, commonly are attacked by this ficknefs the firft or fecond year after their arrival ; and it is more violent upon them, than upon the natives, fo that they fome- times die of it ; but if they efcape the firft time, they have the advantage of not being viiited again the next year, or perhaps never any more. It is commonly faid here, that ftrangers, get the fever to accuftom them to the climate. The natives, of European offspring, have annual fits of this ague in fome parts of the country : fome, how- ever, are foon delivered from it; with others, on the contrary, it continues for fix months toge- ther, and others are afflicted with it till they die. The Indians alfo fuffer it, but not fo violently as the Europeans. No age is fecured againft it : in thofe places where it rages annually, you fee old men and women attacked with it; and even children in the cradle, fometimes 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 afflicted 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 remarkable, that every year there are November 1748. are great parts of the country where this feve? rages, and others where fcarce a lingle perfon has been taken ill. It likewife is worth notice, that there are places where the people cannot remem- ber that it formerly prevailed in their country, though at prefent it begins to grow more com- mon : yet there was no other vifible difference between the feveral places. All the old Swedes, Englfomen, Germans, &c. unanimoufly afferted, that the fever had never been fo violent, and of fuch continuance, when they were boys, as it is at prefent. They were likewife generally of opinion, that about the year 1680, there were not fo many people affli&ed with it, as about this time. However, others equally old were of opinion, that" the fever was proportionably as common formerly as it is at prefent ; but that it could not at that time be fo fenfibly perceived, on account of the fcarcity of inhabitants, and the great diftance of their fettlements from each other ; it is therefore probable that the effeds of the fever have at all times been equal. IT would be difficult to determine the true caufes of this difeafe 5 they feem to be numerous, and not always alike : fometimes, and, I believe, commonly, feveral of them unite. I have taken all poflible care to found the opinions of the phy- licians here on that head, and I here offer them to the reader. SOME of them think that the peculiar quali- ties of the air of this country caufe this fever ; but moft of them affert, that it is generated by the {landing and putrid water, which it feems is confirmed by experience. For it has been obferved, New Jerfey } Raccoon. 287 cbferved, in this country, that fuch people, as live in the neighbourhood of moraffes or fwamps, or in places where a fbgnant, ftinking water is to be met with, are commonly infefted with the fever and ague every year, and get it more rea- dily than others. And this chiefly happens at a time of the year when thofe ftagnant waters are moft evaporated by the exceffive heat of the fun, and the air is filled with the moft noxious va- pours. 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 ftagnant frem water in the country. Therefore, on tra- velling in fummer, over fuch low places where frefli and fait water unite, the naufeous ftench arifing from thence often forces the traveller to flop his nofe. On that account moft of the. in- habitants of Penris neck, and Salem in New y?r- fey, where the ground has the above-mentioned quality, are annually infefted 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 iQvver parts, he may be well allured that the fever will attack him at the ufual time, and that he will get it again every year, as long as he continues in that country. People of the livelieft complexion, on coming into the low parts of the country, and continuing there for fome time, hive entirely loft their colour and become quite pale. How- ever, this cannot be the fole caufe of the fever, as I have bsea in fcveral parts of the country which had 288 November 1748. had a low fituation, and had ftagnant waters near them, where the people declared they feldom fuffered from this ficknefs ; but thefe places were about two or three degrees more northerly. OTHERS were of opinion that diet did ve- ry, much contribute towards it, and chiefly laid the blame upon the inconfiderate and intempe- rate confumption of fruit. This is particularly the cafe with the Europeans, who come into Ame~ rica 9 and are not ufed to its climate and its fruit ; for thofe who are born here can bear more, yet are not entirely free from the bad effecls of eating too Knuch. I have heard many JLngliJhmen} Ger- mans, and others, fpeak from their own experience on this account; they owned, that they had of- ten tried, and were certain that after eating a wa- ter melon once or twice before they had break- failed, they would have the fever and ague in a few days after. Yet it is remarkable, that the French in Canada told me that fevers were lefs common in that country, though they confum- ed as many water melons as the Ehglifh colonies, and that it had never been pbferved that they oc- cafioned a fever; but that on coming in the hot feafon to the Illinois, an Indian nation which is nearly in the fame latitude with Penjyfaania and New Jcrfey, they could not eat a water melon without feeling the ^making fits of an ague, and that the Indians therefore warned them not to eat of fo dangerous a fruit. Query, Does not this lead us to think that the greater heat in Penfyl- vania, and the country of the Ullrich, which are both five or fix degrees more foutherly than Canada, makes fruit in fome meafure mere dan- gerous ? New Jerfey, Raccoon. 289 gerous ? In the Eng/t/h North American colonies, every countryman plants a number of water me- lons, which are eaten whilft the people make hay, or during the harveft, when they have nothing up- on their ftomachs, in order to cool them during the great heat, as that juicy fruit feems very pro- per to give refrefhment. In the fame manner melons, cucumbers, gourds, fquafhes, mulber- ries, apples, peaches, cherries, and fuch like fruit are eaten here in fummer, and all together contri- bute to the attacks of the ague. BUT that the manner of living contributes greatly towards it, may be concluded from the unanimous accounts of old people, concerning the times of their childhood ; according to which, the inhabitants of thefe parts, were at that time not fubjedl to fo many difeafes as they are at pre- fent, and people were feldom fick. All the old Swedes likewife agreed, that their countrymen, who firft came into North America, attained to a great age, and their children nearly to the fame ; but that their grand children, and great grand chil- dren did not reach the age of their anceftors, and their health was not near fo vigorous and durable. But the Swedes who firft fettled in America, lived very frugally ; they were poor, and could not buy rum, brandy, or other tirong liquors, which they feldom diftilled themfelves, as few of them had a diftilling veflel. However they fometimes had a good ftrong beer. They did not underfland the art of making cyder, which is now fo com- mon in the country: tea, coffee, chocolate, which are at prcient even the country people's daily breakfaft, were wholly unknown to them : mo;'t VOL. I. U of 290 November 1748. of them had never tafted fugar or punch. The tea which is now drank, is either very old, or mixed with all forts of herbs, fb that it no longer deferves the name of tea : therefore it cannot have any good effect 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 after- noon quite boiling hot. The Indians, the off- fpring 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 firft arrival of the Europeans, lived to a very great age. Ac- cording to the common accounts, 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 utter- ly unknown to them ; but fince the Chriftians have taught them to drink thefe liquors, and the Indians have found them too palatable, thofe who cannot refift their appetites, hardly reach half the age of their parents. LASTLY, fome people pretended that thelofs of many odoriferous plants, with which the woods were filled at the arrival of the Europeans, but which the cattle have now extirpated, might be looked upon as a caufe of the greater progrefsof the fever at prefent. The number of thofe ftrong plants occafioned a pleafant fcent to rife in the woods every morning and evening. It is therefore not unreafonable to think, that the noxioufnefs of the effluvia from putrifying fubftances was then prevented, fo that they were not fo dangerous to the inhabitants, SEVERAL New Jerfey, Raccoon. 291 SEVERAL remedies are employed againft this difeafe: the jefuit's bark was formerly a certain one> but at prefent it has not always this effect, though they fell it genuine, and for the very beft. Many people accufed it of leaving fomething nox- ious in the body. Yet it was commonly obferv- ed, that when the bark was good, and it was ta- ken as foon as the fever made its appearance, and before the body was weakened, it was almoft fure to conquer the fever, fo that the cold fits never returned, and no pain or ftiffnefs remained in the limbs ; but when the difeafe is rooted in, and has coniiderably weakened the patients, or they are naturally very weak, the fever leaves them after ufing the jefuit's bark, but returns again in a fort- night's time, and obliges them to take the bark again ; but the confequence frequently is a pain and a ftiffnefs in their limbs, and fometimes ia their bowels, which almoft hinders them from walking : this pain continues for feveral years to- gether, and even accompanies fome to the grave. This bad effect is partly attributed to the bark, which can feldom be got genuine here, and part- ly to the little care which the patients take ia uling the bark. A man of my acquaintance was particularly dexterous in expelling the ague by the ufe of the jefuit's bark. His manner of proceed- ing was as follows : when it was pcffible, the pa- tient muft ufe the remedy as foon as the fever be- gun, and before it was fettled in his body : but before, he took the medicine, he was to take a diaphoretic remedy, as that had been found ve- ry falutary ; and as the fever is frequently of fuch a nature here, as not to make the patient U 2 fweat, 292 ffovtffifer 1748. Iweat, even when the hot fit is upon him, a per- fpiration was to be brought about by fome other means. To that purpofe the patient took his dole on the day when he had his cold fit, and was not allowed 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 continued fo till the perfpiration ceafed, and then left the bed in a hot room, and wafhed his body with milk- warm water, in order to cleanfe it from the impurities that fettled on it from the perfpiration, and to prevent their flopping up of the pores. The patient was then dried again, and at laft he took the bark feveral times in one day. This was re- peated twice or thrice on the days after he had the ague, and it commonly left him without return- ing, and moft people recover fo well, that they do not look pale after their ficknefs. THE bark of the root of the Tulip tree, or Li- rlodendron Tulipifera, taken in the fame manner as the jefuit's bark, fometimes had a fimilar ef- fect. SEVERAL people peeled the roots of the Cor- nusfonda, or Dog 'wood, and gave this peel to patients , and even fome people, who could not be cured by the jefuit's bark, have recovered by the help of this. I have likewife feen people cured of the fever, by taking brimflone reduced to powder, and mixed with fugar, every night before they went to bed, and every morning be- fore they got up : they took it three or four times in the intervals, and at each time drank fome warm liquor, to \vaih the powder down. How- ever Newjerfey, Raccoon. 293 ever others that tried the fame remedy did not find much relief from it. SOME people collected the yellow bark of the peach tree, efpecially that which is on the root* and boiled it in water, till half of it was evapo- rated by boiling. Of this decoction the patient took every morning about a wine glafs full, be- fore he had eaten any thing. This liquor has a difagreeable tafte, and contracts the mouth and tongue like alum ; yet feveral perfons at Raccoon who had tried many remedies in vain, were cured by this. OTHERS boiled the leaves of the Potentilla reptans, or of the Potentilla canadenfis, in water, and made the patients drink it before the ague fit came on, and it is well known that feveral per- fons have recovered by this means. THE people who are fettled upon the river M0- hawk in New Tork, both Indians and Europeans, collect the root of the Geum riva/e, and pound it. This powder fome of them boil in water till it is a pretty ftrong decoction : others only infufe cold water on it and leave it fo for a day ; others mix it with brandy. Of this medicine the patient is to take a wine glafs full on the morning of the day when the fever does not come, before he has eaten any thing. I was aflured that this was one of the furefl remedies, and more certain than the jefuit's bark. THE people who live near the iron mines, de- clared that they were feldom or never vifited by the fever and ague; but when they have the fe- ver, they drink the water of fuch fountains, as arife from the iron mines, and have a ftrong cha- U 3 lybeat 3. 94 November 1748* lybeat tafte ; and they aflured me that this re- medy was infallible. Other people therefore who did not live very far from fuch fprings, went to them for a few days, when they had the fever, in order to drink the water, which commonly cured them. I HAVE already {hewn above, that fage mixed with lemon juice, has been found very falutary againfl the ague. IT was however univerfally remarkable, that that which cures one perfon of it, has no effedt upon another. THE pleurify is likewife a difeafe which the people of this country are much fubjedl to. The Swedes in this province call it Jtitches and burn- ing, and they always mean the pleurify when- ever they mention thofe words. Many of the old Swedes told me that they had heard very little of it when they were young, and that their parents had known ftill lefs of it in their childhood; but that it was fo common now, that many peo- ple died every year of it : yet it has been ob- ferved, that in fome years this difeafe 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 fome places than in others. In the autumn of the year 1728, it fwept away many at Penn's neck, a place below Rac- coon 9 and nearer to the Delaware, where a num- ber of Swedes are fettled. Almoft all the Swedes there died of it, though they were very numerous. From hence it happened that their children who were left in a very tender age, and grew up 5 among New ycrfiy* Raccoon. 295 among the EngKJh children, forgot their mother tongue, fo that few of them underfhmd it at prefent. Since that time, though the pleurify has every year killed a few people at Perns neck, yet it has not carried off any confiderable num- bers. 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 \yhen it attacked a perfon, he feldom lived above two or three days ; and of thofe who were taken ill with it, very few recovered. When the pleu- rify was got into a houfe, it killed moft of the old people in it : it was a true pleurify, but it had a peculiarity with it, for it commonly began with a great fwelling under the throat and in the neck, and with a difficulty of fwallowing. Some people looked upon it as contagious, and others ierioufly declared, that when it came into a fa- mily, not only thofe who lived in the fame houfe fuffered from it, but even fuch relations as lived far off. There have been feveral people at Penn's neck, who, without vifiting their fick friends, have got the pleurify and died of it : I do not difpute the truth of this, though I do not agree to the conclufion. The pleurify was the moft violent in November , yet fome old people died of it even in the next winter ; but children were pretty free from it. The phylicians did not know what to make of it, nor how to remedy it. IT is difficult to determine the caufes of fuch violent difeafes. An old Englijh furgeon who lived here gave the following reafon. The in- habitants of this country drink great quantities U 4 of 296 December 1748. of punch and other ftrong liquors in fummer, when it is very hot; by that means the veins in the diaphragm contraft, and the blood grows thick. Towards the end of October and the be- ginning of November, the weather is apt to alter very fuddenly, fo that heat and cold change fe- veral 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 another, which depends upon the heat, and other circumftances : this peculiar quality of the air muft of courfe produce a pleurify. It is re- markable, that both in the year 1728, and in the prefent, when fo many people died at Penn's nccky 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 difference, that Penns neck lies remarkably low, and Rac- coon pretty high. The people in the former place have fettled between marflies and fwamps, in which the water flagnates and putrifies ; and mod of thefe places are covered with trees, by which means the wet is {hut up ftill more, and near fuch marlhes are the houfes. Laftly, the water at Penn's neck is not reckoned fo good as that in Raccoon. It likewife becomes brackifh in feveral little rivers, when 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. December the ^d. THIS morning I fet out for Philadelphia, where I arrived in the evening. WILD Penfytvania, Philadelphia. 297 WILD grapes are very abundant in the woods, and of various kinds ; a fpecies of them which are remarkable for their fize, "grow in the marfhes, and are greedily eaten by the Rac- coon : they are therefore called marjh grapes, but the Englifl} call them fox grapes : they have not an agreeable flavour, and are feldom eaten by the inhabitants of this country, who make ufe of a fmall kind of wild grapes, which grow on a dry foil : pretty late in au- tumn when they are quite ripe, they have a very good flavour, being a mixture of fweet and acid. Some people dry thefe grapes when ga- thered, and bake them in tarts, &c. they like- wife make ufe of them as dried fweetmeats. The Swedes formerly made a pretty good wine from them; but have now left it off. How- ever fome of the Englifh ftill prefs an agreeable liquor from thefe grapes, which they afliired me was as good as the beft claret, and that it would keep for feveral years. THE manner of preparing this fort of wine has been defcribed at large in an almanack of this country, for the year 1743, and is as fol- lows : the grapes are collected from the twenty- firft of September to about the eleventh of No- vember, that is as they grow ripe : they muft be gathered in dry weather, and after the dew is gone off: the grapes are cleared of the cob- webs, dry leaves, and other things adhering to them. Next a great hogfhead is prepared which has either had treacle or brandy in ; it is wafhed very clean, one of the bottoms beat out, and the other placed on a ftand for the purpofe, or on 298 December 1748. on pieces of wood in the cellar, or elfe in a warm room, about two feet above the ground : the grapes are put into this hogfliead, and as they fink lower in three or four days time, more are added. A man with naked feet gets into the hogfliead and treads the grapes, and in about half an hour's time the juice is forced out; the man then turns the loweft grapes uppermoft, and treads them for about a quarter of an hour : this is fufficient to fqueeze the good juice out of them : for an additional preffurc would even crum the unripe grapes, and give the whole a difagreeable flavour. The hogfhead is then co- vered with a thick blanket ; but if there is no cellar, or it is very cold, two are fpread over it. Under this covering the juice is left to ferment for the firft time, and in the next four or five days it ferments and works very ftrongly. As foon as the fermentation ceafes, a hole is made about fix inches from the bottom, and fome of , the juice is tapped off about twice in a day. As foon as this is clear and fettled, it is poured into an anker of a middling fize ; for from twenty bufliels of grapes, they get about as many gallons of juice : the anker remains untouched; and the muft in it ferments a fecond time : at this time it is neceffary that the anker be quite full ; the (burn which fettles at the bung-hole muft be taken off, and the anker always filled up with more muft, which is kept ready for that pur- pofe : this is continued till Chriftmas, when the anker may be flopped up ; at laft the wine is ready in February and bottled. It is likewifc ufual here, to put fome of the ripe grapes into a veffel, Penjyfoania, Philadelphia. 299 a veflel, in order to make a vinegar : and that which is got by this means is very good. Several people made brandy from thefe grapes, which has a very pleafant tafte, but is ftill more plea- fant, if the fruits of the perfimon are mixed with it. The wood of thefe vines is of no ufe, it is fo brittle that it cannot be ufed for flicks : on cutting into the flem, a white, infipid refin comes out a few hours after the wound is made. In many gardens vines are planted for the purpofe of making arbours, for which they are indeed excellent ; as their large and plentiful leaves form a very clofe cover againft the fcorch- ing heat of the fun. When the vines flower here in May and 'June, the flowers exhale a ftrong, but exceeding pleafant and refrefhing fmell, which is perceptible even at a great diftance. Therefore on coming into the woods about that time, you may judge from the fweet perfume in the air, arifing from the flowers of the vines, that you are near them, though you do not fee them. Though the winters be ever fo fe- vere, yet they do not affedt the vines. Each grape is about the fize of a pea, but further fouthward they are faid to be of the fize of com- mon raifins, and of a finer flavour. Further up in the country, during a part of autumn, they are the chief food of bears, who climb up the trees in order to pluck them. People are of opinion, that if the wild vines were cultivated with more care, the grapes would grow larger, and more palatable. December the 5th. I SHALL here mention two prognostics of the weather, which were greatly - oo December greatly valued here. Some people pretended to foretel that the enfuing winter would not be a fevere one : this they conjedtured from having feen wild geefe and other migratory birds go to the fouth in O&ober, but return a few days ago in great numbers, and even pafs on further to the north. Indeed the enfuing winter was one of the moft temperate ones. SEVERAL perfons likewife affured us that we fhould have rain before to-morrow night. The reafon they gave for this conjecture was, that this morning at fun-rifing, from their windows they had feen every thing very plainly on the other fide of the river, fo that it appeared much nearer than ufual, and that this commonly foreboded rain. This prefage was likewife pretty exactly fulfilled. THE Indians, before the arrival of the Euro- peans, had no notion of the ufe of iron, though that metal was abundant in their country. How- ever thew knew in fome meafure how to make ufe of copper. Some Dutchmen who lived here, ftill preferved the old account ameng them, that their anceftors on their firft fettling in New York had met with many of the Indians, who had tobacco pipes of copper, and who made them underftand by (igns, that they got them in the neighbour- hood : afterwards the fine copper mine was dif- covered, upon the fecond river between Eliza- beth-town and New York* On digging in this mine, the people met with holes worked in the mountain, out of which fome copper had been taken, and they found even fome tools, which the Indians probably made ufe of, when they en- deavoured Penfytvatjta, Philadelphia* 30! deavoured to get the metal for their pipes. Such holes in the mountains have likewife been found in fome parts of Penfylvania, viz. below Newcaftle towards the fea fide, and always fome marks of a copper ore along with them. Some people have conjectured, that the Spaniards > af- ter 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 mountains : but fuppofing them to have made fuch a voyage along the coafts, they could not immediately have found out the copper mines ; and they probably did not flop to blaft this ore, as they were bent only upon gold and filver ; it is therefore almoft undoubted that the Indians dug thefe holes : or may we be allowed to fufpect that our old Nor^ nuns, long before the difcoveries of Columbus, came into thefe parts, and met with fuch veins of copper, when they failed to what they called the excellent Wineland*, of which our ancient traditional records called Sagor fpeak, and which undoubtedly was North America ? But in regard to this, I fhall have occafion in the fequel bet- ter to explain my fentiments. It was remark- able, that in all thofe places where fuch holes have lately been found in the mountains, which manifeltly feem to have been dug by men, they were always covered with a great quantity * SEE for this opinion the fcarce and curious work intituled, oi florid Vinlandicc a.nii^ueejeu partis Avicr^:,c Jcpicjitrionalis. ^. 4 to. F. of 302 December 1748. of earth, as If they were intended to remain hidden from ftrangers. Dec. 6th. ON long voyages the failors fome- times catch fuch fifli as are known to none of the (hip's company ; but as they are very greedy after frefh provifions, they feldom abftain from eating them : however it proves often venturing too much, experience having fhown, that their want of caution has often coft them their lives, for fbmetimes poifonous fifli are caught. Eut there is a method of finding them out, as I have heard from feveral captains of (hips ; it is ufual when fuch unknown fiih are boiled, to put a filver button, or any piece of filver, into the kettle, which, if the fifh be poifonous, will turn quite black, but if it be not, it will not change : fome of the feamen referred to their own repeated experience *. Mr. Franklin and feveral other gentlemen frequently told me, that a powerful Indian, who poffefied Rhode IJland, had fold it to the Englijh for a pair of fpeftacles : it is large enough for a prince's domain, and makes a pe- culiar government at prefent. This Indian knew to fet a true value upon a pair of fpectacles : for undoubtedly if thofe glafles were not fo plentiful, and only a few of them could be found, they * THIS experiment with the filver fuppofes, that the broth of the fifti would be fo flrong as to aft as a iblvent upon the filver; but there may be poifons, which would not afifecT: the filver, and however prove fatal to men ; the fureft way therefore would be to fupprefs that appetite, which may become fatal not only to a few men of the crew, but alfo endanger the whole fhip, by the lofs of ficcelTary hand?, F. would, Penfyfoania, Philadelphia. 303 would, on account of their great ufe, bear the fame price with diamonds. THE fervants which are made ufe of in the Engliffj American colonies are either free perfons, or (laves, and the former are again of two dif- ferent forts. 1. THOSE who are quite free ferve by the year; they are not only allowed to leave their fervlce at the expiration of their year, but may leave it at any time when they do not agree with their mailers. However in that cafe they are in danger of lofing their wages, which are very confiderable. A man fervant who has fome abi- lities, gets between fixteen and twenty pounds in Penfyhania currency, but thofe in the coun- try do not get fo much. A fervant maid gets eight or ten pounds a year : thefe fervants b^ve their food befides their wages, but muft buy their own clothes, and what they get of thefe> they muft thank their matter's goodnefs for. 2. THE fecond kind of free fervants confift of fuch perfons as annually come from Germany, England, and other countries, in order to fettle here. Thefe new comers are very numerous every year : there are old and young ones, and of both fexes $ fome of them have fled from op- prerlion, under which they fuppofed themfelves to have laboured. Others have been driven from their country by perfecution on account of re- ligion ; but moft of them are poor, and have not money enough to pay their paffage, which is between fix and eight pounds fterling for each perfon ; therefore they agree with the captain that they will fuffer themfelves to be fold for a few 304 December 1748. a few years, on their arrival. In that cafe the perlbn who buys them, pays the freight for them; but frequently very old people come over, who cannot pay their pafiage, they therefore fell their children, fo that they ferve both for them- felves and for their parents : there are likewife fbme who pay part of their pafiage, and they are fold only for a fhort time. From thefe circum- ftances it appears, that the price of the poor foreigners who come over to North America is not equal, and that fome of them ferve longer than others : when their time is expired, they get a new fuit of clothes from their mailer, and fome other things : he is likewife obliged to feed and clothe them during the years of their fervitude. Many of the Germans who come hither, bring money enough with them to pay their pafiage, but rather fuffer themfelves to be fold, with a view, that during their fervitude they may get fome knowledge of the language and quality of the country, and the like, that they may the better be able to confider what they fhall do when they have got their liberty. Such fervants are taken preferable to all others, becaufe they are not fo dear ; for to buy a Ne- groe or black flave, requires too much money at once ; and men or maids who get yearly wages, are likewiie too dear ; but this kind of fervants may be got for half the money, and even for lefs ; for they commonly pay fourteeen pounds, Penfyhania currency, for a perfon who is to ferve four years, and fo on in proportion. Their wages therefore are not above three pounds Penfyhania currency per aim. This kind Penfyfaania, Philadelphia. 305 kind of fervants, the Englifh call fervings. When a perfon has bought fuch a fervant for a certain number of years, and has an intention to fell him again, he is at liberty to do fo ; but he is obliged, at the expiration of the term of the fervitude, to provide the ufual fuit of cloaths for the fervant, unlefs he has made that part of the bargain with the purchafer. The Bnglifh and Irijh commonly fell themfelves for four years, but the Germans frequently agree with the cap- tain before they fet out, to pay him a certain fum of money, for a certain number of perfons ; as foon as they arrive in America, they go about and try to get a man who will pay the paffage 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 higheft bidder. 3. THE Negroes or Blacks make the third kind. They are in a manner flaves ; for when a Negro is once bought, he is the purchafer's fervant as long as he lives, unlefs he gives him to another, or makes him free. However it is not in the power of the matter to kill his Negro for a fault, but he mud leave it to the magi- ftrates to proceed according to the laws! For- merly the Negroes were brought over from Af- rica > and bought by almoft every one who could afford it. The Quakers alone fcrupled to have flaves \ but they are no longer fo nice, and they have as many Negroes as other people. How- ever many people cannot conquer the idea of its being contrary to the laws of Chriftianity to keep flaves. There are likev/iib feveral free VOL. I. X Negrses 306 Deceember 1748. 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 faith- fully ferved him for fome time. AT prefent they feldom bring over any Ne- groes to the Rngli/k colonies, for thofe which were formerly brought thither, have multiplied confiderably. In- regard to their marriage they proceed as follows : in cafe you have not only mule but likewife female Negroes, they muft in- termarry, and then the children are all your flaves : but if you pofiefs a male Negro only, and he has an inclination to marry a female be- longing to a different mafter, you do not hinder your Negro in fo delicate a point ; but it is no advantage to you, for the children belong to the mafter of the female ; it is therefore advantageous to have Negro-women. A man who kills his Negro rnuft fuffer death for it: there is not however an example here of a white man's ha- ving been executed on this account. A few years ago it happened that a mafter killed his Have ; his friends and even the magiftrates fe- cretly advifed him to leave the country, as other- wife they could net avoid taking him prifoner, and then he would be condemned to die accord- ing to the laws of the country, without any hopes of laving him. This lenity was employed towards him, that the Negroes might not have the latisfadion of feeing a mafter executed for killing his Have ; for this would lead them to all forts of dangerous defigns again ft their maf- ters, and to value themfelves too much. THE Negroes were formerly brought from Africa* Penfyhania, "Philadelphia. 307 Africa, as I mentioned before ; but now this feldom happens, for they are bought in the Weft Indies, or American I/lands, whither they were originally brought from their own country : for it has been found that on tranfporting the Ne- groes from Africa, immediately into thefe nor- thern countries, they have not fuch a good ftate of health, as when they gradually change places* and are firft carried from Africa to the Weft In~ dies, and from thence to North America. It has frequently been found, that the Negroes cannot ftand the cold here fo well as the Europeans or whites ; for whilft the latter are not in the lead affected by the cold,, the toes and fingers of the former are frequently frozen. There is like wife a material difference among them in this point ; for thofe who come immediately from Africa, cannot bear the cold fo well as thofe who are either born in this country, or have been here for a confiderable time ; for the froft eafily hurts the hands or feet of the Negroes which come from Africa, or occafions violent pains in their whole body, or in fome parts of it, though it does not at all affect thofe who have been here for forne time. There are frequent examples that the Negroes on their paffage from Africa, if it hap- pens in winter, have fome of their limbs de- ftroyed by froft, on board the fhip, when the cold is but very inconfiderable, and the failors are fcarce obliged to cover their hands. I was even allured, that fome Negroes have been feen here, who have had an exceffive pain in their legs, which afterwards broke in the middle, and dropt entirely from the body, together with the X 2 flefl* 308 December 1748. flefh on them. Thus it is the fame cafe with men here, as with plants which are brought from the fouthern countries, and cannot accuf- tom themfelves to a colder climate. THE price of Negroes differs according to their age, health, and abilities. A full-grown Negro colls from forty pounds and upwards to a hun- dred of Penfyfoania currency. A Negro boy, or girl, of two or three years old, can hardly be got for lefs than eight or fourteen pounds in Penjyl- r oanla currency. Not only the Quakers, but likewife feveralChriftians of other denominations, fometimes fet their Negroes at liberty. This is done in the following manner : when a genile- man has a faithful Negro who has done him great fervices, he fometimes declares him inde- pendent at his death. This is however very ex- penfive ; for they are obliged to make a provifion for the Negro thus fet at liberty, to afford him fubfiftence when he is grown old, that he may not be driven by neceffity to wicked aflions, or that he may be at any body's charge, for thefe free Negroes become very lazy and indolent af- terwards. But the children which the free Ne- gro has begot during his fervitude are all Haves, though their father be free. On the other hand thofe Negro children are free whofe parents are at liberty. The Negroes in the North American colonies are treated more mildly, and fed better than thofe in the Weft Indies. They have as good food as the reft of the fervants, and they poffefs equal advantages in all things, except their be- ing obliged to ferve their whole life-time, and get no other wages than what their mailer's goodnefs Penfyfoania, Philadelphia. 309 goodnefs allows them : they are likewife clad at their matter's expence. On the contrary, in the Weft Indie^ and efpecially in the Spanijh I/lands, they are treated very cruelly ; therefore no threats make more impreffion upon a Negro here, than that of fending him over to the We/I Indies, in cafe he would not reform. It has likewife been frequently found by experience, that when you ihow too much remiflhefs to thefe Negroes, they grow fo obfdnate, that they will no longer do any thing but of their own accord : therefore a ftrid: difcipline is very neceffary, if their rnafter experts to be fatisfied with their ferviccs. IN the year 1620, fome Negroes were brought to North America in a Dutch fhip, and in Virgi- nia they bought twenty of them, Thefe are faid to have been the firft that came hither. When tbe/jwtffl-f, who were then more numerous in the country than at prefent, faw thefe black people for the firft time, they thought they were a true breed of Devils, and therefore they called them Manitto for a great while : this word in their language fignifies not only God, but likewife the Devil. Some time before that, when they faw the firft European (hip en their coafts, they were perfectly perfuaded that God himfelf was in the fhip. This account I got from fome Indians, who preferved it among them as a tradition which they had received from their anceftors : therefore the arrival of the Negroes fecmed to them to have confufed every thing ; but fince that time, they have entertained lefs dlfagrecable notions of the Negroes, for at prefent many ^ X 3 ,live 310 December 1748. live among them, and they even fometimes in-* term-:rry, as I myfelf have feea. THE Negroes have therefore been upwards of a hundred and thirty years in this country : bqt the winters here, efpecially in New England and New York, are as feyere as our Swedifh winters. 1 therefore very carefully enquired, whether the cold had not been obferved to affect the colour of the Negroes, and to change it, fo that the third or fourth generation from the firfl that came hither, were not fo black as their anceftors. But I was generally anfwered, that there was not the leaft difference of colour to be perceived -, and that a Negro born here, of parents which were likewife born in this country, and whofe ancef- tors both men and women had all been blacks born in this country, up to the third or fourth generation, was not at all different in colour, from thofe Negroes who are brought directly over from Africa. From hence many people conclude, that a Negro or his poflerity do not change colour, though they continue ever fa long in a cold climate ; but the mixing of a white man with a Negro woman, or of a Negro with a white woman, has a different effect; there- fore to prevent any difagreeable mixtures of the white people and Negroes, and that the Negroes may not form too great an opinion of them- felves, to the difadvantage of their mafters, J 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 4 fometimes Penfyfoania> Philadelphia. 311 fometlmes mix, appears from children of a mixed complexion, which are fometimes born. IT is likewife greatly to be pitied> that the mafters of thefe Negroes in moft of the Englijh colonies take little care of their fpirittial welfare, and let them live on in their pagan darknefs. There are even fome, wlio would be very ill pleafed at, and would by all means hinder their Negroes from being inftru&ed in the docflsi.ies of Chriftianity, to this they are partly led by the conceit of its being (hameful, to have a fpiritual brother or fifter among fo defpicable a people ; 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 America have a kind of poifon with which they kill each other, though the effect is not fudden, but hap- pens a long time after the perfon has taken it : the fame dangerous art of poifoning is known by the Negroes in North America, as has frequently been experienced. However only a few of them know the fccret, and they likewife know the re- medy againft it, therefore when a Negro feels himfelf poifoned, and can recoiled the enemy who might poffibly have given him the poifon, he goes to him, and endeavours by money ind entreaties to move him to deliver him from the poifon ; but if the Negro is malicious, he do/s not only deny that he ever poifoned him, but likewife that he knows a remedy againft it : this X 4 poifon 312 'December 1748. poifon does not kill immediately, for fcmetimes the fick perfon dies fome years after. But from the moment he has the poifon he falls into a confurnption, and enjoys few days of good health: fuch a poor wretch often knows that he is poi- foned, the moment he gets the poifon. The Negroes commonly employ it on fuch of their brethren as behave well, are beloved by their matters, and feparate as it were from their coun- trymen, or do not like to converfe with 'them. They have likewife often other reafons for their enmity ; but there are few examples of their having poifoned their matters. Perhaps the mild treatment they receive, keeps them from doing it, or perhaps they fear that they may be dif- covered, and that, in fuch a cafe, the fevereft punimments would be inflided on them. THEY never difcover what the poifon confifts of, and keep it fecret beyond conception. It is. probable that it is a very common thing, which may be got all the world over, for wherever they are they can always eafily procure it. There- . fore it cannot be a plant, as feveral learned men have thought \ for that is not to be mot with every where. I have heard many accounts here of Negroes who have been killed by this poifon. I mall only mention one incident, which hap- pened during my ftay in this country. A man here had a Negro who was exceedingly faithful to him, and behaved fo well, that he would not have given him for twenty other Negroes. His matter likewife fliewed him a peculiar kindnefs, and the flave's conduct equalled that of the beft Chriftian fervant j he likewife convcrfed as little as New Jerfey, Raccoon. 313 as poffible with the other Negroes ; on that ac- count they hated him' to excefs ; but as he was fcarce ever in company with them, they had no opportunity of conveying the poifon to him, which they had often tried. However, on com- ing to town during the fair (for he lived in the country) fome other Negroes invited him to drink with them. At firft he would not, but they prefled him till he was obliged to comply. As foon as he came into the room, the others took a pot from the wall and pledged him, de- firing him to drink likewife : he drank ; but when he took the pot from his mouth, he faid, what beer is this ? It is full of *#****. I pur- pofely omit what he mentioned, for it feems un- doubtedly to have been the name of the poifon with which malicious Negroes do fo much harm, and which is to be met with alrnoft every where. It might be too much employed to wicked pur- pofes, and it is therefore better that it remains unknown. The other Negroes and Negro- wo- men fell a laughing at the complaints of their hated countryman, and danced and fung as if, they had done an excellent adlion, and had at laft obtained tbe point fo much wiflied for. The innocent Negro went away immediately, and, when he got home, faid, that the other Negroes had certainly poiibned him : he then fell into a confumption, .and no remedy could prevent his death. Dec. 7th. IN the morning I undertook again a little journey, to Raccoon, in New Jerfey* IT does not feem difficult to find out the rea- fons, why the people multiply more here than in Europe. As foon as a perfon is old enough, he may 314 December 1748, may marry in thefe provinces, without any fear of poverty; for there is fuch a tradt of good ground yet uncultivated, that a new-married man can, without difficulty, get a fpot of ground, where he may fufficiently fubfift with his wife and children. The taxe's are very low, and he need not be under any concern on their ac- count. The liberties he enjoys are fo great, that he confiders hirnfelf as a prince in his poffeffions, I fcall here cernonftrate, by fome plain examples, what effect fuch a conftitution is capable of, MAONS KEEN, one of the Swedes in Raccoon, was now near feventy years old: he had many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchil- dren ; fo that, ofthofe who were yet alive, he could mufter up forty-live perfons. Befides them, feveral of his children and grandchildren died young, and fome in a mature age. He was, therefore, uncommonly bleffed. Yet his happinefs is not comparable to that which is to be feen in the following examples, and which I have extracted from the Philadelphia gazette. IN the year 1732, died at Ipfwtcb, in New 'England^ Mrs. Sarah Tut hi I, a widow, aged eighty-fix years. She had brought fixteen chil- dren into the world ; and from feven of them on- ly, (lie had feen one hundred and feventy-feven grandchildren and great-grandchildren. IN 1739, May 3Oth, the children, grand, and great-grandchildren, of Mr. Richard Butiington, in the parifh of Chefter, in Penjyfoania, were af- fembled in his houfe; and they made together one hundred and fifteen perfons, The parent of thefe children, Richard Buttington, who was born in England) was then entering into his eighty- New Jerfey, Raccoon. 315 eighty-fifth year; and was at that time quite frefh, aftive, and fenfible. His eldeft fon, then fixty years old, was the firft Englijhman born in Penfyhanw. IN 1742, 8th of Jan. died at Trenton, in New Jerfey, Mrs. Sarah- Furman, a widow, aged ninety-feven years. She was born in New Eng- land, and left five children, fixty-one grand- children, one hundred and eighty-two great- grandchildren, and twelve great- great-grand- children, who were all alive when {he died. IN 1739, a8th of Jan. died at South Kingfton, in New England, Mrs. Maria Hazard, a widow, in the hundredth year of her age. She was born in Rhode I/land, and was a grandmother of the then vice-governor of that ifland, Mr. George Hazard. She could count altogether five hun- dred children, grandchildren, great-grandchil- dren, and great-great-grandchildren. When ihe died, two hundred and five perfons of them were alive ; a grand-daughter of hers had already been grandmother near fifteen years. IN this manner, the ufual wilh or bleffing in our liturgy, that the new-married couple may fee their grandchildren, till the third and fourth generation, has been literally fulfilled in regard to fome of thefe perfons *. Dec. gth. IN every country we commonly meet with a number of infe&s ; of which many, though they be ever fo fmall and contemptible, can do considerable damage to the inhabitants. Of thefe dangerous infefts there are likewife fome * Mr, Kalm fpeaks here of the Swedijh Liturgy, in 3i6 December 1748. in North America ; fome are peculiar to that country, others are common to Europe likewife. I HAVE already mentioned the Mofquitoes as a kind of difagreeable gnats ; and another noxious infeft, the Erttchus Fiji, which deilroys whole fields with peafe. I {hall here add fome more. THERE are a kind of L,ocufts> which, about every feventeenth year, come hither in incredible numbers. They come out of the ground in the middle of May* and make, for fix weeks toge- ther, fuch a noife in the trees and woods, that two perfons who meet in fuch places, cannot under/land each other, unlefs they fpeak louder than the locufts can chirp. During that time, they make, with the fting in their tail, holes in- to the foft bark of the little branches on the trees, by which means thefe branches are ruined. They do no other harm to the trees or other plants. In the interval, between the years when they are fo numerous, they are only feen or heard fingle in the woods. THERE is likewife a kind of Caterpillars in thefe provinces, which eat the leaves from the trees. They are alfo innumerable in fome years, In the intervals there are but few of them : but when they come, they ftrip the trees fo entirely of their leaves, that the woods in the middle of fummer are as naked as in winter. They eat all kinds of leaves, and very few trees are left un- touched by them. As, about that time of the year, the heat is moft exceffive, the ftripping the trees of their leaves has this fatal confequence, that they cannot withftand the heat, but dry up entirely. In this manner, great forefts are fome- times entirely ruined. The Swedes, who live here, New Jerjey, Raccoon. 317 here, (hewed me, here and there, great trafts in the woods, where young trees ^vere now grow- ing, inftead of the old ones, which, fome years ago, had been deftroyed by the caterpillars* Thefe caterpillars afterwards change into moths, or jfttafefeffj which (hall be defcribed in the fe- quel, in their proper places. IN other years the Grafs-worms do a great deal of damage in feveral places, both in the mea- dows and corn-fields. For the fields are at cer- tain times over-run with great armies of thefe worms, as with the other infedts ; yet it is very happy that thefe many plagues do not corne all together. For in thofe years, when the locufts are numerous, the caterpillars and grafs-worms are not very coniiderable, and it happens fo with the latter kinds, fo that only one of the three kinds comes at a time. Then there are feveral years when they are very fcarce. The grafs- worms have been obferved to fettle chiefly in a fat foil ; but as foon as careful huuSandmen dif- cover them, they draw narrow channels with al- moft perpendicular fides quite round the field in which the worms are fettled ; then, by creeping further, they all fall into the ditch, and cannot get out again. I was affured, by many perfons, that thefe three forts of infecls followed each other pretty clofely ; and that the locufts came in the firft year, the caterpillars in the fecond, and the grafs-worms in the laft : I have likewife found, by my own experience, that this is partly true. MOTHS, or tfinece, which eat the clothes, are likewife abundant here. I have feen cloth, worfted gloves, *nd other woollen Huffs, which had 318 December had hung all the fummer locked up in a fhrinev and had not been taken care of, quite cut thro' by thefe worms, fo that whole pieces fell out. Furs, which had been kept in the garret, were frequently fo ruined by worms, that the hair went off by handfuls. I am, however, not certain whether thefe worms were originally in the coun- try, or whether they were brought over from Europe. FLEAS are like wife to be found in this part of the world. Many thoufands were undoubtedly brought over from other countries ; yet immenfe numbers of them have certainly been here fince time immemorial. I have feen them on the grey fquirrels, and on the hares which have been kill- ed in fuch defart parts of this countrv, where no human creature ever lived. As I afterwards* came farther up into the country, and was o- bliged to lie at night in the huts and beds of the Indians, I was fo plagued by immenfe quantities of fleasy that I imagined I was put to the tor- ture. They drove me from the bed, and I was very glad to fleep on the benches below the roof of the huts. But it is eafy to conceive that the many dogs which the Indians keep, breed fleas without end. Dogs and men lie promifcuoufly in the huts ; and a ftf anger can hardly lie down and ihut his eyes, but he is in danger of being either fqueezed to death, or fiifled, by a dozen or more dogs, which lie round him, and upon him* in order to have a good refting- place. For I ima- gine they do not exped that Grangers will ven- ture to beat them, or throw them off, as their mafters and miftreffes commonly do. THE noify Crickets (Grylius Jhmejlicus) which are New Jer/ey 9 Raccoon. 319 are fometimes to be met with in the houfes in * Sweden, I have not perceived in any part of Pen-* fy/vania or New Jerfey ; and other people whom I have afked, could not fay that they had ever feen any. In fummer there are a kind of black Crickets * in the fields, which make exadtly the fame chirping noife as our houfe crickets. Bat they keep only to the fields, and were filent as foon as winter or the cold weather came on. They fay it fometimes happens that thefe field crickets take refuge in houfes, and chirp conti- nually there, whilft it is warm weather, or whilft the rooms are warm ; but as foon as it grows cold they are filent. In fome parts of the pro- vince of New York* and in Canada , every farm- houfe, and moft of the houfes in the towns, fwarm with fo many, that no farm-houfe in our country can be better flocked with them. They continue their mufic there throughout the whole winter. BUGS fCimex leftularius) are very plentiful here. I have been fufficiently tormented by them, in many places in Canada : But I do not remem- ber having feen any with the Indians, during my flay at Fort Frederick. The commander there, Mr. de Loufignan, told me, that none of the //- linois and other Indians of the weftern parts of North America knew any thing of thefe vermin. And he added, that he could with certainty fay this from his own experience, having been among them for a great while. Yet I cannot determine * Perhaps it is the Gryllus campeftris, or common black field cricket of Europe, of which Rof/t/ t in his work on infe&s, vol. 2, Cryll. f. 13. has given a fine drawing. F. whether 320 December 1748. whether bugs were firft brought over by the ropeans, or whether they have originally been in the country. Many people looked upon them as natives of this country, and as a proof of it faid, that under the wings of bats the people had often found bugs, which had eaten very deep in- to the flefli. It was therefore believed that the bats had got them in fome hollow tree, and had afterwards brought them into the houfes, as they commonly fix themfelves clofe to the walls, and creep into the little chinks which they meet with. But as I have never feen any bugs upon bats, I cannot fay any thing upon that fubjed:. Perhaps a loufe or a tick (Icarus) has been taken for a bug. Or, if a real bug has been found upon a bat's wing, it is very eafy to conceive that it fix- ed on the bat, whilft the latter was fitting in the chinks of a houfe flocked with European bugs. As the people here could not bear the incon- venience of thefe vermin, anymore than we can in Sweden, they endeavoured to expel them by different means. I have already remarked, that the beds to that purpofe were made of Sajjafras wood, but that they were only temporary remedies. Some perfons aflured me that they had found, from their own experi- ence, and by repeated trials, that no remedy was more effectual towards the expulfion of bugs, than the injedling of boiling water into all the cracks where they are fettled, and wafhing all the wood of the beds with it ; this being twice or thrice repeated, the bugs are wholly deftroyed. But if there are bugs in neighbouring houfes, they will faften New yerfey, Raccoon. 321 fatten to one's clothes, and thus be brought over into other houfes, I cannot fay whether thefe remedies are good or no, as I have not tried them ; but by repeated trials [have been convinced that fulphur, if it be prope/ly employed, entirely deflroys bugs and their eggs in beds and walls, though they were ten times more numerous than the ants in an ant hill.* THE Mill-beetles, or Cock-roaches, are likewife a plague of North America, and are fettled in ma- ny of its provinces. The learned Dr. Cold'n was of opinion that thefe infedls were properly natives of the Weft Indies, and that thofe that were found in North America were brought over from thofe iflands. To confirm his opinion, hefaid, that it wns yet daily feen how the ihips coming with goods from the Weft-Indies to North- America brought mill-beetles with them in great num- bers. But from the obiervations which I have made in this country, I have reafon to believe that thefe infects have been on the continent of North America time immemorial. Yet notwithftand- ing this I do not deny their being brought over from the Weft Indies. They are in almofl every houfe in the city of New York*, and thofe un- doubtedly came over in (hips. But how can that be faid of thofe mill-beetles, which are found in the mid ft of the woods and deferts ? THE Engtijh likewife call the Mill-beetles, Cock- roaches, and the Dutch give them the name of * A #111 more infallible remedy, is to wafh all the furniture, .'.'j with that vermin, with a foliuion cf anenic. F. "VOL. i. Y Kack- 322 December 1748. KackerlacL The Swedes in this country call them Brodoetare, or Bread-eaters, on account of the damage they do to the bread, which I am go- ing to defcribe. Dr. Linnaus calls them Btatta Orientalis. Many of the Swedes call them like- wife K acker lack. They are not only obferved in the houfes, but in the fummer they appear often in the woods, and run about the trees, which are cut down. On bringing in all forts of old rotten blocks of wood for fewel, mltebruary, I difcover- ed feveral cock-roaches fettled in them; they were at firft quite torpid, or as it were dead j but after lying in the room for a while, they recovered, be- came very lively, and began to run about. I af- terwards found very often, that when old rotten wood was brought home in winter, and cut in pieces for fewel, the cock-roaches were got into it in numbers, and lay in it in a torpid ftate. In the fame winter, a fellow cut down a great dry tree, and was about to fplit it. I then ob- ferved in a crack, fome fathoms above the ground, feveral cock-roaches together with the common ants. They were, it feems, crept up a great way, in order to find a fecure place of abode a- gainft winter. On travelling, in the middle of Qflober 1749, through the uninhabited country between the Englijh and French colonies, and making a fire at night near a thick half rotten tree, on the fhore of lake Cbamplain, numbers of cock- roaches came out of the wood, being wakened by the fmoke and the fire, which had driven them out of their holes. The Frenchmen, who were then in my company, did not know them, and could not give them any name. In Canada New Jerfeyt &OCMOM* 325 Canada the French did not* remember feeing any in thehoufes. Jn Penfyhania, \ m tald, they run in immenfe numbers about the (heaves of corn, during the harveft. At other times they live commonly in the houfes in {he Engliftj fettle- ments, and lie in the crevices, efpecially in the cracks ef thofe beams which fuppprt the ceiling, and are neajeft to the chimney, THEY do a deal qf damage by eating the foft parts of the bread. If they have once made 3 hole into a loaf, they will in a little time eat all the fbft part in it, fo that on cutting the loaf, nothing but the cruft is left. I am to!4 they Jikewife eat other victuals. Sometimes they bitQ people's nofes or feet, whilft they a.re afleep. An, old Swede, called Sven Laock, a grandfon of the Rev, Mr. Laockenius, one of the firft Siyedijhi clergymen that came to Penfyhania, told me, that he had in his younger years been once very much frightened on account of a cock-roach, which crept into his ear whilft he was afleep. He waked fuddenly, jumped out qf bed, and felfc that the infed:, probably out of fear, was en- deavouring with all its ftrength to get deepe'r. Thefe attempts of the coach-roach were fo pain- ful to him, that he imagined his head was bur(W ing, and he was almoft fenfelefs ; however he haftensd to the well, and bringing up a bucke^: full of water, threw fqme into his ear. AS foont as the cock-roach found itfelf in danger of being drowned, it endeavoured to fave itfelf, and pufhed backwards out of the ear, with its hin4 feet, and thus happily delivered the poor man his fears. 524 December 1748. THE Wood- lice are difagreeable infects, whicli in a manner are worfe than the preceding; but as L-have already defcribed them in a peculiar memoir, which is printed among the memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences for the year 1754, I refer my readers to that account. Dec. iith. THIS morning I made a little excurfion to Penns Neck, and further over the Delaware to Wilmington. The country round Pemis Neck has the fame qualities as that about other places in this part of New Jerfiy. For the ground confifts chiefly of fand, with a thin ftratum of black foil. It is not very hilly, but chiefly flat, and in moft places covered with open woods of fuch trees as have annual leaves, especially oak. Now and then you fee a fingle farm, and a little corn-field round it. Between them are here and there little marfhes or fwamps, and fometimes a brook with water, which has a very flow motion. THE woods of thefe parts con'fift of all forts of trees, but chiefly of oak and hiccory. Thefe woods have certainly never been cut down, and have always grown without hindrance. It might therefore be expeded that there are trees of an uncommon great age to be found in them ; but it happens otherwife, and there are vtiry few trees three hundred -years old. Moft of them are only two hundred years old ; and this con- vinced me that trees have the fame quality as animals, and die after they are arrived at a cer- tain age. Thus we find great woods here, but when the trees in them have flood an hundred and fifty or an hundred and eighty years, they are New Jerfey, Penns Neck. 325 are either rotting within, or lofing their crown* or their wood becomes quite foft, or their roots are no longer able to draw in fufficrent nourim- ment, or they die from fome other caufe. Tl^ere- fore when ftorms blow, which fometimes hap- pens here, the trees are broke off either juft above the root, or in the middle, or at the fum- mit. Several trees are likewife torn out with their roots by the power of the winds. The ftorms thus caufe great devaluations in thefe fo- refts. Every where you fee trees thrown down by the winds, after they are too much weakened by one or the other of the above-mentioned caufes to be able to refift their fury. Fire like- wife breaks out often in the woods, and burns the trees half way from the root, fo that a vio- lent guft of wind eafily throws them down. ON travelling through thefe woods, I pur- pofely tried to find out, by the pofitioa of the trees which were fallen down, which winds are the flrongeft hereabouts. But I could not con- clude any thing with certainty, for the trees fell on all fides, and lay towards all the points of the compafs. I therefore judged, that any wind which blows from that fide where the roots of the tree are weakeft and fhorteft, and where it can make the leaft refiftance, muft root it up and throw it down. Jn this manner the old trees die away continually, and are fucceeded by a young generation. Thofe which are thrown down lie on the ground and putrify, fooner or later, and by that means encreafe the black foil, into which the leaves are likewife finally changed, which drop abundantly in autumn, are blown about by Y 3 the 'g2 I>ec'embtr 1748. the Winds for forme time, but are helped up, lie on both fides of the trees^ which are fallen tdbwm It requires feveral years before a tree is intirely reduced to duft. When the winds tear up a tree with the roots, a quantity of loofe foil commonly omes out with, and fticks to them for forne time, but at laft it drops off, and forms a little hillock* which is afterwards augmented by the leaves* which commonly gather about the roots. Thus feveral inequalities are formed in the woods* fuch as little holes and hills ; and by this means the upper foil muft likewife be heaped up in fuch places. Some trees are more inclined to putfify than others. The tupelo-tree (Nyffa), the tulip-tree (LModendron), and the fweet gum-tree (Liquid- ambarj, became rotten in a fhort time. The hiccory did not take much time, and the black took fell fooner to pieces than the white oak j but this was owing to cifcumftances, If the bark remained on the Wood, it Was for the greatefl part rotten, and entirely eaten by worms within, in the fpace of fix, eight, or ten years, fo that nothing was to be found but a reddifli browil duft. But if the bark Was taken off, they 'Would often lie twenty years before they were entirely rotten. The fuddennefs of a tree's growth, the bignefs of its pores, and the fre- quent changes of heat and wet in fummer, caufe it to rot fooner. To this it muft be added, that all forts of infeds make holes into the ftems of the fallen trees, and by that means the moiilure and the air get into the tree> which rnuft of ccurfb forward putrefaction, Moft of the trees here New Jerfey, Penn's Neck. 327 here have deciduous or annual leaves. Many of them begin to rot whilft they are yet ftanding and blooming. This forms the hollow trees, in which many animals make their nefts and pla- ces of refuge. THE breadth of ^Delaware diredtly oppoflte Wilmington, is reckoned an Engliflj mile and a half; yet to look at it, it did not feem to be fo great. The depth of the river, in the middle, is faid to be from four to fix fathoms here. Dec. 1 2th. THE Joiners fay, that among the trees of this country they chiefly ufe the black walnut-trees , the wild cherry-trees, and the curled maple. Of the black walnut-trees (Jug- lans nigra) there is yet a fufficient quantity. However carelefs people take pains enough to deftroy them, and fome peafants even ufe them as fewel. The wood of the wild cherry-trees fPrunus Virginiana) is very good, and looks ex- ceedingly well ; it has a yellow colour, and the older the furniture is, which is made of it, the better it looks. But it is already difficult to get at it, for they cut it every where, and plant it no where. The curled maple (Acer rubrum) is a fpecies of the common red maple, but like- wife very difficult to be got. You may cut down many trees without finding the wood which you want. The wood of thefweet gum-tree (Liquid- ambar) is mereiy employed in joiner's work, fuch as tables, and other furniture. But it muft not be brought near the fire, becaufe it warps. The firs and the white cedars (Cupreffus thyoides) are likewi.fc made ufe of by the joiners for different forts of work. Y 4 THE 328 December 174-8. THE millers who attended the mill which ftoodhere, faid, that the axle-trees of the wheels of the mill were made of white oak, and that they continued good three or four yaars, but that the fir-wood does not keep fo well. The cogs of the mill-wheel, and the pullies, are made of the wood of the white walnut-tree, becaufe it is the hardeft which can be got here. The wood of mulberry-trees is of all others reckoned the moft excellent for pegs and plugs in {hips and boats* AT night I went over the river Delaware, from Wilmington, to the ferrying-place, on the New Jerfey fide. Dec. 1 3th. IN the morning I returned to Raccoon. ON many trees in the woods of this country, either on one of the fides, or in the middle of a branch, or round a branch, are greater or lefler knobs or excrefcences. Sometimes there is only a fingle one in a tree. In the fize there is a con- fiderable difference, for fome of thefe knobs are as big and bigger than a man's head, others are only frnall. They projeft above the furface of the tree, like a tumor. Sometimes a tree was quite covered with them. They do not lie on one fide only, but often form a circle round a branch, and even round the ftem itfelf. The trees which have thefe knobs are not always great ones, but fome not above a fathom high. The knobs commonly confift of the fame parts as the wood itfelf, and look within like curled wood. Some of them are hollow. When a knob on a little tree is cut open, we commonly find a number of little worms in it, which are feme-? times New Je-rfey, * Raccow > ~. .times alfo common in the greater knobs. This (hews the origin of the knobs in general. The tree is ftung by infedts, which lay their eggs under the bark, and from the eggs worms are afterwards hatched. They occafion an extravafa- tion of the fap, which gradually condcnfes into a knob. Only the trees with annual deciduous leaves have thefe knobs, and among them chiefly the oak, of which again the black and Spanijb oak have the greateft abundance of knobs. The afh trees, (Fraxinus excel/lor) and the red maple (Acer rubrum) likewife have enough of them. Formerly the Swedes, and more especially the Finlanders, who are fettled here, made difhes, bowls, &c. of the knobs which were on the afh- trees. Thefe veffels, I am told, were very pretty, and looked as if they were made of curled wood. The oak-knobs cannot be em- ployed in this manner, as they are commonly worm-eaten and rotten within. At prefent the Swedes no longer make ufe of fuch bowls and difhes, but make ufe of earthen ware, or veffels made of other wood. Some knobs are of an uncommon fize, and make a tree have a mon- ftrous appearance. Trees with knobs are very common in the woods of this country*. THE * In Siberia, and in the province tfWiatka, in the govern- ment of Cazan, in Rujfia, the inhabitants make ufe of the knobs, which are pretty frequently found in birches, to make b"wls and other domcitic uteniils thereof. They are turned, ma4e pretty thin, and covered with a kind of varnifh, which gives th*m a pretty appearance ; for the utenfil looks yellow, and is marbled .quite in a pidurefque manner, with brown veins. The beft kind of thefe vtTels are nado fo thin that they are feii^ioiaphano-us, and when put into hot wa;er they grow quite pUan^, and may be formed December 174$* THE roads are good or bad according to the difference of the ground. In a fandy foil the foads are dry and good but in a clayey one they are bad. The people here are likewife very care- lefs in mending them. If a rivulet be not very great, they do not make a bridge over it ; and travellers may do as well as they can to get over: Therefore many people are in danger of being drowned in fuch places, where the water is rifen by a heavy rain. When a tree falls acrofs the road, it is feldom cut off, to keep the road clear, but the people go round it. This they can cifily do, fince the ground is very even, and without flones ; has ho underwood or fhrubs, and the trees on it ftand much afunder. Hence the roads here have fo many bendings. THE farms are moft of them fingle, and you feldom meet with even two together, except in towns, or places which are intended for towns ; therefore there are but few villages. Each farm has its corn-fields, its woods, its paftures and mea- dows. This may perhaps have contributed fome- thing towards the extirpation of wolves, that they every where met with houfes, and people who fired at them. Two or three farm-houfes have generally a pafture or a wood in common, and there are feldom more together ; but mod of them have their own grounds divided from the others. formed by main force, quite flat, but when again left to them* felves, and grown cold, they return to their original fhape. This kind of wood is called, in Ruffia, Kap, and the veflels made of it Jtapponvie Tcbajbkt, and are pretty high in price, when they are of the beft kind, and well varnifhed, F, &CC+ Raccoon. 33! foec. 1 8th. ALL perfons who intend to t>e married, muft either have their banns pub- liflied three times from the pulpit, or get a licence from the governor. The banns of the poorer fort of people only are published, and all thofe who arc a little above them get a licence from the governor. In that licence he declares that he has examined the affair, and found no obftacles to hinder the marriage, and therefore he allows it. The licence is figned by the gover- hor ; but, before he delivers it, the bridegroom muft come to him in company with two credit- able and well-known men, who anfwer for him, that there really is no lawful obftacle to his mar- riage. Thele men muil fubfcribe a certificate, in which they make themfelves anfwerable for, and engage to bear all the damages of, any com- plaints made by the relations of the perfons who intend to be married, by their guardians, their matters, or by thofe to whom they may have been promifed before. For all thefe circum- ftances the governor cannot poffibly know. They further certify that nothing hinders the intended marriage, and that nothing is to be feared on that account. For a licence they pay five and twenty fhillings in Penfyhanian money, at Phi* ladelpkia. The governor keeps twenty Shillings, or one pound, and the remaining five fhillings belong to his fecretary. The licence is directed only to proteftant clergymen. The quakers have a peculiar licence to their marriages. But as it would be very troublefome, efpecially for thofe who live far from the governor's refidence, to 2 come 332 December 1748. come up to town for every licence, and to. bring the men with them who are to anfwer for them, the clergymen in the country commonly take a fufficient number of licences and certificates, which are ready printed, with blanks left but clofe by they have a very blue or pur- ple caft, but not not fo much as Catejbys print : their fize is that of a ftare ; the bill is conic, al- moft fubulated, ftrait, convex, naked at the bafe, black, with almoft equal mandibles, the upper being only a very little longer than the lower ; the noftrils are oblong, yet a little angulated, fo as to form almoft fquares ; they are placed ob- liquely at the bafe of the bill, and have no hair; there is a little horny knob, or a fmall promi- nence, on the upper fide of them ; the tongue is (harp and bifid at the point ; {he iris of the eyes is pale; the forehead, the crown, the nucha, the upper part, and the fides of the neck are of an obfcure blue and green {hining colour; the fides of the head under the eyes are obfcurely blue ; all the back and coverts of the wings are purple ; the upper coverts of the tail are not of fo confpicuous a purple colour, but as 'it were blackened with foot ; the nine primary quill- feathers are black ; the other fecondary ones are likewife black, but their outward margin is purple ; the twelve tail feathers have a blackifh . VOL. I. B b purple 3 jo February 1749. purple colour, and their tips are round ; thofc on the outiide are the fhorteft, and the middle extremely long. When the tail is fpread, it looks round towards the extremity. The throat is blueifh green, and fhining; the breaft is like- wife black or fhining green, according as you turn it to the light ; the belly is blackifh, and the vent feathers are obfcurely purple-coloured ; the parts of the breaft and belly which are cover- ed by the wings, are purple-coloured ; the wings are black below, or rather footy ; and the thighs have blackifti feathers ; the legs (tibia) ', and the toes are of a mining black. It has four toes, as moft birds have. The claws are black, and that on the back toe is longer than the reft. Dr. Linnaeus calls this bird Gracula qidfcula. A FEW of thefe birds are faid to winter in fwamps, which are quite overgrown with thick woods ; and they only appear in mild weather, But the greateft number go to the fouth at ths approach of winter. To-day I faw them, for the firft time this year. They flew in great flocks already. Their chief and moft agreeable food is maize. They come in great fwarms in fpring, foon after the maize is put under ground. They fcratch up the grains of maize, and eat them. As foon as the leaf comes out, they take hold of it with their bills, and pluck it up, to- gether with the corn or grain ; and thus they give a great deal of trouble to the country people, even fo early in Ipring. To leffen their greedi- nefs of maize, fome people dip the grains of that plant in a decodl. of the root of the veratrum al- bum, or white hellebore, (of which I fhall fpeak in New Jerfey, Raccoon. 371 in the fequel) and plant them afterwards. When the maize-thief eats a grain or two, which are fo prepared, his head is difordered, and he falls down : this frightens his companions, and they dare not venture to the place again. But they repay themfelvs amply towards autumn, when the maize grows ripe j for at that time, they are continually feafting. They afTemble by thoufands in the maize-fields, and live at difcre- tion. They are very bold ; for when they are difturbed, they only go and fettle in another part of the field. In that manner, they always go from one end of the field to the other, and do not leave it till they are quite fatisfied. They fly in incredible fwarms in autnmn ; and it can hardly be conceived whence fuch immenfe num- bers of them fhould come. When they rife in the air they darken the fky, and make it look quite black. They are then in fuch great num- bers, and fo clofe together, that it is furprifing how they find room to move their wings. I have known a perfon fhoot a great number of them on one fide of a maize-field, which was far from frightening the reft; for they only juft took flight, and dropped at about the diftance of a mufket- fhot inanotherpart of the field, andal ways changed their place when their enemy approached. They tired the fportfman, before he could drive them trom off the maize, though he killed a great many of them at every (hot. They likewife eat the feeds of the aquatic tare-grafs (Zizania aqua- ticaj commonly late in autumn, after the maize is got in. I am told, they likewife eat buck- wheat, and oats. Some people fay, that they B b 2 even 372 February 1749* even eat wheat, barley, and rye, when prefTeci by hunger ; yet, from the beft information I could obtain, they have not been found to da any damage to thefe fpecies of corn. In fpring, they fit in numbers on the trees, near the farms 5 and their note is pretty agreeable. As they are fo deftru&ive to maize, the odium of the inha- bitants again ft them is carried fo far, that the laws of Penfylvania and New Jerfey have fettled a premium of three-pence a dozen for dead maize-thieves. In New England, the people are ftill greater enemies to them ; for Dr. Franklin told me, in the fpring of the year 1750, that, by means of the premiums which have been fettled for killing them in New England, they have been fo extirpated, that they are very rarely feen, and in a few places only. But as, in the fummer of the year 1749, an immenfe quantity of worms appeared on the meadows, which de- voured the grafs, and did great damage, the people have abated their enmity againft the maize- thieves; for they thought they had ob- ferved, that thofe birds lived chiefly on thefe worms before the maize is ripe, and confequently extirpated them, or at leaft prevented their ipread- ing too much. They feern therefore to be en- titled, as it were, to a reward for their trouble, But after thefe enemies and deilroyers of the worms (the maize-thieves) were extirpated, the worms were more at liberty to multiply; and therefore they grew fo numerous, that they did more mif- chief now than the birds did before. In the furn- mer 1749, the worms left fo little hay in New that the inhabitants were forced to get hay New Jerfey, Raccoon. 373 hay from Penfyhania, and even from Old Eng- land. The maize-thieves have enemies befides the human fpecies. A fpecies of little hawks live upon them, and upon other little birds. I faw fome of thefe hawks driving up the maize-thieves, which were in the greateft fecurity, and catching them in the air. Nobody eats the flefh of the purple maize-thieves or daws (Gracula quifcula)} but that of the red -winged maize- thieves, or flares (Oriolus Phceniceus) is fometimes eaten. Some old people have told me, that this part of America* formerly called New Sweden, ftill con- tained as many maize-thieves as it did formerly. The caufe of this they derive from the maize, which is now fown in much greater quantity than formerly , and they think that the birds can get their food with more eafe at prefent. The American whortleberry, or the Vaccinium bifpiduhim, is extremely abundant over all North America, and grows in fuch places where we commonly find our whortle-berries in Sweden. The American ones are bigger, but in moft things fo like the Swedijh ones, that many people would take them to be mere varieties. The Engli/h call them Cranberries, the Swedes Tranbtzr, and the French in Canada Atopa, which is a name they have borrowed from the Indians. They are brought to market every Wednesday and Saturday at Philadelphia, late in autmn. They are boiled and prepared in the fame manner as we do our red whortle-berries, or Vaccinium vitis id the birds which I now enumerate, the gold- winged wood-pecker excepted. This fpecies is deftruftive to maize-fields and orchards, for it pecks through the ears of maize, and eats ip- ples. In fome years they are very numerous, ef- pecially where fweet apples grow, which they eat fo far, that nothing but the mere peels re- main. Some years ago there was a premiu-n of two pence per head, paid from the public finds, in order to extirpate this pernicious bii i, b t this law has been repealed. They are likewiff very fond of acorns. At the approach of winter travel to the fouthward. But when they lay in .lumbers New Jtrfiy, Raccoon. 379 numbers in the woods, at the beginning of win- ter, the people look upon it as a fign of a pretty mild winter. Picus varius, the leffer* fpotted, yellow-bellied Wood-pecker. Thefe birds are much more nu- merous than many people wiflied ; for this, as well as the preceding and fucceeding fpecies, are very hurtful to apple-trees. Picus pubefcensy or the lea ft f potted Wood-pecker. This fpecies abounds here. Of all the wood- peckers it is the moft dangerous tb orchards, be- caufe it is the moft daring. As foon as it has pecked a hole into the tree, it makes another clofe to the firft, in a horizontal direction, proceeding till it has pecked a circle of holes round the tree. Therefore the apple-trees in the orchards here havo^feveral rings round their ftems, which lie very clofe above each other, frequently only an inch diftant from each other. Sometimes thefe wood-peckers peck the holes fo clofe, that the tree dries up. This bird, as Catefcy remarks, is fo like the lefler fpotted wood-pecker, in regard to its colour and other qualities, that they would be taken for the fame bird, were not the former (the Picus pubefcens) a great deal lefs. They agree in the bad quality, which they both poflefs, of pecking holes into the apple-trees. Rana ocellata are a kind of frogs here, which the Swedes call, Sill-boppet offer, i. e. Herring- boppers, and which now began to quack in the evening, and at night, in fwamps, pools, and ponds. The name which the Swedes give them is derived from their beginning to make their noifc 3 So March 1749. noife in fpring, at the fame time when the peo- ple here go catching what are called herrings , which however differ greatly from the true Euro- pean herrings. Thefe frogs have a peculiar note, which is not like that of our European frogs, but rather correfponds with the chirping of fome large birds, and can nearly be expreffed by picet. With this noife they continued throughout a great part of fpring, beginning their noife foon after fun-fetting, and finishing it juft before fun-rif- ing. The found was {harp, but yet fo loud that it could be heard at a great diftance. When they expected rain they cried much worfe than commonly, and began in the middle of the day, or when it grew cloudy, and the rain came ufually fix hours after. As it fnowed on the 1 6th of the next month, and blew very violently all day, there was not the leaft fign of them at night y and during the whole time that it was cold, and whilft the fnow lay on the fields, the froft had fo filenced them, that we could not hear one : but as foon as the mild weather re- turned, they began their noife again. They were very timorous, and it was difficult to catch them; for as foon as a perfon approached the place where they lived, they are quite filent, and none of them appeared. It feems that they hide themfelves entirely under water, except the tip of the fnout, when they cry. For when I ftepped to the pond where they were in, I could not obferve a fmgle one hopping into the water. I could not fee any of them before I had emptied a whole pool, where they lodged in. Their colour is a dirty green, variegated with fpots of brown, When they New Jerfey, Raccoon. 381 they are touched they make a noife and moan ; they then fometimes affume a form, as if they had blown up the hind part of the back, fo that it makes a high elevation ; and then they do not ftir, though touched. When they are put alive into fpirits of wine, they die within a minute. Mar. 1 2th. THE bird which the Englifb and Swedes in this country call Robin-red-breajl *, is found here all the year round. It is a very dif- ferent bird from that which in "England bears the fame name. It is Linnceuss tfurdus migratorius. It iings very melodioufly, is not very ihy, but hops on the ground, quite clofe to the houfes. THE Hazels (Corylus avellana) were now open- ing their bloflbms. They fucceeded beft in a rich mould, and the Swedes reckoned it a fign of a good foil where they found them growing. Mar. 1 3th. THE alder (Betula Alnus) was juft bloffoming. THE Dracontium fcetidum grew plentifully in the marfhes and began to flower. Among the ftinking plants, this is the moft foetid ; its nau- feous Icent was fo ftrong, that I could hardly examine the flower ; and when I fmelled a little too long at it, my head ached. The Swedes call it Byorn-blad (bear's-leaf) or Byorn-retter (bear's-root.) The Englijh call it Polecat-root, becaufe its effluvia are as naufeous and foetid as thofe of the polecat, which I have mentioned before. The flowers are purple- coloured ; when they are in full flower, the leaves begin to come * Of this bird we have giver, a figure in plate 3, where like- wife the Mocking-bird is reprefented ; both drawn after fpecimens lately brought from America, and which we were favoured with. F. out 382 March 1749. out of the ground ; in fummer the cattle do riot touch it. Dr. Golden told me, that he had cm- ployed the root in all cafes where the root of the arum is made ufe of, efpecially againft the fcurvy, &c. The Swedijh name it got, becaufe the bears, when they leave their winter habita- tions, are fond of it in fpring. It is a common plant in all North America. THE Draba verna was abundant here, and now appeared in flower. THE Veratrum album was very common in the marfhes, and in low places over all North Ame- rica. The Swedes here call it Dack, Dackor, or Dackretter, that is puppet-root, becaufe the children make puppets of its flalks and leaves. The Englifb call it Itch-reed or Elkbore. It is a poifonous plant, and therefore the cat- tle never touch it ; however it fometimes hap- pens that the cattle are deceived in the begin- ning of fpring, when the paftures are bare, and eat of the fine broad green leaves of this plant, which come up very early ; but fuch a meal frequently proves fatal to them. Sheep and geefe have likewife often been killed with it. By means of its root, the maize is preferved from the greedinefs of voracious birds, in the follow- ing manner : The roots are boiled in water, into which the maize is put as foon as the water is quite cool ; the maize muft lie all night in it, and is then planted as ufual. When the maize- thieves, crows, or other birds, pick up or pluck out the grains of maize, their heads grow de- lirious, and they fall, which fo frightens the reft, that New Jtrfy* Raccoon. 383 that they never venture on the field again ; when thofe which have tailed the grains recover, they leave the field, and are no more tempted to vifit it again. By thus preparing maize, one muft be very careful that no other creatures touch it; for when ducks or fowls eat a grain or two of the maize which is thus fteeped, they become very fickj but if they fwallow a confiderable quantity they die. When the root is thrown av/ay raw, no animal eats it ; but when it is put out boiled, its fweet tafte tempts the beafts to eat it. Dogs have been feen to eat a little of it, and have been very fick after it; however they have recovered after a vomit, for when animals cannot free themfelves of it by this means, they often die. Some people boil the root, and warn. the fcorbutic parts with the water or decocT:. This is faid to caufe fome pain, and even a plen- tiful difcharge of urine, but it re-eftablifhes the patient. When the children here are plagued with vermin, the women boil this root, put the comb into the decodtion, and comb the head wit{i it, and this kills them moft effectually. Mar. 1 7th. AT the firft arrival of the Swedes in this country, and long after that time, it was filled with Indians. But as the Europeans pro- ceeded to cultivate the land, the Indians fold their land, and went further into the country. But in reality few of the Indians really left the country in this manner; mod of them ended their days before, either by wars among themfelves, or by the fmall-pox, a difeafe which the Indians were unacquainted with before their commerce with the Europeans, and which fince that time has killed 384 March 1749. killed incredible numbers of them. For though they can heal wounds and other external hurts, yet they know not how to proceed with fevers, or in general with internal difeafes. One can imagine, how ill they would fucceed with the cure of the fmall-poX, when, as foon as the puf- tules appeared, they leaped, naked, into the cold water of the rivers, lakes, or fountains, and either dived over head into it, or poured it over their body in great abundance, in order to cool the heat of the fever. In the fame manner they carry their children, when they have the fmall- pox, into the water and duck them*. But brandy has killed moft of the Indians. This liquor was likewife entirely unknown to them, before the Europeans came hither ; but after they had tafted it, they could never get enough of it. A man can hardly have a greater defire of a thing, than the Indians have of brandy. I have heard them fay, that to die by drinking brandy, was a deii- * ProfelTor Kalm wrote this, when the truly laudable method of treating the frnall-pox with a cold regimen, was not yet adopted ; and he thought therefore, the way in which the Americans treated this difeafe, was the caufe of its being fo deleterious. But when the Khalmucks, in the Rujfian dominions, get the fmall-pox, it has been obferved, that very few efcape. Of this 1 believe no other reafon can bealledged, than that the fmall-pox is always dangerous^ either when the open pores of the human (kin are too numerous, which is caufed by opening them in a warm-w r ater bath ; or when they are too much clofed, which is the cafe with all the nations that are dirty and greafy. All the American Indians rub their body with oils, the Khalmucks never wafli themfelves, and rub their bo- dies and their fur coats with greafe ; the Hottentots are I believe known to be patterns of filthinefs, their bodies being richly -anointed with their ornamental greafy iheep guts ; this fhuts up all the pores, hinders perfpiration entirely, and makes the fmall- pox always lethal among thefe nations ; to which we may yet add the too frequent ufe of fpirituous inflammatory liquor?, fmce their acquaintance with the Europeans. F. rable , Raccoon. 385 and an honourable death; and indeed 'tis no very uncommon thing to kill themfelves by drinking this liquor to excefs. THE food of thefe Indians was very different from that of the inhabitants of the other parts of the world. Wheat, rye, barley, oats, and rice* groats, were quite unknown in America. In the fame manner it is with regard to the fruits and herbs which are eaten in the old countries. The maize, fome kinds of beans, and melons, made almoft the whole of the Indian agriculture and gardening ; and dogs were the only domeftic animals in North America. But as- their agri- culture and their gardening were very trifling* and they could hardly live two months in a year upon their produce, they were forced to apply to hunting and fifliing, which at that time, and even at preient, are their chief fubfiftence, and to feek fome of the wild plants and trees here. Some of the old Swedes were yet alive, v/ho in their younger years had an intercourse with the Indians* avid had feen the minutiae of their . (Economy . I was therefore deiirous of knowing which of the fpontaneous herbs they made ufe of for food at that time; and all the old men agreed that the following plants were what they chiefly con- fumed : HOPNISS or Hapnifi was the Indian name of a wild plant, which they ate at that time. Th Swedes ftill call it by that name, and it grows in the meadows in a good foil. The roots refeinble potatoes, and were boiled by the Indians, who eat them inilead of bread. Some of the Swedes at that time likewife ate this root for want of bread* VOL. I C c Some March 1749. Some of the JLnglijh ftill eat them in ft card of po- tatoes. Mr. Bartram told me, that the Indians who live farther in the country do not only eat thefe roots, which are equal in goodnefs to po- tatoes, but likewife take the peafe which lie in the pods of this plant, and prepare them like common peafe. Dr. Linn&us calls the plant Gfycine dpios. KATNISS is another Indian name of a plant, the root of which they were likewife accuftomed to eat, when they lived here. The Swedes ftill preferve this name. It grows in low, muddy, and very wet ground. The root is oblong, com- monly an inch and an half long, and one inch and a quarter broad in the middle ; but fome of the roots have been as big as a man's fifts. The Indians either boiled this root or roafted it in hot afhes. Some of the Swedes likewife eat them with much appetite, at the time when the /#- titans were Ib near the coaft > but at prefent none of them make any ufe of the roots. A man of ninety-one years of age, called Nils Gujiqfson, told me, that he had often eaten thefe roots when he was a boy, and that he liked them very well at that time. He added that the Indians, efpecially their women, travelled to the iflands, dug out the roots, and brought them home ; and whilft they had them, they deiired no other food. They faid that the hogs, which are amazingly greedy of them, have made them very fcarce. The cattle are very fond of its leaves. I afterwards got ibrn& of thefe roots roafted, and in my opinion they tafted well, though they were rather dry: the tafte ^ r as nearly the fame with that of the pota- toes. New Jerfey, Raccoon. 387 toe's. When the Indians come down to the coaft and fee the turnips of the Europeans, they like-* Wife give them the name of katnifs. Their kat- ftifs is in an arrow-head or Sagittaria, arid is only a variety of the Shve&Jb arrow-head or Sagittaria f a git t if olia > for the plant above the ground is en- tirely the fame, but the root Under ground is much greater in the American \h&\\ in the Euro- pean. Mr. OJbeck in his voyage to China, men- tions, that the Chinefe plant a Sagittaria, and eat its roots. This fcems undoubtedly to be a va- riety of this katnifs. Further in the north of this part of America, I met with the other fpecies of Sagittaria which we have in Sweden. TAW- HO and Taw- him was the Indian name of another plant, the root of which they eat. Some of them likewife call it Tuckab ; but mod of the Swedes ftill knew it by the name of Taw- ho. It grows in moift ground and fwamps. Hogs are very greedy of the roots, and grow very fat by feeding on them. Therefore, they often vifit the places where thefe roots grow; and they are frequently feen rooting up the mud, and falling with their whole body into the water, fo that only a little of the back part was out of the wa- ter. It is therefore very plain, that thefe roots muft have been extirpated in places which are frequented by hogs. The roots often grow to the thicknefs of a man's thigh. When they are frefh, they have a pungent tafte, and are reck- oned a poifon in that frefh flate. Nor did the Indians ever venture to eat them raw, but pre- pared them in the following manner : They ga- thered a great heap of thefe roots, dug a great C c 2 long 3 88 March 1749. long hole, fometimes two or three fathoms and upwards in ' length, into which they put the roots, and covered them with the earth that had been taken out of the hole; they made a great fire above it, which burnt till they thought pro- per to remove it; and then they dug up the roots,- and con fumed them with great avidity. The& roots, when prepared in this manner, I am told, tafte like potatoes. The Indians never dry and preferve them ; but always take them freth out of the marfhes, when they want them. This Taw- bo is the Arum Virginicum^ or Virginian Wake- robin. It is remarkable, that the Arums, with the plants next akin to them, are eaten by men in different parts of the world, though their roots, when raw, have a fiery pungent tafie, and are almofl poifonous in that (late. Hew can men have learnt, that plants fo extremely oppofite to our nature were eatable ; and that their poifon, which burns on the toague, can be conquered by fire ? Thus the root of the Cola palnftris, which grows in the north of /,/- rope, is fometimes ufed inftead of bread on an ex- igency. The North American Indians con fume this fpecies of Arum. Thofe of South America, and of the Weft Indies, eat other fpecies of -Arums. The I-fvttentots, at the Cape of Good Hope, in Africa, prepare bread from a fpecies of Arum or Wake-fobin, which is as, burning and poifon- ous as the other .fpecies of this plant. In the fame manner, they employ the roots of fome kinds of Arum as a food, in Egypt and A/ia. Probably, that fevere but fometimes ufeful mif- trefs, neceffity, has firfl taught men to find out a New Jerfey, Raccoox. 389 a food, which the hrft tafte would hive rejected asufeleis. This Taw- bo feems to be the fame with what the Indian* in Carolina call Tucka/joo. TAW-KEE is another plant, fo called by the Indians, who eat it. Some of them call it Taw- kim, and others Tackviw. The Swedes call it al- ways by the name of Taw-kee. The plant grows in marmes, near moift and low grounds, and is very plentiful in North America. The cattle, hogs, and flags, are very fond of the leaves in fpring ; for they are feme of the earlieft. The leaves are broad, like thole of the Convatlaria, or Lilly of the Valley, green on the upper fide, and covered with very minute hair, fo that they looked like a fine velvet. The Indians pluck the feeds, and keep them for eating. They can- not be eaten fre(h or raw, but muft be dried. The Indians were forced to boil them repeatedly in water, before they were fit for life ; and then they ate them like peafe. When the Swedes gave them butter or milk, they boiled or broiled the foeds in it. Sometimes they employ thefe feeds inftead of bread -, and they tafte like peafe. Some of the Swedes likewile ate them ; and the old men among them told me, they liked this food better than any of the other plants which the Indians formerly made ufe of. This Taw-kee. was the Orontinm aquaiicitm. BILBERRIES were likewifc a very common dilh among the Indians. They are called Hue- kle-bcrries by the Engli/h here, and belong to feveral fpeciesof V actinium, which are all of them different from our Swedifa bilberry-bum, though their berries, in regard to colour, fliape, and tafte, C c 3 fo 3 9 o March 1749. are fo flrnilar to the Swd'Jk bilberry, that they are diftinguiihed from each other with difficulty. The American ones grow on fhrubs, which are from two to four feet high; and there are fome fpecies which are above feven feet in height. Ttte Indians formerly plucked them in nbun** dance every year, dried them either in the fun- fhine or by the fire-fide, and afteVwards prepared them for eating, in different manners, Thefe huckle-berries are ftill a dainty dim among the Indians. On my travels through the country of the Iroquefe, 'they offered me, whenever they defigned to treat me well, frem maize-bread, baked in an oblong {hape, mixed with dried Hue- kteberries, which lay as clofe in it as the raifins in a plumb-pudding, of which more in the fe- quel. The Europeans are likewife ufed to colleft a quantity of thefe berries, to dry them in ovens, to bake them in tarts, and to employ them in fe- veral other ways. Some prefer ve them with trea- cle. They are likewife eaten raw, either quite alone or with frefti milk. I SHALL, on the 27th of March, find occa- fion to mention another dim, which the Indians ate formerly, and ftill eat, on formal ceremo- mes. Mar. 1 8th. ALMOST during the whole of" this fpring, the weather and the winds were al- ways calm in. the morning at fun-riling. At eight o'clock the wind began to blow pretty hard, and continued fo all day, till fun-fetting; when it ceafed, and all the night was calm. This was the regular courfe of the weather; but fometimes the winds raged, without intermiffion> for two or New y&/iy, Raccoon. 39 r or three days together. At noon it was com- monly moft violent. But in the ordinary way, the wind decreafed and increafccl as follow, : At fix in the morning, a calm ; at (even, a verv gentle weftern breeze, which grew flronger at eight ; at eleven it was much ttrongcr; but at. four in the afternoon, it is no flronger than k was at eight o'clock ia the morning ; and thus it goes on decreafing till it is quite a calm, jufl before fun-fet. The winds this fpring blew ge- nerally weft, as appears from the obfervations at the end of this work. I was told, that it was a very certain prog- noftic of bad weather, that when you fee clouds in the horizon in the fouth-weft, about fun-fet- ting, and when thofe clouds fink below the ho- rizon, in an hour's time, it will rain the next day, though all the forenoon be fair and clear. But if fome clouds be feen in the fouth-weft, in the horizon, at fun-fet, and they rife fome time after, you may expert fair weather the next day, Mar. 2oth. AN old Swede prognoftic^ted a change in the weather, becaufe it was calm to- day i for when there has been wind for fome days together, and a calm follows, they fay, rain or fnow, or fome other change in the weather, will happen. I was likewife told, that fome people here were of that falfe opinion, that the weather commonly alters on Friday*, fo that, in cafe it had rained or blown hard all the week, and a change was to happen, it would com- monly fall on Friday. How far the former prog- noflic has been true, appears from my own ob- fervalions of the weather, to which I refer. C c 4 Mar. 39 2 March 1749. 21 ft. The red maple (Acer ruhrum) and the American elm (TJlmus Americana) began to flower at prefent ; and fome of the latter kind were already in full blofibm. Mar. 24th. I WALKED pretty far today, in order to fee whether I could find any plants in flower. But the cloudy weather, and the great rains .which had lately fallen, had allowed little or nothing to grow up. The leaves now be^ gan to grow pretty green. The plants which I have juft before mentioned, were now in full bloiTom. THE noble Liverwort, or Anemone hepatka> was new every where in flower. It was abun^ dant -, and the Swedes call it Blablomfier, or Blue- flower. They did not know any ufe of it. NEAR all the corn-fields on which I walked to-day, I did not fee a fingle ditch, though many of them wanted it. But the people generally followed the Rnglifo way, of making no ditches along the fields, without confidering whether the corn -fields wanted them or not. The ccnfe- quence was, that the late rain had in many places wafhed away great pieces of the grounds, fovvn with wheat and rye. There were no ridges left between the fields, except a very narrow one near the fence, which was entirely over-grown with the Sumach, or Rhys glabra, and with black-berry buihes, fo that there the cattle could find very little or no food. The corn-fields were brcad-cafty or divided into pieces, which were near feventeen feet broad, and feparated from each other cply by means of furrows. Thefe pieces New jf&fy Raccoon. 393 pieces were uniform, and not elevated in the middle. MELOE majalis, a fpecies of oil-beetle, crept about on the hills. PAPILIO Antiopa, or willow butterfly, flew in the woods to-day, and was the firft butterfly which I faw this year. PAPILIO Eupbrofyne, or the April butterfly, was one of the fcarce fpecies. The other Ame- rican infedts, which I defcrihed this day and the following days, I {hall mention on ibtne other occafion. In the fequel I fliall only mention thofe which were remarkable for forne peculiar qualities. THE hay-flacks were commonly made here after the Swtdi/b manner, that is, in the fhape of a thick and fhort cone, without any cover over it. When the people wanted any hay, they cut fome of it loofe, by a peculiar fort of a knife. However, many people, efpecially in the envi- rons of Philadelphia, had hay-flacks with roofs which could be moved up and down. Near the furface of the ground were fome poles laid, on which the hay was put, that the air may pafs freely through it. I have mentioned before, that the cattle have no {tables in winter or fummer, but muft go in the open air, during the whole year. However, in Philadelphia, and in a few other places, I have feen that thofe people who made life of the latter kind of hay-ftacks, viz. that with rnoveable roofs, commonly had built them fo, that the hay was put a fathom or two above the ground, on a floor of boards, under which the cattle could ftand in winter, when the weather was 394 March 1749. was ve/y bad. Under this floor of boards were partitions of boards on all the fides, which how- ever flood far enough from each other, to afford the air a free paffage. Mar. ayth. IN the morning I went in order to fpeak with the old Swede, Nils Guflafson, who was ninety-one years of age. I intended to get an account of the former ft ate of New Sweden. The country which I now palled through was' the fame with that which I had found in thofe parts of North America I had hitherto feen. It was diverfified with a variety of little hills and vallies : the former coniifted of a very pale brick- coloured earth, compofed, for the greateft part, of a fine fand mixed with fome mould. I faw no mountains, and no ftones, except fome little ftones, not above the fize of a pigeon's or hen's egg, lying on the hills, and commonly confiding of white quartz;, which was generally fmooth and poliflied on the outfide. At the bottom, along the vallies, ran fometimes rivulets of chry- ftalline water, the bottom of which was covered with fuch white pebbles as I have juft defcribed. Now and then I met with a fwamp in the val- Jies. Sometimes there appeared, though at confiderable diftances from each other, fome farms frequently furrounded on all fides by corn- fields. Almoft on every corn-field there yet re- mained the ftumps of trees, which had been cut down; a proof that this country has not been long cultivated, being overgrown with trees forty or fifty years ago. The farms did not lie toge- ther in villages, or fo that feveral of them were each other> in one places bijt they were all feparated New Jerfe}', Raccocn. 395 feparated from one another. Each countryman lived by himfelf, had his own ground about his houfe, feparated from the property of his neigh- bour. The greateft part of the land, between thefe farms fo diftant from each other, was over- grown with woods, confiding of tall trees. Here and there appeared fome fallen trees, thrown down by the wind ; fome were torn up by the roots ; others broken quite acrofs the ftem. In fome parts of the country the trees were thick and tall, but in others I found large traces co- vered with young trees, only twenty, thirty, or forty years old : thefe trafts, I am told, the Indi- ans formerly had their little plantations in. I did not yet fee any marks of the leaves coming out, and I did not meet with a flower in the woods : for the cold winds, which had blown for feveral days together fucceflively, had hindered this. The woods confifted chiefly of feveral fpecies of oak, and of hiccory. The fwamps were filled with red maple, which was all now in flower, and made thefe places look quite red at a diftance. THE old Swede, whom 1 came tovifit, feemed to be ftill pretty hearty and frem, and could walk by the help of a ilick ; but he complained of having felt, in thefe latter years, fome pains in his back, and limbs, that he could keep his feet warm in winter only by fitting near the fire* He faid he could very well remember the ftate of this country, at the time when the Dutch pof- fefied it, and in what circumftances it was in be-> fore the arrival of the Englifo. He added, that he had brought a great deal of timber to Phila~ dtlpbia, at the time that it was built. He ftill remembered 396 March remembered to have feen a great foreft on the fpot where Philadelphia now itands. The father of this old man had been one of the Swedes who were fent over from Sw^den^ in order to cultivate and inhabit this country. He returned me the following anfwers to the queftions I afked him. QUERK, Whence did the Swedes > who foil came hither, get their cattle? The old man an- fwered, that when he was a boy, his father and other people had told him, that the Swedes brought their horfes, cows, and oxen, (beep, hogs, geefe, and ducks, over with them. There were but few of a kind at firft, but they multi- plied greatly here afterwards. He laid, that Ma- ryland* New fork, New England, and Virginia* had been fooner inhabited by Europeans than this part of the country ; but he did not know whe- ther the Swedes ever got cattle of any kind, from any of thefe provinces, except from New Tork. Whilft he was yet vepy young, the Swedes, as well as he could remember, had already a fuffi- cient Itock of all thefe animals. The hogs had propagated fo much at that time, there being ib great a plenty of food for them, that they ran about wild in the woods, and that the people were obliged to fli^ot them, when they intended to make ufe of them. The old man likewife recol- lected, that horfes ran wild in die woods, in ibmc places ; but he could not tell whether any other kind of cattle turned wild. He thought that the cattle grow as big at prefent as they did when ho was a boy, fuppo ling they get as much food as they want, For in his younger years, food for ?H kinds of cattle was ib plentiful, and even fo Raccoon. 397 fuperfiuous, that the cattle were extremely well fed by it. A cow at that time gave more milk, than three or four do nt prefent; but (he got more and better food at that time, than three or four get now. QUE.RTS, Whence did the Er?g!t'/b in Penfyha- nla and New Jerfey get their cattle ? They bought them chiefly from the Swedes and Dutch, who lived here; and a fmall number were brought over from Old England. The form of the cattle, and the unanimous accounts of the Englifo here, confirmed what the old man had laid. QUERE, Whence did the Swedes here fettled get their feveral forts of corn, and like wife their fruit-trees and kitchen-herbs ? The old man told me that he had frequently heard, when he was young, that the Swedes had brought all kinds of corn, and fruits, and herbs, or feeds of them, with them. For, as far as he could recollect; the Swedes here were plentifully provided with wheat, rye, barley, and oats. The Swedes, at that time, brewed all their beer of malt made of barley, and likewife made good ftrgng beer. They had already got didiliing veffels, and made good brandy. Every one among them had not a diftilling veffel, but when they intended to dii- til, they lent their apparatus to one another. At firft they were forced to buy maize of the Indians, both for fowing and eating. But after continu- ing for fome years in this country they extended their maize plantations fo much that the Indian* were obliged, fome time after, to buy maize of the Swedes. The old man likewife affured me, that the Indians formerly, and about the time of ths firft 39& March 1749* firft fettling of the Swedes-, were mere induftrious and laborious in every branch of bufinefs, than they are now. Whilft he was young, the Swedes kad a great quantity of very good white cabbage* Winter cabbage, or Cale, which was left on the ground during winter, was likewife abundant. They were likewife well provided with turnips. In winter they kept them in holes under ground. But the old man did not like that method; for when they had lain too long in thefe holes, in winter, they became fpungy. He preferred that method of keeping them which is now commonly adopted, and which confifls in the following par- ticulars. After the turnips have been taken out of the ground in autumn, and expofed to- the air/ for a while, they are put in a heap upon the field, covered with ftraw at the top, and on the fides* and with earth over the ftraw. By this means they Hand the winter very well here, and do not become fpungy. The Indians were very fond of turnips, and called them fometimes Hopnifs, fometimes Katnifs. The Swedes likewife cul-* tivated carrots, in the old man's younger years* Among the fruit-trees were slpple- trees. They were not numerous, and only fome of the Swedes had little orchards of them, whilft others had not a iingle tree. None of the Swedes made cyder^ for it is come into ufe but lately. The Swedes brewed ftrong beer and fmall ( beer, and it was their common liquor. But at prefent there arc Very few who brew beer, for they commonly pre- pare cyder. Cherry-trees were abundant when Nils Guftafson was yet a boy. Peach-trees were at that time more numerous than at prefent, and the New Jerfey, Raccoon* 399 the Swedes brewed beer of the fruit. The old man could not tell from whence thfr Swedes firft of all got the peach-trees. DURING the younger years of this old man, the Indians were every where fpread in the coun- try ; they lived among the Swedes, and were fcat- tered every where. The old man mentioned Swedes who had been killed by the Indians-, and he mentioned two of his countrymen who had been fcalped by them. They ftole children from the Swedes, and carried them off, and they were never heard of again. Once they came and killed ibme Swedes, and took the upper part of their fculls with them ; on that occafion they fcalped a little girl, and would have killed her, if they had not perceived a boat full of Swedes, making towards them, which obliged them to fly; the girl was afterwards healed, but never got any hair on her head again : me was married, had many children, and lived to a confiderable age. At another time the Indians attempted to kill the mother of this old man, but (he vigoroufly reiifted them, and in the mean while a number of Swedes came up, who frightened the Indians^ and made them run away. Nobody could ever find out to what nation of Indians thefe owe their origin ; for in general they lived very peace- ably with the Swedes. THE Indians had their little plantations of maize in many places ; before the Swedes came into this country, the Indians had no other than their hatchets made of ftone. In order to make maize plantations they cut out the trees and pre- pared the ground in the manner I have before 5 men- 400 March 1749. mentioned. They planted but little maize, for they lived chiefly upon hunting ; and through- out the greateft part of fummer, their Hopnifs or the roots of the Glycine Apios> their Katnifs or the roots of the Sagittaria Sagittifolia, their Taw- ho or the roots of the Arum Virgin! cum, their Taw-keeorOrontium aquaticum* and whortle-ber- ries, Were their chief food. They had no horfes or other cattle which could be fubfervient to 1 them in their agriculture, and therefore did all the work with their own hands. After they had reaped the maize, they kept it in holes under ground, during winter 5 they dug thefe holes fel- dorn deeper than a fathom, and often not fa deep ; at the bottom and on the fides they put broad pieces of bark. The Andropogon bicQrne* a grafs which grows in great plenty here, and which the EkgUjft call Indian Grafs, and the Swedes Wiljkt Grafs * , fu p plies the wan t ofbark; the ears of maize are then thrown, into the hole, and covered to a confiderable thicknefs with the fame grafs, and the whole is again covered by a fufficient quantity of earth : the maize kept ex- tremely well in thofe holes, and each Indian had feveral fuch fubterraneous ilores, where his corn lay fafe, though he travelled far from it. After the Swedes had fettled here, and planted apple- trees and peach-trees, the Indians, and efpecially their women, fometimes Hole the fruit in great quantity; but when the Swedes caught them, they gave them a fevere drubbing, took the fruit from them, and often their clothes too. In the * Grafs of the favager, fame New Jerfey, Raccoon. 40 1 lame manner it happened fometimes, that as the Swedes had a great increafe of hogs, and they ran about in the woods, the Indians killed fome of them privately and feafted upon them : but there were likewife fome Indians who bought hogs of the Swedes and fed them ; they taught them to run after them like dogs, and whenever they removed from one place to another, their hogs always fol- lowed them. Some of thofe Indians got fuch numbers of thefe animals, that they afterwards gave them to the Swedes for a mere trifle. When the Swedes arrived in America^ the Indians had no domeftic animals, except a fpecies of little dogs. The Indians were extremely fond of milk, and ate it with pleafure when the Swedes gave it them. They likewife prepared a kind of liquor like milk in the following manner : they ga- thered a great number of hiccory nuts, and wal- nuts from the black walnut-trees, dried and crufhed them ; then they took out the kernels, pounded them fo fine as flour, and mixed this flour with water, which took a milky hue from them, and was as fweet as milk. They had to- bacco-pipes of clay, manufactured by.themfelves, at the time that the Swedes arrived here j they did not always fmoke true tobacco, but made ufe of another plant inftead of it, which was un- known to the old Swede, but of which he aflured me that it was not the common mullein, or Verbafcum Thapfus, which is generally called Indian Tobacco here. As to their religion, the old man thought it very trifling, and even believed that they had none at all 3 when they heard, loud claps of VOL. I. D d thunder, 402 March 1749. thunder, they faid that the evil fpirit was angry ; fome of them faid that they believed in a God, ,who lives in heaven. The old Swede once walked with an Indian, and they met with a red-fpotted fnake on the road, the old man therefore went to feek a ftick in order to kill the fnake 5 but the In- dian begged he would not touch it, becaufe he adored it : perhaps the Swede would not have killed it, but on hearing that it was the Indian's deity, he took a ftick and killed it, in the prefence of the Indian, faying : Becaufe thou believeft in it, I think myfelf obliged to kill it. Sometimes the /- * dians came into the Swedijh churches, looked at them, heard them, and went away again, after a while. One day as this old Swede was at church, ,and did not fing, becaufe he had no pfalm-book by him, one of the Indians, who was well acquaint- ed with him, tapped him on the (houlder, and faid, Why doft thou not Jing with the others^ Tan- t ant a I Ta?2tanta ! 'Tantanta? On another occafion, as a fermon was preached in the Swedijh church at Raccoon, an Indian came in, looked about him ; and, after hearkening a while to the preacher, he faid : Here is a great deal of prattle and non- fenfe, but neither brandy nor cyder ; and went out again. For it is to be obferved, that when an Indian makes a fpeech to his companions, in or- der to encourage them to war, or to any thing elfe, they all drink immoderately on thofe occafions. AT the time when the Swedes arrived, they bought land at a very inconfiderable price. For a piece of baize, or a pot full of brandy, or the like, they could get a piece of ground, which at prefent would be worth more than four hundred pounds. Penfyhania currency. When they fold a piece New yerfey, Raccoon. 403 a piece of land, they commonly figned an agree- ment 5 and though they could neither read nor write, yet they fcribbled their marks, or figna- tures, at the bottom of it. The father of old Nils Guftafson bought a piece of ground from the Indians in New jeffey. As foon as the agree- ment was drawn up, and the Indians fhould fign it, one of them, whofe name fignified a beaver, drew a beaver; another of them drew a bow and arrow ; and a third a mountain, inftead of their names. Their canoes they made of thick trees, which they hollowed out by fire, and made them fmooth again with their hatchets, as has been before mentioned. THE following account the old man gave me, in anfwer to my queftions with regard to the weather and its changes : It was his opinion, that the weather had always been pretty uni- form ever fince his childhood ; that there happen as great ftorms at prefent as formerly ; that the fummers now are fometimes hotter, fometimes colder, than they were at that time ; that the win- ters were often as cold and as long as formerly ; and that ftill there often falls as great a quan- tity of fnow as in former times. However, he thought that no cold winter came up to that which happened in the year 1697; and which is often mentioned in the almanacks of this country; and I have mentioned it in the beginning of this volume. For in that winter the river Delaware was fo ftrongly covered with ice, that the old man brought many waggons full of hay over it, near Chrijiina ; and that it was paffable in fledges even lower. No cattle, as far as he could recoiled-, D d 2 were 404 $arci) 1749. were ftarved to death in cold winters; except, in later years, fuch cattle as were lean, and had no ftables to retire into. It commonly does not rain, neither more or lefs, in fummer than it did formerly; excepting that, during the laft years, the fummers have been more dry. Nor could the old Swede find a diminution of water in brooks, rivers, and fwamps. He allowed, as a very common and certain fadl, that wherever you dig wells, you may meet with oyfter-fhells in the ground. The old Gujlafson was of opinion, that inter- mitting fevers were as frequent and violent for- merly as they are now ; but that they feemed more uncommon, becaufe there were fewer peo- ple at that time here. When he got this fever, he was not yet full grown. He got it in fum- mer, and had it till the enfuing fpring, which is almoft a year ; but it did not hinder him from doing his work, either within or, out of doors. Pleurify like wife attacked one or two of the Swedes formerly ; but it was not near fo common as it is now. The people in general were very healthy at that time. SOME years ago, the old Swede's eyes were fo much weakened that he was forced to make ufe of a pair of fpectacles. Hp then got a fever ; which was fo violent, that it was feared he would not recover. However, he became quite well again, and at the fame time got new ftrength in his eyes ; fo that he has been able to read with- out fpeftacles fince that time. T.IE houfes which the Swedes built when they firft fettled here, were very bad; The whole houfe New Jerfey, Raccoon. 405 houfe confifted of one little room, the door of which was fo low, that one was obliged to ftoop in order to get in. As they had brought no glais with them, they were obliged to be content with little holes, before which a moveable board was fattened. They found no mofs, or at leafl none which could have been ferviceable in flopping up holes or cracks in the walls. They were there- fore forced to clofe them, both without and within, with clay. The chimneys were made in a corner, either of grey fand, a ftone, or (in places where no ftone wa$ to be got) of mere clay, which they laid very, thick in one corner of the houfe. The ovens for baking were like wile in the room. BEFORE the Englift came to fettle here, the Swedes could not get as many cloaths as they wanted ; and were therefore obliged to make (hilt as well as they could. The men wpre waiftcoats and breeches of fkins. Hats were not in fafhion ; and they made little .caps, provided with flaps before. They had worded blockings. Their fhoes were of their own making. Some of them had learnt to prepare leather, and to make com- mon fhoes, with heels ; but thofe who were pot fhoemakers by profeflion, took the length of their feet, and fewed the leather together ac- cordingly; taking a piece for the fole, one for the hind-quarters, and one more for the upper- leather. At that time, they likewife fowed ftax here, and wove linen cloth. Hemp was not, to be got j and they made ufe of flaxen ropes and fifhing tackle. The women were dreffed in jackets and petticoats of fkins. Their beds, ex- D d 3 . ceptinj; 406 March 1749. cepting the (heels, were fkins of feveral animals $ fuch as bears, wolves, &c. TEA, coffee, and chocolate, which are at prefent univerfally in ufe here, were then * wholly unknown. Bread and butter, and other fubftan- tial food, was what they breakfafted upon ; and the above-mentioned fuperfluities have only been lately introduced, according to the account of the old Swede. Sugar and treacle they had in abund- ance, as far as he could remember j and rum formerly bore a more moderate price. FROM the accounts of this old Swede I con- cluded, that before the Englijh fettled here, they followed wholly the cuftoms of Old Sweden ; but after the Englijh had been in the country for fome time, the Swedes began gradually to follow their cuftoms. When this Swede was but a boy, there were two Swedt/?} fmiths here, who made hatchets, knives, and fcythes, exa&ly like the Swedijh ones, and made them (harper than they can be got now. The hatchets now in ufe are in the Englijh way, with a broad edge ; and their handles are very narrow. Almoft all \\\z 'Swedes make ufe of baths ; and they commonly bathed every Saturday. They celebrated Chriftmas with feveral forts of games,; and with feveral peculiar difhes, as is ufual in Sweden ; all which is now, for the greateft part, left off. In the younger years of this Swede, they made a peculiar kind of carts here. They fawed thick pieces of liquid- amber trees, and made ufe of two of them for the foremoft wheels, and of two more for the j * Before the JLvgUJb fettled here, hind- New Jerfey y Raccoon. 407 hindmoft. With thofe carts they brought home their wood. Their fledges were at that time made almoft in the fame manner as they arc now, or about as broad again as the true Swcdiflj ones. Timber and great beams of wood were carried upon a dray. They baked great loaves, fuch as they do now. They never had any bif- cuit, though the clergymen, who came frbrn Sweden, commonly got fome baked. THE Englijh on their arrival here bought large tradls of land of the Swedes, at a very inconfide- rable price. The father of the old Swede fold an eftate to the Engli/h, which at this time would be reckoned worth three hundred pounds, for which he got a cow, a fow, and a hundred gourds. WITH regard to the decreafe of birds, the num- ber of them and fi(h, he was wholly of that opi- nion which I have already mentioned. This was the account which the old man gave me of the former ftate of the Swedes in this country, I (hall fpeak more particularly of it in the fequel. HURRICANES are fometimes very violent her^ and often tear up great trees. They fometimes proceed as it were in peculiar trafts, or lines. In fome places, efpecially in the hurricane's tradt, all the trees are (truck down, and it looks as if the woods were cut down defignedly j but clofe to the tradl the trees receive no hurt. Such is the place which was (hewn to me to-day. It is dan- gerous to go into the woods where the hurricanes blow 5 for no one can guard fufficiently againft the fudden fall of trees. Dd 4 THE 4o3 March 1749. THE Penfylvanian dlfp was now in full blof- fom. But neither this tree, nor thofe near a-kin to jt, (hewed their leaves. AN old countryman aflerted, that he common- ly fowed a buflicl of rye on an acre of ground, and- got twenty buftiels in return ; but from a buflicl of barley he got thirty bufhels. However in that cafe the ground muft be well prepared. Wheat returns about as much as rye. The foil was a clay mixed with fand and mould. In the evening I returned * . March 28th. 1 FOUND a black beetle -j~ (Scara- b&us) with a pentagonal oval Glypeus or (hield, on the head a mort blunt horn, and a gibbous or hump-backed Thorax, or Corfelet. This beetle is one of the bigger fort here. I found here and there holes in the hills, which were fo wide that I cculd put my finger into them. On digging them up I always found thefe beetles lying at the bottom, about five inches under ground. Some- times there were fliort whitim worms, about as thick as one's finger, which lay with the beetles ; and perhaps they were related to them. There were likewife other infects in fuch holes, as a black cricket (Gryllus campeftris), fpiders, earth- beetles (Garabi), and others. This beetle had a /cent exactly like the Trifolium melilotus ccerulea y or the blue melilot. It was entirely covered with oblong pale ticks (Acari). Its %t were as * From Nils Guftafson^ the old S-:v,Jc. f The beetle here defcribed, fcems ro be the Scara&ceus Caroli- pus, -Linn. Syft. Nar.,p. $45, and of Drury I ihift rations of Nat. Hi ft. tab. 35;. f. 2. It is common in NcvjYork t New Jerfey t Pen- Jylvania, ?~laryland t and Carolina, F. ftrong New Jerfey, Raccoon. 405 ftrong as thofe of the common Dung-chaffer (Scarabausjlerccrarius) . April 4th. A Cicindela, or ihining beetle, with a gold-green head, thorax,, and feet, #nd a blue- green abdomen or belly, flew every were about the fields, and was hunting, other infedls. Iris very comrnqn in North America, apd feems to be a mere variety of the Cicirylela camptftris. CiMR.x lacujlris, a kind of Water-hugs, hop- ped in numbers on the furface of waters which had a flow courfe. DYTISCUS piceus y or, the great Water-beetle^ fwam fometimes in the water. ABOUT fixty years ago, the greateft part of this country was covered with tall and thick trees, and the fwamps were fu)l of water. But it has undergone fo great a change, ,as few other places have undergone in fo ftiort a time. At prefent the forefts are cut down in moft places, the fwamps drained by ditches, the cpuntry cul- tivated, and changed into corn- fields, meadow?, and paftures. Therefore, it feems very reafon- able to fuppofe, that fo fudden a change has like- wife had fome effedt upon the weather. I was therefore defirous of hearing from the old Swedes^ who have lived the longeft in this country, and have been inhabitants of this place during the whole time of the change mentioned, whether the prefent ftate of the weather was in fome parti-, culars remarkably different from that which they felt in their younger years ? The following is an account which they all unanimoufly gave me in anfwer to this queftion. THE winter came fooner formerly than it does now. 410 r April 17 49. now. Mr. Ifaac Norris, a wealthy merchant, who has a confiderable (hare in the government of Penfyhania, confirmed this by a particular ac- count. His father, one of the firft Engiijh mer- chants in this country, obferved, that in his younger years, the river Delaware was commonly covered with ice, about the middle of November , old ftyle, fo that the merchants were obliged to bring down their fhips in great hafte before that time, for fear of their being obliged to lie all winter. On the contrary, this river feldom freezes over at prefent, before the middle of December, old ftyle. IT fnowed much more in winter, formerly, than it does now ; but the weather in general was likewife more conftant and uniform ; and when the cold fet in, it continued to the end of February, or till March, old ftyle, when it com- monly began to grow warm. At prefent, it is warm, even the very next day after a fevere cold; and fometimes the weather changes feveral times a day. MOST of the old people here were of opinion, that fpring came much later at prefent than for- merly, and that it was now much colder in the latter end of February r , and the whole month of May, than v/hen they were young. Formerly the fields were as green, and the air as warm, towards the end of February, as it is now in March, or in the beginningbf^>r//, old ftyle. The Swedes at that time made ufe of this phrafe : Pajk bitida, Pajkfent, altid Gras-, that is, we have al- ways grais at Eajter, whether it be foon or late in the year. But perhaps we can account as follows, New Jerfey, Raccoon. 411 follows, for the opinion which the people here have, that vegetation appeared formerly more for- ward than it does now. Formerly the cattle were not fo numerous as now; however, the woods were full of grafs and herbs, which, according to the teftimony of all the old people here, grew to the height of a man. At prefent a great part of the annual grafles and plants have been entirely extirpated by the continual grazing of numbers of cattle. Thefe annual grafles were probably green very early in fpring, and (being extirpated) might lead the people to believe, that every thing came on fooner formerly than it does at prefent. IT ufed to rain more abundantly than it does now ; during the harveft efpecially, the rains fell in fuch plenty, that it was very difficult to bring home the hay and corn. However, a few peo- ple were of opinion that it rained as plentifully at prefent as formerly. ALL the people agreed, that the weather was not by far fo inconftant, when they were young, as it is now. For at prefent it happens at all times of the year, that when a day has been warm, the next is very cold, and vice verfa. It fre- quently happens that the weather alters feveral times in one day ; fo that when it has been a pretty warm morning, the wind blows from N. W. about ten o'clock, and brings a cold air with it ; yet a little after noon it may be warm again. My meteorological obfervations fufficiently con- firm the reality of the fudden changes of wea- ther, which are faid to caufe, in a great meafure, the 412 April 1749. the people to be more unhealthy at prefent, than they were formerly. I likewife found every body agree in affcrting, that the winter, betwixt the autumn of the year 1697, anc ^ h e fp r i n g f ^e ysar 1698, was the coldeil and fevereft which they had ever felt. April 6th. SANGUINARIA Canadenfis, which is here called Blood-root, becaufe the root is great and red, and, when cut, looks like the root of red beet, and the Epig&a repens, which fome.call the creeping Ground Laurel, were both beginning to flower. The former grew in a rich mould, the other in a poorer foil. THE Laurus czflivalis, which fome people call Spice-wood, likewife began to blpffpm about this time ; its leaves were not yet broke, out 5 it liked a moift foil in the woods. ^/w/pth. APOCYNUM Cannabinum was by the Swedes called Hemp -of the Indians*, and grew plentifully in old corn-grounds, in woods, on hills, and in high glades. The Swedes have given it the name of Indian .hemp, becaufe the Indi- ans formerly, and even now, apply it to the fame purpofes as the Europeans do hemp j for the ftalk may be divided into filaments, and is eafily. pre- pared. When the Indians- were yet fettled among the Swedes, in Penfyhanla and.A 7 ^ Jerfey, they made ropes of this Apocynum,, which the Swedes bought, and employed th<^ni as bridles, and for nets. Thefe ropes were. Wronger,, and kept longer in water, than fuch as were made of common hemp. The Swedes, .commonly got fourteen yards New Jerfey> "Raccoon. 413 yards of thefe ropes for one piece of bread. Many of the Europeans ftill buy fuch ropes, becaufe they laft fo well. The Indians like- wife make feveral other fluffs of their hemp. On my journey through the country of the Iroquefe, I faw the women employed in ma- nufadluring this hemp. They made ufe neither of fpinning-wheels nor diftaffs, but rolled the filaments upon their bare thighs, and made thread and firings of them, which they dyed red, yel- low, black, &c. and afterwards worked them, into fluffs, with a great deal of ingenuity. The plant is perennial, which renders the annual planting of it altogether unneceffary. Out of the root and ftalk of this plant, when it is frefh, comes a white milky juice, which is fomewhat poifonous. Sometimes the fiihing tackle of the Indians confifts entirely of this hemp. The Eu- ropeans make no ufe of it, that I know of. FLAX and Cat-tail, were names given to a plant which grows in bays, rivers, and in deep whirlpools, and which is known tobotanifts by the ; name of Typha lati folia. Its leaves are here twifted together, and formed into great oblong rings, which are put upon the horfe's neck, between the mane and the collar, in order to prevent the horfc's neck from being hurt by the collar. The bottoms of chairs were frequently made of thefe leaves, twifted together. Formerly the Swedes employed the wool or cotton which furrounds its feeds, and put it into their beds inftead of feathers; but as it coalefces into lumps after the beds have been ufed for fome time, they have left off making ufe of them. I omit the ufe of this '414 'April 1749. this plant in phyfic, it being the peculiar pre- vince of the phyficians. A SPECIES of Leek*, very like that which appears only in woods on hills in Sweden, grows at prefent on almoft all corn-fields mixed with farich The Englijh here called it Garlick. On fome fields it grew in great abundance. When the cattle grazed on fuch fields, and ate the gar- lick, their milk, and the butter which was made of it, tafted fo ftrong of it, that they were fcarce eatable. Sometimes they fold butter in the Phi- ladelphia markets, which tafted fo ftrong of garlick that it was entirely ufelefs. On this account, they do not fuffer milking cows to graze on fields where garlicjc abounds : this they referve for other fpecies of cattle. When the cattle eat much of this garlick in fummer, their flefh has likewife fuch a ftrong flavour, that it is unfit for eating. This kind of garlick appears early infpring; and the horfes always paffed by it without ever touching it. * Allium arvenfe ; odore grav! t capttulis lulbofit rulentibus. See Gronov, Flora Virginica, 37. This Leek feems to be Dr. Lin- nauss Allium Canaden/e, fcapo nudo tereti, foliis linearibus f cepitufa bulbifero. Spec. Plant. I. p. 431. F. END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. 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