PETER KALM’s TRAVELS. (continued 2)

Taw-kee is another plant, so called by the Indians who eat it. Some of them call it Taw-kim, and others Tackvim. The Swedes call it always by the name of Taw-kee. The plant grows in marshes, near moist and low grounds, and is very plentiful in North America. The cattle, hogs and stags, are very fond of the leaves in spring; for they are some of the earliest. The leaves are broad, like those of the Convallaria, or Lilly of the Valley, green on the upper side, and covered with very minute hair, so that they looked like a fine velvet. The Indians pluck the seeds, and keep them for eating. They cannot be eaten fresh or raw, but must be dried. The Indians were forced to boil them repeatedly in water, before they were fit for use; and then they ate them like pease. When the Swedes gave them butter or milk, they boiled or broiled the seeds in it. Sometimes they employ these seeds instead of bread; and they taste like pease. Some of the Swedes likewise 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 use of. This Taw-kee was the Orontium aquaticum.

Bilberries were likewise a very common dish among the Indians. They are called Huckleberries by the English here, and belong to several species of Vaccinium, which are all of them different from our Swedish Bilberry-bush, though their berries, in regard to colour, shape, and taste, are so similar to the Swedish bilberry, that they are distinguished from each other with difficulty. The American ones grow on shrubs, which are from two to four feet high; and there are some species which are above seven feet in height. The Indians formerly plucked them in abundance every year, dried them either in the sun-shine or by the fire-side, and afterwards prepared them for eating, in different manners, These huckleberries are still a dainty dish among the Indians. On my travels through the country of the Iroquese, they offered me, whenever they designed to treat me well, fresh maize-bread, baked in an oblong shape, mixed with dried Huckleberries, which lay as close in it as the raisins in a plumb-pudding. I shall write more at large about it in the sequel. The Europeans are likewise used to collect a quantity of these berries, to dry them in ovens, to bake them in tarts, and to employ them in several other ways. Some preserve them with treacle. They are likewise eaten raw, either quite alone or with fresh milk.

I shall, on the 27th of March, find occasion to mention another dish, which the Indians ate formerly, and still eat, on formal ceremonies.

March the 18th. Almost during the whole of this spring, the weather and the winds were always calm in the morning at sun-rising. At eight o’clock the wind began to blow pretty hard, and continued so all day, till sun-setting; when it ceased, and all the night was calm. This was the regular course of the weather; but sometimes the winds raged, without intermission, for two or three days together. At noon it was commonly most violent. But in the ordinary way, the wind decreased and increased as follows: At six in the morning, a calm; at seven, a very gentle western breeze, which grew stronger at eight; at eleven it was much stronger; but at four in the afternoon, it is no stronger than it was at eight o’clock in the morning; and thus it goes on decreasing till it is quite a calm, just before sun-set. The winds this spring blew generally west, as appears from the observations at the end of this volume.

I was told, that it was a very certain prognostic of bad weather, that when you see clouds in the horizon in the south-west, about sun-setting, and when those clouds sink below the horizon, in an hour’s time, it will rain the next day, though all the forenoon be fair and clear. But if some clouds be seen in the south-west, in the horizon, at sun-set, and they rise some time after, you may expect fair weather the next day.

March the 20th. An old Swede prognosticated a change in the weather, because it was calm to-day; for when there has been wind for some days together, and a calm follows, they say, rain or snow, or some other change in the weather, will happen. I was likewise told, that some people here were of that false opinion, that the weather commonly alters on Friday; so that, in case it had rained or blown hard all the week, and a change was to happen, it would commonly fall on Friday. How far the former prognostic has been true, appears from my own observations of the weather, to which I refer.

March the 21st. The red maple (Acer rubrum) and the American elm (Ulmus Americana) began to flower at present; and some of the latter kind were already in full blossom.

March the 24th. I walked pretty far to-day, in order to see 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 began to grow pretty green. The plants which I have just before mentioned, were now in full blossom.

The noble Liverwort, or Anemone hepatica, was now every where in flower. It was abundant; and the Swedes called it Blablomster, or Blue-flower. They did not know any use of it.

Near all the corn-fields on which I walked to-day, I did not see a single ditch, though many of them wanted it. But the people generally followed the English way of making no ditches along the fields, without considering whether the corn-fields wanted them or not. The consequence was, that the late rain had in many places washed away great pieces of the grounds, sown 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 Rhus glabra, and with black-berry bushes, so that there the cattle could find very little or no food. The corn fields were broad-cast, or divided into pieces, which were near seventeen feet broad, and separated from each other only by means of furrows. These pieces were uniform, and not elevated in the middle.

Meloe majalis a species of oil-beetle, crept about on the hills.

Papilio Antiopa, or willow butterfly, flew in the woods to-day, and was the first butterfly which I saw this year.

Papilio Euphrosyne, or the April butterfly, was one of the scarce species. The other American insect, which I described this day and the following days, I shall mention on some other occasion. In the sequel I shall only mention those which were remarkable for some peculiar qualities.

The hay-stacks were commonly made here after the Swedish manner, that is, in the shape of a thick and short cone, without any cover over it. When the people wanted any hay, they cut some of it loose, by a peculiar sort of a knife. However, many people, especially in the environs of Philadelphia, had hay-stacks with roofs which could be moved up and down. Near the surface of the ground were some poles laid, on which the hay was put, that the air may pass freely through it. I have mentioned before, that the cattle have no stables in winter or summer, but must go in the open air, during the whole year. However, in Philadelphia, and in a few other places, I have seen that those people who made use of the latter kind of hay-stacks, viz. that with moveable roofs, commonly had built them so, that the hay was put a fathom or two above the ground, on a floor of boards, under which the cattle could stand in winter, when the weather was very bad. Under this floor of boards were partitions of boards on all the sides, which however stood far enough from each other, to afford the air a free passage.

March the 27th. In the morning I went in order to speak with the old Swede, Nils Gustafson, who was ninety-one years of age. I intended to get an account of the former state of New Sweden. The country which I now passed through was the same with that which I had found in those parts of North America I had hitherto seen. It was diversified with a variety of little hills and vallies: the former consisted of a very pale brick-coloured earth, composed, for the greatest part, of a fine sand, mixed with some mould. I saw no mountains, and no stones, except some little stones, not above the size of a pigeon’s or hen’s egg, lying on the hills, and commonly consisting of white quartz, which was generally smooth and polished on the outside. At the bottom, along the vallies, ran sometimes rivulets of crystalline water, the bottom of which was covered with such white pebbles as I have just described. Now and then I met with a swamp in the vallies. Sometimes there appeared, though at considerable distances from each other, some farms, frequently surrounded on all sides by corn-fields. Almost on every corn-field there yet remained the stumps 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 ly together in villages, or so that several of them were near each other, in one place; but they were all separated from one another. Each countryman lived by himself, had his own ground about his house, separated from the property of his neighbour. The greatest part of the land, between these farms so distant from each other, was over-grown with woods, confiding of tall trees. However, there was a fine space between the trees, so that one could ride on horseback without inconvenience in the woods, and even with a cart in most places; and the ground was very plain and uniform at the same time. Here and there appeared some fallen trees, thrown down by the wind; some were torn up by the roots; others broken quite across the stem. In some parts of the country the trees were thick and tall, but in others I found large tracts covered with young trees, only twenty, thirty, or forty years old: these tracts, I am told, the Indians formerly had their little plantations in. I did not yet see 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 several days together successively, had hindered this. The woods consisted chiefly of several species of oak, and of hiccory. The swamps were filled with red maple, which was all now in flower, and made these places look quite red at a distance.

The old Swede, whom I came to visit, seemed to be still pretty hearty and fresh, and could walk by the help of a stick; but he complained of having felt in these latter years, some pains in his back, and limbs, and that he could keep his feet warm in winter only by sitting near the fire. He said he could very well remember the state of this country, at the time when the Dutch possessed it, and in what circumstances it was in before the arrival of the English. He added, that he had brought a great deal of timber to Philadelphia, at the time that it was built. He still remembered to have seen a great forest on the spot where Philadelphia now stands. The father of this old man had been one of the Swedes who were sent over from Sweden, in order to cultivate and inhabit this country. He returned me the following answers to the questions I asked him.

Quere, Whence did the Swedes, who first came hither, get their cattle? The old man answered, that when he was a boy, his father and other people had told him, that the Swedes brought their horses, cows, and oxen, sheep, hogs, geese, and ducks, over with them. There were but few of a kind at first, but they multiplied greatly here afterwards. He said, that Maryland, New York, New England, and Virginia, had been sooner inhabited by Europeans than this part of the country; but he did not know whether the Swedes ever got cattle of any kind, from any of these provinces, except from New York. Whilst he was yet very young, the Swedes, as well as he could remember, had already a sufficient stock of all these animals. The hogs had propagated so much at that time, there being so great a plenty of food for them, that they ran about wild in the woods, and that the people were obliged to shoot them, when they intended to make use of them. The old man likewise recollected, that horses ran wild in the woods, in some places; but he could not tell whether any other kind of cattle turned wild. He thought that the cattle grow as big at present as they did when he was a boy, supposing they get as much food as they want. For in his younger years, food for all kinds of cattle was so plentiful, and even so superfluous, that the cattle were extremely well fed by it. A cow at that time gave more milk, than three or four do at present; but she got more and better food at that time, than three or four get now; and, as the old man said, the scanty allowance of grass, which the cattle get in summer, is really very pitiful. The causes of this scarcity of grass have already been mentioned.

Quere, Whence did the English in Pensylvania and New Jersey get their cattle? They bought them chiefly from the Swedes and Dutch, who lived here; and a small number were brought over from Old England. The form of the cattle, and the unanimous accounts of the English here, confirmed what the old man had said.

Quere, Whence did the Swedes here settled get their several sorts of corn, and likewise 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 seeds 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 likewise made good strong beer. They had already got distilling vessels, and made good brandy. Every one among them had not a distilling vessel, but when they intended to distil, they lent their apparatus to one another. At first they were forced to buy maize of the Indians, both for sowing and eating. But after continuing for some years in this country, they extended their maize-plantations so much that the Indians were obliged some time after to buy maize of the Swedes. The old man likewise assured me, that the Indians formerly, and about the time of the first settling of the Swedes, were more industrious and laborious in every branch of business, than they are now. Whilst he was young, the Swedes had a great quantity of very good white cabbage. Winter cabbage, or Cale, which was left on the ground during winter, was likewise abundant. They were likewise 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 these holes, in winter, they became spungy. He preferred that method of keeping them which is now commonly adopted, and which consists in the following particulars. After the turnips have been taken out of the ground in autumn, and exposed to the air for a while, they are put in a heap upon the field, covered with straw at the top, and on the sides, and with earth over the straw. By this means they stand the winter very well here, and do not become spungy. The Indians were very fond of turneps, and called them sometimes Hopniss, sometimes Katniss. The Swedes likewise cultivated carrots, in the old man’s younger years. Among the fruit-trees were Apple-trees. They were not numerous, and only some of the Swedes had little orchards of them, whilst others had not a single tree. None of the Swedes made cyder, for it is come into use but lately. The Swedes brewed strong beer and small beer, and it was their common liquor. But at present there are very few who brew beer, for they commonly prepare cyder. Cherry-trees were abundant when Nils Gustafson was yet a boy. Peach-trees were at that time more numerous than at present, and the Swedes brewed beer of the fruit. The old man could not tell from whence the Swedes first of all got the peach-trees.

During the younger years of this old man the Indians were every where spread in the country; they lived among the Swedes, and were scattered every where. The old man mentioned Swedes who had been killed by the Indians; and he mentioned two of his countrymen who had been scalped by them. They stole children from the Swedes, and carried them off, and they were never heard of again. Once they came and killed some Swedes, and took the upper part of their sculls with them; on that occasion they scalped 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; she was married, had many children, and lived to a considerable age. At another time, the Indians attempted to kill the mother of this old man, but she vigorously resisted 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 these owe their origin; for in general they lived very peaceably with the Swedes.

As to their religion, the old man thought it very trifling, and even believed that they had none at all; when they heard loud claps of thunder, they said that the evil spirit was angry; some of them said that they believed in a God, who lives in heaven. The old Swede once walked with an Indian, and they met with a red-spotted snake on the road: the old man therefore went to seek a stick in order to kill the snake; but the Indian begged he would not touch it, because he adored it: perhaps the Swede would not have killed it, but on hearing that it was the Indian’s deity, he took a stick and killed it, in the presence of the Indian, saying: Because thou believest in it, I think myself obliged to kill it. Sometimes the Indians came into the Swedish 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 sing, because he had no Psalm-book by him, one of the Indians, who was well acquainted with him, tapped him on the shoulder, and said: Why dost thou not sing with the others, Tantanta! Tantanta! Tantanta? On another occasion, as a sermon was preached in the Swedish church, at Raccoon, an Indian came in, looked about him; and, after hearkening a while to the preacher, he said: Here is a great deal of prattle and nonsense, but neither brandy nor cyder; and went out again. For it is to be observed, that when an Indian makes a speech to his companions, in order to encourage them to war, or to any thing else, they all drink immoderately on those occasions.

At the time when the Swedes arrived, they bought land at a very inconsiderable price. For a piece of baize, or a pot full of brandy, or the like, they could get a piece of ground, which at present would be worth more than four hundred pounds, Pensylvania currency. When they sold a piece of land, they commonly signed an agreement; and though they could neither read nor write, yet they scribbled their marks, or signatures, at the bottom of it. The father of old Nils Gustafson bought a piece of ground from the Indians in New Jersey. As soon as the agreement was drawn up, and the Indians should sign it, one of them, whose name signified a beaver, drew a beaver, another of them drew a bow and arrow, and a third a mountain, instead of their names. Their canoes they made of thick trees; which they hollowed out by fire, and made them smooth again with their hatchets, as has been before mentioned.

The following account the old man gave me, in answer to my questions with regard to the weather and its changes: It was his opinion, that the weather had always been pretty uniform ever since his childhood; that there happen as great storms at present as formerly; that the summers now are sometimes hotter, sometimes colder, than they were at that time; that the winters were often as cold and as long as formerly; and that still there often falls as great a quantity of snow 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 preceding volume. For in that winter the river Delaware was so strongly covered with ice, that the old man brought many waggons full of hay over it, near Christina; and that it was passable in sledges even lower. No cattle, as far as he could recollect, were starved to death in cold winters; except, in later years, such cattle as were lean, and had no stables to retire into. It commonly does not rain, neither more nor less, in summer than it did formerly; excepting that, during the last years, the summers have been more dry. Nor could the old Swede find a diminution of water in brooks, rivers, and swamps. He allowed, as a very common and certain fact, that wherever you dig wells, you meet with oyster-shells in the ground.

The old Gustafson was of opinion, that intermitting fevers were as frequent and violent formerly as they are now; but that they seemed more uncommon, because there were fewer people at that time here. When he got this fever, he was not yet full grown. He got it in summer, and had it till the ensuing spring, which is almost a year; but it did not hinder him from doing his work, either within or out of doors. Pleurisy likewise attacked one or two of the Swedes formerly; but it was not near so common as it is now. The people in general were very healthy at that time.

Some years ago, the old Swede’s eyes were so much weakened that he was forced to make use of a pair of spectacles. He then got a fever; which was so violent, that it was feared he would not recover. However, he became quite well again, and at the same time got new strength in his eyes; so that he has been able to read without spectacles since that time.

The houses which the Swedes built when they first settled here, were very bad. The whole house consisted of one little room, the door of which was so low, that one was obliged to stoop in order to get in. As they had brought no glass with them, they were obliged to be content with little holes, before which a moveable board was fastened. They found no moss, or at least none which could have been serviceable in stopping up holes or cracks in the walls. They were therefore forced to close them, both without and within, with clay. The chimnies were made in a corner, either of grey sand, a stone, or (in places where no stone was to be got) of mere clay, which they laid very thick in one corner of the house. The ovens for baking were likewise in the rooms. Formerly the Swedes had proper stables for the cattle; but after the English came hither, and made no peculiar buildings for their cattle, the Swedes likewise left off making stables.

Before the English came to settle here, the Swedes could not get as many cloaths as they wanted; and were therefore obliged to make shift as well as they could. The men wore waistcoats and breeches of skins. Hats were not in fashion; and they made little caps, provided with flaps before. They had worsted stockings. Their shoes were of their own making. Some of them had learnt to prepare leather, and to make common shoes, with heels; but those who were not shoemakers by profession, took the length of their feet, and sewed the leather together accordingly; taking a piece for the sole, one for the hind-quarters, and one more for the upper-leather. At that time, they likewise sowed flax here, and wove linen cloth. Hemp was not to be got; and they made use of flaxen ropes and fishing tackle. The women were dressed in jackets and petticoats of skins. Their beds, excepting the sheets, were skins of several animals; such as bears, wolves, &c.

From the accounts of this old Swede I concluded, that before the English settled here, they followed wholly the customs of Old Sweden; but after the English had been in the country for some time, the Swedes began gradually to follow their customs. When this Swede was but a boy, there were two Swedish smiths here, who made hatchets, knives, and scythes, exactly like the Swedish ones, and made them sharper than they can be got now. The hatchets now in use are in the English way, with a broad edge; and their handles are very narrow, Almost all the Swedes made use of baths; and they commonly bathed every Saturday. They celebrated Christmas with several sorts of games, and with several peculiar dishes, as is usual in Sweden; all which is now, for the greatest part, left off. In the younger years of this Swede, they made a peculiar kind of carts here. They sawed thick pieces of liquid-amber trees, and made use of two of them for the foremost wheels, and of two more for the hindmost. With those carts they brought home their wood. Their sledges were at that time made almost in the same manner as they are now, or about as broad again as the true Swedish ones. Timber and great beams of wood were carried upon a dray. They baked great loaves, such as they do now. They had never any biscuit, though the clergymen, who came from Sweden, commonly got some baked.

The English on their arrival here bought large tracts of land of the Swedes, at a very inconsiderable price. The father of the old Swede sold an estate to the English, which at this time would be reckoned worth three hundred pounds, for which he got a cow, a sow, and a hundred gourds.

Hurricanes are sometimes very violent here, and often tear up great trees. They sometimes proceed as it were in peculiar tracts, or lines. In some places, especially in the hurricane’s tract, all the trees are struck down, and it looks as if the woods were cut down designedly; but close to the tract the trees receive no hurt. Such is the place which was shewn to me to-day. It is dangerous to go into the woods where the hurricanes blow; for the trees fall before one has time to guard himself, or make the least provision for his security.

The Pensylvanian Asp was now in full blossom. But neither this tree, nor those near a-kin to it, shewed their leaves.

An old countryman asserted that he commonly sowed a bushel of rye, on an acre of ground, and got twenty bushels in return; but from a bushel of barley he got thirty bushels. However in that case the ground must be well prepared. Wheat returns about as much as rye. The soil was a clay mixed with sand and mould.

April the 4th. A Cicindela, or shining beetle, with a gold-green head, thorax, and feet, and a blue green abdomen or belly, flew every where about the fields, and was hunting other insects. It is very common in North America, and seems to be a mere variety of the Cicindela campestris.

Cimex lacustris, a kind of Water-bugs, hopped in numbers on the surface of waters which had a slow course.

Dytiscus piceus, or, the great Water-beetle, swam sometimes in the water.

About sixty years ago, the greatest part of this country was covered with tall and thick trees, and the swamps were full of water. But it has undergone so great a change, as few other places have undergone, in so short a time. At present the forests are cut down in most places, the swamps drained by ditches, the country cultivated, and changed into corn-fields, meadows, and pastures. Therefore, it seems very reasonable to suppose, that so sudden a change has likewise had some effect upon the weather. I was therefore desirous of hearing from the old Swedes, who have lived the longest in this country, and have been inhabitants of this place during the whole time of the change mentioned, whether the present state of the weather was in some particulars remarkably different from that which they felt in their younger years? The following is an account which they all unanimously gave me in answer to this question.

The winter came sooner formerly than it does now. Mr. Isaac Norris, a wealthy merchant, who has a considerable share in the government of Pensylvania, confirmed this by a particular account. His father, one of the first English merchants in this country, observed, that in his younger years, the river Delaware was commonly covered with ice, about the middle of November, old style, so that the merchants were obliged to bring down their ships in great haste before that time, for fear of their being obliged to ly all winter. On the contrary, this river seldom freezes over at present, before the middle of December, old stile.

It snowed much more in winter, formerly, than it does now; but the weather in general was likewise more constant and uniform; and when the cold set in, it continued to the end of February, or till March, old style, when it commonly began to grow warm. At present, it is warm, even the very next day after a severe cold; and sometimes the weather changes several times a day.

Most of the old people here were of opinion, that spring came much later at present, than formerly, and that it was now much colder in the latter end of February, and the whole month of May, than when 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 beginning of April, old stile. The Swedes at that time made use of this phrase: Pask bitida, Pask sent, altid Gras, that is, we have always grass at Easter, whether it be soon or late in the year. But perhaps we can account as follows, for the opinion which the people here have, that vegetation appeared formerly more forward than it does now. Formerly the cattle were not so numerous as now; however, the woods were full of grass and herbs, which, according to the testimony of all the old people here, grew to the height of a man. At present a great part of the annual grasses and plants have been entirely extirpated by the continual grazing of numbers of cattle. These annual grasses were probably green very early in spring, and (being extirpated) might lead the people to believe, that every thing came on sooner formerly, than it does at present.

It used to rain more abundantly than it does now, during the harvest especially, the rains fell in such plenty, that it was very difficult to bring home the hay and corn. Some of the last years had been extremely dry. However, a few people were of opinion that it rained as plentifully at present, as formerly.

All the people agreed, that the weather was not by far so inconstant, when they were young, as it is now. For at present it happens at all times of the year, that when a day has been warm, the next is very cold, and vice versa. It frequently happens that the weather alters several times in one day; so 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 observations sufficiently confirm the reality of these sudden changes of weather, which are said to cause in a great measure the people to be more unhealthy at present, than they were formerly.

I likewise found every body agree in asserting, that the winter, betwixt the autumn of the year 1697, and the spring of the year 1698, was the coldest and the severest which they had ever felt.

April the 6th. Sanguinaria Canadensis, which is here called Blood-root, because the root is great and red, and, when cut, looks like the root of red beet, and the Epigæa repens, which some call the creeping ground Laurel, were both beginning to flower. The former grew in a rich mould, the other in a poorer soil.

The Laurus æstivalis, which some people call Spice-wood, likewise began to blossom about this time; its leaves were not yet broke out; it liked a moist soil in the woods.

Flax and Cat-tail, were names given to a plant which grows in bays, rivers, and in deep whirlpools, and which is known to botanists by the name of Typha latifolia. Its leaves are here twisted together, and formed into great oblong rings, which are put upon the horse’s neck, between the mane and the collar, in order to prevent the horse’s neck from being hurt by the collar. The bottoms of chairs were frequently made of these leaves, twisted together. Formerly the Swedes employed the wool or cotton which surrounds its seeds, and put it into their beds, instead of feathers; but as it coalesces into lumps after the beds have been used for some time, they have left off making use of them. I omit the use of this plant in physic, it being the peculiar province of the physicians.

It would take too much room in my Journal, and render it too prolix, were I to mark down the time when every wild plant in this country was in blossom, when it got ripe seeds, what soil was peculiar to it, besides other circumstances. Some of my readers would be but little amused with such a botanical digression. I intend therefore to reserve all this for another work, which will give a particular account of all the plants of North America; and I shall only mention such trees and plants here, which deserve to be made known for some peculiar quality.

April the 12th. This morning I went to Philadelphia and the places adjacent, in order to know whether there were more plants lately sprung up, than at Raccoon, and in New Jersey in general. The wet weather which had happened the preceding days, had made the roads very bad in low and clayey places.

The leaves which dropt last autumn had covered the ground, in depth three or four inches. As this seems to hinder the growth of the grass, it was customary to burn it in March or at the end of that month, (according to the old stile) in order to give the grass the liberty of growing up. I found several spots burnt in this manner to-day; but if it be useful one way, it does a great deal of damage in another; all the young shoots of several trees were burnt with the dead leaves, which diminishes the woods considerably; and in such places where the dead leaves had been burnt for several years together, the old trees only were left, which being cut down, there remains nothing but a great field, without any wood. At the same time all sorts of trees and plants are consumed by the fire, or at least deprived of their power of budding; a great number of the plants, and most of the grasses here, are annual; their seeds fall between the leaves, and by that means are burnt: This is another cause of universal complaint, that grass is much scarcer at present in the woods than it was formerly; a great number of dry and hollow trees are burnt at the same time, though they could serve as fewel in the houses, and by that means spare part of the forests. The upper mould likewise burns away in part by that means, not to mention several other inconveniences with which this burning of the dead leaves is attended. To this purpose the government of Pensylvania have lately published an edict, which prohibits this burning; nevertheless every one did as he pleased, and this prohibition met with a general censure.

There were vast numbers of Woodlice in the woods about this time; they are a very disagreeable insect, for as soon as a person sits down on an old stump of a tree, or on a tree which is cut down, or on the ground itself, a whole army of Woodlice creep upon his clothes, and insensibly come upon the naked body. I have given a full account of their bad qualities, and of other circumstances relating to them, in the Memoirs of the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences. See the Volume for the year 1754, page 19.

I had a piece of petrified wood given me to-day, which was found deep in the ground at Raccoon. In this wood the fibres and inward rings appeared very plainly; it seemed to be a piece of hiccory; for it was as like it, in every respect, as if it had but just been cut from a hiccory-tree.

I likewise got some shells to-day which the English commonly call Clams, and whereof the Indians make their ornaments and money, which I shall take an opportunity of speaking of in the sequel. These Clams were not fresh, but such as are every where found in New Jersey, on digging deep into the ground; the live shells of this kind are only found in salt water, and on the sea coasts. But these Clams were found at Raccoon, about eight or nine English miles from the river Delaware, and near a hundred from the nearest sea-shore.

At night I went to Mr Bartram’s seat.

April the 13th. I employed this day in several observations relative to Botany.

Two nests of wasps hung in a high maple-tree, over a brook. Their form was wholly the same with that of our wasp-nests, but they exceeded them in size. Each nest was ten inches in diameter; in each nest were three cakes, above one another, of which the lowermost was the biggest, and the two uppermost decreased in proportion: there were some eggs of wasps in them. The diameter of the lowest cake was about six inches, and one quarter, and that of the uppermost, three inches, and three quarters. The cells in which the eggs or the young ones were deposited were hexagonal, and the colour of the nest grey. I was told, that the wasps make this kind of nests out of the grey splints, which stick to old pales and walls. A dark brown bee, with black antennæ, and two black rings on the belly, and purple wings, flew about the trees, and might perhaps be an inhabitant of these nests.

Gyrinus natator (Americanus), or the Whirl-beetles. These were found dancing in great numbers on the surface of the waters.

April the 14th. This morning I went down to Chester: in several places on the road are saw-mills, but those which I saw to-day had no more than one saw. I likewise perceived that the woods and forests of these parts had been very roughly treated. It is customary here, when they erect saw-mills, wind-mills, or iron works, to lead the water a good way lower, in case the ground near a fall in the river is not convenient for building upon.

April the 16th. This morning I returned to Raccoon. This country has several kinds of swallows, viz. such as live in barns, in chimneys, and under ground; there are likewise martens.

The Ground Swallows or Sand Martins, (Linnæus’s Hirundo riparia) are to be met with every where in America; they make their nests in the ground on the steep shores of rivers and lakes.

April the 17th. The Dirca palustris, or Mouse-wood, is a little shrub which grows on hills, towards swamps and marshes, and was now in full blossom. The English in Albany call it Leather-wood, because its bark is as tough as leather. The French in Canada call it Bois de Plomb, or Leaden-wood, because the wood itself is as soft and as tough as lead. The bark of this shrub was made use of for ropes, baskets, &c. by the Indians, whilst they lived among the Swedes. And it is really very fit for that purpose, on account of its remarkable strength and toughness, which is equal to that of the Lime-tree bark. The English and the Dutch in many parts of North America, and the French in Canada, employ this bark in all cases, where we make use of Lime-tree bark in Europe. The tree itself is very tough, and you cannot easily separate its branches without the help of a knife: some people employ the twigs for rods.

April the 20th. This day I found the Strawberries in flower, for the first time, this year: the fruit is commonly larger than that in Sweden; but it seems to be less sweet and agreeable.

The annual harvest, I am told, is always of such a nature, that it affords plenty of bread for the inhabitants, though it turns out to greater advantage in some years than it does in others. A venerable septuagenary Swede, called Aoke Helm, assured me, that in his time no absolutely barren crop had been met with, but that the people had always had pretty plentiful crops. It is likewise to be observed, that the people eat their bread of maize, rye, or wheat, quite pure and free from the inferior kinds of corn, and clear of husks, stalks, or other impurities. Many aged Swedes and Englishmen confirmed this account, and said, that they could not remember any crop so bad as to make the people suffer in the least, much less that any body was starved to death, whilst they here in America. Sometimes the price of corn rose higher in one year than in another, on account of a great drought or bad weather, but still there was always corn sufficient for the consumption of the inhabitants. Nor is it likely that any great famine can happen in this country, unless it please God to afflict it with extraordinary punishments. The weather is well known, from more than sixty years experience. Here are no cold nights which hurt the germ. The wet is of short continuance, and the drought is seldom or never of long duration. But the chief thing is the great variety of corn. The people sow the different kinds, at different times and seasons, and though one crop turn out bad, yet another succeeds. The summer is so long, that of some species of corn they may get three crops. There is hardly a month from May to October or November, inclusive, in which the people do not reap some kind of corn, or gather some sort of fruit. It would indeed be a very great misfortune if a bad crop should happen; for here, as in many other places, they lay up no stores, and are contented that there is plenty of food for the present exigencies.

The Peach-trees were now every where in blossom; their leaves were not yet come out of the buds, and therefore the flowers shewed to greater advantage; their beautiful pale red colour had a very fine effect; and they sat so close that the branches were entirely clad with them. The other fruit-trees were not yet in flower; however the apple-blossoms began to appear.

April the 24th. To-day the Cherry-trees began to shew their blossom; they had already pretty large leaves.

The Apple-trees likewise began to blossom; however the Cherry-trees were more forward: They likewise got a greenish hue from their leaves.

April the 26th. This morning I travelled to Penn’s Neck. The Tulip-trees, especially the tall ones, looked quite green, being covered with their leaves; this tree is therefore one of the earliest which get leaves.

To-day I saw the flowers of the Sassafras-tree, (Laurus Sassafras). The leaves were not yet come out. The flowers have a fine smell.

The Lupinus perennis is abundant in the woods, and grows equally in good soil and in poor. I often found it thriving on very poor sandy fields, and on heaths, where no other plants will grow. Its flowers, which commonly appear in the middle of May, make a fine shew by their purple hue. I was told, that the cattle eat these flowers very greedily; but I was sorry to find very often that they were not so fond of it, as it is represented, especially when they had any thing else to eat; and they seldom touched it notwithstanding its fine green colour, and its softness: The horses eat the flowers, but leave the stalks and leaves. If the cattle eat this plant in spring, necessity and hunger give it a relish. This country does not afford any green pastures like the Swedish ones; the woods are the places where the cattle must collect their food. The ground in the woods is chiefly flat, or with very little risings. The trees stand far asunder; but the ground between them is not covered with green sods; for there are but few kinds of grasses in the woods, and they stand single and scattered. The soil is very loose, partly owing to the dead leaves which cover the ground during a great part of the year. Thus the cattle find very little grass in the woods, and are forced to be satisfied with all kinds of plants which come in their way, whether they be good or bad food. I saw for some time this spring, that the cattle bit off the tops and shoots of young trees, and fed upon them; for no plants were yet come up, and they stand in general but very thin, and scattered here and there, as I have just mentioned. Hence you may easily imagine that hunger compels the cattle to eat plants, which they would not touch, were they better provided for. However, I am of opinion, that it would be worth while to make use of this Lupine to mend dry sandy heaths, and, I believe, it would not be absolutely impossible to find out the means of making it agreeable to the cattle.

The Oaks here have similar qualities with the European ones. They keep their dead leaves almost during the whole winter, and are very backward in getting fresh ones; they had no leaves as yet, and were but just beginning to shew a few.

Numbers of Oil beetles, (Meloë Proscarabœus) sat on the leaves of white Hellebore, (Veratrum album) and feasted on them. I considered them a great while, and they devoured a leaf in a few minutes. Some of them had already eaten so much that they could hardly creep. Thus this plant, which is almost certain death to other animals, is their dainty food.

The fire-flies appeared at night, for the first time this year, and flew about between the trees, in the woods. It seemed, in the dark, as if sparks of fire flew up and down. I will give a more particular account of them in another place.

Towards night I went to Raccoon.

The plants which were found damaged by the frost, were the following. 1. The Hiccory. Most of the young trees of this kind had their leaves killed by the frost, so that they looked quite black in the afternoon; the leaves were consumed by frost every where in the fields, near the marshes, and in the woods. 2. The black Oak. Several of these trees had their leaves damaged by the frost. 3. The white Oak. Some very young trees of this kind had lost their leaves by the frost. 4. The blossoms of the Cherry-trees were hurt in several places. 5. The flowers of the English Walnut-tree were entirely spoiled by the frost. 6. The Rhus glabra. Some of these trees had already got leaves, and they were killed by the cold. 7. The Rhus radicans; the tender young trees of this kind suffered from the frost, and had their leaves partly killed. 8. The Thalictra, or Meadow Rues, had both their flowers and leaves hurt by the frost. 9. The Podophyllum peltatum. Of this plant there was not above one in five hundred hurt by the frost. 10. The Ferns. A number of them, which were lately come up, were destroyed. I must add several plants which were likewise hurt, but which I could not distinguish, on account of their smallness.

I went to several places this day.

The Bartsia coccinea grew in great abundance on several low meadows. Its flower-buds were already tinged with their precious scarlet, and adorned the meadows. It is not yet applied to any use, but that of delighting the sight.

One of the Swedes here had planted an English walnut-tree (Juglans regia) in his garden, and it was now about three yards high; it was in full blossom, and had already great leaves, whereas the black walnut-trees, which grow spontaneously in every part of this country, had not yet any leaves, or flowers. The last night’s frost had killed all the leaves of the European kind. Dr. Franklin told me afterwards, that there had been some English walnut-trees in Philadelphia, which came on very well; but that they were killed by the frost.

I looked about me for the trees which had not yet got fresh leaves, and I found the following ones:

Juglans nigra, or the Black Walnut-tree.

Fraxinus excelsior, or the Ash.

Acer Negundo, called the White-ash here.

Nyssa aquatica, the Tupelo-tree.

Diospyros Virginiana, or the Persimon.

Vitis Labrusca, or the Fox-grapes; and

Rhus glabra, or the Sumach.

The trees whose leaves were coming out, were the following:

Morus rubra, the Mulberry-tree.

Fagus Castanea, the Chesnut-tree.

Platanus occidentalis, or the Water-beach.

Laurus Sassafras, the Sassafras-tree.

Juglans alba, the Hiccory. Some trees of this kind had already large leaves, but others had none at all; the same difference, I believe, exists likewise among the other species of hiccory.

The Virginian Cherry-tree grows here and there, in the woods and glades: its leaves were already pretty large; but the flowers were not yet entirely open.

The Sassafras-tree was now every where in flower; but its leaves were not yet quite disclosed.

The Liquidambar Styraciflua or Sweet Gum-tree, grows in the woods, especially in wet soil, in and near purling rivulets: its leaves were now already sprouting out at its summit. This tree grows to a great thickness, and its height rivals that of the tallest firs and oaks; as it grows higher, the lower branches die and drop, and leave the stem at last quite smooth and strait, with a great crown at the very summit; the seeds are contained in round, dentated cones, which drop in autumn; and as the tree is very tall, so the high winds carry the seeds away to a great distance. I have already given an account of the use of this tree in the first volume, to which I must add the following account.

The wood can be made very smooth, because its veins are extremely fine: but it is not hard; you can carve letters on it with a knife, which will seem to be engraved. Mr. Lewis Evans told me, from his own experience, that no wood in this country was more fit for making moulds for casting brass in, than this. I enquired of Mr. Bartram, “Whether he had found the rosin on this tree, which is so much praised in physic.” He told me, “That a very odoriferous rosin always flows out of any cut or wound, which is made in the tree; but that the quantity here was too inconsiderable to recompense the labour of collecting it.” This odoriferous rosin or gum first gave rise to the English name. The further you go to the South, the greater quantity of gum does the tree yield, so that it is easy to collect it. Mr. Bartram was of opinion, that this tree was properly calculated for the climate of Carolina, and that it was brought by several ways so far North as New York. In the southern countries the heat of the Sun fills the tree with gum, but in the northern ones it does not.

May the 2d. This morning I travelled down to Salem, in order to see the country.

The Sassafras-tree stood single in the woods, and along the fences, round the fields: it was now distinguishable at a distance for its fine flowers, which being now quite open, made it look quite yellow. The leaves were not yet come out.

In some meadows the grass was already grown up pretty high: but it is to be observed, that these meadows were marshy, and that no cattle had been on them this year. These meadows are mown twice a year, viz. in May, and the end of August, or beginning of August, old style. I saw some meadows of this kind to-day, in which I saw grass which was now almost fit to be mown; and many meadows in Sweden have not such grass at the proper time of mowing, as these had now; these meadows lay in marshes and vallies, where the Sun had very great power: the grass consisted merely of Cyperus-grass or Carex.

The wild Prune-trees were now every where in flower; they grow here and there in the woods, but commonly near marshes and in wet ground; they are distinguishable by their white flowers: the fruit when ripe is eatable.

The Cornus Florida, or Dogwood, grows in the forests, on hills, on plains, in vallies, in marshes, and near rivulets. I cannot therefore say, which is its native soil; however, it seems that in a low but not a wet soil it succeeds best; it was now adorned with its great snowy Involucra, which render it conspicuous even at a distance. At this time it is a pleasure to travel through the woods, so much are they beautified by the blossoms of this tree. The flowers which are within the Involucra began to open to-day. The tree does not grow to any considerable height or thickness, but is about the size of our Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia). There are three species of this tree in the woods; one with great white Involucra, another with small white ones, and a third with reddish ones.

The woods were now full of birds: I saw the lesser species every where hopping on the ground, or creeping in bushes, without any great degree of shiness; it is therefore very easy for all kinds of snakes to approach and bite them. I believe that the rattlesnake has nothing to do but to ly still, and without waiting long, some little bird or other will pass by or run directly upon her, giving her an opportunity of catching it, without any enchantment.

Salem is a little trading town, situated at some distance from the river Delaware. The houses do not stand far asunder, and are partly stone, and partly wood. A rivulet passes by the town, and falls into the Delaware. The inhabitants live by their several trades, as well as they can. In the neighbourhood of Salem are some very low and swampy meadows; and therefore it is reckoned a very unwholesome place. Experience has shewn, that those who came hither from other places to settle, got a very pale and sickly look, though they arrived in perfect health, and with a very lively colour. The town is very easily distinguished about this time, by the disagreeable stench which arises from the swamps. The vapours of the putrid water are carried to those inhabitants which live next to the marshes; and enter the body along with the air, and through the pores, and thus are hurtful to health. At the end of every summer, the intermitting fevers are very frequent. I knew a young couple, who came along with me from England to America: soon after their arrival at Philadelphia, they went to Salem, in perfect health; but a few weeks after they fell sick, and before the winter was half over they were both dead.

Many of the inhabitants plant Saffron; but it is not so good and so strong as the English and French Saffron. Perhaps it grows better by being laid up for some years, as tobacco does.

The Gossypium herbaceum, or Cotton plant, is an annual plant; and several of the inhabitants of Salem had began to sow it. Some had the seeds from Carolina, where they have great plantations of cotton; but others got it out of some cotton which they had bought. They said, it was difficult, at first, to get ripe seeds from the plants which were sown here; for the summer in Carolina, from whence their first seed came, is both longer and hotter than it is here. But after the plants have been more used to the climate, and hastened more than they were formerly, the seeds are ripe in due time.

At night I returned to Raccoon.

I cannot omit an observation here. The Crab-trees opened their flowers only yesterday and to-day; whereas, the cultivated apple-trees, which are brought from Europe, had already lost their flowers. The wild cherry-trees did not flower before the 12th of May; on the other hand, the cultivated or European ones, had already opened their blossoms on the 24th of April. The black walnut-trees of this country had neither leaves nor flowers, when the European kind has large leaves and blossoms. From hence it appears, that trees brought over from Europe, of the same kind with the wild trees of America, flower much sooner than the latter. I cannot say what is the reason of this forwardness of the European trees in this country, unless they bring forth their blossoms as soon as they get a certain degree of warmth, which they have in their native country. It seems, the European trees do not expect, after a considerable degree of warmth, any such cold nights as will kill their flowers; for, in the cold countries, there seldom happen any hot days succeeded by such cold nights as will hurt the flowers considerably. On the contrary, the wild trees in this country are directed by experience, (if I may so speak) not to trust to the first warmth; but they wait for a greater heat, when they are already safe from cold nights. Therefore, it happens often, that the flowers of the European trees are killed by the frosts here; but the native trees are seldom hurt, though they be of the same kind with the European ones. This is a manifest proof of the wisdom of the Creator.

May the 5th. Early this morning I went to Rapaapo, which is a great village, whose farms ly all scattered. It was inhabited merely by Swedes, and not a single Englishman, or people of any other nation, lived in it: therefore they have preserved their native Swedish tongue, and mixed but few English words with it. The intention of my journey was partly to see the place, and to collect plants; and other natural curiosities there; and partly to find the places where the White Cedar, or Cupressus thyoides, grows.

Sometimes they sit at a good distance from the pond; but as soon as they suspect any danger, they hasten with great leaps into the water. They are very expert at hopping. A full-grown Bullfrog takes near three yards at one hop. I have often been told the following story by the old Swedes, which happened here, at the time when the Indians lived with the Swedes. It is well known, that the Indians are excellent runners; I have seen them, at Governor Johnson’s, equal the best horse in its swiftest course, and almost pass by it. Therefore, in order to try how well the bull-frogs could leap, some of the Swedes laid a wager with a young Indian, that he could not overtake the frog, provided it had two leaps before hand. They carried a bull-frog, which they had caught in a pond, upon a field, and burnt his back-side; the fire, and the Indian, who endeavoured to be closely up with the frog, had such an effect upon the animal, that it made its long hops across the field, as fast as it could. The Indian began to pursue the frog with all his might at the proper time: the noise he made in running frightened the poor frog; probably it was afraid of being tortured with fire again, and therefore it redoubled its leaps, and by that means it reached the pond before the Indian could over-take it.

In some years they are more numerous than in others: nobody could tell, whether the snakes had ever ventured to eat them, though they eat all the lesser kinds of frogs. The women are no friends to these frogs, because they kill and eat young ducklings and goslings: sometimes they carry off chickens that come too near the ponds. I have not observed that they bite when they are held in the hands, though they have little teeth; when they are beaten, they cry out almost like children. I was told that some eat the thighs of the hind legs, and that they are very palatable.

The marshes where these trees grow are called Cedar Swamps. These cedar swamps are numerous in New Jersey, and likewise in some parts of Pensylvania and New York. The most northerly place, where it has been hitherto found, is near Goshen in New York, under forty-one degrees and twenty-live minutes of north latitude, as I am informed by Dr. Colden. For to the North of Goshen, it has not been found in the woods. The white cedar is one of the trees, which resist the most to putrefaction; and when it is put above ground, it will last longer than under ground: therefore it is employed for many purposes; it makes good fences, and posts which are to be put into the ground; but in this point, the red cedar is still preferable to the white; it likewise makes good canoes. The young trees are employed for hoops, round barrels, tuns, &c. because they are thin and pliable; the thick and tall trees afford timber, and wood for cooper’s work. The houses which are built of it, surpass in duration, those which are built of American oak. Many of the houses in Rapaapo were made of this white cedar wood; but the chief thing which the white cedar affords is the best kind of shingles. The white cedar shingles are preferred to all others for several reasons; first, they are more durable than any others made of American wood, the red cedar shingles excepted; secondly, they are very light, so that no strong beams are requisite to support the roof. For the same reason it is unnecessary to build thick walls, because they are not pressed by heavy roofs. When fires break out, it is less dangerous to go under or along the roofs, because the shingles being very light can do little hurt by falling; they suck the water, being somewhat spungy, so that the roofs can easily be wetted in case of a fire: however, their fatness occasions that the water does not hurt them, but evaporates easily. When they burn and are carried about by the wind, they have commonly what is called a dead coal, which does not easily set fire where it alights. The roofs made of these shingles can easily be cut through, if required, because they are thin, and not very hard; for these qualities the people in the country, and in the towns, are very desirous of having their houses covered with white cedar shingles, if the wood can be got. Therefore all churches, and the houses of the more substantial inhabitants of the towns, have shingle roofs. In many parts of New York province, where the white cedar does not grow, the people, however, have their houses roofed with cedar shingles, which they get from other parts. To that purpose great quantities of shingles are annually exported from Eggharbour and other parts of New Jersey, to the town of New York, from whence they are distributed throughout the province. A quantity of white cedar wood is likewise exported every year to the West Indies, for shingles, pipe staves, &c. Thus the inhabitants are very busy here, not only to lessen the number of these trees, but even to extirpate them entirely. They are here (and in many other places) in regard to wood, bent only upon their own present advantage, utterly regardless of posterity. By this means many cedar swamps are already quite destitute of cedars, having only young shoots left; and I plainly observed, by counting the circles round the stem, that they do not grow up very quickly, but require a great deal of time before they can be cut for timber. It is well known that a tree gets only one circle every year; a stem, eighteen inches in diameter, had one hundred and eight circles round the thicker end; another, seventeen inches in diameter, had a hundred and sixteen; and another, two feet in diameter, had one hundred and forty-two circles upon it. Thus near eighty years growth is required, before a White cedar raised from seed can be used for timber. Among the advantages which the white cedar shingles have over others, the people reckon their lightness. But this good and useful quality may in future times turn out very disadvantageous to Philadelphia, and other places where the houses are rooted with cedar shingles; for as the roofs made of these shingles are very light, and bear but a trifling weight on the walls, so the people have made the walls but very thin. I measured the thickness of the walls of several houses here, of three stories high (cellar and garret not included), and found most of them nine inches and a half, and some ten inches thick; therefore it is by no means surprising, that violent hurricanes sometimes make the brick gable-ends to vibrate apparently, especially on such houses as have a very open situation. And since the cedar-trees will soon be wanting in this country, and the present roofs when rotten must be supplied with heavier ones, of tiles, or of other wood, it is more than probable, that the thin walls will not be able to bear such an additional weight, and will either break, or require to be supported by props: or else the whole house must be pulled down and rebuilt with thicker walls. This observation has already been made by others. Some of the people here make use of the chips of white cedar instead of tea, alluring me that they preferred it in regard to its wholesomeness to all foreign tea. All the inhabitants here were of opinion, that the water in the cedar swamps is wholesomer than any other drink: it creates a great appetite, which they endeavoured to prove by several examples. They ascribed this quality to the water itself, which is filled with the rosin of the trees, and to the exhalations which came from the trees, and can easily be smelled. The people likewise thought that the yellowish colour of the water, which stands between the cedar trees, was owing to the rosin, which comes out of the roots of these trees. They likewise all agreed, that this water is always very cold in the hottest season, which may be partly owing to the continual shade it is in. I knew several people who were resolved to go to these cedar swamps, and use the waters for the recovery of their appetite. Mr. Bartram planted a white cedar in a dry soil, but it could not succeed there: he then put it into a swampy ground, where it got as it were new life, and came on very well; and though it was not taller than a man, yet it was full of cones. Another thing is very remarkable, with regard to the propagation of this tree: Mr. Bartram cut its branches in spring two years successively, and put them into the swampy soil, where they struck roots, and succeeded very well. I have seen them myself.

In the evening I returned to Raccoon.

May the 6th. The Mulberry-trees (Morus rubra) about this time began to blossom, but their leaves were yet very small. The people divided them into male and female trees or flowers; and said that those which never bore any fruit were males, and those which did, females.

Smilax laurifolia was superabundant in all the swamps near this place. Its leaves were now beginning to come out, for it sheds them all every winter; it climbs up along trees and shrubs, and runs across from one tree or bush to another: by this means it shuts up the passage between the trees, fastening itself every where with its cirrhi or tendrils, and even on people, so that it is with the utmost difficulty one must force a passage in the swamps and woods, where it is plentiful; the stalk towards the bottom is full of long spines, which are as strong as the spines of a rose-bush, and catch hold of the clothes, and tear them: this troublesome plant may sometimes bring you into imminent danger, when botanizing or going into the woods, for, not to mention that the cloaths must be absolutely ruined by its numberless spines, it occasions a deep shade in the woods, by crossing from tree to tree so often; this forces you to stoop, and even to creep on all fours through the little passages which are left close to the ground, and then you cannot be careful enough to prevent a snake (of which there are numbers here) from darting into your face. The stalk of the plant has the same colour as the young rose-bushes. It is quite green and smooth between the spines, so that a stranger would take it to be a kind of thorn-bush, in winter, when it is destitute of leaves.

May the 8th. The trees hereabouts were now stocked with innumerable Caterpillars; one kind especially was observable, which is worse than all the others. They immediately formed great white webs, between the branches of the trees, so that they were perceptible, even at a distance; in each of these webs were thousands of Caterpillars, which crept out of them afterwards, and spread chiefly upon the apple-trees. They consumed the leaves, and often left not one on a whole branch. I was told, that some years ago they did so much damage, that the apple-trees and peach-trees hardly bore any fruit at all; because they had consumed all the leaves, and exposed the naked trees to the intense heat of the sun, by which means several of the trees died. The people took the following method of killing these Caterpillars: They fixed some straw or flax on a pole, set it on fire, and held it under the webs or nests; by which a part was burnt, and a part fell to the ground. However, numbers of the Caterpillars crept up the trees again, which could have been prevented, if they had been trod upon, or killed any other way. I called chickens to such places where they crept on the ground in numbers; but they would not eat them. Nor did the wild birds like them; for the trees were full of these webs, though whole flights of little birds had their nests in the gardens and orchards.

May the 18th. Though it was already pretty late in May, yet the nights were very dark here. About an hour after sun-set, it was so dark, that it was impossible to read in a book, though the type was ever so large. About ten o’clock, on a clear night, the dark was so much increased, that it looked like one of the darkest star-light nights in autumn, in Sweden. It likewise seemed to me, that though the nights were clear, yet the stars did not give so great a light as they do in Sweden. And as, about this time, the nights are commonly dark, and the sky covered with clouds; so I would compare them only to dark and cloudy Swedish winter nights. It was therefore, at this time of the year, very difficult to travel in such cloudy nights; for neither man nor horse could find their way. The nights, in general, seem very disagreeable to me, in comparison to the light and glorious, summer nights of Sweden. Ignorance sometimes makes us think slightly of our country. If other countries have their advantages, Sweden is not destitute of matter to boast of on this head: it likewise has its peculiar advantages; and upon weighing the advantages and inconveniencies of different places, Sweden will be found to be not inferior to any of them.

I will briefly mention in what points I think Sweden is preferable to this part of America; and why I prefer Old Sweden to New Sweden.

The rye grows very ill in most of the fields, which is chiefly owing to the carelessness in agriculture, and to the poorness of the fields, which are seldom or never manured. After the inhabitants have converted a tract of land into fields, which had been a forest for many centuries together, and which consequently had a very fine soil, they use it as such, as long as it will bear any corn; and when it ceases to bear any, they turn it into pastures for the cattle, and take new corn fields in another place, where a fine soil can be met with, and where it has never been made use of for this purpose. This kind of agriculture will do for some time; but it will afterwards have bad consequences, as every one may clearly see. A few of the inhabitants, however, treated their fields a little better: the English in general have carried agriculture to a higher degree of perfection than any other nation. But the depth and richness of the soil, which those found here who came over from England, (as they were preparing land for ploughing which had been covered with woods from times immemorial) misled them, and made them careless husbandmen. It is well known, that the Indians lived in this country for several centuries before the Europeans came into it; but it is likewise known, that they lived chiefly by hunting and fishing, and had hardly any fields. They planted maize, and some species of beans and gourds; and at the same time it is certain, that a plantation of such vegetables as serve an Indian family during one year, take up no more ground than a farmer in our country takes to plant cabbage for his family upon; at least, a farmer’s cabbage and turnep ground, taken together, is always as extensive, if not more so, than the corn-fields and kitchen-gardens of an Indian family. Therefore, the Indians could hardly subsist for one month upon the produce of their gardens and fields. Commonly, the little villages of Indians are about twelve or eighteen miles distant from each other. From hence one may judge, how little ground was formerly employed for corn-fields; and the rest was overgrown with thick and tall trees. And though they cleared (as is yet usual) new ground, as soon as the old one had quite lost its fertility; yet such little pieces as they made use of were very inconsiderable, when compared to the vast forests which remained. Thus the upper fertile soil increased considerably, for centuries together; and the Europeans coming to America found a rich and fine soil before them, lying as loose between the trees as the best bed in a garden. They had nothing to do but to cut down the wood, put it up in heaps, and to clear the dead leaves away. They could then immediately proceed to ploughing, which in such loose ground is very easy; and having sown their corn, they got a most plentiful harvest. This easy method of getting a rich crop has spoiled the English and other European inhabitants, and induced them to adopt the same method of agriculture which the Indians make use of; that is, to sow uncultivated grounds, as long as they will produce a crop without manuring, but to turn them into pastures as soon as they can bear no more, and to take in hand new spots of ground, covered since time immemorial with woods, which have been spared by the fire or the hatchet ever since the creation. This is likewise the reason why agriculture, and the knowledge of this useful branch, is so imperfect here, that one can learn nothing on a great tract of land, neither of the English, nor of the Swedes, Germans, Dutch, and French; except that, from their gross mistakes and carelessness for futurity, one finds opportunities every day of making all sorts of observations, and of growing wise at the expence of other people. In a word, the corn-fields, the meadows, the forests, the cattle, &c. are treated with equal carelessness; and the English nation, so well skilled in these branches of husbandry, is with difficulty found out here. We can hardly be more lavish of our woods in Sweden and Finland than they are here: their eyes are fixed upon the present gain, and they are blind to futurity. Every day their cattle are harassed by labour, and each generation decreases in goodness and size, by being kept short of food, as I have before mentioned. On my travels in this country I observed several plants, which the horses and cows preferred to all others. They were wild in this country, and likewise grew well on the driest and poorest ground, where no other plants would succeed. But the inhabitants did not know how to turn this to their advantage; owing to the little account made of Natural History, that science being here (as in other parts of the world) looked upon as a mere trifle, and the pastime of fools. I am certain, and my certainty is founded upon experience, that by means of these plants, in the space of a few years, I have been able to turn the poorest ground, which would hardly afford food for a cow, into the richest and most fertile meadow, where great flocks of cattle have found superfluous food, and are grown fat upon. I own, that these useful plants were not to be found on the grounds of every planter: but with a small share of natural knowledge, a man would easily collect them in the places where they were to be got. I was astonished, when I heard the country people complaining of the badness of the pastures; but I likewise perceived their negligence, and often saw excellent plants growing on their own grounds, which only required a little more attention and assistance from their unexperienced owners. I found every where the wisdom and goodness of the Creator; but too seldom saw any acknowledgment, or adequate estimation of it, among men.

O fortunatos nimium sua si bona norint,

Agricolas!

Virg. Georgic.

I have been led to these reflections, which may perhaps seem foreign to my purpose, by the bad and neglected state of agriculture in every part of this continent. I likewise intended to shew the reason why this journal is so thinly stocked with œconomical advantages in the several branches of husbandry. I do not however deny, that I have sometimes found one or two skilful œconomists, but they were very scarce.

Birds of prey which pursue the poultry are found in abundance here, and if possible more plentiful than in Sweden. They enjoy great liberty here, as there are still great forests in many places, from whence they can come unawares upon chickens and ducks. To the birds of prey it is quite indifferent whether the woods consist of good or bad trees, provided they are in shade. At night the owls, which are very numerous, endanger the safety of the tame fowls. They live chiefly in marshes, give a disagreeable shriek at night, and attack the chickens, which commonly roost at night in the apple-trees, peach-trees, and cherry-trees, in the garden. But since they are very busy in clearing this country of woods, as we are in Sweden and Finland, it may be of use for exposing the birds of prey, more than they are now, and for depriving them of the opportunities of doing mischief with so much ease.

I saw several holes in the ground, both on hills and on fields, and fallow grounds; they were round, and commonly about an inch wide; they went almost perpendicularly into the earth, and were made by dung-beetles, or by great worms, which are made use of for angling. The dung-beetles had dug very deep into the ground, thro’ horse-dung, tho’ it lay on the hardest road, so that a great heap of earth lay near it. These holes were afterwards occupied by other insects, especially grasshoppers, (Grylli) and Cicadæ; for by digging these holes up, I commonly found one or more young ones of these insects, which had not yet got their perfect size.

May the 19th. This morning I left Raccoon, a parish in the country called New Sweden, and which is yet chiefly inhabited by Swedes, in order to proceed in my travels to the North. I first intended to set out with the beginning of April, but for several reasons this was not adviseble. No leaves were come out at that time, and hardly any flowers appeared. I did not know what flowers grew here in spring; for the autumnal plants are different from the vernal ones. The Swedes had this winter told me the œconomical and medical uses of many plants, to which they gave names unknown to me: they could not then shew me those plants on account of the season, and by their deficient and erroneous descriptions, I was not able to guess what plants they meant. By going away so early as the beginning of April, I would have remained in uncertainty in regard to these things. It was therefore fit, that I should spend a part of the spring at Raccoon, especially as I had still time enough left for my tour to the North.

The country abounds with Black Snakes. They are among the first that come out in spring, and often appear very early if warm weather happens; but if it grows cold again after that, they are quite frozen, and lie stiff and torpid on the ground or on the ice; when taken in this state and put before a fire, they revive in less than an hour’s time. It has sometimes happened, when the beginning of January is very warm, that they come out of their winter habitations. They commonly appear about the end of March, old style.

This is the swiftest of all the snakes which are to be found here, for it moves so quick, that a dog can hardly catch it. It is therefore almost impossible for a man to escape it if pursued: but happily its bite is neither poisonous nor any way dangerous; many people have been bit by it in the woods, and have scarce felt any more inconvenience than if they had been wounded by a knife; the wounded place only remains painful for some time. The Black Snakes seldom do any harm, except in spring, when they copulate; but if any body comes in their way at that time, they are so much vexed, as to pursue him as fast as they can. If they meet with a person who is afraid of them, he is in great distress. I am acquainted with several people, who have on such an occasion run so hard as to be quite out of breath, in endeavouring to escape the snake, which moved with the swiftness of an arrow after them. If a person thus pursued can muster up courage enough to oppose the snake with a stick or any thing else, when it is either passed by him, or when he steps aside to avoid it, it will turn back again, and seek a refuge in its swiftness. It is, however, sometimes bold enough to run directly upon a man, and not to depart before it has received a good stroke. I have been assured by several, that when it overtakes a person, who has tried to escape it, and who has not courage enough to oppose it, it winds round his feet, so as to make him fall down; it then bites him several times in the leg, or whatever part it can get hold of, and goes off again. I shall mention two circumstances, which confirm what I have said. During my stay in New York, Dr. Colden told me, that in the spring, 1748, he had several workmen at his country seat, and among them one lately arrived from Europe, who of course knew very little of the qualities of the Black Snake. The other workmen seeing a great Black Snake copulating with its female, engaged the new comer to go and kill it, which he intended to do with a little stick. But on approaching the place where the snakes lay, they perceived him, and the male in great wrath leaves his pleasure to pursue the fellow with amazing swiftness; he little expected such courage in the snake, and flinging away his stick, began to run as fast as he was able. The snake pursued him, overtook him, and twisting several times round his feet, threw him down, and frightened him almost out of his senses; he could not get rid of the snake, till he took a knife and cut it through in two of three places. The other Workmen were rejoiced at this sight, and laughed at it, without offering to help their companion. Many people at Albany told me of an accident which happened to a young lady, who went out of town in summer, together with many other girls, attended by her negro. She sat down in the wood, in a place where the others were running about, and before she was aware, a Black Snake being disturbed in its amours, ran under her petticoats, and twisted round her waist, so that she fell backwards in a swoon occasioned by her fright, or by the compression which the snake caused. The negro came up to her, and suspecting that a Black Snake might have hurt her, on making use of a remedy to bring his lady to herself again, he lifted up her cloaths, and really found the snake wound about her body as close as possible; the negro was not able to tear it away, and therefore cut it, and the girl came to herself again; but she conceived so great an aversion to the negro, that she could not bear the sight of him afterwards, and died of a consumption. At other times of the year this snake is more apt to run away, than to attack people. However I have heard it asserted frequently, that even in summer when its time of copulation is past, it pursues people, especially children, if it finds that they are afraid and run from her. Several people likewise assured me from their own experience, that it may be provoked to pursue people, if they throw at it, and then run away. I cannot well doubt of this, as I have heard it said by numbers of creditable people; but I could never succeed in provoking them. I ran always away on perceiving it, or flung something at it, and then took to my heels, but I could never bring the snakes to pursue me: I know not for what reason they shunned me, unless they took me for an artful seducer.

The black snakes kill the smaller species of frogs, and eat them. If they get at eggs of poultry, or of other birds, they make holes in them, and suck the contents. When the hens are sitting on the eggs, they creep into the nest, wind round the birds, stifle them, and suck the eggs. Mr. Bartram asserted, that he had often seen this snake creep up into the tallest trees, after bird’s eggs, or young birds, always with the head foremost, when descending. A Swede told me, that a black snake had once got the head of one of his hens in its mouth, and was wound several times round the body, when he came and killed the snake. The hen was afterwards as well as ever.

This snake is very greedy of milk, and it is difficult to keep it out, when it is once used to go into a cellar where milk is kept. It has been seen eating milk out of the same dish with children, without biting them, though they often gave it blows with the spoon upon the head, when it was overgreedy. I never heard it hissing. It can raise more than one half of its body from the ground, in order to look about her. It skins every year; and its skin is said to be a remedy against the cramp, if continually worn about the body.

The rye was now beginning to flower.

I have often observed with astonishment, on my travels, the great difference between the plants and the soil, on the two opposite banks of brooks. Sometimes a brook, which one can stride over, has plants on one bank widely different from those on the opposite bank. Therefore, whenever I came to a great brook or a river, I expected to find plants which I had not met with before. Their seeds are carried down with the stream from distant parts. The soil is likewise very often different on the different sides of a rivulet, being rich and fertile on the one, and dry, barren, and sandy on the other. But a great river can make still greater differences. Thus we see the great disparity between the province of Pensylvania, and New Jersey, which are only divided by the river Delaware. In Pensylvania the soil consists of a mould mixed with sand and clay, and is very rich and fertile: and in the woods which are higher in the country, the ground is mountainous and stony. On the other hand, in the province of New Jersey, the soil is poor and dry, and not very fertile, some parts excepted. You can hardly find a stone in New Jersey, and much less mountains. In Pensylvania you scarce ever see a fir-tree, and in New Jersey are whole woods of it.

This evening I arrived at Philadelphia.

May the 25th. The tulip-tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) was now in full blossom. The flowers have a resemblance to tulips, and look very fine, and though they have not a very agreeable smell, yet the eye is pleased to see trees as tall as full-grown oaks, covered with tulip-like flowers.

On the flowers of the tulip-tree was an olive-coloured Chafer (Scarabæus) without horns (muticus), the future and borders of his wing-shells (Elytræ) were black, and his thighs brown. I cannot with certainty say whether they collected the pollen of the flower, or whether they coupled. Later in summer, I saw the same kind of beetles make deep holes into the ripe mulberries, either to eat them, or to lay their eggs in them. I likewise found them abundant in the leaves of the Magnolia glauca, or beaver-tree.

The strawberries were now ripe on the hills.

The country people already brought ripe cherries up to town; but they were only a few to satisfy curiosity, yet we may form a judgment of the climate from hence.

May the 26th. A peculiar kind of storm called a Travat, or Travado, happened to-day. In the evening about ten o’clock, when the sky was quite clear, a thick, black cloud came rushing from the south-west, with a wind. The air was quite calm, and we could not feel any breeze. But the approach of this cloud was perceived from the strong rushing noise in the woods to the south-west, and which encreased in proportion as the cloud came nearer. As soon as it was come up to us, it was attended by a violent gust of wind, which in its course threw down the weaker enclosures, carried them a good way along with it, and broke down several trees. It was then followed by a hard shower of rain, which put an end to the storm, and every thing was calm as before. These travadoes are frequent in summer, and have the quality of cooling the air. However, they often do a deal of damage. They are commonly attended by thunder and lightning; as soon as they are passed over, the sky is as clear as it was before.

May the 28th. The Magnolia glauca was now in full bloom. Its flowers have a very pleasant fragrancy, which refreshes the travellers in the woods, especially towards the evening. The flowers of the wild vine afterwards supplied the place of those of the Magnolia. Several other flowers contribute likewise towards perfuming the ambient air.

The Kalmia angustifolia was now every where in flower. It grows chiefly on sandy heaths, or on dry poor grounds, which few other plants will agree with; it is common in Pensylvania, but particularly in New Jersey, and the province of New York, it is scarce in Canada; its leaves stay the winter; the flowers are a real ornament to the woods; they grow in bunches like crowns, and are of a fine lively purple colour; at the bottom is a circle of deep purple, and within it a greyish or whitish colour. The flowers grow as aforesaid, in bunches, round the extremity of the stalk, and make it look like a decorated pyramid. The English at New York call this plant the Dwarf Laurel. Its qualities are the same with those of the Kalmia latifolia, viz. that it kills sheep and other lesser animals, when they eat plentifully of it. I do not know whether it is noxious to the greater cattle. It is not of any known use, and only serves to attract the eye whilst in flower.