like cock's-foot-grass, except the seed. Horses and cattle are fond of
it, and, I think, it will answer as a cultivated grass, as it bears
drought. Buffalo-clover resembles white-clover, but does not run on
the ground; the leaf as large as red-clover. Cattle will eat it, if
cut and given them, but they are not fond of it, as I have often seen
bunches of it left where the other wild grasses have been eaten bare.
The seed, like clover-seed, but chiefly of a pale yellow. There are
a few other sorts of wild grasses, but I do not know their names or
qualities; I believe they are of no great value.
Red or white-clover I have not seen; but I have heard there are some
small patches of the latter in the prairies. Both sorts are said to
be extremely pernicious to horses, cattle, and pigs. I have not seen
trefoil, rye-grass, saintfoin, and cock's-foot, {200} or any English
grass, with the exception of a little lucern, just come up, which I
think likely to succeed. Saintfoin and cock's-foot are, in my opinion,
most likely to answer, and bear the heat of the climate, of any English
grasses.
The grass that is most commonly cultivated here, is timothy-grass. It
belongs to the English meadow-grass, but grows here to a larger size;
it does not appear to be a good pasture-grass.
Blue-grass is highly prized, but as a pasture-grass is, I believe,
unknown in England. It resembles young rye-grass more than any other
English grass; the seed is much like fiorin seed: cattle are fond of
it. It comes early in the spring, and dies early in the fall. Timothy
and blue-grass are the only sorts cultivated near us; but I think
yard-grass would improve our pastures, as it keeps green much longer
than blue-grass. In my opinion, crab-grass would answer well for
pasture-grass in moist situations.
{201} But little cultivation amongst the English settlers took place
till this year, but most of the Americans raised some Indian corn from
their first settling; and this year a little wheat, oats, &c. This
year, perhaps, 200 acres of wheat have been harvested in the different
prairies; that which was sown in good time, and with good seed,
produced a productive crop, and of good quality; but as good seed-wheat
was difficult to be obtained last season, many were forced to put up
with such as they could procure, and some from Vincennes and Indiana
turned out very bad: those who sowed it had but little come up; and the
wheat at spring being very thin on the ground, it branched out in a
very extraordinary manner. I heard from several people, to whom I think
credit might be given, that, in cutting a piece of wheat, they found a
root that had 66 ears of corn on it; and that 40 and upwards were very
common. I went over the field, after the wheat was cut, and saw many of
the stems {202} of an immense size, but I did not count any of them.
The wheat was, however, much too thin; it was blighted with the black
and red blight, and of little value. I have been much surprised with
the smallness of the quantity of wheat and oats sown per acre, and yet
found the corn, (or as it is here called, grain,) thick enough on the
ground. One bushel of wheat, or two of oats, is the quantity usually
sown, and I have seen wheat thus sown too thick. I suppose the dryness
of the seed, newness of the land, and its kindness in working, are the
causes of so much less seed being required than I had been accustomed
to.
Most of the wheat sown in 1819 by the Americans, was after Indian
corn: it was sown before the corn was gathered, and plowed in between
the rows of corn; it was sown in September or early in October. They
sowed some after oats or flax, and for some they made fallows. That
they sowed after the three last, was generally better than that after
Indian-corn, when sown in {203} good time. Most of the backward wheat
was touched with the blight, more or less, chiefly according to its
thickness on the ground. I have not yet heard of any being thrashed for
sale near us; but 75 cents per bushel is expected to be the price for
good wheat. Most of that sown by the English, was after fallows; they
having, in general, no other land to sow it on. The price given for
reaping this year was about 11_s._ 3_d._ an acre, where paid in money;
but some was cut to receive three bushels of wheat per acre, and some
was cut by the day. The Americans usually help each other to cut their
wheat, as they are fond of company when at work: this they return at
some future time in the same way.
I believe much more wheat will be sown this autumn than last, possibly
a double quantity. As I did not buy my land till October, and none
of it being prepared for wheat, I could not sow any with a prospect
of success if I could have {204} obtained seed wheat. This year, I
think of sowing a few acres; probably, six or seven. I have bespoke
some seed-wheat of the bearded kind; this is generally sown in this
neighbourhood, and said to answer the best of any sort.
But few oats sown, as seed was not to be procured for money for many
miles; but I think sufficient to raise seed for another year. I did
not try much to get any seed, as I wished to see how they succeeded,
particularly on new prairie-land. I have bespoke some seed for next
year. The oats I have seen this year were but indifferent; they were
much hurt by the dry weather, and the quality of them was bad. I think
they will never be much cultivated in this country, unless it be on new
prairie-land; and that for the sake of mellowing it, to prepare it for
a crop of wheat or Indian corn another year.
The Americans reap and bind their oats the same as wheat, and stack
them in very small stacks, without any covering. I have {205} heard no
price for oats lately, but 37½ cents was the price per bushel some
time ago. Wheat was begun cutting this year about the 20th of June, and
oats the 26th of July. I believe no barley has yet been cultivated near
us, nor have I seen any growing any where in America; but I saw some
winter barley in a barn, at Harmonie, in Indiana, and I understood some
was cultivated by the Harmonic society, for the purpose of making malt.
I hope to procure a little seed barley and rye the next time I go to
Harmonie.
I have seen no rye or peas near us, except garden peas, which do
not grow so strong as in England, but yield well. I saw some fit to
gather on the 10th of May; how early they were planted I do not know.
Vegetation is much quicker here than in England. Some peas I planted on
the 1st of April, were quite ripe for seed by the middle of June; and
French-beans were also fit for seed in June. There was some snow and a
smart frost, with scarce {206} any thing green on the 1st of April, yet
on the 6th of May there were ripe strawberries in Birk's Prairie.
Flax is cultivated, on a small scale, by most of the Americans near us,
for home-use. It is sown in April; and after the flax is pulled, the
land is often ploughed and sowed with turnips, about the end of July or
the beginning of August: this year, the land was too dry to plough it
at that time.
I have seen no buck-wheat at the Prairies, with the exception of about
20 rods of my own. I dug a piece of prairie-land to sow it on; part of
it had some hazle-brush on it; and where it was grubbed, it looks well,
but where it was only dug it is but indifferent; however, I hope to
raise enough for seed another year: I sowed it the 5th of July.
Cotton is planted in rows, near four feet apart, the end of April or
the beginning of May. It soon comes up, and at first looks much like
buck-wheat, except that the {207} leaves are larger, and it continues
to grow much like it, only it has a larger blossom. Some round pods
are afterwards formed, as large as a fine walnut in its husk. When
ripe, the pods burst open, and the cotton then appears like white wool.
When they gather it, the cotton contains many seeds, about the size
of a large pea, either blue or green. The seeds are so light, it is
very troublesome to separate them from the cotton by hand. Where it is
cultivated on a large scale, they have machines to clear it from the
seeds, which, I believe, are of no value only to plant again. I planted
a little this year, but rather too late, and, as the weather was dry at
the time, but little of it came up. It now looks pretty well, and is
in full blossom. Here it seldom exceeds two feet in height, but in the
southern states, it grows much higher. A dry soil is said to suit much
better than richer land. I have heard, from those who came from South
Carolina and Georgia, that it is there common to see several hundred
{208} acres of it in one field; and from one to six hundred negroes
working together, in the planting and gathering season. One thousand
pounds of cotton, in the seed, is a good average crop. I suppose it
will lose half of its weight in getting out the seeds; therefore, about
500 lbs. of cleaned cotton is thus raised per acre. I think half that
quantity is as much as we can raise, as we are not warm enough for
cotton.
Some few Americans, near us, raise tobacco in small quantities, for
home consumption. It is thought the land round us is as good for
tobacco as in any part of the United States. I have a little of it in
my garden; but, as the first I sowed failed, it is rather backward.
The seed is sown in February or March, and transplanted in June, in
rows like cabbages; it requires to be kept very clean. I know but
little of the manner of curing it, but understand it is attended with
some difficulty, at least to strangers.
{209} Hemp is cultivated in this country, but I have not seen any in
this neighbourhood, with the exception of a few rods of my own; I
brought the seed from the Big Prairie, as I thought a small quantity
would be useful for lines, &c.
I now come to the most important article of this country's growth, I
mean Indian corn, which, with the Americans, is cultivated on a far
more extensive scale than any thing else; and, I believe, it is rising
much in the estimation of the Europeans, except as a bread corn. The
corn I took of Mr. Collins was on new Prairie-land, thin on the ground,
had been badly cultured, and much injured by cattle and pigs getting
into it; yet I had very near 50 bushels per acre. I have heard of 132
bushels per acre, but from 60 to 80 is considered a good crop. The
husks that cover the corn-ears, and the flags or leaves, are all good
for fodder. Horses, cattle, and sheep, all seem as fond of it as of the
best {210} hay. Horses and cattle will eat part of the stalk after the
corn is ripe; but in a green state, they, and pigs, will eat it all
up. Horses and pigs will eat the corn, and leave the cob or inside of
the ear; but cattle will eat inside and all. The time of planting is
from April to the middle of June; the middle of May is considered the
most proper season. It is planted in rows, of about four feet in each
direction; and after it is up they plough between the rows, first one
way, and in a week or two in the other direction; a third ploughing is
sometimes given to it. An extremely light plough, drawn by one horse,
is used. Between the corn they hoe up the weeds left near the corners
that escape the plough; so that the land is made very clean. Generally
two or three plants are left at each angle. Pompions are often planted
at the angles with the corn, but only in every fifth or sixth row, and
at some distance apart in the rows. They also plant a small {211} kind
of French-bean with part of their corn, the stalks serving instead of
sticks for the beans to run on.
There are several sorts of Indian corn, and of different colours;
namely, white, red, yellow, mixt, &c. A small sort of yellow corn is
ripe much sooner than most of the other sorts, but yields a smaller
produce. White and yellow are the most common sorts, but there are
several kinds of these. A good ear of corn contains from 14 to 20 rows,
and from 40 to 50 grains of corn in each row. A hundred middling ears
of corn will yield a bushel of clear corn. The Americans live mostly
on corn-bread; the English eat but little of it. I have now growing
12 acres of it; it is in general very stout, but, from the dryness of
the season, I do not expect it will yield well. I planted some of it
six feet between the rows, and the plants near three feet apart, as I
wished to keep it particularly clean and in good order for wheat; and
so ploughed it all one way, and ran a harrow {212} between the rows. I
do not see but it comes on as well as that I planted on the square. I
have not seen any corn near us so large as mine; much of it is upwards
of twelve feet high. It was planted between the 10th and 20th of May,
but the weather being dry, it did not come up very soon.
The green ears are eaten boiled or roasted, the latter mostly by the
Americans, who call all green ears roasting ears. The price of corn
last fall was mostly 50 cents a bushel delivered, and now 50 cents
in the place. But near us there is very little to be procured at any
price. On the Wabash, where the country has been longer settled, it
is lower and plentiful. It is gathered in October and November, when
they only take off the ears; but as the ears are covered with a large
husk, they carry them as they are to the corn-crib, and then all the
neighbours collect together to help to husk it, and put it into the
corn-crib. This is a high day with the Americans, and is called a
Husking Frolic; plenty of whiskey {213} is generally to be found at
one of these frolics. I never was present but at one; I suppose there
were near forty people present; I did not stop, but I understood it
concluded with a dance. We did not make any frolic in husking our corn,
but did it ourselves; but the Americans seldom do any thing without
having one. Thus, they have husking, reaping, rolling frolics, &c. &c.
Among the females, they have picking, sewing, and quilting frolics.
Reaping frolics, are parties to reap the whole growth of wheat, &c. in
one day. Rolling frolics, are clearing wood-land, when many trees are
cut down, and into lengths, to roll them up together, so as to burn
them, and to pile up the brushwood and roots on the trees. I think this
one is useful, as one man or his family can do but little in moving a
large quantity of heavy timber. Picking cotton, sewing, and quilting
frolics, are meetings to pick cotton from the seeds, make clothes, or
quilt quilts; in the latter, the American women pride {214} themselves.
Whiskey is here too in request, and they generally conclude with a
dance.
Raisings, are a number of men getting together to raise a piece of
building, that is, to lift the logs on each other; this is practised
by the English as well as the Americans; nor is whiskey here omitted.
Pompions, or pumpkins, is another highly prized production of this
country; they often grow to an immense size, and weigh from 40 to
60 lbs. I have heard of a single vine that, in 1818, grew a load of
pumpkins. It grew in the Big Prairie, about 30 miles to the south of
us, on some rotten chaff, where some wheat had been trodden out the
year before. I find they do best where the ground is moved or very
mellow to run on, as they strike root at every joint as they run. A
load is forty bushels; I have never seen them measured, but I judge
from the waggons I have seen them in. I last year sold three waggon
loads, in the place, at four dollars {215} a-load. Cattle of all
descriptions, pigs, and poultry, are fond of them; but all prefer the
inside and seeds to the outside. They make good sauce and excellent
pies, and are much eaten here; they are sliced and dried for winter
use, for pies and sauce. They will keep till the frosts come, but will
soon rot when frozen. At Major Phillips's, I once tasted some molasses
made from them, and liked them very much, not being so sweet as the
real molasses, but very pleasant flavoured.
Swede turnips but little known here; a person who resides at Birk's
Prairie, sowed an acre in May, on a piece of land that had been in
cultivation for two or three years; they are thin on the ground, but
seem likely to be of a good size, notwithstanding the dryness of the
season. They have been twice hoed, but were sown on one ploughing only.
Common turnips are sometimes sown after a crop of flax; the time of
sowing the beginning of August, but many of the {216} Americans are
very particular as to the age of the moon, in this and many other
things; and if they should be put by in doing it, they will not do it
that year, as many of them are very superstitious, having great faith
with regard to the moon's age, &c. Hoeing turnips is not practised by
them.
Broom-corn; the seed is much like the seed of crop-weed: it is planted
in rows on the sides of corn-fields, and is frequently ploughed
between. It resembles Indian corn, but is slighter. I have seen
it upwards of ten feet high, the corn comes on the top of it, on
long slender fibres that unite at the stalk. The corn is useful for
poultry, and the stalks or fibres make excellent brooms, the same as
carpet-brooms. I have a large quantity of it growing at Birk's Prairie.
Many of the English have none; and as brooms are much wanted, I shall
soon dispose of all I have to spare.
We have some uncommonly fine hops in the woods, and in some of the
prairies; {217} we found them very convenient for making yeast. They
are of the white-bine sort, like the grape-hop of England. I intend to
plant a few hills in the spring, as I can get plenty from the woods;
and I have saved a few seeds, to see if it will improve them or not.
They usually grow on the sides of creeks, and on low rich bottoms that
are not liable to be flooded, that is always on the best soil.
The wild flowers of the prairies are numerous, and many of them are
beautiful; and there is a succession of them from April to October or
November. Most of them are new to me, and as I am no botanist I can
give but a poor description of them. I have noticed the following,
but not exactly like those of England: sun-flowers, goldenrod,
larkspurs, sweet-williams, pinks, lilies, blue cowslips, roses, briers,
persicaries, and violets, white, blue, and yellow, but without scent.
My daughters brought some flower-seeds from England, but few of them
grew; {218} some of them came up, but did not in general flourish.
Stocks, sweet-peas, &c. were weak; on the contrary, princes-feathers
and convolvulus grew stronger than in England. Mignonette grew, but not
very strong, nor was the scent so fine or powerful; which, I believe,
is generally the case with flowers in America: this I attribute to the
heat of the climate. But the prairie-roses, balm, here called bergamot,
and sassafras-wood, are exceptions, and have all powerful scents.
I have seen sun-flowers near twelve feet high, and I have heard in Ohio
they plant them for the seed, from which they extract oil; and there
are some in the prairies, from which turpentine distils, in the same
manner as from fir-trees. I have also seen growing, in some gardens
near us, a plant from which an oil may be extracted, like castor-oil. I
had some marigold plants that came into blossom, of a very pale colour,
and did not produce any seed.
{219} There are many small flowering shrubs that are new to me, in the
woods and prairies.
The herbs I have met with are balm, horehound, pennyroyal, fennel,
coriander, peppermint, and spearmint; but the last two are scarce; sage
is extremely plentiful, but unlike English sage of any kind. I have not
seen any thyme or wormwood.
The following trees and herbs are used in medicine--snake-root,
gentian, genseng, Columbia-root, and sumach, and sassafras trees.
We found many morels in the spring, but the weather has been too dry
for mushrooms, and I have seen but few.
Most of the weeds are new to me; and I believe to most of the Americans
they are but little known, as this part of the country is almost as
little known to the American settlers as to the European, and many
of its productions differ from those to the eastward or southward. I
have seen a few docks, sow-thistles, plaintain, dunghill-weed, {220}
and water-pepper; but land in cultivation here is easily kept clear of
weeds.
I have seen no sweet potatoes; but Irish, or common potatoes, grow
tolerably in a wet season, but in a dry summer come to little. The
early ones are planted in April, but those intended for winter use
not till June; but neither will answer this season. In this year, at
different times, I have planted about sixty rods, but I shall have
but little more than the seed again. They are not so good here as in
England; their present price is fifty-five cents a bushel, and not
many to be procured for that. Last fall they were from thirty-three to
fifty cents. Very few parsnips or carrots; but they are said to be good
in a wet season. Indian corn ears, I have before said, are eaten as a
vegetable.
Small beans, of the kidney kind, are cultivated by the Americans; they
are generally planted to climb on the corn, and are of many sorts, and
different colours. There are some dwarf ones, {221} called bunch-beans,
and they all appear to do better than in England. I brought some
scarlet-runners, and some dwarf ones with me; the climate appears
too warm for the former, the latter succeeded much better. Beans and
vegetables require to be planted thinner here than in England, that
the earth may be moved between them, as they then receive much more
benefit from the heavy dews of this country than when the ground is
hard. Here are a few Indian peas in growth, leaf and blossom, much like
a kidney-bean; the pods are very long, and contain from nine to sixteen
peas in each; but they resemble but little either peas or beans. I had
a very few given me; and when first planted they grew but slowly, but
afterwards rapidly.
Cabbages grow well; the Americans plant a large backward sort, and make
but one sowing and planting out in a year. In the fall they dig them
up and bury them in the ground, or rather, they plant them underneath
{222} it; as they dig a deep trench, and set a row of cabbages with
their roots in it, then, bending the outward leaves over the top of the
cabbage, cover them with earth, and thus preserve them, in the most
severe frosts of this country. I believe, the great heat of the sun
in the day, falling on the frozen vegetables, is the principal cause
of their dying, as it completely scorches every thing that is green.
Broad-beans fail in a great measure; they may sometimes succeed, but, I
believe, the seed again is the usual crop.
Onions are two years coming to perfection; the first year they are sown
very thick, and the next they are transplanted, at about eight inches
apart, when they grow to a middling size. Prairie onions are common
in moist situations, and are very good early in the spring, but soon
get hard; the root is very small. As they come up early in the spring
before other vegetables, cows eat them with great {223} avidity, and it
gives their milk and butter a disagreeable flavour; this lasts for two
or three weeks.
Shalots grow to great perfection, and are planted by the Americans in
preference to onions.
I have a few asparagus plants that look well; I have heard they succeed
admirably more to the eastward. Here the plants are all young. Squashes
are a sort of gourd frequently boiled for sauce, and much relished by
many. There are a variety of gourds, but, I believe, of little use,
except one sort, which has a hard rind or shell, which serves for
many uses; as bottles, pans, ladles, and tunnels. Their form is round,
tapering off towards the tail. By cutting off the end next the tail,
a bottle is formed; the pulp and seeds may be easily shaken or washed
out, and the top being flat, it will stand upright. By cutting off the
neck, a pan or jar is made. By cutting a slice from one side it makes
a ladle, much used to lade water with, and to drink out {224} of; and,
lastly, by cutting off the top, and the end of the neck near the tail,
a tunnel is formed: they hold water well, and will last a considerable
time.
Cucumbers grow well, and, I believe, are more wholesome than in
England, and far more productive.
Parsley and radishes thrive; and, I believe, lettuce, but I have seen
but few of them; horse-raddish is very scarce. Capsicum is cultivated
for seasoning soups, &c.