A few of these birds are said to winter in swamps, which are quite

overgrown with thick woods; and they only appear in mild weather. But

the greatest number go to the south at the approach of winter. To-day I

saw them, for the first time this year. They flew in great flocks

already. Their chief and most agreeable food is maize. They come in

great swarms in spring, soon after the maize is put under ground. They

scratch up the grains of maize, and eat them. As soon as the leaf comes

out, they take hold of it with their bills, and pluck it up, together

with the corn or grain; and thus they give a great deal of trouble to

the country people, even so early in spring. To lessen their greediness

of maize, some people dip the grains of that plant in a decoct of the

root of the veratrum album, or white hellebore, (of which I shall speak

in the sequel) and plant them afterwards. When the maize-thief eats a

grain or two, which are so prepared, his head is disordered, and he

falls down: this frightens his companions, and they dare not venture to

the place again. But they repay themselves amply towards autumn, when

the maize grows ripe; for at that time, they are continually feasting.

They assemble by thousands in the maize-fields, and live at discretion.

They are very bold; for when they are disturbed, they only go and

settle in another part of the field. In that manner, they always go

from one end of the field to the other, and do not leave it till they

are quite satisfied. They fly in incredible swarms in autumn; and it

can hardly be conceived whence such immense numbers of them should

come. When they rise in the air they darken the sky, and make it look

quite black. They are then in such great numbers, and so close

together, that it is surprising how they find room to move their wings.

I have known a person shoot a great number of them on one side of a

maize-field, which was far from frightening the rest; for they only

just took flight, and dropped at about the distance of a musket-shot in

another part of the field, and always changed their place when their

enemy approached. They tired the sportsman, before he could drive them

from off the maize, though he killed a great many of them at every

shot. They likewise eat the seeds of the aquatic tare-grass (Zizania

aquatica) commonly late in autumn, after the maize is got in. I am

told, they likewise eat buck-wheat, and oats. Some people say, that

they even eat wheat, barley, and rye, when pressed by hunger; yet, from

the best information I could obtain, they have not been found to do any

damage to these species of corn. In spring, they sit in numbers on the

trees, near the farms; and their note is pretty agreeable. As they are

so destructive to maize, the odium of the inhabitants against them is

carried so far, that the laws of Pensylvania and New Jersey have

settled a premium of three-pence a dozen for dead maize-thieves. In New

England, the people are still greater enemies to them; for Dr. Franklin

told me, in the spring of the year 1750, that, by means of the premiums

which have been settled for killing them in New England, they have been

so extirpated, that they are very rarely seen, and in a few places

only. But as, in the summer of the year 1749, an immense quantity of

worms appeared on the meadows, which devoured the grass, and did great

damage, the people have abated their enmity against the maize-thieves;

for they thought they had observed, that those birds lived chiefly on

these worms before the maize is ripe, and consequently extirpated them,

or at least prevented their spreading too much. They seem therefore to

be entitled, as it were, to a reward for their trouble. But after these

enemies and destroyers of the worms (the maize-thieves) were

extirpated, the worms were more at liberty to multiply; and therefore

they grew so numerous, that they did more mischief now than the birds

did before. In the summer 1749, the worms left so little hay in New

England, that the inhabitants were forced to get hay from Pensylvania,

and even from Old England. The maize-thieves have enemies besides the

human species. A species of little hawks live upon them, and upon other

little birds. I saw some of these hawks driving up the maize-thieves,

which were in the greatest security, and catching them in the air.

Nobody eats the flesh of the purple maize-thieves or daws (Gracula

quiscula); but that of the red-winged maize-thieves, or stares (Oriolus

Phœniceus) is sometimes eaten. Some old people have told me, that this

part of America, formerly called New Sweden, still contained as many

maize-thieves as it did formerly. The cause of this they derive from

the maize, which is now sown in much greater quantity than formerly;

and they think that the birds can get their food with more ease at

present.

The American whortleberry, or the Vaccinium hispidulum, is extremely

abundant over all North America, and grows in such places where we

commonly find our whortle-berries in Sweden. The American ones are

bigger, but in most things so like the Swedish ones, that many people

would take them to be mere varieties. The English call them

Cranberries, the Swedes Tranbær, and the French in Canada Atopa, which

is a name they have borrowed from the Indians. They are brought to

market every Wednesday and Saturday at Philadelphia, late in autumn.

They are boiled and prepared in the same manner as we do our red

whortle-berries, or Vaccinium vitis idæa; and they are made use of

during winter, and part of summer, in tarts and other kinds of pastry.

But as they are very sour, they require a deal of sugar; but that is

not very dear, in a country where the sugar-plantations are not far

off. Quantities of these berries are sent over, preserved, to Europe,

and to the West Indies.

March the 2d. Mytilus anatinus, a kind of muscle-shells, was found

abundantly in little furrows, which crossed the meadows. The shells

were frequently covered on the outside, with a thin crust of particles

of iron, when the water in the furrows came from an iron mine. The

Englishmen and Swedes settled here seldom made any use of these shells;

but the Indians who formerly lived here broiled them and ate the flesh.

Some of the Europeans eat them sometimes.

The snow still remained in some parts of the wood, where it was very

shady, but the fields were quite free from it. The cows, horses, sheep,

and hogs, went into the woods, and sought their food, which was as yet

very trifling.

March the 3d. The Swedes call a species of little birds, Snofogel, and

the English call it Snow-bird. This is Dr. Linnæus’s Emberiza hyemalis.

The reason why it is called snow-bird is because it never appears in

summer, but only in winter, when the fields are covered with snow. In

some winters they come in as great numbers as the maize-thieves, fly

about the houses and barns, into the gardens, and eat the corn, and the

seeds of grass, which they find scattered on the hills.

At eight o’clock at night we observed a meteor, commonly called

snow-fire [15]. I have described this meteor in the memoirs of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, see the volume for the year 1752,

page 154, 155.

Wild Pigeons, (Columba migratoria [16]), flew in the woods, in numbers

beyond conception, and I was assured that they were more plentiful than

they had been for several years past. They came this week, and

continued here for about a fortnight, after which they all disappeared,

or advanced further into the country, from whence they came. I shall

speak of them more particularly in another place.

March the 7th. Several people told me, that it was a certain sign of

bad weather here when a thunder-storm arose in the south or south west,

if it spread to the east and afterwards to the north: but that on the

contrary, when it did not spread at all, or when it spread both east

and west, though it should rise in south or south west, yet it would

prognosticate fair weather. To-day it was heard in south west, but it

did not spread at all. See the meteorological observations, at the end

of this volume.

Till now the frost had continued in the ground, so that if any one had

a mind to dig a hole he was forced to cut it through with a pick-ax.

However it had not penetrated above four inches deep. But to-day it was

quite gone out. This made the soil so soft, that on riding, even in the

woods, the horse sunk in very deep.

I often enquired among the old Englishmen and Swedes, whether they had

found that any trees were killed in very severe winters, or had

received much hurt. I was answered, that young hiccory trees are

commonly killed in very cold weather; and the young black oaks likewise

suffer in the same manner. Nay sometimes black oaks, five inches in

diameter, were killed by the frost in a severe winter, and sometimes,

though very seldom, a single mulberry-tree was killed. Peach-trees very

frequently die in a cold winter, and often all the peach-trees in a

whole district are killed by a severe frost. It has been found

repeatedly, with regard to these trees, that they can stand the frost

much better on hills, than in vallies; insomuch, that when the trees in

a valley were killed by frost, those on a hill were not hurt at all.

They assured me that they had never observed that the black

walnut-tree, the sassafras, and other trees, had been hurt in winter.

In regard to a frost in spring, they had observed at different times,

that a cold night or two happened often after the trees were furnished

with pretty large leaves, and that by this most of the leaves were

killed. But the leaves thus killed have always been supplied by fresh

ones. It is remarkable that in such cold nights the frost acts chiefly

upon the more delicate trees, and in such a manner, that all the

leaves, to the height of seven and even of ten feet from the ground,

were killed by the frost, and all the top remained unhurt. Several old

Swedes and Englishmen assured me they had made this observation, and

the attentive engineer, Mr. Lewis Evans, has shewn it me among his

notes. Such a cold night happened here, in the year 1746, in the night

between the 14th and 15th of June, new style, attended with the same

effect, as appears from Mr. Evans’s observations. The trees which were

then in blossom, had lost both their leaves and their flowers in these

parts which were nearest the ground; sometime after they got fresh

leaves, but no new flowers. Further it is observable, that the cold

nights which happen in spring and summer never do any hurt to high

grounds, damaging only the low and moist ones. They are likewise very

perceptible in such places where limestone is to be met with, and

though all the other parts of the country be not visited by such cold

nights in a summer, yet those where limestone lies have commonly one or

two every summer. Frequently the places where the limestone lies are

situated on a high ground; but they suffer notwithstanding their

situation; whilst a little way off in a lower ground, where no

limestone is to be found, the effects of the cold nights are not felt.

Mr. Evans was the first who made this observation, and I have had

occasion at different times to see the truth of it, on my travels, as I

shall mention in the sequel. The young hiccory-trees have their leaves

killed sooner than other trees, in such a cold night, and the young

oaks next; this has been observed by other people, and I have found it

to be true, in the years 1749 and 1750.

March the 11th. Of the genus of Wood-peckers, we find here all those,

which Catesby in his first volume of the Natural History of Carolina,

has drawn and described. I shall only enumerate them, and add one or

two of their qualities; but their description at large I defer for

another occasion.

Picus principalis, the King of the Wood-peckers, is found here, though

very seldom, and only at a certain season.

Picus pileatus, the crested Wood-pecker; this I have already mentioned.

Picus auratus, the gold-winged Wood-pecker: This species is plentiful

here, and the Swedes call it Hittock, and Piut; both these names have a

relation to its note; it is almost continually on the ground, and is

not observed to pick in the trees; it lives chiefly on insects, but

sometimes becomes the prey of hawks; it is commonly very fat, and its

flesh is very palatable. As it stays all the year, and cannot easily

get insects in winter, it must doubtless eat some kinds of grass or

plants in the fields. Its form, and some of its qualities, make it

resemble a cuckow.

Picus Carolinus, the Carolina Wood-pecker. It lives here likewise, and

the colour of its head is of a deeper and more shining red than Catesby

has represented it, vol. i. p. 19. t. 19.

Picus villosus, the spotted, hairy, middle-sized Wood-pecker is

abundant here; it destroys the apple-trees by pecking holes into them.

Picus erythrocephalus, the red-headed Wood-pecker. This bird was

frequent in the country, and the Swedes called it merely Hackspick, or

Wood pecker. They give the same name to all the birds which I now

enumerate, the gold-winged wood-pecker excepted. This species is

destructive to maize-fields and orchards, for it pecks through the ears

of maize, and eats apples. In some years they are very numerous,

especially where sweet apples grow, which they eat so far, that nothing

but the mere peels remain. Some years ago there was a premium of two

pence per head, paid from the public funds, in order to extirpate this

pernicious bird, but this law has been repealed. They are likewise very

fond of acorns. At the approach of winter they travel to the southward.

But when they stay in numbers in the woods, at the beginning of winter,

the people look upon it as a sign of a pretty mild winter.

Picus varius, the lesser, spotted, yellow-bellied Wood-pecker. These

birds are much more numerous than many people wished; for this, as well

as the preceding and succeeding species, are very hurtful to

apple-trees.

Picus pubescens, or the least spotted Wood-pecker. This species abounds

here. Of all the wood-peckers it is the most dangerous to orchards,

because it is the most daring. As soon as it has pecked a hole into the

tree, it makes another close to the first, in a horizontal direction,

proceeding till it has pecked a circle of holes round the tree.

Therefore the apple-trees in the orchards here have several rings round

their stems, which lie very close above each other, frequently only an

inch distant from each other. Sometimes these wood-peckers peck the

holes so close, that the tree dries up. This bird, as Catesby remarks,

is so like the lesser spotted wood-pecker, in regard to its colour and

other qualities, that they would be taken for the same bird, were not

the former (the Picus pubescens) a great deal less. They agree in the

bad quality, which they both possess, of pecking holes into the

apple-trees.

Rana ocellata are a kind of frogs here, which the Swedes call,

Sill-hoppetosser, i. e. Herring-hoppers, and which now began to quack

in the evening, and at night, in swamps, pools, and ponds. The name

which the Swedes give them is derived from their beginning to make

their noise in spring, at the same time when the people here go

catching what are called herrings, which however differ greatly from

the true European herrings. These frogs have a peculiar note, which is

not like that of our European frogs, but rather corresponds with the

chirping of some large birds, and can nearly be expressed by picet.

With this noise they continued throughout a great part of spring,

beginning their noise soon after sun-setting, and finishing it just

before sun-rising. The sound was sharp, but yet so loud that it could

be heard at a great distance. When they expected rain they cried much

worse than commonly, and began in the middle of the day, or when it

grew cloudy, and the rain came usually six hours after. As it snowed on

the 16th of the next month, and blew very violently all day, there was

not the least sign of them at night, and during the whole time that it

was cold, and whilst the snow lay on the fields, the frost had so

silenced them, that we could not hear one; but as soon as the mild

weather returned, they began their noise again. They were very

timorous, and it was difficult to catch them; for as soon as a person

approached the place where they lived, they are quite silent, and none

of them appeared. It seems that they hide themselves entirely under

water, except the tip of the snout, when they cry. For when I stepped

to the pond where they were in, I could not observe a single one

hopping into the water. I could not see any of them before I had

emptied a whole pool, where they lodged in. Their colour is a dirty

green, variegated with spots of brown. When they are touched they make

a noise and moan; they then sometimes assume a form, as if they had

blown up the hind part of the back, so that it makes a high elevation;

and then they do not stir, though touched. When they are put alive into

spirits of wine, they die within a minute.

March the 12th. The bird which the English and Swedes in this country

call Robin-red-breast [17], is found here all the year round. It is a

very different bird from that which in England bears the same name. It

is Linnæus’s Turdus migratorius. It sings very melodiously, is not very

shy, but hops on the ground, quite close to the houses.

The Hazels (Corylus avellana) were now opening their blossoms. They

succeeded best in a rich mould, and the Swedes reckoned it a sign of a

good soil where they found them growing.

March the 13th. The alder (Betula Alnus) was just blossoming.

The Dracontium foetidum grew plentifully in the marshes and began to

flower. Among the stinking plants, this is the most fœtid; its nauseous

scent was so strong, that I could hardly examine the flower; and when I

smelled a little too long at it, my head ached. The Swedes call it

Byorn-blad (bear’s-leaf) or Byorn-retter (bear’s-root.) The English

call it Polecat-root, because its effluvia are as nauseous and fœtid,

as those of the polecat, which I have mentioned before. The flowers are

purple-coloured; when they are in full flower, the leaves begin to come

out of the ground; in summer the cattle do not touch it. Dr. Colden

told me, that he had employed the root in all cases where the root of

the arum is made use of, especially against the scurvy, &c. The Swedish

name it got, because the bears, when they leave their winter

habitations, are fond of it in spring: It is a common plant in all

North America.

The Draba verna was abundant here, and now appeared in flower.

The Veratrum album was very common in the marshes, and in low places

over all North America. The Swedes here call it Dack, Dackor or

Dackretter, that is puppet-root, because the children make puppets of

its stalks and leaves. The English call it Itch-reed or Ellebore. It is

a poisonous plant, and therefore the cattle never touch it; however it

sometimes happens that the cattle are deceived in the beginning of

spring, when the pastures are bare, and eat of the fine broad green

leaves of this plant, which come up very early; but such a meal

frequently proves fatal to them. Sheep and geese have likewise often

been killed with it. By means of its root, the maize is preserved from

the greediness of voracious birds, in the following manner: The roots

are boiled in water, into which the maize is put as soon as the water

is quite cool; the maize must ly all night in it, and is then planted

as usual. When the maize-thieves, crows, or other birds, pick up or

pluck out the grains of maize, their heads grow delirious, and they

fall, which so frightens the rest that they never venture on the field

again; when those which have tasted the grains recover, they leave the

field, and are no more tempted to visit it again. By thus preparing

maize, one must be very careful that no other creatures touch it; for

when ducks or fowls eat a grain or two of the maize which is thus

steeped, they become very sick; but if they swallow a considerable

quantity they die. When the root is thrown away raw, no animal eats it;

but when it is put out boiled, its sweet taste tempts the beasts to eat

it. Dogs have been seen to eat a little of it, and have been very sick

after it; however they have recovered after a vomit, for when animals

cannot free themselves of it by this means, they often die. Some people

boil the root, and wash the scorbutic parts with the water or decoct.

This is said to cause some pain, and even a plentiful discharge of

urine, but it re-establishes the patient. When the children here are

plagued with vermin, the women boil this root, put the comb into the

decoction, and comb the head with it, and this kills them most

effectually.

March the 17th. At the first arrival of the Swedes in this country, and

long after that time, it was filled with Indians. But as the Europeans

proceeded to cultivate the land, the Indians sold their land, and went

further into the country. But in reality few of the Indians really left

the country in this manner; most of them ended their days before,

either by wars among themselves, or by the small-pox, a disease which

the Indians were unacquainted with before their commerce with the

Europeans, and which since that time has killed incredible numbers of

them. For though they can heal wounds and other external hurts, yet

they know not how to proceed with fevers, or in general with internal

diseases. One can imagine, how ill they would succeed with the cure of

the small-pox, when as soon as the pustules appeared, they leaped naked

into the cold water of the rivers, lakes, or fountains, and either

dived over head into it, or poured it over their body in great

abundance, in order to cool the heat of the fever. In the same manner

they carry their children, when they have the small-pox, into the water

and duck them [18]. But brandy has killed most of the Indians. This

liquor was likewise entirely unknown to them, before the Europeans came

hither; but after they had tasted it, they could never get enough of

it. A man can hardly have a greater desire of a thing, than the Indians

have of brandy. I have heard them say, that to die by drinking brandy,

was a desirable and an honourable death; and indeed ’tis no very

uncommon thing to kill themselves by drinking this liquor to excess.

The food of these Indians was very different from that of the

inhabitants of the other parts of the world. Wheat, rye, barley, oats,

and rice-groats, were quite unknown in America. In the same manner it

is with regard to the fruits and herbs which are eaten in the old

countries. The maize, some kinds of beans, and melons, made almost the

whole of the Indian agriculture and gardening; and dogs were the only

domestic animals in North America. But as their agriculture and their

gardening were very trifling, and they could hardly live two months in

a year upon their produce, they were forced to apply to hunting and

fishing, which at that time, and even at present, are their chief

subsistence, and to seek some of the wild plants and trees here. Some

of the old Swedes were yet alive, who in their younger years had an

intercourse with the Indians, and had seen the minutiæ of their

œconomy. I was therefore desirous of knowing which of the spontaneous

herbs they made use of for food at that time; and all the old men

agreed that the following plants were what they chiefly consumed:

Hopniss or Hapniss was the Indian name of a wild plant, which they ate

at that time. The Swedes still call it by that name, and it grows in

the meadows in a good soil. The roots resemble potatoes, and were

boiled by the Indians, who eat them instead of bread. Some of the

Swedes at that time likewise ate this root for want of bread. Some of

the English still eat them instead of potatoes. Mr. Bartram told me,

that the Indians who live farther in the country do not only eat these

roots, which are equal in goodness to potatoes, but likewise take the

pease which ly in the pods of this plant, and prepare them like common

pease. Dr. Linnæus calls the plant Glycine Apios.

Katniss is another Indian name of a plant, the root of which they were

likewise accustomed to eat, when they lived here. The Swedes still

preserve this name. It grows in low, muddy and very wet ground. The

root is oblong, commonly an inch and an half long, and one inch and a

quarter broad in the middle; but some of the roots have been as big as

a man’s fists. The Indians either boiled this root or roasted it in hot

ashes. Some of the Swedes likewise eat them with much appetite, at the

time when the Indians were so near the coast; but at present none of

them make any use of the roots. A man of ninety-one years of age,

called Nils Gustafson, told me, that he had often eaten these roots

when he was a boy, and that he liked them very well at that time. He

added that the Indians, especially their women, travelled to the

islands, dug out the roots, and brought them home; and whilst they had

them, they desired no other food. They said that the hogs, which are

amazingly greedy of them, have made them very scarce. The cattle are

very fond of its leaves. I afterwards got fond of these roots roasted,

and in my opinion they tasted well, though they were rather dry: The

taste was nearly the same with that of the potatoes. When the Indians

come down to the coast and see the turneps of the Europeans, they

likewise give them the name of katniss. Their katniss is an arrow-head

or Sagittaria, and is only a variety of the Swedish arrow-head or

Sagittaria sagittifolia, for the plant above the ground is entirely the

same, but the root under ground is much greater in the American than in

the European. Mr. Osbeck in his voyage to China, vol. i. p. 334, of the

English edition, mentions, that the Chinese plant a Sagittaria, and eat

its roots. This seems undoubtedly to be a variety of this katniss.

Further in the north of this part of America, I met with the other

species of Sagittaria which we have in Sweden.

Taw-ho and Taw-him was the Indian name of another plant, the root of

which they eat. Some of them likewise call it Tuckah; but most of the

Swedes still knew it by the name of Taw-ho. It grows in moist ground

and swamps. Hogs are very greedy of the roots, and grow very fat by

feeding on them. Therefore, they often visit the places where these

roots grow; and they are frequently seen rooting up the mud, and

falling with their whole body into the water, so that only a little of

the back part was out of the water. It is therefore very plain, that

these roots must have been extirpated in places which are frequented by

hogs. The roots often grow to the thickness of a man’s thigh. When they

are fresh, they have a pungent taste, and are reckoned a poison in that

fresh taste. Nor did the Indians ever venture to eat them raw, but

prepared them in the following manner: They gathered a great heap of

these roots, dug a great long hole, sometimes two or three fathoms and

upwards in length, into which they put the roots, and covered them with

the earth that had been taken out of the hole; they made a great fire

above it, which burnt till they thought proper to remove it; and then

they dug up the roots, and consumed them with great avidity. These

roots, when prepared in this manner, I am told, taste like potatoes.

The Indians never dry and preserve them; but always take them fresh out

of the marshes, when they want them. This Taw-ho is the Arum

Virginicum, or Virginian Wake-robin. It is remarkable, that the Arums,

with the plants next akin to them, are eaten by men in different parts

of the world, though their roots, when raw, have a fiery pungent taste,

and are almost poisonous in that state. How can men have learnt, that

plants so extremely opposite to our nature were eatable; and that their

poison, which burns on the tongue, can be conquered by fire. Thus the

root of the Calla palustris, which grows in the north of Europe, is

sometimes used instead of bread on an exigency. The North American

Indians consume this species of Arum. Those of South America, and of

the West Indies, eat other species of Arums. The Hottentots, at the

Cape of Good Hope, in Africa, prepare bread from a species of Arum or

Wake-robin, which is as burning and poisonous as the other species of

this plant. In the same manner, they employ the roots of some kinds of

Arum as a food, in Egypt and Asia. Probably, that severe but sometimes

useful mistress, necessity, has first taught men to find out a food,

which the first taste would have rejected as useless. This Taw-ho seems

to be the same with what the Indians in Carolina call Tuckahoo; and of

which see Vol. I. p. 287.

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.

The Indians had their little plantations of maize in many places;

before the Swedes came into this country, the Indians had no other than

their hatchets made of stone; in order to make maize plantations they

cut out the trees and prepared the ground in the manner I have before

mentioned [19]. They planted but little maize, for they lived chiefly

upon hunting; and throughout the greatest part of summer, their Hopniss

or the roots of the Glycine Apios, their Katniss, or the roots of the

Sagittaria Sagittifolia, their Taw-ho or the roots of the Arum

Virginicum, their Taw-kee or Orontium aquaticum, and whortle-berries,

were their chief food. They had no horses or other cattle which could

be subservient to them in their agriculture, and therefore did all the

work with their own hands. After they had reaped the maize, they kept

it in holes under ground, during winter; they dug these holes seldom

deeper than a fathom, and often not so deep; at the bottom and on the

sides they put broad pieces of bark. The Andropogon bicorne, a grass

which grows in great plenty here, and which the English call Indian

Grass, and the Swedes Wilskt Grass [20], supplies the want of bark; the

ears of maize are then thrown into the hole and covered to a

considerable thickness with the same grass; and the whole is again

covered by a sufficient quantity of earth: the maize kept extremely

well in those holes, and each Indian had several such subterraneous

stores, where his corn lay safe, though he travelled far from it. After

the Swedes had settled here and planted apple-trees and peach-trees,

the Indians, and especially their women, sometimes stole the fruit in

great quantity; but when the Swedes caught them, they gave them a

severe drubbing, took the fruit from them, and often their clothes too.

In the same manner it happened sometimes that as the Swedes had a great

encrease of hogs, and they ran about in the woods, the Indians killed

some of them privately and feasted upon them: but there were likewise

some Indians who bought hogs of the Swedes and fed them; they taught

them to run after them like dogs, and whenever they removed from one

place to another, their hogs always followed them. Some of those

Indians got such numbers of these animals, that they afterwards gave

them to the Swedes for a mere trifle. When the Swedes arrived in

America, the Indians had no domestic animals, except a species of

little dogs. The Indians were extremely fond of milk, and ate it with

pleasure when the Swedes gave it them. They likewise prepared a kind of

liquor like milk in the following manner: they gathered a great number

of hiccory nuts and walnuts from the black walnut-trees, dried and

crushed them; then they took out the kernels, pounded them so fine as

flour, and mixed this flour with water, which took a milky hue from

them, and was as sweet as milk. They had tobacco-pipes of clay,

manufactured by themselves, at the time that the Swedes arrived here;

they did not always smoke true tobacco, but made use of another plant

instead of it, which was unknown to the old Swedes, but of which he

assured me that it was not the common mullein, or Verbascum Thapsus,

which is generally called Indian Tobacco here [21].

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.

Tea, coffee, and chocolate, which are at present universally in use

here, were then [22] wholly unknown. Bread and butter, and other

substantial food, was what they breakfasted upon; and the

above-mentioned superfluities have only been lately introduced,

according to the account of the old Swede. Sugar and treacle they had

in abundance, as far as he could remember; and rum formerly bore a more

moderate price.

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.

With regard to the decrease of birds, the number of them and fish, he

was wholly of that opinion which I have already mentioned [23]. This

was the account which the old man gave me of the former state of the

Swedes in this country. I shall speak more particularly of it in the

sequel.

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.

In the evening I returned [24].

March the 28th. I found a black beetle [25] (Scarabæus) with a

pentagonal oval Clypeus or shield, on the head a short blunt horn, and

a gibbous, or hump-backed Thorax, or Corselet. This beetle is one of

the bigger sort here. I found here and there holes on the hills, which

were so wide that I could put my finger into them. On digging them up I

always found these beetles lying at the bottom, about five inches under

ground. Sometimes there were short whitish worms, about as thick as

one’s finger, which lay with the beetles; and perhaps they were related

to them. There were likewise other insects in such holes, as, a black

cricket (Gryllus campestris)? spiders, earth-beetles (Carabi), and

others. This beetle had a scent exactly like the Trifolium melilotus

cærulea, or the blue melilot. It was entirely covered with oblong pale

ticks (Acari). Its feet were as strong as those of the common

Dung-chaffer (Scarabæus stercorarius).

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.

April the 9th. Apocynum Cannabinum was by the Swedes called Hemp of the

Indians; [26] and grew plentifully in old corn-grounds, in woods, on

hills, and in high glades. The Swedes have given it the name of Indian

hemp, because the Indians formerly, and even now, apply it to the same

purposes as the Europeans do hemp; for the stalk may be divided into

filaments, and is easily prepared. When the Indians were yet settled

among the Swedes, in Pensylvania and New Jersey, they made ropes of

this Apocynum, which the Swedes bought, and employed them as bridles,

and for nets. These ropes were stronger, and kept longer in water, than

such as were made of common hemp. The Swedes commonly got fourteen

yards of these ropes for one piece of bread. Many of the Europeans

still buy such ropes, because they last so well. The Indians likewise

make several other stuffs of their hemp. On my journey through the

country of the Iroquese, I saw the women employed in manufacturing this

hemp. They made use neither of spinning-wheels nor distaffs, but rolled

the filaments upon their bare thighs, and made thread and strings of

them, which they dyed red, yellow, black, &c. and afterwards worked

them into stuffs, with a great deal of ingenuity. The plant is

perennial, which renders the annual planting of it altogether

unnecessary. Out of the root and stalk of this plant, when it is fresh,

comes a white milky juice, which is somewhat poisonous. Sometimes the

fishing tackle of the Indians consists entirely of this hemp. The

Europeans make no use of it, that I know of.

Flax and Cat-tail, were names given to a plant which grows in bays,

rivers, and in deep whirlpools, and which is known 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.

A species of Leek [27], very like that which appears only in woods on

hills in Sweden, grows at present on almost all corn-fields mixed with

sand. The English here called it Garlick. On some fields it grew in

great abundance. When the cattle grazed on such fields, and ate the

garlick, their milk, and the butter which was made of it, tasted so

strongly of it, that they were scarce eatable. Sometimes they sold

butter in the Philadelphia markets, which tasted so strongly of garlick

that it was entirely useless. On this account, they do not suffer

milking cows to graze on fields where garlick abounds: this they

reserve for other species of cattle. When the cattle eat much of this

garlick in summer, their flesh has likewise such a strong flavour, that

it is unfit for eating. This kind of garlick appears early in spring;

and the horses always passed by it, without ever touching it.

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.

Another kind of wasps, which are larger than these, make their nests

quite open. It consists merely of one cake, which has no covering, and

is made of the boughs of trees. The cells are horizontal, and when the

eggs or the young larvæ ly in them, they have lids or coverings, that

the rain may not come into them. But whither the old wasps retreat

during storms, is a mystery to me, except they creep into the crevices

of rocks. That side of the cake which is uppermost is covered with some

oily particles, so that the rain cannot penetrate. The cells are

hexagonal, from five to seven lines deep, and two lines in diameter.

Mr. Bartram observed, that these nests are built of two sorts of

materials, viz. the splints which are found upon old pales, or fences,

and which the wind separates from them; for the wasps have often been

observed to sit on such old wood, and to gnaw away these splints; the

sides and the lid or cover of the cells are made of an animal

substance, or glutinous matter, thrown up by the wasps, or prepared in

their mouths; for when this substance is thrown into the fire, it does

not burn, but is only singed, like hair or horn. But the bottom of the

nest being put into the fire, burns like linen or half-rotten wood, and

leaves a smell of burnt wood. The wasps, whose nests I have now

described, have three elevated black shining points on the forehead

[28], and a pentagonal black spot on the thorax. Towards the end of

autumn these wasps creep into the cavities of mountains, where they ly

torpid during winter. In spring, when the sun begins to operate, they

come out during day-time, but return towards night, when it grows cold.

I saw them early in spring during sunshine, in and about some cavities

in the mountains. I was told of another species of wasps, which make

their nests under ground.

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 Barn Swallows, or House Swallows are those with a furcated tail.

They are Linnæus’s Hirundo rustica. I found them in all the parts of

North America which I travelled over. They correspond very nearly to

the European House Swallow in regard to their colour, however there

seems to be a small difference in the note. I took no notice this year

when they arrived: but the following year, 1750, I observed them for

the first time on the 10th of April (new style); the next day in the

morning, I saw great numbers of them sitting on posts and planks, and

they were as wet as if they had been just come out of the sea [29].

They build their nests in houses, and under the roofs on the outside; I

likewise found their nests built on mountains and rocks whose top

projected beyond the bottom; they build too under the corners of

perpendicular rocks; and this shews where the Swallows made their

nests, before the Europeans settled and built houses here; for it is

well known that the huts of the Indians could not serve the purpose of

the Swallows. A very creditable lady and her children told me the

following story, assuring me that they were eye-witnesses to it: A

couple of Swallows built their nest in the stable belonging to the

lady; the female Swallow sat upon the nest, laid eggs in it, and was

about to brood them; some days after, the people saw the female still

sitting on the eggs: but the male flying about the nest and sometimes

settling on a nail, was heard to utter a very plaintive note, which

betrayed his uneasiness: on a nearer examination the female was found

dead in the nest, and the people flung her away. The male then went to

sit upon the eggs, but after being about two hours on them, and

thinking the business too troublesome for him, he went out, and

returned in the afternoon with another female, which sat upon the eggs,

and afterwards fed the young ones, till they were able to provide for

themselves. The people differed here in their opinions about the abode

of Swallows in winter: most of the Swedes thought that they lay at the

bottom of the sea; some, with the English and the French in Canada,

thought that they migrate to the southward in autumn, and return in

spring. I have likewise been credibly informed in Albany, that they

have been found sleeping in deep holes and clefts of rocks, during

winter.

The Chimney Swallows are the second species, and they derive their name

from building their nests in chimneys, which are not made use of in

summer: sometimes when the fire is not very great, they do not mind the

smoke, and remain in the chimney. I did not see them this year till

late in May, but in the ensuing year, 1750, they arrived on the 3d of

May, for they appear much later than the other Swallows. It is

remarkable that each feather in their tail ends in a stiff sharp point,

like the end of an awl; they apply the tail to the side of the wall in

the chimneys, hold themselves with their feet, and the stiff tail

serves to keep them up: they make a great thundering noise all the day

long, by flying up and down in the chimneys; and as they build their

nests in chimneys only; and it is well known that the Indians have not

so much as a hearth made of masonry, much less a chimney, but make

their fires on the ground in their huts, it is an obvious question,

Where did these Swallows build their nests before the Europeans came,

and made houses with chimneys? It is probable that they formerly made

them in great hollow trees; This opinion was adopted by Mr. Bartram,

and many others here, Catesby has described the Chimney Swallow and

figured it [30], and Dr. Linnæus calls it Hirundo Pelasgia.

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.

The Purple Martins have likewise been described and drawn in their

natural colours by Catesby [31]. Dr. Linnæus likewise calls them

Hirundo purpurea. They are less common here than the former species; I

have seen in several places little houses made of boards, and fixed on

the outside of the walls, on purpose that these Martins may make their

nests in them; for the people are very desirous of having them near

their houses, because they both drive away hawks and crows as soon as

they see them, and alarm the poultry by their anxious note, of the

approach of their enemies. The chickens are likewise used to run under

shelter, as soon as they are warned by the Martins.

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.

The English and the Swedes of America give the name of Currants [32] to

a shrub which grows in wet ground, and near swamps, and which was now

in blossom; its flowers are white, have a very agreeable fragrancy, and

grow in oblong bunches; the fruit is very good eating, when it is ripe;

the Style (Stylus) is thread-shaped (filiformis), and shorter than the

Stamina; it is divided in the middle, into five parts, or Stigmata. Dr.

Linnæus calls it Cratægus [33], and Dr. Gronovius calls it a Mespilus

[34].

April the 22d. The Swedes give the name of Whipperiwill, and the

English that of Whip-poor-will, to a kind of nocturnal bird, whose

voice is heard in North America, almost throughout the whole night.

Catesby and Edwards both have described and figured it [35]. Dr.

Linnæus calls it a variety of the Caprimulgus Europæus, or Goat-sucker:

its shape, colour, size, and other qualities, make it difficult to

distinguish them from each other. But the peculiar note of the American

one distinguishes it from the European one, and from all other birds:

it is not found here during winter, but returns with the beginning of

summer. I heard it to-day, for the first time, and many other people

said, that they had not heard it before this summer; its English and

Swedish name is taken from its note; but, accurately speaking, it does

not call Whipperiwill, nor Whip-poor-will, but rather Whipperiwhip so

that the first and last syllables are accented, and the intermediate

ones but slightly pronounced. The English change the call of this bird

into Whip-poor-will, that it may have some kind of signification: it is

neither heard nor seen in day-time; but soon after sun-set it begins to

call, and continues for a good while, as the cuckow does in Europe.

After it has continued calling in a place for some time, it removes to

another, and begins again: it commonly comes several times in a night,

and settles close to the houses; I have seen it coming late in the

evening, and settling on the steps of the house, in order to sing its

song; it is very shy, and when a person stood still, it would settle

close by him, and begin to call. It came to the houses in order to get

its food, which consists of insects; and those always abound near the

houses at night; when it sat and called its whipperiwhip, and saw an

insect passing, it flew up and caught it, and settled again. Sometimes

you hear four or five, or more, near each other, calling as it were for

a wager, and raising a great noise in the woods. They were seldom heard

in towns, being either extirpated there, or frightened away, by

frequent shooting. They do not like to sit on trees, but are commonly

on the ground, or very low in bushes, or on the lower poles of the

enclosures. They always fly near the ground: they continue their

calling at night till it grows quite dark; they are silent till the

dawn of day comes on, and then they call till the sun rises. The sun

seems to stop their mouths, or dazzle their eyes, so as to make them

sit still. I have never heard them call in the midst of night, though I

hearkened very attentively, on purpose to hear it; and many others have

done the same. I am told they make no nest, but lay two eggs in the

open fields. My servant shot at one which sat on a bush near the house,

and though he did not hit it, yet it fell down through fear, and lay

for some time quite dead; but recovered afterwards. It never attempted

to bite when it was held in the hands, only endeavouring to get loose

by stirring itself about. Above, and close under the eyes, were several

black, long, and stiff bristles, as in other nocturnal birds. The

Europeans eat it. Mr. Catesby says, the Indians affirm, that they never

saw these birds, or heard of them, before a certain great battle, in

which the Europeans killed a great number of Indians. Therefore, they

suppose that these birds, which are restless, and utter their plaintive

note at night, are the souls of their ancestors who died in battle.

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.

The Mulberry-trees [36] were yet quite naked; and I was sorry to find

that this tree is one of the latest in getting leaves, and one of the

first which gets fruit.

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.

The Humming-bird, which the Swedes call Kings-bird [37], and which I

have mentioned in a former volume, appeared hereabouts to-day, for the

first time this spring.

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.

May the 1st. The last night was so cold that the ground at sun-rising

was as white as snow, from the hoary frost. The Swedish thermometer was

a degree and a half below the freezing point. We observed no ice in the

rivers or waters of any depth; but upon such only as were about three

inches deep, the ice lay to the thickness of one third part of a line

[38]. The evening before, the wind was south, but the night was calm.

The apple-trees and cherry-trees were in full blossom. The peach-trees

were almost out of flower. Most of the forest-trees had already got new

and tender leaves, and most of them were in flower, as almost all kinds

of oaks, the dog-wood, (Cornus Florida), hiccory, wild prunes,

sassafras, horn-beam, beeches, &c.

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.