SHRUBS.
The Willow, Shin Wood, Shumack, Sassafras, the Prickly Ash, Moose Wood, Spoon Wood, Large Elder, Dwarf Elder, Poisonous Elder, Juniper, Shrub Oak, Sweet Fern, the Laurel, the Witch Hazle, the Myrtle Wax Tree, Winter Green, the Fever Bush, the Cranberry Bush, the Goosberry Bush, the Currant Bush, the Whirtle Berry, the Rasberry, the Black Berry, and the Choak Berry.
The WILLOW. There are several species of the willow, the most remarkable of which is a small sort that grows on the banks of the Mississippi, and some other places adjacent. The bark of this shrub supplies the beaver with its winter food; and where the water has washed the soil from its roots, they appear to consist of fibres interwoven together like thread, the colour of which is of an inexpressibly fine scarlet; with this the Indians tinge many of the ornamental parts of their dress.
SHIN WOOD. This extraordinary shrub grows in the forests, and rising like a vine, runs near the ground for six or eight feet, and then takes root again; in the same manner taking root, and springing up successively, one stalk covers a large space; this proves very troublesome to the hasty traveller, by striking against his shins, and entangling his legs; from which it has acquired its name.
The SASSAFRAS is a wood well known for its medicinal qualities. It might with equal propriety be termed a tree as a shrub, as it sometimes grows thirty feet high; but in general it does not reach higher than those of the shrub kind. The leaves, which yield an agreeable fragrance, are large, and nearly separated into three divisions. It bears a reddish brown berry of the size and shape of Pimento, and which is sometimes used in the colonies as a substitute for that spice. The bark or roots of this tree is infinitely superior to the wood for its use in medicine, and I am surprized it is so seldom to be met with, as its efficacy is so much greater.
The PRICKLY ASH is a shrub that sometimes grows to the height of ten or fifteen feet, and has a leaf exactly resembling that of an ash, but it receives the epithet to its name from the abundance of short thorns with which every branch is covered, and which renders it very troublesome to those who pass through the spot where they grow thick. It also bears a scarlet berry, which when ripe, has a fiery taste like pepper. The bark of this tree, particularly the bark of the roots, is highly esteemed by the natives for its medicinal qualities. I have already mentioned one instance of its efficacy, and there is no doubt but that the decoction of it will expeditiously and radically remove all impurities of the blood.
The MOOSE WOOD grows about four feet high, and is very full of branches; but what renders it worth notice is its bark, which is of so strong and pliable a texture, that being peeled off at any season, and twisted, makes equally as good cordage as hemp.
The SPOON WOOD is a species of the laurel, and the wood when sawed resembles box wood.
The ELDER, commonly termed the poisonous elder, nearly resembles the other sorts in its leaves and branches, but it grows much straiter, and is only found in swamps and moist soils. This shrub is endowed with a very extraordinary quality, that renders it poisonous to some constitutions, which it effects if the person only approaches within a few yards of it, whilst others may even chew the leaves or the rind without receiving the least detriment from them: the poison however is not mortal, though it operates very violently on the infected person, whose body and head swell to an amazing size, and are covered with eruptions, that at their height resemble the confluent small-pox. As it grows also in many of the provinces, the inhabitants cure its venom by drinking saffron tea, and anointing the external parts with a mixture composed of cream and marsh mallows.
The SHRUB OAK is exactly similar to the oak tree, both in its wood and leaves, and like that it bears an acorn, but it never rises from the ground above four or five feet, growing crooked and knotty. It is found chiefly on a dry gravelly soil.
The WITCH HAZLE grows very bushy, about ten feet high, and is covered early in May with numerous white blossoms. When this shrub is in bloom, the Indians esteem it a further indication that the frost is entirely gone, and that they might sow their corn. It has been said, that it is possessed of the power of attracting gold or silver, and that twigs of it are made use of to discover where the veins of these metals lie hid; but I am apprehensive that this is only a fallacious story, and not to be depended on; however that supposition has given it the name of Witch Hazle.
The MYRTLE WAX TREE is a shrub about four or five feet high, the leaves of which are larger than those of the common myrtle, but they smell exactly alike. It bears its fruit in bunches like a nosegay, rising from the same place in various stalks about two inches long: at the end of each of these is a little nut containing a kernel, which is wholly covered with a gluey substance, which being boiled in water, swims on the surface of it, and becomes a kind of green wax; this is more valuable than bees-wax, being of a more brittle nature, but mixed with it makes a good candle, which as it burns sends forth an agreeable scent.
WINTER GREEN. This is an ever-green of the species of the myrtle, and is found on dry heaths; the flowers of it are white, and in the form of a rose, but not larger than a silver penny; in the winter it is full of red berries about the size of a sloe, which are smooth and round; these are preserved during the severe season by the snow, and are at that time in the highest perfection. The Indians eat these berries, esteeming them very balsamic, and invigorating to the stomach. The people inhabiting the interior colonies steep both the sprigs and berries in beer, and use it as a diet drink for cleansing the blood from scorbutic disorders.
The FEVER BUSH grows about five or six feet high; its leaf is like that of a lilach, and it bears a reddish berry of a spicy flavour. The stalks of it are excessively brittle. A decoction of the buds or wood is an excellent febrifuge, and from this valuable property it receives its name. It is an ancient Indian remedy for all inflammatory complaints, and likewise much esteemed on the same account by the inhabitants of the interior parts of the colonies.
The CRANBERRY BUSH. Though the fruit of this bush greatly resembles in size and appearance that of the common sort, which grows on a small vine in morasses and bogs, yet the bush runs to the height of ten or twelve feet; but it is very rarely to be met with. As the meadow cranberry, being of a local growth, and flourishing only in morasses, cannot be transplanted or cultivated, the former, if removed at a proper season, would be a valuable acquisition to the garden, and with proper nurture prove equally as good, if not better.
The CHOAK BERRY. The shrub thus termed by the natives grows about five or six feet high, and bears a berry about the size of a sloe, of a jet black, which contains several small seeds within the pulp. The juice of this fruit, though not of a disagreeable flavour, is extremely tart, and leaves a roughness in the mouth and throat when eaten, that has gained it the name of choak berry.