Mr. Bartram shewed me a number of [[138]]plants which he had collected into a herbal on his travels. Among these were the following, which likewise grow in the northern parts of Europe, of which he had either got the whole plants, or only broken branches.
- 1. Betula alba. The common birch tree, which he had found on the cats-hills.
- 2. Betula nana. This species of birch grows in several low places towards the hills.
- 3. Comarum palustre, in the meadows, between the hills in New Jersey.
- 4. Gentiana lutea, the great Gentian, from the fields near the mountains. It was very like our variety, but had not so many flowers under each leaf.
- 5. Linnæa borealis, from the mountains in Canada. It creeps along the ground.
- 6. Myrica Gale, from the neighbourhood of the river Susquehanna, where it grows in a wet soil.
- 7. Potentilla fruticosa, from the swampy fields and low meadows, between the river Delaware, and the river New York.
- 8. Trientalis Europæa, from the cats-hills.
- 9. Triglochin maritimum, from the salt springs towards the country of the five nations.
[[139]]
Mr. Bartram shewed me a letter from East Jersey, in which he got the following account of the discovery of an Indian grave. In the April of the year 1744, as some people were digging a cellar, they came upon a great stone, like a tombstone, which was at last got out with great difficulty, and about four feet deeper under it, they met with a large quantity of human bones and a cake of maize. The latter was yet quite untouched, and several of the people present tasted it out of curiosity. From these circumstances it was concluded that this was a grave of a person of note among the savages. For it is their custom to bury along with the deceased, meat any other things which he liked best. The stone was eight feet long, four feet broad, and even some inches more where it was broadest, and fifteen inches thick at one end, but only twelve inches at the other end. It consisted of the same coarse kind of stone, that is to be got in this country. There were no letters nor other characters visible on it.
The corn which the Indians chiefly cultivate is the Maize, or Zea Mays, Linn. Then have little corn fields for that purpose. But besides this, they likewise plant a great quantity of Squashes, a species of [[140]]pumpions or melons, which they have always cultivated, even in the remotest ages. The Europeans settled in America, got the seeds of this plant, and at present their gardens are full of it, the fruit has an agreeable taste when it is well prepared. They are commonly boiled, then crushed (as we are used to do with turneps when we make a pulse of them) and some pepper or other spice thrown upon them, and the dish is ready. The Indians likewise sow several kinds of beans, which for the greatest part they have got from the Europeans. But pease which they likewise sow, they have always had amongst them, before any foreigners came into the country. The squashes of the Indians, which now are likewise cultivated by the Europeans, belong to those kinds of gourds (cucurbita,) which ripen before any other. They are a very delicious fruit, but will not keep. I have however seen them kept till pretty laid In winter.
September the 30th. Wheat and rye are sown in autumn about this time, and commonly reaped towards the end of June, or in the beginning of July. These kinds of corn, however, are sometimes ready to be reaped in the middle of June, and there are even examples that they have been [[141]]mown in the beginning of that month. Barley and oats are sown in April, and they commonly begin to grow ripe towards the end of July. Buck-wheat is sown in the middle or at the end of July, and is about this time, or somewhat later, ready to be reaped. If it be sown before the above-mentioned time, as in May, or in June, it only gives flowers, and little or no corn.
Mr. Bartram and other people assured me, that most of the cows which the English have here, are the offspring of those which they bought of the Swedes when they were masters of the country. The English themselves are said to have brought over but few. The Swedes either brought their cattle from home, or bought them of the Dutch, who were then settled here.
Near the town, I saw an Ivy or Hedera Helix, planted against the wall of a stone building, which was so covered by the fine green leaves of this plant, as almost to conceal the whole. It was doubtless brought over from Europe, for I have never perceived it any where else on my travels through North-America. But in its stead I have often seen wild vines made to run up the walls.
I asked Mr. Bartram, whether he had [[142]]observed, that trees and plants decreased in proportion as they were brought further to the North, as Catesby pretends? He answered, that the question should be more limited, and then his opinion would prove the true one. There are some trees which grow better in southern countries, and become less as you advance to the north. Their seeds or berries are sometimes brought into colder climates by birds and by other accidents. They gradually decrease in growth, till at last they will not grow at all. On the other hand, there are other trees and herbs which the wise Creator destined for the northern countries, and they grow there to an amazing size. But the further they are transplanted to the south, the less they grow; till at last they degenerate so much as not to be able to grow at all. Other plants love a temperate climate, and if they be carried either south or north, they will not succeed well, but always decrease. Thus for example Pensylvania contains some trees which grow exceedingly well, but always decrease in proportion as they are carried further off either to the north, or to the south.
I afterwards on my travels, had frequent proofs of this truth. The Sassafras, which grows in Pensylvania, under [[143]]forty deg. of lat. and becomes a pretty tall and thick tree, was so little at Oswego and Fort Nicholson, between forty-three. and forty-four deg. of lat. that it hardly reached the height of two or four feet, and was seldom so thick as the little finger of a full grown person. This was likewise the case with the Tulip tree. For in Pensylvania it grows as high as our tallest oaks and firs, and its thickness is proportionable to its height. But about Oswego it was not above twelve feet high, and no thicker than a man’s arm. The Sugar Maple, or Acer saccharinum, is one of the most common trees in the woods of Canada, and grows very tall. But in the southern provinces, as New Jersey and Pensylvania, it only grows on the northern side of the blue mountains, and on the steep hills which are on the banks of the river, and which are turned to the north. Yet there it does not attain to a third or fourth part of the height which it has in Canada. It is needless to mention more examples.