Silk grass is there spontaneous in many places. I need not mention what advantage may be made of so useful a plant, whose fibres are as fine as flax, and much stronger than hemp. Mr. Purchase tells us, in his Fourth Pilgrim, page 1786, that in the first discovery of this part of the world they presented Queen Elizabeth with a piece of grogram that had been made of it. And yet to this day they make no manner of use of this plant, no, not so much as the Indians did, before the English came among them, who then made their baskets, fishing nets, and lines of it.
§ 99 The sheep increase well, and bear good fleeces; but they generally are suffered to be torn off their backs by briars and bushes, instead of being shorn, or else are left rotting upon the dunghill with their skins.
Bees thrive there abundantly, and will very easily yield to the careful housewife a full hive of honey, and besides lay up a winter store sufficient to preserve their stocks.
The beeves, when any care is taken of them in the winter, come to good perfection. They have noble marshes there, which, with the charge of draining only, would make as fine pastures as any in the world; and yet there is hardly an hundred acres of marsh drained throughout the whole country.
Hogs swarm like vermin upon the earth, and are often accounted such, insomuch, that when an inventory of any considerable man's estate is taken by the executors the hogs are left out, and not listed in the appraisement. The hogs run where they list, and find their own support in the woods, without any care of the owner; and in many plantations it is well if the proprietor can find and catch the pigs, or any part of a farrow, when they are young to mark them; for if there be any marked in a gang of hogs, they determine the propriety of the rest, because they seldom miss their gangs; but as they are bred in company, so they continue to the end, except sometimes the boars ramble.
§ 100. The woods produce great variety of incense and sweet gums, which distill from several trees; as also trees bearing honey and sugar, as before was mentioned. Yet there's no use made of any of them, either for profit or refreshment.
All sorts of naval stores may be produced there, as pitch, tar, rosin, turpentine, plank, timber, and all sorts of masts and yards, besides sails, cordage and iron, and all these may be transported by an easy water carriage.
§ 101. These, and a thousand other advantages, that country naturally affords, which its inhabitants make no manner of use of. They can see their naval stores daily benefit other people, who send thither to build ships, while they, instead of promoting such undertakings among themselves, and easing such as are willing to go upon them, allow them no manner of encouragement, but rather the contrary. They receive no benefit, nor refreshment, from the sweets and precious things they have growing amongst them, but make use of the industry of England for all such things.
What advantages do they see the neighboring plantations make of their grain and provisions, while they, who can produce them infinitely better, not only neglect the making a trade thereof, but even a necessary provision against an accidental scarcity, contenting themselves with a supply of food from hand to mouth; so that if it should please God to send them an unseasonable year, there would not be found in the country provision sufficient to support the people for three months extraordinary.
By reason of the unfortunate method of the settlement, and want of cohabitation, they cannot make a beneficial use of their flax, hemp, cotton, silk, silk grass and wool, which might otherwise supply their necessities, and leave the produce of tobacco to enrich them, when a gainful market can be found for it.