1914] — Knowlton,— Original Flora of the Old Colony 115 
in the woods some seven or eight miles... .. The land for the crust of 
the earth is a spit's depth, excellent black mould, and fat in some 
places; two or three great oaks, but not very thick, pines, walnuts, 
beech, ash, birch, hazel, holly, asp, sassafras in abundance, and vines 
everywhere, cherry trees, plum trees, and many others which we 
know not. Many kinds of herbs we found here in winter, as straw- 
berry leaves innumerable, sorrel, yarrow, carvel, brooklime, liverwort, 
water-cresses, great store of leeks and onions, and an excellent strong 
kind of hemp.” 
A year later Edward Winslow, writing enthusiastically to a friend 
in England under date of Dec. 11, 1621, writes the following: “ All 
the spring-time the earth sendeth forth naturally very good sallet 
herbs. Here are grapes, white and red, and very sweet and strong 
also; strawberries, gooseberries, raspas, etc.; plums of three sorts, 
white, black and red, being almost as good as a damson; abundance 
of roses, white, red and damask; single, but very sweet indeed.” 
In July, 1621, Edward Winslow and Stephen Hopkins set out to 
spend July 4th and 5th with their Indian friend, Massasoit, at Packano- 
kick. They went through Namaschet [Middleboro] to the Taunton 
River, and down its shores. “As we passed along, we observed that 
there were few places'by the river but had been inhabited; by reason 
whereof much ground was clear, save of weeds, which grew higher 
than our heads. There is much good timber, both oak, walnut tree, 
fir, beech, and exceeding great chestnut trees." 
Other passages later on refer to “ ground-nuts"' as a source of food- 
supply for the Indians, and in times of shortage, for the colonists them- 
selves. 
I shall let each reader supply for himself the modern names for these 
pre-Linnaean plants, but it is of interest here to read Thoreau’s re- 
marks in Cape Cod, and an article by S. B. Parish in Ruopona III, 
17, “The Vegetation of Plymouth Three Hundred Years Ago." 
In Rnuopona IV, 81, Mr. John Robinson has commented on some 
of these Plymouth plants. He also quotes from a correspondent who 
suggests that this list was copied from Francis Higginson [Higgeson] 
who published a similar list of plants of New England. 
This cannot be so, however, for Mourt's Relation was written from 
day to day as the events took place, and was printed in its present 
form in 1622 several years before Higginson left England for this 
country. It is a pleasure to clear these old worthies of the alleged 
