NORTH CAROLINA 139 



land. One and the same acre is cultivated many years 

 together, as long as it will bring anything whatever, 

 and without any dunging or fallowing ; until the earth 

 is quite exhausted there is no taking in a new piece of 

 land, for it never suits their fancy to better the old by 

 dunging. 



In North and South Carolina, besides corn, a small 

 kind of peas, called Indian peas, is very much raised. 

 They yield heavily and in good years produce 40-50 

 for one. They plant them the end of April or the first 

 of May and gather in October. The people here distill 

 a bad sort of brandy from potatoes (Convolvulus 

 Battatas L.). 



The lack of salt and its dearness during the war, 

 when a bushel often cost one or two Spanish dollars, 

 brought it about that on the coast of North and South 

 Carolina they began to boil sea-water in pans. This 

 was done at the time with good success and great 

 profit, but is now given over since it can be had in 

 plenty and cheap from the West Indies. Since the 

 value of the wood may be counted as nothing, this 

 manner of preparing salt would still be profitable, if 

 the price of salt continued at no more than ^ of a 

 dollar, but this is not the case. No attempt has been 

 made to get salt from sea-water by evaporation in pits. 

 The expense for salt is considerable, and many vessels 

 are engaged in its conveyance. Besides that neces- 

 sary for pickling fish and meat, it is the custom in the 

 back parts and the country at a distance from the 

 coast to give the horses and black cattle a little salt 

 several times a week, as well with a view to the health 

 of the cattle as to accustom them to the house and the 

 plantation, and the cattle hanker after it. Near the 



