38 THE FIRST RUSSIAN BOTANIST. 



seen in this cuntrie ; 3 or 4 shorts of whorts, red ons, and two 

 sorts of blewe ons. The currants, and all other things wear so 

 much biger than ours, as I could gather by the vyger of the somer, 

 which is so quick, that when a thing is in blosom it never fellethe 

 could till it IS a perfect frute." 



Hamel explains that the red "whorts" are Vaccinium Vitis-idfea, 

 the " Preusselbeere " of Germany, and "Brussnika" of Eussia ; 

 a,nd Oxycoccos pa Instr is, the "Moosheere"' or "Klukiva"; and that 

 the " blewe " ones are V. Mijrtillus, the "Blaubeere" or "Tscher- 

 nika," and F. ulujinosum, the " Trunkelbeere." 



Tradescaut saw strawberries offered for sale, the "beryes" "in 

 nothing differing from ours, but only les"; and he also notes the 

 cultivation of rye, barley, oats, and pease. Hops he does not 

 mention, though he says: — " I have drunke such beere brewed by 

 a Eusse in the Inglishe house, bothe for strength and for good tast 

 as I have never betterd it in England." Of course some other 

 bitter may have been employed ; but hops grow now at Archangel, 

 and beer is brewed there that will bear comparison with that of 

 Burton, or, I should perhaps rather say, of Pilsen. 



The following is an interestmg account of (jonnis suecica, which 

 Tradescant compares to Mercurialis perennis, the word "loupe," 

 employed in it for "axil," being new to me in this sense : — 



"A sort of plant, bearing his fruit like Ledge-mercury, which 

 made a fine showe, having leaves on the tope of every stake, having 

 in every loupe a berry about the bignes of a hawe, all the three 

 berryes growing close together, of a tinner bright red than a hawe, 

 which I took up many roots, yet am afraid that none held, because 

 on our being on ground we staved most of our fresh watter, and so 

 wear faint to watter withe salt watter, but was mad believe it was 

 freshe, whiche that plant having but a long whit thin root, littill 

 biger than a small couch gras; and the boys in the ship, before I 

 peseved it, eat of the berries, except som of them cum up amongst 

 the earthe by chance. I found this plant to growe in Eose Island." 



Certainly one of the most striking plants of the district to-day 

 is Dianthus superhus ; so that we are not surprised to find Tradescant 

 writing of Eose Island: — "Thear I found pinks growing natturall 

 of the best sort we have heere in Ingland, withe the eges of the 

 leaves deeplie cut or jaged very finely." 



A species to be identified with less certainty is a " Geranium 

 flore serulle," found in addition to Gerajviuni pratense. There is a 

 G. Batracoides flore ccBruleo in the Museum Tradescantianum, p. 116, 

 and a G. Muscoviticuni jmrpureuvi in Parkinson's Theatrum, They 

 may be G, sylvaticum. 



Tradescant also records "Angelica," by which he means Arch- 

 angelica uflicinalis, one of the most prominent plants in the delta of 

 the Dvina at present ; " Lysimachia," i. e., L. vulgaris, which I also 

 saw there; " Pentafolia major," which may be either i'otentilla 

 Coviarum or P. norvegica, both of which occur; "Saxifrage," by 

 which he probably meant Fiiiipinella Saxifraga ; "Sorrel"; and 

 "Eos sohs," i. 6., Drosera. He has thus recorded some two dozen 

 wild plants from his own observation, a short but interesting list. 



