TREES OF AMERICA. 167 



me they were not fit to eat until they were 

 frost-bitten," 



" Yes, my dear, that is true ; until the frost 

 touches them they are very harsh, and make 

 the mouth feel rough ; but after that, they 

 are quite nice. If you had ever opened one, 

 you would see that it had inside of it six or 

 eight seeds, very hard, and shaped something 

 hke the seed of a pumpion, but of a dark 

 brown colour, and not more than half as 

 large. Pigs and cattle, and in fact most ani- 

 mals that eat fruit, both wild and tame, are 

 very fond of persimmons ; the opossums live 

 on them almost entirely. In Carolina the 

 people make beer of them too ; they pound 

 the persimmons with bran, and make them into 

 cakes, which are dried in the oven, and then 

 kept till they are wanted : to make the beer, 

 these cakes are dissolved in warm water, and 

 yest and hops are put to it ; after standing 

 a little while, it ferments, and makes an 

 agreeable drink. 



" The heart of the persimmon is brown, 

 hard, compact, strong, and very elastic, like 

 hickory ; the other part of the wood is of a 

 greenish colour. From the solidity and hard- 

 ness of the heart, it is very good for large 



