190 Oftober 1748. 



Ottober the 12th. In the morning we 

 went to the river Skulkill, partly to gather 

 feeds, partly to colled: plants for the herb- 

 al, and to make all forts of obfervations. 

 The Skulkill is a narrow river, which falls 

 into the Delaware, about four miles from 

 Philadelphia to the fouth j but narrow as it 

 is, it rifes on the weft fide of thofe high 

 mountains, commonly called the blue moun- 

 tains, and runs two hundred Englifo miles, 

 and perhaps more. It is a great difadvan- 

 tage to this country, that there are feveral 

 catara&s in this river as low as Philadel- 

 phia, for which reafon there can be no na- 

 vigation on it. To day I made fome de- 

 fcriptions and remarks on fuch plants as the 

 cattle liked, or fuch as they never touched. 



I observed feveral little fubterraneous 

 walks in the fields, running under ground 

 in various directions, the opening of which 

 was big enough for a mole : the earth, 

 which formed as it were a vault above it, 

 and lay elevated like a little bank, was near 

 two inches high, full as broad as a man's 

 hand, and about two inches thick. In un- 

 cultivated fields I frequently faw thefe 

 fubterraneous walks, which difcovered them- 

 felves by the ground thrown up above them, 

 which when trod upon gave way, and made 

 it inconvenient to walk in the field. 



These 



