132 April 1749. 



the country of the Iroquefe, I faw the wo- 

 men employed in manufacturing this hemp. 

 They made ufe neither of fpinning-wheels 

 nor diftaffs, but rolled the filaments upon 

 their bare thighs, and made thread and 

 firings of them, which they dyed red, yel- 

 low, black, &c. and afterwards worked them 

 into fluffs, with a great deal of ingenuity. 

 The plant is perennial, which renders the 

 annual planting of it altogether unneceffary. 

 Out of the root and ftalk of this plant, when 

 it is frefli, comes a white milky juice, which 

 is fomewhat poifonous. Sometimes the fifh- 

 ing tackle of the Indians confifl s entirely of 

 this hemp. The Europeans make no ufe 

 of it, that I know of. 



Flax and Cat -tail, were names given to 

 a plant which grows in bays, rivers, and in 

 deep whirlpools, and which is known to 

 botanifts by the name of Typlja latifolia. 

 Its leaves are here twifted together, and 

 formed into great oblong rings, which are 

 put upon the horfe's neck, between the 

 mane and the collar, in order to prevent 

 the horfe's neck from being hurt by the 

 collar. The bottoms of chairs were fre- 

 quently made of thefe leaves, twifted toge- 

 ther. Formerly the Swedes employed the 

 wool or cotton which furrounds its feeds, 

 and put it into their beds, inftead of fea- 

 thers j 



