Ptn/yheniff, Germantown. 75 



of it. A German of this place who was a confec- 

 tioner told me, that the dyers gathered the roots 

 of this plant and made a fine red dye of them. 



HERE are feveral fpecies of Squirrels. The 

 ground Squirrels^ Sciurusflriatus Linn. S. N. are 

 commonly kept in cages, becaufe they are very 

 pretty : but they cannot be entirely tamed. The 

 greater Squirrels, or Sciurus cinereus Linn. S. N. 

 frequently do a great deal of mifchief in t]|e plan- 

 tations, but particularly deftroy the maize. For 

 they climb up the ftalks, cut the ears in piece?, 

 and eat only the loofe and fweet kernel, which lies 

 quite in the infide. They fometimes come by hunr. 

 dreds upon a maize-field, and then deflroy the 

 whole cropofacountryman in one night. InMary~ 

 land therefore every one is obliged annually to 

 bring four fquirrels, and their heads are given to 

 the furveyor, to prevent deceit. In other provinces 

 every body that kills fquirrels received two pence 

 apiece for them from the public, on delivering 

 the heads. Their flem is eaten and reckoned 

 a dainty. The Ikins are fold, but are not much 

 efteemed. Squirrels are the chief food of the rat- 

 tle- fnake and other fnakes; and it was a common 

 fancy with the people hereabouts, that when the 

 rattle-fnake lay on the ground, and fixed its eyes 

 upon a fquirrel, the latter would be as it were faf- 

 cinated, and that though it were on the upper- 

 moft branches of a tree, yet it would come down 

 by degrees, till it leaped into the ihake's mouth. 

 The fnake then licks the little animal feveral 

 times, and makes it wet all over with its fpittle, 

 that it may go down the throat eafier. It then 

 fwallows the whole fquirrel at once. When the 



fnake 



