Penfylvania, Philadelphia. 153 



flood like a bufh, about a fathom or two high. 

 Mr. Bartram, and other gentlemen who had 

 frequently travelled in thefe provinces, told me, 

 that the more you go to the fouth, the lefs are 

 the alders ; but that they are higher and taller, the 

 more you advance to the north. I found after- 

 wards myfelf, that the alders, in fome places of 

 Canada, are little inferior to the Swedi/h ones. 

 Their bark is employed here in dying red and 

 brown. A Swediji inhabitant of America told me, 

 that he had cut his leg to the very bone, and that 

 fome coagulated blood had already been fettled 

 within : that he had been advifed to boil the 

 alder bark, and to wafli the wound often with 

 the water: that he followed this advice, and had 

 fopn got his leg healed, though it had been very 

 dangerous at firft. 



THE Pbytolacca decandra was called Poke by 

 the Englijb. The Swedes had no particular name 

 for it, but made ufe of the Englijh, with fome lit- 

 tle variation into Paok. When the juice of its 

 berries is put upon paper or the like, it ftrikej 

 it with a high purple colour, which is as fine as 

 any in the world ; and it is pity that no method 

 is as yet found out, of making this colour laft on 

 woollen and linen cloth, for it fades very foon. 

 Mr. Bartram mentioned, that having hit his foot 

 againft a ftone, he had got a violent pain in it; 

 he then bethought himfclf to put a leaf of the 

 Pbytolacca on his foot, by which he loft the pain 

 in a fnort time. The berries are eaten by the 

 birds about this time. The Englijh and feveral 

 Swedes make ufe of the leaves in fpring, when 

 they are juft come out, and are yet tender and 



foft. 



