New Jerfey, Raccoon. 263 



the very fpot where Philadelphia afterwards was 

 built ; for in his time that ipot was yet covered 

 with trees and fhrtibs. The Englijh call this tree a 

 Laurel, becaufe its leaves referable thofe of the 

 Laurocerafus. Dr. Linnctus, conformable to the 

 peculiar friendfhip and goodnefs which he has 

 always honoured me with, has been pleafed to 

 call this tree, Kalmia foliis ovatzs, corymbis ter- 

 minatibus, or Kalmia latifolia. It fucceeds beft 

 on the fide of hills, efpecially on the north fide, 

 where a brook paffes by; therefore on meeting with 

 fome fteep places (on hills) towards a brook, or 

 with a fteep fide of a hill towards a marfli, you 

 are fure to find the Kalmia. But it frequently 

 ftands mixed among beech trees. The higher 

 the Kalmias ftand on the north fide of a moun- 

 tain the lefs they grow : I have feen them not 

 only in Penfyhania and New Jerfey, but even in 

 New Tork, but there they are more fcarce : I 

 never found them beyond the forty-fecond deg. 

 of north lat. though I took ever fo great care to 

 look for them : they have the quality of preferv- 

 ing their fine green leaves throughout winter, 

 fo that when all other trees have loft their orna- 

 ments, and ftand quite naked, thefe chear the woods 

 with their green foliage. About the month of May 

 they begin to flower in thefe parts, and then 

 their beauty rivals that of moft of the known 

 trees in nature : the flowers are innumerable, 

 and fit in great bunches. Before they open they 

 have a fine red colour, but as they are expanded 

 the fun bleaches them, fo that ibme are quite 

 white; many preferve the colour of rofes. Their 

 fhape is fingular, for they refemble a crater of 



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