248 The Natural Historic 



their Meat is very nourishing and communicates good Juices 

 to the Blood. 



The Finger- fish, so called, from their beiug about the 

 length of a Man's Finger, they are very plenty in this Prov- 

 ince, but generally lye at the bottom of the Waters about one 

 or two feet deep, and are an extraordinary good Shell-Fish. 



The Shrimps are very plentiful in North Carolina, and 

 vast quantities of them are taken by the Boys and Girls with 

 a small bow ^et. They are very restorative and good in 

 Consumptions, Hecticks and Asthmas, and are an excellent 

 good Bait to catch Mullets, Pikes, and several other sorts of 

 Fish that are caught by angling with the Bait. 



The Sea-Nettles (by some called Carvels) whereof there 

 are great plenty in the Western-Seas and Salt Waters on the 

 coast of America. They seem to be nothing else but Slime, 

 or a lump of Jelly, with a cast of red, blue and green colours 

 in it, they Swim like a Bladder above the Water, but down- 

 wards there are long Fibrous Strings, some of which are near 

 half a Yard long; some will have this Jelly to be a sort of 

 Sea-plant, and the Strings its roots growing in the Sea as 

 Duck-weed does in Ponds, but the Query is, if they be not a 

 certain Species of Spawn for when they are taken out of the 

 Water, or any thing touches them (thougli they scarce seem 

 to have Life) yet they will very suddenly change their col- 

 ours, which they quickly recover again. They may be reck- 

 oned amongst Potential Cauteries, because they are apt to 

 blister the Hands or any other part of the Skin (like Nettles) 

 where ever they touch. I am persuaded that they are of 

 so venemous a Nature that few Fish prey upon them, other- 

 wise they wou'd not be so numerous as they are, notwithstand- 

 ing T have known some of them taken out of the Guts of the 



Hawks-hilled 



