80 BULLETIN OF THE ESSEX INSTITUTE. 



bling asps, the red oake, the white oake, and a third kind, 

 the blacke. The diar's shumach, the cedar tree, not very 

 high and its wood more desired for ornament tlian sub- 

 stance, being of color red and wliite, smelling as sweet as 

 juniper — the white cedar, the mournefull cypres tree, " 

 as distinguished from the cedar with red wood, the 

 American elm, which he calls the " broad spread elme 

 whose concave harbours waspes. " In planted gardens and 

 in woods, "sweet marjoram, sorell, perennial yarrow, 

 hempe and flaxe, some planted by the English, with rapes, 

 besides turnips, parsnips, carrots, radishes, muskmillions, 

 cucumbers, onyons, also good crops of rye, oates and 

 barley." He mentions the rattlesnake root (JVabalus 

 alba) as the "root called snake-weed " an antidote to the 

 bite of the rattlesnake of which Mr. Higginson says, " to 

 bite on within a quarter of an houre by the partie stinged," 

 — the snake weed was always carried about by Governor 

 Winthrop in summer time. Wood also speaks of the 

 "treackle berries" and he says, " There is likewise straw- 

 berries in abundance, very large ones, some being two 

 inches about. One may gather half a bushel in a fore- 

 noon. Vines afford great store of grapes, which are very 

 big both for the grape and cluster: sweet and good. 

 There is likewise a smaller kind of grape which groweth 

 on the islands (that is of Massachusetts Bay) which is 

 sooner ripe and more delectable, so there is no known 

 reason why as good wine may not be made in these parts 

 as well as Bordeaux in France, being under the same 

 degree." The choke cherry, " red cherries which grow 

 f)n clusters like grapes, are much smaller than our Eng- 

 lish cherry and so furie the mouth, that the tongue will 

 cleave to the roof." Roger Williams wrote of the straw- 

 berry. "This berry is the wonder of all the fruits grow- 

 ing naturally in these parts. It is of itself excellent, so 



