1836.] 



FARMERS REGISTER. 



89S 



Durin2^ soiiimcr there are either strawberries, 

 which rijien in April!, or mulberries which ripen 

 in May ami lune. Raspises, hurts?; or a fruit that 

 the inhabitants call maracocks, which is a plea- 

 sant wholesome li'uit much like a iemond. Man}- 

 herbcs in the spring are corhtnonly dispersed 

 throufihout the wood*:, (rood for brothes and sallets, 

 as violets, purslain, sorrell. &c. liosidesmany we 

 vsed whose names we know not. 



The chiele root they haue ll^r food is called 

 Tockuwhouffhe. It groweth like, a flaffe;e in 

 marishes. In one day a salvage will gather suf- 

 ficient for a weeke. These rootes ixtp much of the 

 greatnesse and taste of potatoes. They vse to 

 cover a great many of them with oke ieaues and 

 ierne, and then cover all with earth in the manner 

 of a colepit; over it, on each side, they continue a 

 great hre 24 houres before they dare eat if. Raw 

 it is no belter then poyson, and being rosted, ex- 

 cept it be tender and the heat abated, or sliced 

 and dryed in the sunne, mixed with sorrell and 

 meale or such like, it will prickle and torment the 

 throat extreamely, and yet in sommerthey vse this 

 ordinarily for bread. 



They haue another roote which they call 

 Wighsacan: as th'other fecdeth the body, so this 

 cureth their hurts and diseases. It is a small root 

 which 'hey bruise and apply to the wound. Po- 

 cones is a small root that groweth in the moun- 

 taines, which being dryed and beate in powder, 

 turncth red. And this they vse for swellings, 

 aches, annointing their ioynis, painting their heads 

 and garments. They account it very precious, 

 aud of much worth. Musquaspen is a roote of 

 the bignesse of a finger, and as red as bloud. In 

 dryir)g, it will wither almost to nothing. This they 

 vse to paint their mattes, targets, and such like. 



There is also pellitory of Spaine, sasafrage, and 

 divers other simples, which the apothecaries ga- 

 thered, and commended to be good, and medicina- 

 ble. 



In the low marishes grow plots of on3"ons, con- 

 taining an acre of ground or more in many places; 

 but they are small, not past the bignesse of the 

 top of ones thumbe. 



Of beasts the chiefe are deere, nothing differing 

 from ours. In the deserts towards the heads of 

 the rivers, there are man}^, but amongst the rivers 

 Jew. There is a beast they call Aroughcun,* much 

 like a badger, but vseth to line on trees as squirrels 

 doe. Their squirrels some arc neare as great as 

 our smallest sort of wilde rabbits, some blackish or 

 blacke and white, but the most are gray. 



A small beast they haue they call Assapanick, 

 but we call them flying squirrels, because spreadin.fr 

 their legs, and so stretching the largenesse of their 

 skins, that they haue beene scene to fly 30 or 40 ; 

 yards. An opossom hath a head like a swine, I 

 and ataile like a rat, and is of the bignesse of a 

 cat. Vnder her belly shee hath a bagge, wherein i 

 she lodgeth, carrieth. and suckleth her young. A I 

 Mussascust is a beast of the forme and nature of j 

 our water rats, but many of them smell exceeding 

 strongly of muske. Their hares no bigger then 

 our conies, and ft;w of them to be found. 



Their beares are very little in comparison of ^ 

 those of Muscovia and Tartaria. The beaver is 

 as big as an ordinary water dog, but his legs ex- 

 ceeding short. His forefeete like a dogs, his'hind- 



* Rackoon. — Ed. 

 Vol. IV— 50 



] Muskrat. — Ed. 



er feet like a swans. His taile somewhat like the 

 J()rme of a racket, bare without haire, which to 

 eat the salvages esleeme a great delicate. They 

 haue many otters, which as the beavers they take 

 with snares, and esfeeme the skins great orna- 

 ments, and all of those beasts they vse to feed 

 when they catch them. An V'tchunquoyes is like 

 a Wilde cat. Their foxes are like our silver haired 

 conies, of a small proportion, and not smelling 

 like those in li]no-land. Their dogges of that 

 country are like their woolues, and cannot barke, 

 but howie, and the woolues not much bigger then 

 our I"]ngiish fijxes. Marlins, powlecals, weesels, 

 and minkes we know they haue, because we haue 

 scene many of their skinnes, though very sel- 

 dome any of ihem aliue. But one thing is 

 strange, that we could never perceiue their ver- 

 mine destroy our hennes, egges, nor chickens, nor 

 doe any hurt, nor their flyes nor serpents any way 

 pernicious, whereas in the south parts of America 

 they are alwayes dangerous, and often deadly. 



Of birds the eagle is the greatest devourer. 

 liawkes there be of divers sorts, as our falconers 

 called them : sparrow-hawkes, lanarets, gos- 

 hawkes, falcons, and osperayes, but they all prey 

 most vpon fish. Their partridges are little bigger 

 than our quailes. Wilde turkies are as bigge as 

 our tame. There are woosels or blackbirds with 

 red shoulders, thrushers and divers sorts of svaaU 

 birds, some red, some blew, scarce so bigg as a 

 wrenne, but few in sommer. (n winter there are 

 great plentie of swans, cranes, gray and white 

 with blacke winc's, herons, geese, brants, ducke, 

 win-eon, dotterell, oxeies, [.arrats, and pigeons. 

 Of all those sorts great abundance, and some 

 other strange kinds, to vs vnknowne by name. 

 But in sommer not any, or a very few to be seene. 



Of fish we were best acquainted with sturgeon, 

 grampus, porpus, seales, sfingraies, whose tailes 

 are very dangerous. Bretts, mullets, while sal- 

 monds, trowfs, soles, plaice, herrings, conyfish, 

 rockfish, eeles, lampreys, catfish, shades, pearch 

 of three sorts, crabs, shrimps, crevises, 03'sters, 

 codes, and muscles. But the most strange fish is 

 a small one, so like the picture of St George his 

 dragon, as possible can be, except his legs and 

 wings, and the toadfish, which will swell till it be 

 like to burst, when it commeth into the ayre. 



Concerning the enfrailes of the earth, little can 

 be said for certaintie. There wanted good refiners; 

 for those that tooke vpon them to haue skill this 

 way, tooke up the washings from the mountaines, 

 and some moskcred shii ing stones and spangles 

 which the waters brought downe, flattering them- 

 fclucs in their owne vaine conceits to haue beene 

 supposed what they were not, by the meanes of that 

 ore, if it proued as their arts and iudgments ex- 

 pected. O.ieir this is certaine, that many regions 

 lying in the same latitude, afford mines very rich 

 of divers natures. The crust also of these rocks 

 would easily perswade a man to beleeue there are 

 other mines then yron and sfeelle, if there were 

 but meanes and men of experience that knew the 

 mine from sjjar. 



Of their planted fruits in Virginia, and how they 

 vse tlifm. 



They divide the yeare into fiue seasons. Their 

 winter some call, popanow, the spring, cattapeuk, 

 the sommer, cohattayough, the earing of their 



