13 







naturally adapted to our country, and which have as yet re- 

 ceived but little attention, the labour of the farmer would 

 certainly be employed to the best advantage in the cultiva- 

 tion of them. Of these I shall notice a few. 



The Sinapis or Mustard is a plant, which might yield no 

 trifling profit to the American cultivator. Small clusters of 

 it are seen growing in our fields and gardens ; but whether it 

 is a native of the country, or merely the fruit of chance, I am 

 not able to determine. In some catalogues, however, it is 

 marked as an exotic ; but our climate is congenial to its 

 habit, and almost every soil is adapted to its growth. A gen- 

 tleman from Orange county, in this state, has informed me, 

 that he collected from half an acre of but tolerable land, four- 

 teen bushels of the seed, which he believed equal in quality 

 to that of the Sinapis Arvensis, commonly known by the 

 name of Durham mustard. There are many species of this 

 herb, but it would be well for the cultivator to confine his 

 attention to the one just mentioned, the seed of which is more 

 abundant and of a better quality than in the other kinds. The 

 high price given for imported mustard, and the facility with 

 which it can be raised, induce a belief that farmers general- 

 ly might find their account in making it an article of culture 

 and traffic. 



The curious and beautiful Candle Berry Myrtle (Myrica 

 Cxrifera) is very abundant in many parts of the United States. 

 The wax which this tree yields would amply compensate 

 the trouble of obtaining it. In Maryland, on the shores of 

 the Chesapeake, and near most of the streams which flow in- 

 to that bay, it is found in large quantities. It is also scat- 

 tered over this state growing in a wet soil, and very rarely 

 exceeding five or six feet in height. The plant, however, 

 is not confined to marshy grounds. I have seen it on up- 

 land in Connecticut, rising to the height of 10 or 12 feet. 

 This species indeed is rarely seen, and the berries are not so 

 abundant in this as in the other kinds.* In Louisiana there 



* I rather think the Connecticut Myrtle wax tree is only a variety 

 of the species which is found in a wet soil. 



