OF NORTH CAROLINA. 165 



little wooden dishes ; the kernel dissolves in your 

 mouth, and the shell is spit out. This tastes as 

 well as any almond. Another dish is the soup which 

 they make of these nuts, beaten, and put into ven- 

 ison broth, which dissolves the nut and thickens, 

 whilst the shell precipitates, and remains at the 

 bottom. This broth tastes ver}^ rich. There is 

 another sort, which we call red hickor}-, the heart 

 thereof being very red, lirm and durable ; of which 

 walking sticks, mortars, pestils, and several other 

 fine turnery wares are made ; the third is called 

 the flying barked hickory, from its brittle and sca- 

 ly bark. It bears a nut with a bitter kernel, and 

 a soft shell, like a french walnut. Of this w^ood 

 cogs for mills are made, &c. The leaves smell 

 very fragrant. The w^alnut tree of America is call- 

 ed black walnut. I suppose that name was, at 

 first, to distinguish it from the hickories, it having 

 a blacker bark. This tree grows in good land, to 

 a prodigious bigness. The wood is very firm and 

 durable, of which tables and chests of drawers are 

 made, and prove very well. Some of this is very 

 knotty, which would make the best returns for 

 England, though the masters of vessels refuse it, 

 not understanding its goodness. Tis a very good 

 and durable wood, to bottom vessels for the sea 

 withal ; and they say that it is never eaten by the 

 worm. The nuts have a large kernel, which is 

 very oily, except lain by, a long time, to mellow. 

 The shell is very thick, as all the native nuts of 

 America are. AVHien it has its yellow uutward 



138 



