46 ESSAYS. 



son, and could scarcely be made to comprehend the object of 

 our visit, or why we should come from a distance of seven 

 hundred miles to toil over the mountains in quest of their 

 common and disregarded herbs. Curiosities as we were to 

 these good folks, their endless queries had no air of imper- 

 tinence, and they entertained us to the best of their ability, 

 never attempting to make unreasonable charges. A very fas- 

 tidious palate might occasionally be at a loss ; but good corn- 

 bread and milk are everywhere abundant ; the latter being 

 used from preference quite sour, or even curdled. Sweet 

 milk appears to be very generally disliked, being thought less 

 wholesome, and more likely to produce the " milk sickness," 

 which is prevalent in some very circumscribed districts ; so 

 that our dislike of sour and fondness for sweet milk was re- 

 garded by this simple people as one of our very many oddi- 

 ties. Nearly every farmer has a small dairy-house built over 

 a cold brook or spring, by which the milk and butter are kept 

 cool and sweet in the warmest weather. 



We botanized for several days upon the mountains in the 

 immediate neighborhood of Jefferson, especially the Negro 

 Mountain, which rises abruptly on one side of the village, the 

 Phoenix Mountain, a sharp ridge on the other side, and the 

 Bluff, a few miles distant in a westerly direction. The alti- 

 tude of the former is probably between four and five thou- 

 sand feet above the sea ; the latter is apparently somewhat 

 higher. They are all composed of Mica-slate ; and we should 

 remark that we entered upon a primitive region immediately 

 upon leaving the Valley of Virginia. The mountain sides, 

 though steep or precipitous, are covered with a rich and deep 

 vegetable mould, and are heavily timbered, chiefly with 

 Chestnut, White Oak, the Tulip-tree, the Cucumber-tree, and 

 sometimes the Sugar Maple. Their vegetation presents so 

 little diversity, that it is for the most part unnecessary to dis- 

 tinguish particular localities. Besides many of the plants 

 already mentioned, and a very considerable number of north- 

 ern species which we have not room to enumerate, we collected 

 or observed on the mountain sides, Clematis Viorna in great 

 abundance ; Tradescantia Virginica ; Iris cristata in fruit ; 



