Penjylvania, Philadelphia, i^y 



fures. In both it looks equally frefh. I 

 have never fecn it on w^et or low places. 

 The people here gather its flowers, and ufe 

 them inflead of tea. But the wood itfelf 

 is of no ufe in oeconomy j for when it is 

 fet on fire, it caufes a continual crackling, 

 without making any good fire. The tree 

 fpreads its roots very much, and new fhoots 

 come up from them in fome places ; bufi^ 

 thefe fhoots are not good for tranfplanting^o 

 becaufe they have fo few fibres befides the 

 root, which connedts thern to the main ftem, 

 that they cannot well ftrike into the ground. 

 If therefore any one would plant Saffafras 

 trees he muft endeavour to get their berries, 

 which however is difficult, fince the birds 

 eat them before they are half ripe. The 

 cows are very greedy after the tender new 

 fhoots, and look for them every where. 



The bark of this tree is ufed by the 

 women here in dying worfled a fine laft- 

 ing orange colour, which does not fade in 

 the fun. They ufe urine inftead of alum 

 in dying, and boil the dye in a brafs boiler, 

 becaufe in an iron vefTel it does not yield 

 fo fine a colour. A woman in Virginia has 

 fuccefsfuUy employed the berries of the 

 SafTafras againfl a great pain in one of her 

 feet, which for three years together fhe 

 had to fuch a degree, that it almofl hindered 

 K 2 her 



