New York. 237 



the water, in order to come to the town of 

 New York. We left our horfes here and 

 went on board the yacht : we were to go 

 eight Englifi miles by fea ; however we 

 landed about eleven o'clock in the morning 

 at New York, We faw a kind of wild ducks 

 in immenfe quantities upon the water : the 

 people called them Blue bills , and they 

 feemed to be the fame with our Pintail 

 ducks J or Linnceus^ Anas acuta : but they 

 were very fliy. On the fhore of the conti- 

 nent we faw fome very fine floping corn- 

 fields, which at prefent looked quite green, 

 the corn being already come up. We faw 

 many boats in which the fifhermen were 

 bufy catching oyfters : to this purpofe they 

 make ufe of a kind of rakes with long iron 

 teeth bent inwards ; thefe they ufed either 

 fingly or two tied together in fuch a man- 

 ner, that the teeth were turned towards 

 each other. 



OBober the 31ft. About New York 

 they find innumerable quantities of excel- 

 lent oyfters, and there are few places which 

 have oyfters of fuch an exquifite tafte, and 

 of fo great a fize : they are pickled and fent 

 to the Weft Indies and other places ; which 

 is done in the following manner. As 

 foon as the oyfters are caught, their fliells 

 are opened, and the fifti waftied clean ; 



fome 



