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xviu 



P R E -F A C E. 



'from whence tliefe inhabitants came. But the foil and cHmate oi^ 

 thefe countries being difFerent from that of Europe^ no wonder if 

 many of th'^m do not fucceed here as well as in Europe. 



If we may trufi: to the report of travellers, {a) this country, in the 

 fame degree of latitude, very nearly refembles Chlna^ or the traft of. 

 land that forms the eaftcrn fide oi Afia, in foil, climate, temperature 

 of the air, winds, weather and many natural produaions. And 

 the fame refcmblance is remarkable between the weftern fide of the' 

 old world and the weftern fides of our continent; {h) whereas the 

 eaftern and weftern fides of the fame continent dift'er greatly. 



From thelateftand bcft- accounts, (c) we find that Kamtfchatka^ 

 and the coaft to the north of it, arc in almoft every refpea, fimi- 

 lar to Labrador in America; but very different from thofe parts oi^ 

 Europe which are comprehended within the lame degrees of latitude. 

 Philadelphia lies in the 40th degree of north latitude, the very 

 fame as Pekln in China^ and nearly the fame with Madrid \n Spain^ 

 and that part of California, of which Sir Francis Drake took pof- 

 feffion. In Philadelphia and Pekiriy which lie on the fame fides of 

 the two continents, namely, the eaftern, the winters are cold, and 

 the fummers are very warm. The fame winds, in both places, pro- 

 duce the fame effefts. Thus in both, the north-weft winds are cold 

 and piercing; the fouth-weft warm and dry; the north-eaft cold and 

 wet; the fouth-eafl wet but warm. Befides, the general winds that 

 prevail are the north-weft in winter, and fouth-weft in fummer. 

 But the cafe is different in Madrid and Californiay though thefe 

 places agree with each other in almoft every circumftance. 



This refcmblance is manifeft not only In tlie weather and climate, ' 

 but is alfo remarkable in the foil and natural produce. Tobacco, 

 Phytolacca, (or poke) the perfimon tree, the mulben-y tree, with fe- 

 veral others, are natives of China^ they are dfo the natives of this 

 -part of America, Ginfeng is gathered to the weftward of Pekiuy and 

 as far as we know, has not been found in anyother part of the world, 

 except within the fiime degrees of latitude in America. Thefe ob- 

 fervations give grounds to hope that, if proper enquiries were made, 

 many more of the native plants of Chinay and very poffibly the Tea, 

 fo much in ufe amongft us, and now become fo neccflarya part of 

 our diet, might be found in Jmerlca. 



Who knows whether the arrack tree, of which we read, may not 

 be the fame as the American coco^; or as our fugar maple, which, 

 for many years fucceflively, will yield a large quantity of rich, fweet 

 fap, from whence a fine fpirit may be diftillcd? It might be worth 



(h) Natural and Civil H/Jlory lyCalifoniia, 



{c) MuUcr'j' Vo^agesfram Afiu lo America. 



cnquu-ing 



