354 GEOLOGICAI^ SURVEY OF NEW JERSEY. 



in the northern mountains. The settler, in times of famine, 

 often appealed to the Indian, and many of the fruits and vege- 

 tables upon which he fed have been since neglected. The Indian- 

 club and the Indian-fig, for instance, two of his important food- 

 plants, are perhaps worthy of cultivation and improvement.* 



The Indian of New Jersey was soon superseded by the settler, 

 who, provided with two powerful implements — the axe and the 

 gun — cleared small patches of land, and built cabins along the 

 rivers. Trapping was the settler's first occupation and peltry f 

 was one of the first and most important products of the virgin 

 forest. Hunting and trapping in early times were hazardous, 

 but often lucrative occupations. The forest was difficult to clear, 

 and just as the young poplars to-day harass the New England 

 farmer, by invading his pastures, and the mink and fox rob the 

 hennery, so in early times a hundred-fold more bothersome were 

 the suckers and seedlings, and animals from the woods between 

 the clearings. Fire was freely used, and from the ashes potash 

 was extracted by leaching. This lixivium, by mixing with 

 grease produced soft-soap, which is still manufactured by country 

 people. In many places to-day wood is extensively burnt for its 

 ashes and used as a fertilizer. 



Soon shipbuilding developed into an important industry. Oak 

 and pine of the finest kinds were plentiful. Saw-miUs were 

 built along the streams, and lumber was shipped even to the 

 West Indies in exchange for rum, sugar and molasses. The 

 construction of schooners continued until recent times to be an 

 important industry. Now, only small sloops, scows and bateaux 

 are built. Ships of iron, propelled by steam, have superseded 

 the clipper. 



* It may often be the humblest and least conspicuous plants which yield the richest food materials, . 

 and not always the major forest products which, considering labor and time, yield the largest returns. 

 The salep of Turkey and the truffles of France are excellent examples. Salep is a farinaceous food 

 obtained from the tubers of wild orchids. It contains a substance called bassorine, which is very nutri- 

 tious. Over j3,ooo,ooo worth of truffles are exported annually from France, They come mostly from 

 Perigord, and grow in limestone regions on the roots of oaks. 



t Several wild animals have, and perhaps others might be, profitably bred for their peks. The 

 skunk {Mephitis mephitica)^ one of the commonest and most disagreeable of all the animals of Eastern 

 America, produces a salable fur called "Alaska sable," and in spite of the facts that it emits a nauseating 

 odor and that a kind of hydrophobia results from its bite, has been kept in confinement and bred for its 

 skin. The mink has been tamed and reared in minkeries in New York State. It has been said that a 

 mink is as profitable as a cow. Coues, in his "■ Fur-bearing Animals of North America,*' says : " Were 

 not fashion so notoriously capricious, mink pelts would maintain a conspicuous place in the fur-marts of 

 the world ; certainly few surpass them in richness of color, gloss and fineness " 



