10 6 AMERICA. Chap! II. 



Englift (who arc new Planted at Albemarle Toint on Jjlley River) made ufe to fallen the 

 Gate of their Pallifado to, was fo large, that all who came from thence fay, they 

 never faw any Oak in England bigger, which is but the ordinary fize of the Mul- 

 berry-Trees of this Countrey, which is fo fure an Argument of the richnefs of the 

 Soil, that the Inhabitants of Virginia enquiring of the Seamen who* came from 

 thence concerning the Quality and Product of the Countrey, when they werein- 

 form'd of the large Mulberry-Trees it produced, were fo well fatisfi'd with it, that 

 they made no farther Enquiry. There are alfo other Trees, as Afti, Poplar, and 

 Bay, with feveral forts unknown to us of Europe ; but thofe which make it almoft 

 all one general Forrcft of large Timber-Trees, are Oak, both red and white, and 

 Cedar. There are alfo here and there large Groves of Pine-Trees, fomc a hundred 

 Foot high, which afford a better fort of Maft than arc to be had cither in Marj- 

 Land or Norway. Thefe larger Trees weaving their luxuriant Branches into a clofc 

 Shade, fuffer no Under-wood to grow between them, cither by their Droppings, 

 or elfe the Heads of Deer which loofening all the tender Shoots, quite deftroy it-fo 

 that a great part of the Countrey is as it were a vaft Forreft of fine Walks, free from 

 the heat of the Sun,or the incumbrance of Shrubs and Bufhes,and fo clear and. open, 

 that a Man may eafily ride a Hunting amongft the Trees, yielding a Profpect very 

 pleafant and furpafling. On the Skirts of thefe Woods grow lefler Trees and Shrubs 

 of feveral forts . amongft them arc fundry Dying Materials, which how well the 

 Inhabitants know how to make ufe of, appears in the Deer-Skins that the chief of 

 them wear, which are Painted, or rather Dy'd, with feveral lively Colours. Buc 

 amongft their Shrubs, one of moft note and ufe is that whofe Leaves make their 

 Qaftni, a Drink they frequently ufe, and affirm to be very advantageous for the pre- 

 fervation of Health ; which, by the defcription our Englijh give of the fize, colour, 

 ,and fliapeof the Leaf, the fort of Tree it grows on,and the tafte, colour, and effects 

 of the Drink, which is nothingbutthc Decoction of the Leaf, feemstobe thevery 

 fame with the Eaft-lndia TEE, and by thofe who have feen and tafted both, af- 

 firmed to be no other, and may very probably be a fpontaneous and native Plant 

 of this Place, fince thofe who give us an account of it, tell us, that this fo much 

 valu'd Leaf grows moft plentifully in Nanking, a Province in China under the very 

 fame Latitude jand very much agreeing in Soil and Situation with this of Carolina.. 



What Herbs clfc the Countrey produces, the Englijh Enquirers (who by minding 

 their Plantations and Settlement there, have been taken off from fuch unprofitable 

 Actions) give us but little account, onely they fay, that thofe Plats of Ground 

 which have been formerly clear'd off by the Indians for the Planting their Corn, 

 they found thick covcr'd with three-leav'd Grafs and Dazies, which the fertility of 

 the Soil thrufts forth, whenever the Natives remove their Tillage to fome othet 

 place, and leave the Earth to its own production 5 and in other parts they found 

 plenty of Garden Herbs growing wild. The low and Moorifh Grounds arc for 

 the moft part overgrown with Sedge and Reeds, and fuch other Trafh, which ufu- 

 ally incumbers rich and uncultivated Lands ; thofe they call Svatnfas, which with 

 a little Husbandry would prove very good Meadows. There arc alfo fome large 

 and pleafant Sayanas, or graffy Plains. 



Thefe are a part of the Trees and Plants beft known to us, that Nature of her 

 fclf produces, in a Soil which contrives and nourifhes any thing. The English who 

 arc now Planted in the moft Northern parts of it, at Albemarle, bordering on Virgi- 

 nia, have Apples, Pears, Cherries, Apricocks, Plumbs, and Watcr-Melons, equal- 

 ling, and if you will believe the Inhabitants, both in largencfs of fize and goodnefs 

 of taftc, exceeding any in Europe. And they who are Setled farther South on Aflhy 



River, 



