72 CLINTON S INTRODUCTORY DISCOURSE. 



One kind called the winter grass resists the effects of frost, and when 

 the snow leaves the ground in the spring, furnishes nourishing pas- 

 ture. Another species is stated to resist a dry season, and to be in 

 full verdure when all other plants are perishing with drought. A peren- 

 nial plant called the wild pea is said to be superior to clover as fodder, 

 to which it is not only preferred as nourishment, but it has this advan- 

 tage, that the stock is not so brittle, nor are the leaves so apt to 

 pulverize. There is a highly aromatic plant collected by the Indians 

 in small quantities, called the Seneca grass.* When on this subject it is 

 proper to state, that there are certain plants which are pernicious to 

 some kinds of cattle and not to others ; for instance, the meadow- 

 sweet! wastes away the cow, but is beneficial to the goat : the long- 

 leaved water hemlock will destroy a cow, whereas the goat browses on it 

 greedily ; monk's hood kills the goat, but will not hurt a horse ; the 

 andromeda, or dwarf laurel, is very fatal to sheep, and so is the kalmia 

 latifolia, which is devoured with avidity by deer. 



Greater attention ought to be paid to the cultivation of our fruit, and 

 to the destruction of those noxious insects and worms which have, 

 within a few years, injured it beyond measure. Our soil and climate are 

 admirably adapted for some of the most delicious fruits. The Spitzen- 

 bergh apple is said to have been discovered accidentally in the vicinity 

 of Albany, and it is only rivalled by the Newtown pippin, whose excel- 

 lence is also, probably, of local origin, and which reminds us of the 

 malum aureum of the ancients. We ought, also, to be particularly 

 attentive to the introduction and naturalization of the best foreign 

 fruits, and the importance of this will be duly appreciated when we 

 consider the origin of those which are now most esteemed. The cherry 



* Holcus Fragrans — See Note LI/, i Spiraea Ulmaria. 



