29 
America; and vice-versa, what is not highly esteemed here 
is precious in Germany." "All through Pennsylvania not a 
single meadow-saffron is seen in the gardens and meadows 
in autumn. The wood in the above-named new country 
grows fast and is much taller, but less durable than with us. 
It is quite surprising how dense the forests are, and what 
beautiful, smooth, thick and tall trees they contain. There 
are many kinds of trees, mostly oaks, but they are not so 
fruitful as those in Germany. Often there are also beech- 
trees but not many. Birch-trees are rarely found, but I saw 
some that were very tall and as thick as a thick oak tree. I 
have already spoken of the Poplars; they have soft wood 
which looks snow-white inside; there are many of them. 
Walnut trees are exceedingly plentiful; this beautiful coffee- 
brown and hard-wood is precious and useful, because all 
sorts of fine and elegant household furniture are made of it. 
When cut, a great deal of it is shipped to Holland, England, 
Ireland, and other countries where it brings a high price. 
These walnut-trees bear every year nuts which are as large 
as a medium-sized apple, from which much oil is made. They 
have bark and leaves like our large nut trees. Our large 
German walnut-trees are little cultivated as yet. There are 
but few hazel-nut shrubs in the forests, but of chestnut- 
trees there is a multitude; no less so of hecker (hickory) nuts 
which are larger than hazel-nuts, but are held in little 
esteem. Indian or wild cherry trees are not seen very 
frequently; I myself broke such Indian cherries from the 
trees and ate them, but they are not as good as European 
cherries. In the Pennsylvania forests one finds no thorn or 
sloe hedges, no downy gooseberries and the like. The great- 
est ornament of the forests are the beautiful and excellent 
cedar-trees; they grow mostly on the high mountains. 
"The wood has a very strong odor, is as light as foam, 
and especially precious for organ pipes, for the pipes made 
of said cedar-wood have a much finer and purer tone than 
those of tin, of which I have seen sufficient proofs. All 
homes in Philadelphia are roofed with shingles of cedar- 
