THE SEA AND THE DESERT. 
191 
certain pulse or pease, as they term it, wherewith the poor 
people at that time, there being a great dearth, were 
miraculously helped: he thus mentions it. In the 
month of August (saith he), in Suffolke, at a place 
by the sea side all of hard stone and pibble, called in 
those parts a shelf, lying between the towns of Orford 
and Aldborough, where neither grew grass nor any 
earth was ever seen; it chanced in this barren place 
suddenly to spring up without any tillage or sowing, 
great abundance of peason, whereof the poor gathered 
(as men judged) above one hundred quarters, yet re¬ 
mained some ripe and some blossoming, as many as ever 
there were before: to the which place rode the Bishop 
of Norwich and the Lord Willoughby, with others in 
great number, who found nothing but hard, rocky stone 
the space of three yards under the roots of these peason, 
which roots were great and long, and very sweet.’’ He 
tells us also that Gesner learned from Dr. Cajus that 
there were enough there to supply thousands of men. 
He goes on to say that they without doubt grew there 
many years before, but were not observed till hunger 
made them take notice of them, and quickened their 
invention, which commonly in our people is very dull, 
especially in finding out food of this nature. My wor¬ 
shipful friend Dr. Argent hath told me that many 
years ago he was in this place, and caused his man 
to pull among the beach with his hands, and follow 
the roots so long until he got some equal in length 
unto his height, yet could come to no ends of them.” 
Gerard never saw them, and is not certain what kind 
they were. 
In Dwight’s Travels in New England it is stated that 
the inhabitants of Truro were formerly regularly warned 
