116 OLD-FASHIONED GARDENING 
native fruits and trees and mentions wheat, barley, 
oats, rye, peas, beans, squashes, pumpkins, water¬ 
melons, and muskmelons as the artificial produce of 
his land, as well as “all herbs and roots that our 
gardens in England usually bring forth.” Of flowers 
he says that the woods are adorned with them, “lovely 
flowers, for colour greatness figure and variety; I have 
seen the gardens of London best stored with that sort 
of beauty, but think they may be improved by our 
woods.” 
He too had great hopes of the grape, it seems, it 
was everywhere so abundant. “The great red grape 
(now ripe) called by some the ‘fox-grape’ (because 
of the relish it hath with unskilful palates) is in itself 
an extraordinary grape, and by art doubtless may be 
cultivated to an excellent wine, if not so sweet yet little 
inferior to the Frontiniac, as it is not much unlike in 
taste, ruddiness set aside; which in such things, as well 
as mankind, differs the case much; there is a white 
kind of muskadel, and a little black grape like the 
cluster grape of England, not yet so ripe as the other; 
but they tell me, when ripe, sweeter, and that they 
only want skillful vinerons to make good use of them; 
I intend to venture on it with my Frenchman this 
season, who shows some good knowledge in those 
things. Here are also peaches, very good and in great 
quantities, not an Indian plantation without them; but 
