THE PACIFIC OCEAN*. 
335 
harveft was juft over, and had fallen much fhort of Its ufual 
produce. It is a common obfervation, amongft the Kamt- 
fchadales, that the bounty of Providence never fails them, 
for that fuch feafons as are moft hurtful to the faranne , are 
always the moft favourable for filhing; and that, on the 
contrary, a bad filhing month is always made up by the ex¬ 
uberance of the faranne harveft. It is ufed in cookery in 
various ways. When roafted in embers, it fupplies the place 
of bread, better than any thing the country affords. After 
being baked in an oven, and pounded, it becomes an excel¬ 
lent fubftitute for flour and meal of every fort, and in this 
form is mixed in all their foups, and moft of their other 
difhes. It is efteemed extremely nourifhing; has a pleafant 
bitter tafte, and may be eaten every day without cloying. 
We ufed to boil thefe roots, and eat them as potatoes, either 
alone, or with our meat, and found them very wholefome 
and pleafant. It has been already mentioned, that this ufe- 
ful plant grows alfo at Oonalafhka, where the roots of it are 
ufed, and conftitute a confiderable part of their food, in like 
manner as in Kamtfchatka. 
The other plant alluded to is called the fweet grafs; the 
botanical defcription is Heracleum Sibericum foliis pinnatis , 
foholis quinhy intermediis fejjilibus , corollulis uniformibus . 
Hort. Upfal. 65. The time, I took particular notice of it, 
was in May, when it was about a foot and a half high, had 
much the appearance of fedge, and was covered with a 
white down, or duft, which looked exceedingly like the 
hoar-froft hanging upon it, and might be rubbed off: it 
tafted as fweet as fugar; but was hot and pungent. The 
ftalk is hollow, and conftfts of three or four joints ; from 
each of which arife large leaves, and, when at its full growth, 
is fix feet high. 
1779. 
October. 
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This 
