{Black-Haws.}
The Black Haw Grows On A Slender Tree, About The Height Of A Quince-Tree,
Or Something Higher, And Bears The Black Haw, Which People Eat,
And The Birds Covet Also.
What Vertues the Fruit or Wood is of,
I cannot resolve you, at present.
{Services.}
Thus have I given an Account of all the Spontaneous Fruits of Carolina,
that have come to my Knowledge, excepting Services, which I have seen
in the Indians Hands, and eat of them, but never saw,
how nor where they grew. There may very well be expected
a great many more Fruits, which are the natural Product of this Country,
when we consider the Fruitfulness of the Soil and Climate,
and account for the vast Tract of Land, (great part of which
is not yet found out) according to the Product of that which
is already discover'd, which (as I once hinted before) is not as yet
arriv'd to our Knowledge, we having very little or no Correspondence
amongst the mountainous Parts of this Province, and towards
the Country of Messiasippi, all which we have strange Accounts of,
and some very large ones, with respect to the different and noble Fruits,
and several other Ornaments and Blessings of Nature which
Messiasippi possesses; more to be coveted, than any of those we enjoy,
to the Eastward of the Mountains: Yet when I came to discourse
some of the Idolizers of that Country, I found it to be rather Novelty,
than Truth and Reality, that induced those Persons to allow it
such Excellencies above others. It may be a brave and fertile Country,
as I believe it is; but I cannot be persuaded, that it can be
near so advantageous as ours, which is much better situated for Trade,
being faced all along with the Ocean, as the English America is;
when the other is only a direct River, in the midst of a wild unknown Land,
greatest part of whose Product must be fetch'd, or brought a great way,
before it can come to a Market. Moreover, such great Rivers
commonly allow of more Princes Territories than one; and thus nothing
but War and Contention accompanies the Inhabitants thereof.
But not to trouble our Readers with any more of this, we will proceed,
in the next place, to shew, what Exotick Fruits we have, that thrive well
in Carolina; and what others, it may reasonably be suppos'd, would do there,
were they brought thither and planted. In pursuance of which,
I will set down a Catalogue of what Fruits we have; I mean Species:
For should I pretend to give a regular Name to every one;
it's neither possible for me to do it, nor for any one to understand it,
when done; if we consider, that the chiefest part of our Fruit came
from the Kernel, and some others from the Succours, or Sprouts of the Tree.
First, we will begin with Apples; which are the
{Apples.}
Golden Russet.
Pearmain | Winter.
| Summer.
Harvey-Apple, I cannot tell, whether the same as in England.
Winter Queening.
Leather Coat.
Juniting.
Codlin.
Redstreak.
Long-stalk.
Lady-Finger.
The Golden Russet thrives well.
The Pearmains, of both sorts, are apt to speck, and rot on the Trees;
and the Trees are damaged and cut off by the Worm, which breeds in the Forks,
and other parts thereof; and often makes a Circumposition,
by destroying the Bark round the Branches, till it dies.
Harvey-Apple; that which we call so, is esteem'd very good to make Cider of.
Winter Queening is a durable Apple, and makes good Cider.
Leather-Coat; both Apple and Tree stand well.
The Juniting is early ripe, and soon gone, in these warm Countries.
Codlin; no better, and fairer Fruit in the World; yet the Tree suffers
the same Distemper, as the Pearmains, or rather worse; the Trees always dying
before they come to their Growth.
The Redstreak thrives very well.
Long-stalk is a large Apple, with a long Stalk, and makes good Summer Cider.
We beat the first of our Codlin Cider, against reaping our Wheat,
which is from the tenth of June, to the five and twentieth.
Lady-Finger, the long Apple, the same as in England, and full as good.
We have innumerable sorts; some call'd Rope-Apples which are small Apples,
hanging like Ropes of Onions; Flattings, Grigsons, Cheese-Apples,
and a great number of Names, given according to every ones Discretion.
{Pears.}
The Warden-Pear here proves a good eating Pear; and is not so long ripening
as in England.
Katharine excellent.
Sugar-pear.
And several others without Name, The Bergamot we have not,
nor either of the Bonne Chrestiennes, though I hear, they are all three
in Virginia. Those sorts of Pears which we have, are as well relisht,
as ever I eat any where; but that Fruit is of very short Continuance with us,
for they are gone almost as soon as ripe.
{Quinces.}
I am not a Judge of the different sorts of Quinces, which they call
Brunswick, Portugal, and Barbary; But as to the Fruit, in general,
I believe no Place has fairer and better relisht. They are very pleasant
eaten raw. Of this Fruit, they make a Wine, or Liquor,
which they call Quince-Drink, and which I approve of beyond any Drink
which that Country affords, though a great deal of Cider and some Perry
is there made. The Quince-Drink most commonly purges those
that first drink it, and cleanses the Body very well.
The Argument of the Physicians, that they bind People, is hereby contradicted,
unless we allow the Quinces to differ in the two Countries.
The least Slip of this Tree stuck in the Ground, comes to bear in three years.
{Peaches.}
All Peaches, with us, are standing; neither have we any Wall-Fruit
in Carolina; for we have Heat enough, and therefore do not require it.
We have a great many sorts of this Fruit, which all thrive to Admiration,
Peach-Trees coming to Perfection (with us) as easily as the Weeds.
A Peach falling on the Ground, brings a Peach-Tree that shall bear
in three years, or sometimes sooner.
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