  OF THE NATURAL PRODUCTS OF VIRGINIA, AND THE ADVANTAGES OF THEIR HUSBANDRY. § 96. The extreme fruitfulness of that country, has been sufficiently shown in the second book, and I think we may justly add, that in that particular it is not exceeded by any other. No seed is sown there, but it thrives; and most of the northern plants are improved, by being transplanted thither. And yet there's very little improvement made among them, seldom anything used in traffic but tobacco. Besides all the natural productions mentioned in the second book, you may take notice that apples from the seed never degenerate into crabs there, but produce as good or perhaps better fruit than the mother tree, (which is not so in England,) and are wonderfully improved by grafting and managing; yet there are very few planters that graft at all, end much fewer that take any care to get choice fruits. The fruit trees are wonderfully quick of growth; so that in six or seven years time from the planting, a man may bring an orchard to bear in great plenty, from which he may make store of good cider, or distill great quantities of brandy; for the cider is very strong, and yields abundance of spirit. Yet they have very few, that take any care at all for an orchard; nay, many that have good orchards are so negligent of them as to let them go to ruin, and expose the trees to be torn and barked by the cattle. Peaches, nectarines, and apricots, as well as plumbs and Peaches and nectarines I believe to be spontaneous, somewhere or other on that continent, for the Indians have, and ever had greater variety, and finer sorts of them than the English. The best sort of these cling to the stone, and will not come off clear, which they call plum nectarines, and plum peaches, or cling stones. Some of these are twelve or thirteen inches in the girt. These sorts of fruits are raised so easily there, that some good husbands plant great orchards of them, purposely for their hogs; and others make a drink of them, which they call mobby, and either drink it as cider, or distill it off for brandy. This makes the best spirit next to grapes. Grape vines of the English stock, as well as those of their own production, bear most abundantly, if they are suffered to run near the ground, and increase very kindly by slipping; yet very few have them at all in their gardens, much less endeavor to improve them by cutting or laying. But since the first impression of this book, some vineyards have been attempted, and one is brought to perfection, of seven hundred and fifty gallons a year. The wine drinks at present greenish, but the owner doubts not of good wine, in a year or two more, and takes great delight that way. When a single tree happens in clearing the ground, to be left standing, with a vine upon it, open to the sun and air, that vine generally produces as much as four or five others, that remain in the woods. I have seen in this case, more grapes upon one single vine, than would load a London cart. And for all this, the people till of late never removed any of them into their gardens, but contented A garden is no where sooner made than there, either for fruits or flowers. Tulips from the seed, flower the second year. All sorts of herbs have there a perfection in their flavor, beyond what I ever tasted in a more northern climate. And yet they haven't many gardens in that country, fit to bear the name of garden. § 97. All sorts of English grain thrive, and increase there, as well as in any other part of the world, as for example, wheat, barley, oats, rye, peas, rape, &c. And yet they don't make a trade of any of them. Their peas indeed are troubled with weevils, which eat a hole in them, but this hole does neither damage the seed, nor make the peas unfit for boiling. And such as are sowed late, and gathered after August, are clear of that inconvenience. It is thought too much for the same man, to make the wheat, and grind it, bolt it, and bake it himself. And it is too great a charge for every planter, who is willing to sow barley, to build a malt house, and brew house too, or else to have no benefit of his barley; nor will it answer, if he would be at the charge. These things can never be expected from a single family; but if they had cohabitations, it might be thought worth attempting. Neither as they are now settled, can they find any certain market for their other grain, which, if they had towns, would be quite otherwise. Rice has been tried there, and is found to grow as well as in Carolina; but it labors under the same inconvenience, the want of a community to husk and clean it, and, after all, to take it off the planter's hands. § 98. I have related at large in the first book how flax, hemp, cotton, and the silk worms have thriven there in the several essays made upon them; how formerly there was encouragement given for making of linen, silk, &c., and how all persons not performing several things towards producing of them were put under a fine; but now Silk grass is there spontaneous in many places. I need not mention what advantage may be made of so useful a plant, whose fibres are as fine as flax, and much stronger than hemp. Mr. Purchase tells us, in his Fourth Pilgrim, page 1786, that in the first discovery of this part of the world they presented Queen Elizabeth with a piece of grogram that had been made of it. And yet to this day they make no manner of use of this plant, no, not so much as the Indians did, before the English came among them, who then made their baskets, fishing nets, and lines of it. § 99 The sheep increase well, and bear good fleeces; but they generally are suffered to be torn off their backs by briars and bushes, instead of being shorn, or else are left rotting upon the dunghill with their skins. Bees thrive there abundantly, and will very easily yield to the careful housewife a full hive of honey, and besides lay up a winter store sufficient to preserve their stocks. The beeves, when any care is taken of them in the winter, come to good perfection. They have noble marshes there, which, with the charge of draining only, would make as fine pastures as any in the world; and yet there is hardly an hundred acres of marsh drained throughout the whole country. Hogs swarm like vermin upon the earth, and are often accounted such, insomuch, that when an inventory of any considerable man's estate is taken by the executors the hogs are left out, and not listed in the appraisement. The hogs run where they list, and find their own support in the woods, without any care of the owner; and in many plantations it is well if the proprietor can find and catch the pigs, or any part of a farrow, when they are young to mark them; for if there be any marked in a § 100. The woods produce great variety of incense and sweet gums, which distill from several trees; as also trees bearing honey and sugar, as before was mentioned. Yet there's no use made of any of them, either for profit or refreshment. All sorts of naval stores may be produced there, as pitch, tar, rosin, turpentine, plank, timber, and all sorts of masts and yards, besides sails, cordage and iron, and all these may be transported by an easy water carriage. § 101. These, and a thousand other advantages, that country naturally affords, which its inhabitants make no manner of use of. They can see their naval stores daily benefit other people, who send thither to build ships, while they, instead of promoting such undertakings among themselves, and easing such as are willing to go upon them, allow them no manner of encouragement, but rather the contrary. They receive no benefit, nor refreshment, from the sweets and precious things they have growing amongst them, but make use of the industry of England for all such things. What advantages do they see the neighboring plantations make of their grain and provisions, while they, who can produce them infinitely better, not only neglect the making a trade thereof, but even a necessary provision against an accidental scarcity, contenting themselves with a supply of food from hand to mouth; so that if it should please God to send them an unseasonable year, there would not be found in the country provision sufficient to support the people for three months extraordinary. By reason of the unfortunate method of the settlement, and want of cohabitation, they cannot make a beneficial use of their flax, hemp, cotton, silk, silk grass and wool, which might otherwise supply their necessities, and leave the produce Thus, they depend altogether upon the liberality of nature, without endeavoring to improve its gifts by art or industry. They sponge upon the blessings of a warm sun, and a fruitful soil, and almost grudge the pains of gathering in the bounties of the earth. I should be ashamed to publish this slothful indolence of my countrymen, but that I hope it will sometime or other rouse them out of their lethargy, and excite them to make the most of all those happy advantages which nature has given them; and if it does this, I am sure they will have the goodness to forgive me. FINIS.
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