“Peter Collinson:–
I engag’d an owner of part of Cedar swamp for my Guide without whome I could hardly have found It. Wee travel’d about Twelve Miles beyond the inhabitants over Desarts of sand & such deep mirery Swamps that sometimes both Wee and our Horses had much ado to gett out. The Sand lies in Ridges 40 ot 50 or 60 poles over & the swamps lie between which are the heads of Rivers & Brooks but so thick sett with shrubs and Bushes about 10 poles Wide yt [yt=that] wee had great Difficulty in passing these swamps att Last wee came to the Head of (Egharbour River) where the great Cedar Swamp Began containing many hundred Acres Cheifly produceing White Cedar but in some dryer places, Silver Laurell or Bay Maple, Holley, & Sassifras & about the Ridges Some pines, but I observed no Red Cedar. The White Grows only in wett places often knee deep in Water in wett seasons—they grow near together the small ones within a foot or Two of one another a white Cedar of Two inches Diameter will be 20 feet high, the larger Trees grows all att 10 or 20 feet Distance which makes them grow very tall, a Tree of Two feet diamr att the Hump, will be 80 or 100 feet in highth and 30 or 40 feet without a Limb, the soil where they grow I take to be Clay but the surface is a matt of Roots all interlac’d one with another which intangles the Leaves and Rubish & makes a Bogg the Bark of the Root is Red which gives a tincture to the Waters that runs from them but the Tast is good & sweet. Our Ceterach & Sarsaparilla grows att the Roots where the sun is rarely seen so thick is the shade above, the Leaves is not near so long & prickly as the Red Cedar, the Fruite is Coniferous & seed very small—to satisfie your Immediate Curiosity I inclose a small speciment, but this second of Last June, I cutt down a Large Tree for to send you Larger Specimens which I shall send by first opportunity.
John Bartram”
Original spelling maintained throughout the above transcription.
Best regards,
Jerseyman
I engag’d an owner of part of Cedar swamp for my Guide without whome I could hardly have found It. Wee travel’d about Twelve Miles beyond the inhabitants over Desarts of sand & such deep mirery Swamps that sometimes both Wee and our Horses had much ado to gett out. The Sand lies in Ridges 40 ot 50 or 60 poles over & the swamps lie between which are the heads of Rivers & Brooks but so thick sett with shrubs and Bushes about 10 poles Wide yt [yt=that] wee had great Difficulty in passing these swamps att Last wee came to the Head of (Egharbour River) where the great Cedar Swamp Began containing many hundred Acres Cheifly produceing White Cedar but in some dryer places, Silver Laurell or Bay Maple, Holley, & Sassifras & about the Ridges Some pines, but I observed no Red Cedar. The White Grows only in wett places often knee deep in Water in wett seasons—they grow near together the small ones within a foot or Two of one another a white Cedar of Two inches Diameter will be 20 feet high, the larger Trees grows all att 10 or 20 feet Distance which makes them grow very tall, a Tree of Two feet diamr att the Hump, will be 80 or 100 feet in highth and 30 or 40 feet without a Limb, the soil where they grow I take to be Clay but the surface is a matt of Roots all interlac’d one with another which intangles the Leaves and Rubish & makes a Bogg the Bark of the Root is Red which gives a tincture to the Waters that runs from them but the Tast is good & sweet. Our Ceterach & Sarsaparilla grows att the Roots where the sun is rarely seen so thick is the shade above, the Leaves is not near so long & prickly as the Red Cedar, the Fruite is Coniferous & seed very small—to satisfie your Immediate Curiosity I inclose a small speciment, but this second of Last June, I cutt down a Large Tree for to send you Larger Specimens which I shall send by first opportunity.
John Bartram”
Original spelling maintained throughout the above transcription.
Best regards,
Jerseyman
