19c Home Remedies from the Garden - Headache

Woman with a Collard Leaf on her Head to Cure a Headache by Mary Lyde Hicks Williams 

Mary Lyde Hicks William (1866-1959) Mary's paintings of freed slaves reflect daily life she saw on her uncle's plantation during Reconstruction in North Carolina. 

Garden to Table -

Peter Jakob Horemans (1700-1776)  Gentleman at a Table Laden with Food (and a Flower) from the Garden   Detail

1764 Plants in 18C Colonial American Gardens - Virginian John Randolph (727-1784) - Currants

A Treatise on Gardening Written by a native of this State (Virginia)
Author was John Randolph (1727-1784)
Written in Williamsburg, Virginia about 1765
Published by T. Nicolson, Richmond, Virginia. 1793
The only known copy of this booklet is found in the Special Collections of the Wyndham Robertson Library at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia.

Currants

Currants, or Corinths, so called from a near resemblance to a Corinthian Grape, (Ribes by the botanists) have many species; but the two principal are the red and white, of which the Dutch sorts are chiefly propagated in England. They are to be propagated from cuttings, planted in the fall, (September) and are directed to remain two years, when they are to be removed into beds, and planted in rows ten feet asunder, and four feet from each other. But the cuttings will succeed as well if planted in a rich light bed, to stand without any removal at all. They will grow either against walls, pales, or in espaliers. If some are planted against a south wall, or in a warm place, and othcrs in a colder situation under a north wall, the fruit will last a long time, as there will be a succession. The fruit grows on the former year's wood, on small snags, which come out of the old wood, wherefore in pruning, these snags ought to be preserved, and the young shoots shortened in proportion to their strength. In pruning, cut off the old wood, and not in heads. I find no directions as to keeping them on single stalks, but I believe this method is best. They will grow in any soil or situation, even under trees, though the open air is best. Your plantation must be renewed in seven or eight years.

Garden to Table -

Woman Bundling Asparagus, 1771, John Atkinson (British artist, fl 1770-1775      Detail

Garden to Table - Home-Made Five Currant Wines + a Currant Shrub Recipe

 

John Greenwood (American artist, 1727-1792) Sea Captains Carousing, 1758.  Detail

John Custis (1678-1749), a prominent citizen of Williamsburg, apparently had a most impressive garden. John Bartram, the Philadelphia naturalist and botanist, commented to Peter Collinson that Custis’ garden was second only to that of John Clayton, the English born Virginia naturalist of Gloucester County. The currants that John Custis grew in his 1730s - 40s gardens could easily been transformed into several wines. 

Old-Time Recipes for Home Made Wines Cordials & Liqueurs 1909 by Helen S. Wright

CURRANT SHRUB
Take white currants when quite ripe, pick them off the stalks, and bruise them. Strain out the juice through a cloth, and to two quarts of the juice put two pounds of loaf sugar; when it is dissolved, add one gallon of rum, then strain through a flannel bag that will keep in the jelly, and it will run off clear. Then bottle for use.

CURRANT WINE
Take four gallons of currants, not too ripe, and strip them into an earthen stein that has a cover to it. Then take two and one-half gallons of water and five and one-half pounds of double refined sugar; boil the sugar and water together, skim it, and pour it boiling hot on the currants, letting it stand forty-eight hours; then strain it through a flannel bag into the stein again, let it stand a fortnight to settle, and bottle it out.

CURRANT WINE, NO. 2
The currants should be fully ripe when picked. Put them into a large tub, in which they should remain a day or two, then crush with the hands, unless you have a small patent wine-press, in which they should not be pressed too much, or the stems will be bruised, and impart a disagreeable taste to the juice. If the hands are used, put the crushed fruit, after the juice has been poured off, in a cloth or sack and press out the remaining juice. Put the juice back into the tub after cleansing it, where it should remain about three days, until the first stages of fermentation are over, and remove once or twice a day the scum copiously arising to the top. Then put the juice in a vessel,—a demijohn, keg, or barrel,—of a size to suit the quantity made, and to each quart of juice add three pounds of the best yellow sugar, and soft water sufficient to make a gallon. Thus, ten quarts of juice and thirty pounds of sugar will give you ten gallons of wine, and so on in proportion. Those who do not like sweet wine can reduce the quantity of sugar to two and one-half, or who wish it very sweet, raise to three and one-half pounds per gallon. The vessel must be full, and the bung or stopper left off until fermentation ceases, which will be in twelve or fifteen days. Meanwhile, the cask must be filled up daily with currant juice left over, as fermentation throws out the impure matter. When fermentation ceases, rack the wine off carefully, either from the spigot or by a siphon, and keep running all the time. Cleanse the cask thoroughly with boiling water, then return the wine, bung up tightly, and let it stand four or five months, when it will be fit to drip, and can be bottled if desired. All the vessels, casks, etc., should be perfectly sweet, and the whole operation should be done with an eye to cleanliness. In such event, every drop of brandy or other spirituous liquors added will detract from the flavor of the wine, and will not in the least degree increase its keeping qualities. Currant wine made in this way will keep for an age.

CURRANT WINE, NO. 3
To every pailful of currants, on the stem, put one pailful of water; mash and strain. To each gallon of the mixture of juice and water add three and one-quarter pounds of sugar. Mix well and put into your cask, which should be placed in the cellar, on the tilt, that it may be racked off in October, without stirring up the sediment. Two bushels of currants will make one barrel of wine. Four gallons of the mixture of juice and water will, after thirteen pounds of sugar are added, make five gallons of wine. The barrel should be filled within three inches of the bung, which must be made air tight by placing wet clay over it after it is driven in. Pick your currants when ripe on a fair day, crush them well, and to every gallon of juice add two gallons of water and three pounds of sugar; if you wish it sweeter, add another one-half pound of sugar. Mix all together in some large vessel, then dip out into earthen jars. Let it stand to ferment in some cool place, skimming it every other morning. In about ten days it will be ready to strain off; bottle and seal, or put in a cask and cork tight. The longer you keep it the better it will be.

CURRANT WINE, NO. 4
Into a five gallon keg put five quarts of currant juice, fifteen pounds of sugar, and fill up with water. Let it stand in a cool place until sufficiently worked, and then bung up tight. You can let it remain in the cask, and draw out as you want to use it.

CURRANT OR GOOSEBERRY WINE, WITHOUT BOILING
Take ten quarts of fruit, bruise it, and add to it five quarts of water. Stir it well together, and let it stand twelve hours; then strain it through a coarse canvas bag or hair sieve, add eleven pounds of good Lisbon sugar, and stir it well. Put the pulp of the fruit into a gallon more water; stir it about and let it stand twelve hours. Then strain to the above, again stirring it; cover the tub with a sack. In a day or two the wine will begin to ferment. When the whole surface is covered with a thick, yeasty froth, begin to skim it on to a sieve. What runs through may be returned to the wine. Do this from time to time for several days, till no more yeast forms. Then put it into the cask.

Old-Time Recipes for Home Made Wines is a cookbook for those who want to make their own wines & liqueurs from available ingredients, including fruits, flowers, vegetables, & shrubs from local gardens, farms, & orchards. It includes ingredients & instructions for making & fermenting spirits, from wine & ale to sherry, brandy, cordials, & even beer. 

Colonial Era Cookbooks

1615, New Booke of Cookerie, John Murrell (London) 

1798, American Cookery, Amelia Simmons (Hartford, CT)

1803, Frugal Housewife, Susannah Carter (New York, NY)

1807, A New System of Domestic Cookery, Maria Eliza Rundell (Boston, MA)

1808, New England Cookery, Lucy Emerson (Montpelier, VT)

Helpful Secondary Sources

America's Founding Food: The Story of New England Cooking/Keith Stavely and Kathleen Fitzgerald Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, 2004.

Colonial Kitchens, Their Furnishings, and Their Gardens/Frances Phipps Hawthorn; 1972

Early American Beverages/John Hull Brown   Rutland, Vt., C. E. Tuttle Co 1996 

Early American Herb Recipes/Alice Cooke Brown  ABC-CLIO  Westport, United States

Food in Colonial and Federal America/Sandra L. Oliver

Home Life in Colonial Days/Alice Morse Earle (Chapter VII: Meat and Drink) New York : Macmillan Co., ©1926.

A Revolution in Eating: How the Quest for Food Shaped America/James E. McWilliams New York : Columbia University Press, 2005.

Plant Lists - John Custis (1678-1749) & Peter Collinson (1694-1768)

Virginia's John Custis IV standing by a cut tulip blossom ca. 1740 attributed to Charles Bridges. (Courtesy of Washington and Lee University, University Collections of Art and History, Lexington, Va.)

John Custis (1678-1749) was a prominent citizen of Williamsburg with an apparently most impressive garden. John Bartram, the Philadelphia naturalist and botanist, commented to Peter Collinson that Custis’ garden was second only to that of John Clayton, the English born Virginia naturalist of Gloucester County.

Peter Collinson (1694-1768) was an English Quaker woolen merchant. Collinson traded in textiles from an office in Grace Street in the city of London, while he maintained an extensive correspondence with American naturalists. His famous garden at Mill Hill contained many American plants, often obtained from both John Bartram and John Custis. Custis’ correspondence with Collinson, the subject of Swemm’s Brothers of the Spade, depicts both the joys and trials experienced by early gardeners in their exchange of plants across the Atlantic. He used his commercial links with the world to introduce many new species of plants into Britain. His gardens at Peckham and, later, Mill Hill became sites of pilgrimage for 18C scholars in horticulture.

Plant List compiled by Peter Hatch from
Brothers of the Spade
Correspondence of Peter Collinson, of London, and John Custis, of Williamsburg, Virginia, 1734-1746
By E. G. Swemm, Director Emeritus, William and Mary College
Published by the American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1949
Southern Garden History Plant Lists

Plants sent to Collinson by Custis
Botanical Name/ Common Name/ Date/ Custis’s Notes
?Arachis hypogaea peanut 1736 "Angola peas the pea grows in the
ground"
Ariseama triphyllum Jack-in-the-pulpit 1744 "Arum or Cuckow point, Lords &
Ladys, Skunk Weed or skunk Wort,
Indian Turnips"
?Asclepias tuberosa butterfly weed 1736/7 "Mountain or Orange [Clove?] Flower,
Dogs Bane, Apocinon"
Asimina triloba pawpaw 1743/4 papa, papaw
Canna indica Indian-shot 1735 "Indian frill, Cana Indica or Wild
Plaintain or Bonana”
Carya sp. 1735 "Hickerys"
Castanea pumila chinquapin PC 1735 "chinkapins"
Cercis canadensis 1735 "red bud"
Chionanthus virginicus 1735 "Fringe Tree"
Cornus florida 1735 "Dogwood Tree"
Cornus florida rubra 1736/7 "Red flowering Dogwood,” "peach
colour’d dogwood"
Cucumis melo 1738 "sweet smelling Mellon"
Cucumis sativus 1738/9 "long cucumber"
Curcurbita pepo melopepo 1741 "Bush squash that does not Run &
Ramble, eating squash”
Cypripedium acaule or Orchis
spectabilis
pink lady slipper or showy
orchid
1736/7 "Red [or?] White Moccasin flower"

Delphinium exalatum or D.
tricorne
 1737/8 "Wild Larkspur"
Diospyros virginiana 1735 "persimmons or Indian plumb"
Gillenia stipulata or G. trifoliata 1736/7 "Ipacacuana”
Gleditsia triacanthos 1735 "sweet locust pods," "Locus," "Honey
Locust"
Ilex vomitoria yaupon holly 1735 "yoppon or Carolina tea,” "cassenna”
Custis and Collinson
Virgina
 1734-1746
2
Iris verna or versicolor 1735 "Indian iris"
?Kalmia angustifolia sheep laurel 1735 "laurells,"[?]
Kalmia latifolia or K. angustifolia mountain laurel or sheep
laurel
1735 "ivy"
Lagenaria siceraria "pretty little gourd" 1741 "Little pear or snuffbox Gourd,"
Liquidambar styraciflua 1738 "sweet Gum"
Liriodendron tulipifera 1738 "Flowering poplar or Tulip Tree,"
"poplar"
?Magnolia grandiflora southern magnolia 1735 "laurells”
Magnolia tripetala Umbrella Magnolia 1737 "Umbrella," "umbrella tree"
Magnolia virginiana sweet bay magnolia 1736/7 "sweet White Flowering swamp Bay,"
"swamp flowering Bay smaller sort[of
magnolia that] grows with You in the
Swamps," "sweet flowering bay"[?]
Mertensia virginica Virginia blue-bells 1734 "mountain cowslip"
Morus alba 1736 "white Mulberry"
Myrica cerifera wax myrtle 1741 "candle myrtill berrys"
Oenothera biennis Virginia evening Primrose 1737/8 "anagra,” "Virginia Tree primerose”
Oxydendron arboreum sourwood 1736 “sorrellTree”
Panicum maximum or Sorghum
bicolor
 1742/3 "Guinea Corn"
Passiflora incarnata and/or P.
lutea
1737/8 "Passion flower 2 sorts," "Virginia
passion flower"
Physalis sp. 1739/40 "Ground Cherry"
Polygala senega Seneca snakeroot 1736/7 "Rattle Snake Root"
Prunus americana or P. angustifolia American or Chickasaw
plum
1742/3 "your Wild Scarlet plum"
Prunus Persica 1738/9 "peaches"
Prunus serotina 1739 "wild cherry"
Quercus phellos 1736/7 "narrow or Willow Leafed Okes"
Quercus virginiana 1736/7 "live oak acorns"
Rhus typhina staghorn sumach 1738 "sumach that produced Tufts of a Very
Bright scarlet," "Shomake"
Sanguinaria canadensis bloodroot 1735 "pocoone,” "pecoone”
Sassafras albidum 1737/8 "Sarsifrax,” "sassafras"
Taxodium distichum bald cypress 1736/7 "swamp Cypress Cones or Balls"
Viburnum prunifolium "Black Haws" 1737/8
Yucca filamentosa 1735 "silk Grass”
Zanthoxylum americanum 1736 "Toothache Tree"
Zea mays 1741 "Rair Ripe or Early Ripe Indian Corn"

UNIDENTIFIED:
"laurells" [1735] possibilities: Magnolia grandiflora,
Kalmia, Prunus caroliniana
"pearl tree” [1735]
"pellitory" [1742/3] Ptelea trifoliata?
Custis and Collinson
Virgina
 1734-1746
3
Plants sent to Custis by Collinson
Botanical Name Common Name Date Collinson’s Notes
Abies alba 1738 "silver fir"
Abies sp. 1741 "gilded firs ... which are natives of the
Alps"
Aesculus hippocastanum 1734 "horse chestnuts"
Alcea rosea 1735 "Hollihocks"
Allium neapolitanum lily leek 1737 "white moley"
Amaranthus tricolor Joseph’s coat 1742/3 "Amaranthus Tricolor"
Arbutus unedo 1737 “strawberry tree,” "Arbutus"
Asphodeline lutea 1737 "yellow asphodel,” "yellow asphodill"
Asphodelus albus 1739/40 "white Asphodills"
Brassica oleracea 1736 "cabbage"
Buxus sempervirens cv. 1736 “striped box"
Callistephus chinensis 1736 "China Aster"
Cedrus libani 1735 "Cedar of Lebanon"
Celosia cristata 1738 "tall coxcombs"
Chamaecyparis thyoides 1739 "white cedr"
Citrullus lanatus 1736 'Astrican Water Mellon"
Convallaria majalis 1738 "lilly of the valley"
Cucumis melo 1736 "Affrican Mellon," "Calmuc Mellon
with fruite 2 feet long," "Italian
Melon," "Muscovy Mellon 3 sorts,"
"Sir Charles Wagers Melon,"
“muskmellon"
Cucumis sativis 1736 "Muscovy Cucumber,” "cucumber,"
"long cucumber"
Cupressus sempervirens 1735 "cypress"
Cyclamen sp. 1739/40 "Cyclamens"
Cyclamen coum 1742/3 "spring cyclamen"
Dianthus chinensis 1738 "Double Flowering China or India
pink," "India pinks"
Dictamnus albus gas plant 1742/3 "White Fraxinelloes"
Dictamnus albus ‘ruber’ 1742/3 "Red Fraxinelloes"
Digitalis purpurea 1738 "rose colored foxglove"
Digitalis purpurea ‘alba’ 1737 “flatt?] stalk full of white long hollow
blossoms," "White Fox Glove"
Echinops sphaerocephalus or E.
ritro
 1738 "globe [thistle?]"
Eranthis hyemalis 1739/40 "spring Acconite”
Fragaria chiloensis 1736 "Chili strawberry"
Fragaria vesca hautboy strawberry 1736 "Houtboye”
Fritillaria imperialis crown imperial lily 1739 "orange colord"
Fritillaria imperialis lutea 1737 "yellow ones," "lemon colord crown
imperiall”
Fritillaria imperialis cv. 1738 "striped"
Gomphrena globosa globe amaranth 1737 "Amarantheodes,” "Amaranthoides"
Helichrysum orientale 1736 "yellow everlasting flower"
Hesperis matronalis cv. dame's rocket 1735 "Double Rockketts,” "white double
rocketts"
Custis and Collinson
Virgina
 1734-1746
4
Hibiscus syriacus rose-of-Sharon 1736 "althea”
Ilex aquifolium cvs. 1738 "[gilded?] hollys," "silver holly," "gold
holly"
Ilex aquifolium "Ferox” 1736 "Hedge Hog Holley"
Jasminum sambac 1738 "Arabian jessamins"
Juniperus communis 1735 "juniper berrys"
Laburnum anagyroides golden chain-tree 1735 "laburnum"
Larix decidua 1736 “larch tree”
Laurus nobilis English laurel 1736/7 "Bay Berries,” "bays"
Lavandula stoechas French lavender 1735 "crysanthamum arabian stecus,”
"stecos"
?Lilium bulbiferum or
chalcedonicum
 1742/3 "fiery lily"
?Lilium martagon or chalcedonicum martagon lily? 1739 "red,” "scarlet," "sorts of martigons"
Lilium sp. 1736 "striped Lilly's”
Lonicera sp. 1740 "honey suckles"
Lonicera sp. 1735 "double honysuckles"
Lonicera periclymenum belgica Dutch Woodbine1740 "dutch [honeysuckles]"
Lycospersicon lycopersicon tomato 1742/3 "Apples of Love," "Tamiata”
Malus pumila var. paradisiaca paradise apple 1736 "dwarf apple trees [?] stocks"
Morus nigra 1738 "black mulberry"
Nerine sarniensis 1736 "Gurnsey Lillies"
Nicotiana sp. tobacco 1736 "tob: seed"
Phaseolus sp. 1737 "beans"
Phlomis tuberosa 1736 "Spanish sage trees"
Phoenix dactylifera 1735 "Dates"
Picea abies Norway spruce 1742/3 "spruce Firr"
Picea sp. 1738 "Spruces"
Pinus cembra Swiss stone pine 1738 “stone pines,” "Siberian Cedars"
Pistacia vera 1735 "Pistacioes Nutts, "Pistacios,"
"Pistacia”
Pisum sativum 1737 "peas"
Polianthes tuberosa 1735 "Tuberorse,” "Italian Tuberoses"
Polygonum orientale prince's feather 1736/7 "Oriental Persicary"
Primula x poliantha 1736 "polyanthus"
Prunus dulcis cvs. 1734 almonds: "green shell,” "brown shell,
"cornell,” "soft shell,” "hardshell,"
"thin shelld"
Prunus insititia damson plum 1736/7 "Bullice,” "Damosins"
Prunus padus or Cornus mas European bird cherry or
Cornelian cherry
1738 "cluster cherry"
Prunus persica cvs. 1737 "best peaches, "variety of peaches"
Prunus persica ‘Catherine’ 1740 "Catherine," "Katherine peach"
Prunus persica cv. 1734 "Double Blossome peach"
Prunus persica 'Nutmeg' 1736/7 "Nutmeg peach"
Prunus persica nucipersica 1737 "Nectarines"
Prunus sp. 1735 "chery seeds"
Prunus spinosa blackthorn plum 1736/7 "Sloes"
Pulmonaria officinalis lungwort 1735 "Jerusalem Cowslip"
Quercus suber cork oak 1736-37 "Evergreen Oke whose Bark is the
Cork wee use for Bottles"
Quercus ilex holly oak 1736/7 "Italian Evergreen Okes"
Ranunculus asiaticus Persian ranunculus 1741 "ranunculus"
Rancunculus ficaria 1737 "double yellow pile Wort"
Rhamnus cathartica 1742/3 "Buck thorn"
Ribes sativum 1738 'White Dutch'"White Currants,”
Custis and Collinson
Virgina
 1734-1746
5
 “dutch white currant bushes”
Rosa centifolia muscosa 1740 "Moss province"
Rosa x damascene var. 1740 "monthly rose"
Rosa x damascene versicolor 1742/3 "York & Lancaster Rose"
Rosa foetida Austrian briar rose 1736 "yellow rose"
?Rosa gallica versicolor Rosa Mundi 1740 “moonday rose"
?Rosa gallica 1736 "red rose"
Rosa x hemisphaerica 1735 "yellow province rose," "double yellow
rose," "other yellow rose"
Scilla peruviana 1737 "Blew & White Hyacinth of peru”
Spartium junceum 1736 "Spanish Broome"
Sternbergia lutea winter daffodil 1739-40 "Autumn Narciss with a yellow
Crocus Like flower"
Syringa vulgaris 1737 "lilacks" [other than "pale blew"]
Syringa persica 1738 "persian lilack, "persian lilock"
Tulipa cvs. 1735 "Double Tulips," "tulips," "early
tulips"
Vigna unguiculata 1736 "Italian beans," "black eyed indian
peas"
Vitis vinifera 1736 "grape seeds," "Vines," "White Grape"

UNIDENTIFIED:
“mountain flax” [1742] Swemm says snakeroot but JC
requests this as a medicinal plant he
believes to be very common in
England
“Oriental [?], plant of
paradice”
 [1744]
Spanish sage trees [1736] Phlomis tuberosa ?
“syringa[“?] [ 1741] listed among bulbs ?
Laurells [1736] "which I [JC] had very plenty of
before" Magnolia grandiflora, Laurus
nobilis, Prunus (Lauroceraus)
caroliniana?
"The name of the flower white
on one side red on the other"
Possibly Asphodelus albus -- white
w/brown bracts
“Drassenis” 1741] Swemm indexes as "Dracaena”
"small bulbous roots like
hyacinths"
 [1736] scilla?

1764 Plants in 18C Colonial American Gardens - Virginian John Randolph (1727-1784) - Featherfew

A Treatise on Gardening Written by a native of this State (Virginia)
Author was John Randolph (1727-1784)
Written in Williamsburg, Virginia about 1765
Published by T. Nicolson, Richmond, Virginia. 1793
The only known copy of this booklet is found in the Special Collections of the Wyndham Robertson Library at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia.

Featherfew

Featherfew, Mutrecaria, from Matrix, being good against diseases of the womb, or Parthenium, from Parthenos, gr. a virgin, is to be propagated from seed or roots; if the former, they should be sown in March, and if the latter, the roots should be pricked out above eight inches asunder in May. If you do not want the seeds, cut the stems off when the flowers are past, as they often decay the roots..

Gentry Fishing in Early America

Fishing in the British American colonies was both a practical & a social sport, and the outcome was as unpredictable then as it is nowadays. Some estate owners included fishing ponds in their garden area, such as Thomas Jefferson did at Monticello. 

This poem appeared in the 1754 Maryland Gazette about preparing a list of items to take on a picnic & fishing trip on the Severn River in Annapolis.  This particular fishing trip sounds very social...

18C English woodcut

Six bottle of wine, right old, good and clear;
a dozen at least, of English strong Beer:
Six quarts of good Rum, to make Punch and Grogg
(the latter a Drink that’s now much vogue)
some Cyder, if sweet, would not be amiss:
Of Butter Six pounds, we can’t do with less.

A tea Kettle, Tea, and all the Tea Geer,
To treat the Ladies and also small Beer.
Sugar, Lemons, a Strainer, likewise a Spoon;
Two China Bowls to drink out of at Noon:
A large piece of Cheese, a Table Cloth too,
A sauce-pan, two Dishes, and a Corkscrew:
Some Plates, Knives and Forks, Fish Kettle or pot,
And pipes and Tobacco must not be forgot:
A frying pan, Bacon or Lard for to Fry:
a tumbler and Glass to use when we’re dry
A hatchet, some Matches, a Steel and a Flint,
Some touch-wood, or Box with good tinder in’t.
some vinegar, Salt, some Parsley and Bread
or else Loaves of Pone to eat in it’s stead:
and for fear of bad Luck at catching of Fish
Suppose we should carry- A READY DRESSED DISH

"Botany & Friendship" Transatlantic Plant Exchange for Tho Jefferson (1743-1824)

Thomas Jefferson by Tadeusz Andrzej Bonawentura Kosciuszko (1746-1817)

"Botany & Friendship"

A Circle of Transatlantic Plant Exchange

"Altho' the times are big with political events, yet I shall say nothing on that or any subject but the innocent ones of botany & friendship." -- Jefferson to Madame de Tessé, October 31, 1803

In August 2001 a letter from Italy arrived at CHP headquarters. The correspondent, a 1998 fellow at Monticello's International Center for Jefferson Studies, wrote to thank us for the gift of a Goldenrain tree (Koelreuteria paniculata), which he had planted in his European garden. Obviously writing as the summer-flowering tree blossomed, the former ICJS fellow reported that "it has grown by now to about 6 feet and gives me continuous pleasure: I call it my Jefferson Tree."

I was immediately struck by the similarity in sentiment of this 21st-century letter compared to one Thomas Jefferson wrote to Madame de Tessé March 27th, 1811:

"Since I had last the pleasure of writing to you, I have to acknowledge the receipt of . the seeds of the . Koelreuteria, one of which has germinated, and is now growing. I cherish it with particular attentions, as it daily reminds me of the friendship with which you have honored me ."
This "cherished" tree is native to China, where it was once planted at the graves of high governmental ministers. The first seeds to arrive in Europe were sent during the mid eighteenth century by Pierre Nicholas le Chévron d'Incarville, a French Jesuit Father stationed at a Peking missionary. According to Stephen A. Spongberg in A Reunion of Trees (Harvard University Press, 1990), a Russian caravan likely transported these seeds across Mongolia and Siberia to London's Kew Gardens and the Jardin du Roi in Paris. Goldenrain trees were growing in European botanical gardens by 1763 and were probably already popular flowering novelties by the time the Comtesse sent her gift. What she could not have known was that the seedling Jefferson nurtured is believed to be the first goldenrain tree ever cultivated in North America. Because the tree is short-lived, there are no original goldenrain trees surviving from Jefferson's time, but trees from succeeding generations continue to thrive at Monticello, and it is a descendant tree that now grows in the Italian garden of our former research fellow.

For Jefferson, a shared interest in botanical subjects strengthened bonds of companionship for a lifetime. His friendship with the Comtesse Noailles de Tessé, aunt of the Marquis de Lafayette, began when he was serving as Minister to France from1784 to1789, and continued until her death in 1814. The Comtesse was a connoisseur of gardening and the fine arts, and their mutual love of plants is well chronicled through their correspondence. She was most interested in the plants de Virginie and Caroline and requested a long list of oaks, pines, and desirable shrubs such as the American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana).

While still living in Paris, Jefferson implored American naturalists and nurserymen to send plants for her gardens at Chaville, her beautiful country estate near Versailles. After his return to Virginia, Jefferson continued this quest firsthand, and wrote to the Comtesse on March 11, 1790 that he had seen to the collection of young plants "in most perfect condition," and had attended to the packing himself. Each plant was carefully labeled and layered into boxes of fresh moss, which he then carried to Richmond for the precarious and uncertain journey to France. His parcels included umbrella magnolias, tulip poplars, mountain laurels, red cedars, sassafras, persimmons, dogwoods, oaks, and sweet shrubs.

Because Chaville was a Crown property, many of Jefferson's specimens shipped during the 1790s were likely eventually "nationalized" soon after the proclamation of the French Republic, when trees and shrubs were salvaged from émigré estates to enrich the Jardin du Roi in Paris. André Thoüin, gardener-in-chief, was commissioned to select rare exotics from the Crown properties that might prove useful to the nation. He chose 148 species from Chaville in the presence of the estate's gardener Cyrus Bowie, including many from North America.

Coincidentally, André Thoüin also exchanged plants with Jefferson throughout the ensuing years. Jefferson often shared Thouin's shipments with like-minded American plantsmen, such as Philadelphia nurseryman Bernard McMahon and David Hosack of the New York Botanical Garden. Evidently, Jefferson planted many seeds at Monticello as well. When a package of 700 species arrived in 1808, he told his granddaughter Anne "that they will contain all the fine flowers of France, and fill all the space we have for them."

Jefferson's Garden Book contains few specific references as to the many varieties from Thoüin, but diary entries indicate a wide diversity of plants, from Spanish broom to sprout kale to "Ximenesia Encelioides," most likely Verbesina encilioides (Golden Crownbeard) an annual aster from the American southwest and Mexico. Perhaps a clue to the identity of some may come from a c.1786 listing of plants that Jefferson himself sent from Paris to Francis Eppes, a friend and father of Jefferson's future son-in-law, John W. Eppes. This list includes "roses of various kinds," carnations, pinks, an assortment of fine bulbs, and a number of annual flowers such as "Velvet Amaranth," (possibly the velvety crested Cockscomb, Celosia cristata). It also contains Jefferson's only mention of the "delicious" flowering Heliotrope (Heliotropium arborescens) and the "three-coloured Amaranth" or Joseph's coat (Amaranthus tricolor), so popular in the Monticello gardens today.

Marquis de Lafayette that, "The state of the ocean . continues to be, so desperate that it is vain to attempt anything.." The blockades placed on the Chesapeake Bay during the War of 1812 further complicated plant exchange, and valuable shipments both to and from Thoüin and Madame de Tessé were "captured on the high seas" and left to rot in British warehouses.

In later years Jefferson's gardening interests turned more toward the culture of flowers, vegetables, and plants that repaid the labors of the year within the year, so that ".death, which will be at my door, shall find me unembarrassed in long lived undertakings." In this regard, he found the Comtesse's tenacity to plant long-lived trees all the more admirable, acknowledging, "There is more of the disinterested & magnanimous in your purpose."

On December 8, 1813, in his final letter to the Comtesse and just a year before her death, Jefferson discussed the botanical specimens collected by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. He described some as curious, some ornamental, some useful, and some that "may by culture be made acceptable on our tables." Jefferson had at Monticello one little shrub from the Expedition - a snowberry bush (Symphorocarpus albus) - that was destined for her, but it is not known if it ever successfully made the transatlantic passage.

By Peggy Cornett, Director, Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants, January 2002

Research & images & much more are directly available from the Monticello.org website. 

1750s-1760s Philadelphia Quaker Writes of Gardens - Hannah Callender (Mrs Samuel Sansom) (1737–1801).

The Fair Quaker, July 11, 1787 British Museum 63.533.2 

When researching gardens in Colonial America in 2010, I was excited to find the newly published  Diary of Hannah Callender (Mrs Samuel  Sansom) (1737–1801).  She was sort of a bundle of contradictions. She was a well-to-do, proper Quaker from Philadelphia. Her parents William Callender Jr. (1703–1763) and Katharine Smith (1711–1789), devoted members of the Quaker Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. Her father owned a house in downtown Piladelphi & a "plantation" house on the  

Although she was a woman, she was well-educated. Her pre-arranged marriage to Quaker Samuel Sansom Jr, (1738/39–1824) was surely no match of love, but she managed to maintain her sassy independence by climbing in her chaise & traveling about the Philadelphia & New York.

After Hannah married, she left her family's mostly agricultural Richmond Seat, set in “a fine Woods,” with an orchard, flower, and kitchen gardens. After the birth of her 1st child, she often set off to visit neighbors. And she wrote down what she saw at the country seats she visited. She kept writing for 30 years, from  age 21 in 1758 through 1788. Along the way, she include little gems describing the gardens & grounds she came upon.

In September of 1758, she briefly noted her visit to James Hamilton’s Bush Hill, “... a party to bush hill. . . in the afternoon, a fine house and gardens, with Statues..." 

In June of 1759, Hannah wrote of Bayard’s country seat, near New York, “...took a walk to - Boyard’s Country seat, who was so complaisent as to ask us in his garden. the front of the house, faces the great road, about a quarter of a mile distance, a fine walk of locas trees now in full blossom perfumes the air, a beautiful wood off one side, and a Garden for both use and ornament on the other side from which you see the City at a great distance. good out houses at the back part. they have no gardens in or about New York that come up to ours of philadelphia...”

On that 1759 trip to New York, she wrote “...a good many pretty Country seats, In particular Murreys, a fine brick house, and the whole plantation in good order, we rode under the finest row of Button Wood I ever see...”

As autumn was approaching in 1759, she wrote of Richmond Seat, the country estate & farm of her father William Callender Jr. on the Delaware River in Point-No-Point near Philadelphia, “Morn: 8O'Clock Daddy and I went to Plantation . . . the place looks beautiful. the plat belonging to Daddy is 60 acres square: 30 of upland, 30 of meadow, which runs along the side of the river Delawar, half the uplands is a fine Woods, the other Orchard and Gardens, a little house in the midst of the Gardens, interspersed with fruit trees. the main Garden lies along the meadow, by 3 descents of Grass steps, you are led to the bottom, in a walk length way of the Garden, on one Side a fine cut hedge incloses from the meadow, the other, a high Green bank shaded with Spruce, the meadows and river lying open to the eye, looking to the house, covered with trees, honey scycle vines on the fences, low hedges to part the flower and kitchen Garden, a fine barn. Just at the side of the Wood, the trees a small space round it cleared from brush underneath, the whole a little romantic rural scene.”

In 1761, she visited the Moravian settlement at Bethlehem, PA, “... Sister Garrison with good humour gave us girls leave, to step cross a field to a little Island belonging to the Single Bretheren, on it is a neat Summer house, with seats of turf, and button wood Trees round it.”

In the summer of 1762, Hannah described the estate of the late Tench Francis Sr. "... the House stands fine and high, the back is adorned by a fine prospect, Peter’s House, Smiths Octagon, Bayntons House &c and a genteel garden, with serpentine walks and low hedges, at the foot of the garden you desend by sclopes to a Lawn. in the middle stands a summer House, Honey Scykle &c, then you desend by Sclopes to the edge of the hill which Terminates by a fense, for security, being high & almost perpendicular except the craggs of rocks, and shrubs of trees, that diversify the Scene.”

William Russell Birch, “View from Belmont Pennsyl.a the Seat of Judge Peters,” in The Country Seats of the United States (1808),

She was drawn to the estates high above the Schuylkill River. Another 1762 jaunt took her to William Peter's Belmont, “. . . went to Will: Peters’s house, having some small aquaintance with his wife who was at home with her Daughter Polly..."from the Front of this hall you have a prospect bounded by the Jerseys, like a blueridge, and the Horison, a broad walk of english Cherre trys leads down to the river, the doors of the hous opening opposite admitt a prospect the length of the garden thro' a broad gravel walk, to a large hansome summer house in a grean, from these Windows down a Wisto terminated by an Obelisk, on the right you enter a Labarynth of hedge and low ceder with spruce, in the middle stands a Statue of Apollo, note: in the garden are the Statues of Dianna, Fame & Mercury, with urns. we left the garden for a wood cut into Visto’s, in the midst a chinese temple, for a summer house, one avenue gives a fine prospect of the City, with a Spy glass you discern the houses distinct, Hospital, & another looks to the Oblisk.” 

Belmont long remained one of Hannah's favorite sites. Twenty-three years later, she again described  Belmont, now Richard Peters, “the highest and finist situation I know, its gardens and walks are in the King William taste, but are very pleasant.” 

Recent photo of Belmont Mansion in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia. Belmont is now the home of the Underground Railroad Museum.

In 1768, she wrote of Edgely, the country seat of Joshua Howell, “...went to Edgeley. Joshua Howel has a fine Iregular Garden there, walked down to Shoolkill, after dinner. . . walked to the Summer House, in view of Skylkill when Benny Played on the flute.”

In 1785, Hannah again traveled to James Hamilton's Bush Hill, “...to Hambleton’s Bush hill [estate,] walked over that good house, viewed the fine stucco work, and delightful prospects round...”

In 1785, she also revisited Belmont, “...crossed Brittains bridge, to John Penns elegant Villa, passed a Couple of delightfull hours, mounted our chaise and rode a long the Schuilkill to Peters place the highest and finist situation I know, its gardens and walks are in the King William taste, but are very pleasant..."

Hannah & her husband maintained a residence in Philadelphia & one in the country called Parlaville, a suburban retreat located about 2 1/2 miles north of the city on the banks of the Schuylkill River. Hannah Callender Sansom and Samuel Sansom and their family lived in Philadelphia but often visited their country retreat at Parlaville.  In 1785, they planned new landscaping & gardens for Parlaville with a "...brick mansion, with a piazza & back buildings, together with a stone coach and stabling, ans a garden to the west and an inclosed lawn to the south..."  

Here her family could go skating, sledding, take country walks and drives, garden, and have pet dogs. Hannah wrote “rose blythly to sow my seeds” called gardening “the primitive occupation of man, designed by the almighty for a happy life!” During the spring of 1785, Sansom obtained a “variety of Trees, flowers, and plants” for Parlaville, “went nine miles up Schuikill for white pine trees.” Several days later she acquired “two Tuby Rose [tuberose] roots...”  The year she stopped writing her diary was the year her first grandchild was born.

1700 John Lawson writes of Food of Carolina Native Americans

Image after a Watercolor drawing of Indian Village of Secoton by John White (created 1585-1586)

A NEW VOYAGE TO CAROLINA, by John Lawson 1709

Venison, and Fawns in the Bags, cut out of the Doe's Belly; Fish of all sorts, the Lamprey-Eel excepted, and the Sturgeon our Salt-Water Indians will not touch; Bear and Bever; Panther; Pole-cat; Wild-Cat; Possum; Raccoon; Hares, and Squirrels, roasted with their Guts in; Snakes, all Indians will not eat them, tho' some do; All wild Fruits that are palatable, some of which they dry and keep against Winter, as all sort of Fruits, and Peaches, which they dry, and make Quiddonies, and Cakes, that are very pleasant, and a little tartish; young Wasps, when they are white in the Combs, before they can fly, this is esteemed a Dainty; All sorts of Tortois and Terebins; Shell-Fish, and Stingray, or Scate, dry'd; Gourds; Melons; Cucumbers; Squashes; Pulse of all sorts; Rockahomine Meal, which is their Maiz, parch'd and pounded into Powder; Fowl of all sorts, that are eatable; Ground-Nuts, or wild Potato's; Acorns and Acorn Oil; Wild-Bulls, Beef, Mutton, Pork, &c. from the English; Indian Corn, or Maiz, made into several sorts of Bread; Ears of Corn roasted in the Summer, or preserv'd against Winter.

Plant Lists - Tho Jefferson's (1743-1824) Kitchen Herbs

Thomas Jefferson by Tadeusz Andrzej Bonawentura Kosciuszko (1746 - 1817)

Thomas Jefferson’s Plant List From His Garden Book, 1767-1821 Dates refer to first mention of a plant in Jefferson’s documents, which include Thomas Jefferson’s Garden Book, edited by Edwin Betts, 1944, unpublished memoranda at the Massachusetts Historical Society, the Library of Congress and Princeton University Library. Quotation marks designate varieties undescribed in the literature and are generally Jefferson’s personal names.
List compiled by Peter Hatch.

KITCHEN HERBS

Pimpinella anisum Anise @1820
Ocimum basilicum Basil @1820
Carum carvi Caraway @1820
Chamaemelum nobile Chamomile 1794
Coriandrum sativum Coriander @1820
Hyssopus officinalis Hyssop 1794
Lavandula angustifolia Lavender 1794
Melissa officinalis Lemon Balm 1794
Origanum vulgare Marjoram, Pot @1820
Origanum Majorana Marjoram, Sweet 1794
Althea officinalis Marshmallow 1794
Mentha sp. Mint 1794
Rosmarinus officinalis Rosemary 1794
Ruta graveolens Rue 1794
Salvia officinalis Sage 1794
Satureja hortensis Savory, Summer @1820
Satureja montana Savory, Winter 1820
Artemisia abrotanum Southernwood 1794
Tanacetum vulgare Tansy 1794
Artemisia Dracunculus var. sativa Tarragon, French 1806
Thymus vulgaris Thyme 1794
Artemisia Absinthium Wormwood 1794

Research & images & much more are directly available from the Monticello.org website. 

Plant Lists - 1802 Catalog - Bernard McMahon - Philadelphia

Bernard McMahon - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

From Ireland, Bernard McMahon moved to Philadelphia in 1776 and by 1802 had established a seedhouse. In 1802 published a broadsheet catalog that included 720 species and varieties of seeds and roots. This was America’s first seed catalog.  Southern Garden History Plant Lists

A CATALOGUE OF GARDEN, GRASS, HERB, FLOWER, TREE & SHRUB-SEEDS, FLOWER –ROOTS, &C.

Sold by Bernard McMahon, Seedsman, No. 129, Chestnut Street, Philadelphia

The Generic and Specific Names and Distinctions, according to the Sexual System of the celebrated LINNAEUS, are annexed to the common, for the use of such Ladies, Gentlemen, and Gardeners, as wish to become scientifically

acquainted with the Plants they cultivate.

Listed in the following categories, the list has been sorted alphabetically by the botanical name.

SEEDS OF ESCULENT ROOTS & HERBS
PEAS AND BEANS
SEEDS OF SWEET AND PORT-HERBS
SEEDS OF PHYSICAL HERBS
SEEDS OF ANNUAL FLOWERS
SEEDS OF BIENNIAL FLOWERS
SEEDS OF ANNUAL FLOWERS
FLOWER ROOTS
SEEDS AND ROOTS USED IN FARMING
SEEDS OF TREES AMD SHRUBS

McMAHON'S Generic & Specific names McMAHON'S Common Names

Acer pennsylvanicum Pennsylvannia Maple
Acer pseudo platanus Sycamore, Great Maple
Acer rubrum Red Flowering Maple
Acer saccharinum Sugar Maple
Achillea ageratum Sweet Milfoil, Maudlin
Achillea Ptarmica Sneeze-wort, Milfoil
Aconitum napellus Monk's hood
Adonis autumnalis Flos Adonis
Aesculus Hippocastanum Common Horse Chestnut
Aesculus Pavia Scarlet Flowering Horse
Agrostemma coronaria Painted Lady, Rose Campion
Agrostemma coronaria Red Rose Campion
Agrostemma coronaria White Rose Campion
Alcea chinensis China Hollyhock
Alcea rosea Double Holyhock
Allium ascalonicum Schallot
Allium Cepa ‘Deptford’ Deptford Onion
Allium Cepa ‘Long Keeping’ Long Keeping Onion
Allium Cepa ‘Portugal’ Portugal Onion
Allium Cepa ‘Red Spanish’ Red Spanish Onion
Allium Cepa ‘Silver Skinned’ Silver Skinned Onion
Allium Cepa ‘Strasburg’ Strasburg Onion
Allium Cepa ‘Tree Onion’ Tree Onion
Allium Cepa ‘White Spanish’ White Spanish Onion
Allium fistulosum ‘Welsh Onion’ Welsh Onion
Allium Porrum Broad English Leek
Allium sativum Garlick
Allium Scorodoprasum Rocambole
Alllium Schoenoprasum Chives
Aloe africana Aloe
Althea officinalis Marsh Mallow
Alyssum minimum Sweet Alysson
Amaranthus bicolor Bicolor Amaranthus
Amaranthus caudatus Love-lies-bleeding
Amaranthus hypocondriacus Prince's Feather
Amaranthus maximus Tree Amaranthus
Amaranthus spica Spike Amaranthus
Amaranthus tricolor Tricolor Amaranthus
Anagalis arvensis Pimpernel
Anemone coronaria Anemone
Anemone Hepatica Hepatica
Anemone hortensis Double Anemone
Anemone pulsatilla Pasque-flower
Anethum azoricum Finochia
Anethum dulce Sweet Fennel
Anethum Goeniculum Common Fennel
Anethum graveolens Dill
Angelica archangelica Garden Angelica
Annona triloba Papaw Tree
Antirrhinum Toad Flax
Antirrhinum majus Red Snapdragon
Antirrhinum majus White Snapdragon
Antirrhinum viscosum Spanish Snap-Dragon
Apium crispum Curled Parsley
Apium graveolens North's Large Celery
Apium graveolens Smallage
Apium graveolens ‘Italian’ Italian Celery
Apium graveolens ‘Solid’ Solid Celery
Apium radice esculenta ‘Large Rooted’ Hamburg Parsley
Apium rapacca Turnep Rooted Celery, Celeriac
Apium sativum Common Parsley
Aquilegia canadensis Columbine
Aquilegia canadensis Double Columbine
Aralia spinosa Angelica Tree
Arbutus Arbutus, Strawberry-Tree
Arbutus uva ursi Trailing Arbutus
Argemone mexicana Mexican Poppy
Artemesia Absinthium Wormwood
Artemisia Dracunculus Tarragon
Asparagus vulgaris
‘Battersea’
Asparagus
Asparagus vulgaris
‘Gravesend’
Asparagus
Asparagus vulgaris ‘Large
Cork’
Asparagus
Aster chinensis Double Blue China Aster
Aster chinensis Double Purple China Aster
Aster chinensis Double Purple China Aster
Aster chinensis Double Purple Striped China Aster
Aster chinensis Double Red Bonnet China Aster
Aster chinensis Double Red China Aster
Aster chinensis Double Red Striped China Aster
Aster chinensis Double Striped China Aster
Aster chinensis Double White China Aster
Aster chinensis Double White China Aster
Aster chinensis Quilled China Aster
Astragalus uliginosus Milk Vetch
Atriplex hortensis Orrach
Azalea nudiflora Upright Honeysuckle
Bellis perennis fistulosa Double Quilled Daisy
Bellis perennis hortensis Double Daisy
Berberis canadensis Canada Berberry
Berberis vulgaris Berberry
Beta vulgaris Long Red Beet
Beta vulgaris Mangel Worzel, Root of Beet, Root of Scarcity
Beta vulgaris Turnep Rooted Red Beet
Betula alba vulgaris White Birch
Betula Alnus Common Alder
Betula Alnus glauca Silver leaved Alder
Betula papyracea Paper Birch
Bignonia Catalpa Catalpa
Bignonia radicans Red Trumpet Flower
Borago officinalis Borage
Brassica Botrytis Large Late Cauliflower
Brassica Botrytis True Early Cauliflower
Brassica capitata Red Pickling Cabbage
Brassica capitata ‘Early Battersea’ Cabbage
Brassica capitata ‘Early Heart Shaped’ Cabbage
Brassica capitata ‘Early Russia’ Cabbage
Brassica capitata ‘Early Sugarloaf’ Cabbage
Brassica capitata ‘Early York’ Cabbage
Brassica capitata ‘Large Battersea’ Cabbage
Brassica capitata ‘Large Drum-headed’ Cabbage
Brassica capitata ‘Large English’ Cabbage
Brassica capitata ‘Large Flat Dutch’ Cabbage
Brassica capitata ‘Late Sugarloaf’ Cabbage
Brassica capitata Large Scotch Cabbage Cabbage
Brassica caulorapa Turnep, Rooted Cabbage
Brassica caulorapa Turnep, Rooted Cabbage
Brassica italica White Cauliflower, Brocoli
Brassica ‘Early Green’ Brocoli
Brassica ‘Early Purple’ Brocoli
Brassica ‘Large Late Purple’ Brocoli
Brassica napus Cole, Rape
Brassica napus Common Colewort
Brassica napus Jerusalem Kale
Brassica napus Rape
Brassica Rapa Early Dutch Turnep
Brassica Rapa Early Green Turnep
Brassica Rapa Early Stone Turnep
Brassica Rapa Large Norfolk Field Turnep
Brassica Rapa Large Red Turnep
Brassica Rapa Large Tankard Turnep
Brassica Rapa White Round Turnep
Brassica Rapa Yellow Turnep
Brassica saubauda Anjou Savoy Cabbage
Brassica saubauda Green Savoy Cabbage
Brassica saubauda Milan Savoy, Savoy Cabbage
Brassica saubauda Yellow Savoy Cabbage
Brassica subellica Brown Curled Borecole
Brassica subellica Brussels Sprouts
Brassica subellica Green Curled Borecole
Browallia scoparia Browallia
Bupleurum rotundifolium Annual Hare's-Ear
Calendula Cape Marigold
Caltha palustris Double Pot Marigold
Calycanthus floridus Calycanthus
Campanula medium Blue Canterbury Bells
Campanula medium White Canterbury Bells
Campanula persicifolia Peach-leaved Bell-flower
Campanula pyrimidalis Pyrimidal Bell-Flower
Campanula Rapunculoides Nettle-leaved Bell-Flower
Campanula Rapunculus Rampion
Campanula speculum Venus's Looking Glass
Canna Cannacorus Scarlet Indian Shoot
Canna Cannacorus Yellow Indian Shoot
Cannabis sativa Hemp
Capsicum frutescens True Cayenne Pepper
Capsicum indicum Cherry Pepper, Capsicum
Capsicum indicum Large Globe Pepper,
Capsicum
Capsicum indicum Large Heart Pepper,
Capsicum
Capsicum indicum Long Drooping Pepper, Capsicum
Capsicum indicum Long Orange Pepper,
Capsicum
Capsicum indicum Long Small Upright Pepper, Capsicum
Capsicum indicum Long Yellow Pepper,
Capsicum
Capsicum indicum Red, Guinea Pepper
Cardamine pratensis Lady's Smock
Cardiospermum corindum Heart Pea
Carpinus betulus vulgaris Hornbeam
Carpinus ostrya Hop Hornbeam
Carum Carvi Carawary
Cathamus tinctorius Bastard Saffron
Ceanothus americanus New-Jersey Tea-Tree
Celosia cristata Branching Cockscomb
Celosia cristata Buff Cockscomb
Celosia cristata Giant Crimson Cockscomb
Celosia cristata Purple Cockscomb
Celosia cristata White Cockscomb
Celosia cristata Yellow Cockscomb
Celtis occidentalis Nettle Tree
Centaurea Cyanus Blue Cyanus
Centaurea Cyanus Purple Cyanus
Centaurea Cyanus Red Cyanus
Centaurea Cyanus Striped Cyanus
Centaurea Cyanus White Cyanus
Centaurea moschata Purple Sweet Sultan
Centaurea moschata Red Sweet Sultan
Centaurea moschata White Sweet Sultan
Centaurea moschata Yellow Sweet Sultan
Cephalanthus occidentalis Button Tree
Cercis canadensis Judas Tree
Cerinthe majus Great Purple Honey-wort
Cheiranthus annuus French Ten Week Stock
Cheiranthus annuus Prussian Ten Week Stock
Cheiranthus annuus Purple Ten Week Stock
Cheiranthus annuus Scarlet Ten Week Stock
Cheiranthus annuus White Ten Week Stock
Cheiranthus cheiri Bloody Wallflower
Cheiranthus cheiri Yellow Wallflower
Cheiranthus incanus Queen's Stock, Gilliflower
Cheiranthus incanus Twickenham Stock
Cheiranthus incanus albus White Stock, Gilliflower
Cheiranthus incanus coccineus Scarlet Brompton Stock, Gilliflower
Cheiranthus incanus glabrus
Cheiranthus maritimus Virginian Stock
Chelidonium minus Celedine
Chenepodium scoparia Belvidere, Summer
Chenopodium glaucum Oak-leaved Chenopodium
Chionanthus virginica Fringe Tree
Chrysanthemum coronarium Double White Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum coronarium Double White Quilled Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum coronarium Double Yellow Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum coronarium Double Yellow Quilled Chrysanthemum
Cichorium endiva Broad Batavian Endive
Cichorium endiva Green Curled Endive
Cichorium endiva White Curled Endive
Cochlearia officinalis Scurvy-grass
Coix Lacryma jobi Job's Tears
Colchicum autumnalis Colchicum
Colutea arborescens Bladder Senna
Colutea frutescens Scarlet Colutea
Convolvulus batatas Sweet Potatoes
Convolvulus hederaceous Ivy leaved Convovulus
Convolvulus lusitanicus Blue Con. Minor Convovulus
Convolvulus purpureus Blue Con. Major Convovulus
Convolvulus rubra Red Con. Major Convovulus
Convolvulus tricolor Striped Con. Major Convovulus
Coriandrum sativum Coriander
Crambe maritima Sea Kale, Sea Cabbage
Crataegus coccinea Cockspur Hawthorn
Crataegus oxyacantha English Hawthorn
Crepia rubra Purple Hawkweed
Crocus autumnalis Blue Autumnal Crocus
Crocus sativus officinalis True Cultivated Saffron
Crocus sativus vernus Blue Spring Crocus
Crocus sativus vernus Yellow Spring Crocus
Cucumis Anguria (in sorts) Water Melons
Cucumis colocyntha Coliquintida, Bitter Gourd
Cucumis Melo Black Rock Melon
Cucumis Melo Carbuncled Rock Melon
Cucumis Melo Early Cantaloupe Melon
Cucumis Melo Early Jerusalem Melon
Cucumis Melo Early Rocket Melon
Cucumis Melo Early Romana Melon
Cucumis Melo Golden Rock Melon
Cucumis Melo Green Fleshed Melon
Cucumis Melo Green Fleshed Nutmeg Melon
Cucumis Melo Japan Rock Melon
Cucumis Melo Large Mogul Melon
Cucumis Melo Musk Melon
Cucumis Melo minus Dwarf Melon
Cucumis Melo minus Jerusalem Pickle
Cucumis Melo minus Pomegranate Melon
Cucumis sativus Early Frame Cucumber
Cucumis sativus Early Prickley Cucumber
Cucumis sativus Green Cluster Cucumber
Cucumis sativus Green Roman Cucumber
Cucumis sativus Long Green Turkey Cucumber
Cucumis sativus Long Prickley Cucumber
Cucumis sativus Long White Turkey Cucumber
Cucumis sativus Short Prickley Cucumber
Cucurbita Melopepo
Squashes
Cucurbita Pepo Cashaw Pumpkin
Cucurbita Pepo Pumpkin
Cucurbita Pepo Thick Fleshed Italian Pumpkin
Cucurbita verrucosa Warted Gourds
Cupressus disticha Deciduous Cypress
Cupressus sempervirens Cypress
Cupressus thyoides White Ceda
Cyclamen autumnalis Autumnal Cyclamen
Cyclamen vernus Spring Cyclamen
Cynara cardunculus Cardoon
Cynoglossum linifolium Venus's Navel-Wort
Cytissus Laburnum Laburnum
Daphne Mezereum Mezereon
Datura Stramonium Double Purple Stramonium
Datura Stramonium Double White Stramonium
Datura tatula Thorn Apple
Daucus carota Early Horn Carrot
Daucus carota Long Orange Carrot
Delphinium ajacis Double Blue Rocket Larkspur
Delphinium ajacis Double Purple Larkspur
Delphinium ajacis Double Rose Larkspur
Delphinium ajacis Double Striped Blue Larkspur
Delphinium ajacis Double Striped White Larkspur
Delphinium ajacis Tall White Rocket Larkspur
Delphinium consolida Branched Larkspur
Delphinium elatum Bee Larkspur
Delphinium minus Dwarf Rocket Larkspur
Dianthus Caryophillus simplex Clove Pink
Dianthus Caryophillus simplex Manchester Pink
Dianthus Caryophillus simplex Pheasant-eyed Pink
Dianthus Caryophylus maximus Double Carnation
Dianthus chinensis Double China Pink
Dianthus imperialis Imperial Indian Pink
Dictamnus albus White Fraxinella
Dictamnus rubra Red Fraxinella
Digitalis alba White Foxglove
Digitalis ferruginia Iris-colured Fox-glove
Digitalis purpurea Purple Foxglove
Diospyros virginiana Persimmon, American
Dipsacus fullonum sativus Teasel
Dodecatheon Meadia Virginian Cowslip
Dracocephalon canariensis Balm of Gilead
Dracocephalon Moldavia Moldavian Balm
Echinops strigosus Globe Thistle
Ervum lens Lentils
Erythronium Dens Canis Dens Canis, Dog's Tooth
Euonymus europeus Spindle Tree
Euonymus sempervirens Evergreen Spindle Tree
Euphorbia lathyris Caper Spurge
Fagus Castanea Chesnut
Fagus ferruginea American Beech
Fagus pumila Chinquapin, Dwarf
Fagus sylvatica vulgaris Beech
Franklinia alatamaha Franklinia
Fraxinus americana Carolina Ash, Red Ash
Fraxinus excelsior English Ash
Fraxinus pennsylvanica Pennsylvannian Ash
Fritillaria imperialis Crown Imperial
Fritillaria persica Persian Fritillary
Fumaria Capnoides White Fumitory
Galanthus nivalis Double Spring Snowdrop
Galanthus nivalis Single Spring Snowdrop
Gaultheria procumbens Mountain Tea
Genista italica Lucca Broom
Geranium africanum Geranium
Gleditsia tricanthos Three Thorned Acacia
Gomphrena Amaranthoides Purple Globe Amaranthus
Gomphrena Amaranthoides Spiked Amaranthus
Gomphrena Amaranthoides Striped Amaranthus
Gomphrena Amaranthoides White Globe Amaranthus
Gossypium Xylon americanum Green Seeded Upland Cotton
Halesia tetraptera Snowdrop Tree
Hedysarum coronarium Red French Honeysuckle
Hedysarum coronarium White French Honeysuckle
Hedysarum onobrychis Saintfoin
Helianthus annuus Tall Double Sunflower
Helianthus indicus Dwarf Double Sunflower
Hesperis tristis Night Smelling Rocket
Hibiscus brasiliensis Okra
Hibiscus syriacus Althaea Frutex, Syrian
Hibiscus trionum Bladder Ketmia
Hieracium aurantiacum Orange Mouse-ear
Hippocrepis unisiliquosa Horse-Shoes
Hyacinthus orientalis Double Hyacinth
Hyssopus officinalis Hyssop
Iberis Candytuft
Iberis pyrimidalis Pyrimidal Candytuft
Iberis umbellata Normandy Candytuft
Iberis umbellata Purple Candytuft
Impatiens Yellow Balsam, Touch me
Impatiens Balsamina Balsam, Balsamine
Impatiens Balsamina Double Purple Stiped Balsam, Balsamine
Impatiens Balsamina Double Red Balsam, Balsamine
Impatiens Balsamina Double Red Striped Balsam, Balsamine
Impatiens Balsamina Double White Balsam, Balsamine
Impatiens Balsamina Immortal Eagle Flower
Ipomea coccinea Scarlet Ipomea
Ipomea Quamoclit Wing'd leaved Ipomoea
Iris persica Dwarf Persian Iris
Ixia chinensis Chinese Ixia
Juglans alba White Walnut
Juglans alba minima Pignut Hickory
Juglans alba odorata Balsalm Hickory
Juglans alba ovata Shell-barked Hickory
Juglans nigra Black Walnut
Juglans oblonga alba Butter Nut
Juniperus bermudiana Bermuda Cedar
Juniperus communis Common Juniper
Juniperus thurifera Spanish Juniper
Juniperus virginiana Red Cedar
Kalmia angustifolia American Laurel
Lactuca sativa Aleppo, Spotted Coss Lettuce
Lactuca sativa Brown Dutch Lettuce
Lactuca sativa Cabbage Lettuce
Lactuca sativa Capuchine Lettuce
Lactuca sativa Early Forcing Coss Lettuce
Lactuca sativa Egyptian Coss Lettuce
Lactuca sativa Grand Admiral Lettuce
Lactuca sativa Green Coss Lettuce
Lactuca sativa Hammersmith Hardy Lettuce
Lactuca sativa Honey Lettuce
Lactuca sativa Imperial Lettuce
Lactuca sativa Large Royal Lettuce
Lactuca sativa Mogul Lettuce
Lactuca sativa New Zealand Cabbage Lettuce
Lactuca sativa Prince's Cabbage Lettuce
Lactuca sativa Royal Cabbage Lettuce
Lactuca sativa Silicia Lettuce
Lactuca sativa Tennisball Lettuce
Lactuca sativa White Coss Lettuce
Lathyrus americanus Lord Anton's, Cape Horn
Lathyrus latifolius Everlasting Pea
Lathyrus odoratus Blue Sweet Pea
Lathyrus odoratus Painted Lady Sweet Pea
Lathyrus odoratus Purple Sweet Pea
Lathyrus odoratus Scarlet Sweet Pea
Lathyrus odoratus Sweet Pea
Lathyrus odoratus White Sweet Pea
Lathyrus tingitanus Tangier Pea
Laurus Benzoin Benjamin Tree
Laurus nobilis Sweet Bay
Laurus Sassafras Sassafras Tree
Lavatera arborea Tree Mallow
Lavatera trimestris Red Lavatera
Lavatera trimestris White Lavatera
Lavendula spica Lavender
Lepidium crispum Curled Cress
Lepidium latifolium Broad-leaved Cress
Ligustrum vulgare Privet
Lilium candicum Jacobaea Lily
Linum flavum Perennial Flax
Linum usitatissimum Flax
Liquidamber styraciflua Sweet Gum
Liriodendron Tulipifera Tulip Tree, Poplar
Lithospermum officinalis Gromwell
Lobelia cardinalis Scarlet Cardinal's Flower
Lobelia silphilitica Blue Cardinal's Flower
Lotus tetragonolobus Winged Pea
Lunaria biennis Honesty, Satin Flower
Lupinus hirsutus Large Blue Lupin
Lupinus luteus Yellow Lupin
Lupinus pilosus Rose Lupin
Lupinus varius Small Blue Lupin
Lychnis chalcedonica Scarlet Lychnis
Lychnis viscaria Catchfly
Magnolia acuminata Cucumber Tree
Magnolia glauca Swamp Magnolia
Magnolia grandiflora Laurel-leaved Magnolia
Malva crispa Curled Mallow
Malva orientalis Oriental Mallow
Malva peruviana Oriental Mallow
Martynia annus Martynia
Marubium vulgare Horehound
Matricaria Parthenium Feverfew
Medicago intertexta Hedgehogs
Medicago muricata Horns
Medicago sativa Lucern
Melia Azadarach Beed Tree
Melissa officinalis Balm
Mentha arvensis Corn Mint
Mentha piperita Pepper Mint
Mentha viridis Spear Mint
Mespilus canadensis Dwarf Red Medlar
Mespilus Pyracantha Pyracantha, Evergreen
Milium arundinaceum Guinea Corn
Milium effusum Millet
Mimosa humilis spinosa Sensitive Plant
Mirabilis Jalapa Gold Striped Marvel of Peru
Mirabilis Jalapa Purple Striped Marvel of Peru
Mirabilis Jalapa Red Marvel of Peru
Mirabilis Jalapa Red Striped Marvel of Peru
Mirabilis Jalapa White Marvel of Peru
Mirabilis Jalapa White Striped Marvel of Peru
Mirabilis Jalapa Yellow Marvel of Peru
Mirabilis longiflora Sweet Scented Marvel of Peru
Momordica Elaterium Squirting Cucumber
Monarda fistulosa Crimson Monarda
Morus alba White Chinese Mulberry
Morus nigra Black Mulberry
Morus rubra Red Virginian Mulberry
Myrtus angustifolium Narrow leaved Myrtle
Myrtus latifolium Broad leaved Myrtle
Narcissus jonquilla Double Jonquil
Narcissus majus Great Daffodil
Narcissus tazetta Polyanthus Narcissus
Nepeta Cataria Nep, Catmint
Nerium Oleander Rose Bay
Nicotiana angustifolia Virginia narrow leaf'd Tobacco
Nicotiana rustica Common Tobacco
Nicotiana tabacum Virginia Broad leaf'd Tobacco
Nigella damascena Love in a Mist
Nigella hispanica Spanish Fennel Flower
Nolana prostrata Nolana
Nyssa sylvatica Upland Tupelo Tree
Ocymum minus Bush Basil
Ocymum vulgaris Sweet Basil
Oenothera biennis Primrose Tree
Origanum heracleoticum Winter Sweet Marjorum
Origanum Marjorana Knotted Marjorum
Origanum onites Pot Marjorum
Ornithogalum pyramidale Star of Bethlehem
Papaver dubium Double Carnation Poppy
Papaver nigra Maw
Papaver rhoeas Double Dwarf, Corn Poppy
Papaver somniferum White Poppy
Passiflora caerulea Passion Flower
Pastinaca sativa Large Dutch Parsnep
Phalaris canariensis Canary
Phaseolus coccineus Scarlet Bean
Phaseolus purpureus Purple Flowering Bean
Phaseolus purpureus White Flowering Bean
Phaseolus vulgaris Battersea Dwarf Beans
Phaseolus vulgaris Bishop's Black-eyed Beans
Phaseolus vulgaris Black Speckled Dwarf Beans
Phaseolus vulgaris Canterbury Dwarf Beans
Phaseolus vulgaris Corn Running Beans
Phaseolus vulgaris Cream colored Dwarf Beans
Phaseolus vulgaris Dwarf Dutch Beans
Phaseolus vulgaris Lima Running Beans
Phaseolus vulgaris Negro Dwarf Beans
Phaseolus vulgaris Purple Speckled Beans
Phaseolus vulgaris Scarlet Runner Beans
Phaseolus vulgaris White Dutch Running Beans
Phaseolus vulgaris White Dwarf Beans
Phaseolus vulgaris Yellow Dwarf Beans
Phleum pratense Timothy-Grass
Phlox Purple Lychnidea
Phlox White Lychnidea
Physalis Alkekengi Alkekengi
Phytolacca decandra Poke
Pimpinella anisum Anise
Pinus Abies Norway Sprunce Fir
Pinus Abies alba White American Fir
Pinus Abies balsama Balm of Gilead Fir
Pinus Abies canadensis Hemlock Spruce Fir
Pinus Abies nigra Black American Fir
Pinus Abies picea Silver Fir
Pinus alopecuroides Fox-tail Pine
Pinus cedrus Cedar of Lebanon
Pinus inopa Jersey Pine
Pinus Larix Larch
Pinus pinaster Pinaster
Pinus pinea Stone Pine
Pinus resinosa White Pitch Pine
Pinus strobus New England Pine, White
Pinus sylvestris Scotch Pine
Pinus taeda Frankincense, Black Pitch
Pinus verginica Yellow Pine
Pisum sativum Blue Union Peas
Pisum sativum Crown, Rose Pea
Pisum sativum Crown, Rose Peas
Pisum sativum Dwarf Marrowfat Peas
Pisum sativum Dwarf Sugar Peas
Pisum sativum Early Charleton Peas
Pisum sativum Early Forcing Peas
Pisum sativum Early Frame Peas
Pisum sativum Early Golden Hotspur Peas
Pisum sativum Essex Reading Peas
Pisum sativum Field Peas
Pisum sativum Glory of England Peas
Pisum sativum Green Nonpareil Peas
Pisum sativum Green Rouncival Peas
Pisum sativum Large Marrowfat Peas
Pisum sativum Leadman's Dwarf Peas
Pisum sativum Nichol's Early Peas
Pisum sativum Spanish Dwarf Peas
Pisum sativum Spanish Morotto Peas
Pisum sativum Tall Crooked Sugar Peas
Pisum sativum White Rouncival Peas
Pisum sativum Whole and Split Peas
Pisum sativum Wrench's Hotspur Peas
Plantago media Plantain
Platanus occidentalis Western Plane
Poinciana pulcherrima Barbadoes Flower-Fence
Polemonium album White Greek Valerian
Polemonium coeruleum Blue Greek Valerian
Polyanthes tuberosa Double Tuberose
Polygonum Fagopyrum Buck Wheat
Polygonum orientale Persicaria
Poterium sanguisorba Garden Burnet
Primula Auricula Auricula
Primula elatior Polyanthus
Prinos verticullatus Black Alder, Winter-Berry
Prunus Lauro-cerasus Oriental Laurel
Prunus lusitanica Portugal Laurel
Quercus Suber Cork-Tree
Ranunculus Ficaria
Ranunculus asiaticus Double Persian
Ranunculus asiaticus Ranunculus
Raphanus sativus Black Spanish Radish
Raphanus sativus Early Frame Radish
Raphanus sativus Early Short-topped Radish
Raphanus sativus London Radish
Raphanus sativus Red Spanish Radish
Raphanus sativus Red Turnep Radish
Raphanus sativus Salmon Radish
Raphanus sativus White Short-topped Radish
Raphanus sativus White Spanish Radish
Raphanus sativus White Turnep Radish
Reseda Luteola Weld, Dyer's Weed
Reseda odorata Mignonette
Rheum raphonticum True Turkey Rhubarb
Rhododendron maximum Dwarf Rose Bay
Rhus Toxicodendron vernix Poison Sumach, Varnish
Rhus typhinum Virginian Sumach
Ricinus majus Palma Christi Major
Ricinus minus Palma Christi Minor
Robinia hispida Rose Acacia
Robinia pseudo acacia Virginia Acacia
Rumex Acetosa Garden Sorrel
Rumex scutatus French Sorrel
Ruta graveolens Rue
Salvia hispanica Spanish Sage
Salvia officinalis Sage
Salvia Sclarea Clary
Salvia violacea Purple Clary
Sanguisorba officinalis Field Burnet
Saponaria officinalis plena Double Soapwort
Satureja hortensis Summer Savory
Satureja montana Winter Savory
Scabiosa alba White Sweet Scabious
Scabiosa atropurpurea Purple Sweet Scabious
Scandix cerefollum Chervil
Scorpiurus vermiculata Caterpillars
Secale cereale hybernum Winter Rye
Secale cereale vernum Spring Rye
Senecio Jacobea Double Purple Jacobea
Senecio Jacobea Double White Jacobea
Silene armeris Red Lobel's Catchfly
Silene armeris White Lobel's Catchfly
Silene quinqus vulnera Dwarf Lychnis
Sinapis alba White Mustard
Sinapis nigra Brown Mustard
Sium Skirret
Smyrnium olusatrum Alisander, Alexander
Solanum Lycopersicum Love Apple
Solanum Lycopersicum Tomatoes, Love Apples
Solanum Melongena Purple Egg Plant
Solanum Melongena White Egg Plant
Solanum pseudo capsicum Jerusalem Cherry
Solanum tuberosum Potatoes
Soldanella alpina Soldanella
Solidago canadensis Golden Rod
Spartium junceum Spanish Broom
Spartium multiflorum White Portugal Broom
Spartium scoparium Common Broon
Spinacia oleracea Berry-headed Spinach
Spinacia oleracea Bordeaux Spinach
Spinacia oleracea Prickly Spinach
Spinacia oleracea Red Leaf'd Spinach
Spinacia oleracea Spinach
Spinacia oleracea Strawberry Spinach
Spirea ulmaria Meadow Sweet
Staphylea trifoliata Bladder Nut
Syringa alba White Lilac
Syringa violacea Purple Lilac
Tagetes erecta Double Lemon African Marigold
Tagetes erecta Double Lemon Quilled Marigold
Tagetes erecta Double Orange African Marigold
Tagetes erecta Double Orange Quilled Marigold
Tagetes petula Double French Marigold
Tagetes petula Sweet Scented Marigold
Tanacetum vulgare Tansey
Thuja occidentalis American Arbor Vita, Tree
Thymus serpyllum Lemon Thyme
Thymus vulgaris Thyme
Tilia americana Linden, Lime
Tradescantia virginica Virginian Spiderwort
Tragopogon purpureum Salsafy
Triconanthus Serpent Cucumber
Trifolium purpureum Red Clover
Trifolium repens White Dutch Clover
Trigonella Foenumgraecum Fenugreek
Triticum Summer Wheat
Triticum hybernum Winter Wheat, Lamas
Tropaolum majus Large Nasturtium
Tropaolum majus Small Indian Cress,
Tropaolum minus Large Nasturtium Nasturtium
Tropaolum minus Small Nasturtium
Tsuga chinensis Chinese Arbor Vite, Tree of
Tulipa gesneriana Tulip
Ulex europaeus Furze, Whins
Urica pilulifera Roman Nettle
Vaccinium hispidulum Cranberry
Valeriana locusta olitoria Corn Salad
Valeriana rubra Red Valerian
Verbascum Blattaria Moth Mullein
Veronica virginiana Veronica, Speedwell
Vicia Faba Beans
Vicia Faba Broad Spanish Beans
Vicia Faba Dwarf Beans
Vicia Faba Early Beans
Vicia Faba Early Hotspur Beans
Vicia Faba Early Lisbon Beans
Vicia Faba Green Genoa Beans
Vicia Faba Green Nonpareil Beans
Vicia Faba Horse Beans
Vicia Faba Large Token Beans
Vicia Faba Large Windsor Beans
Vicia Faba Mumford Beans
Vicia Faba Sandwich Beans
Vicia Faba Turkey Longpod Beans
Vicia Faba White Blossom Beans
Vicia sativa Common Vetch, Tare
Viola tricolor Heart's Ease
Vitis Burgundy Vines
Vitis Cape of Good Hope Vines
Vitis Lisbon Vines
Vitis Muscat of Alexandria Vines
Vitis vinifera Vines
Xeranthernum annuus Purple Xeranthernum
Xeranthernum annuus White Xeranthernum
Zanthosilum fraxinifolium Ash-leav'd Tooth-ache
Zea Mays Indian Corn
Zea Mays minus Chicken Corn
Zinnia multiflora Red Zinnia
Zinnia pauciflora Yellow Zinnia

1764 Plants in 18C Colonial American Gardens - Virginian John Randolph (727-1784) - Water Cress

A Treatise on Gardening Written by a native of this State (Virginia)
Author was John Randolph (1727-1784)
Written in Williamsburg, Virginia about 1765
Published by T. Nicolson, Richmond, Virginia. 1793
The only known copy of this booklet is found in the Special Collections of the Wyndham Robertson Library at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia.

Cresses, Water

Cresses, Water,...grow in standing water, and may be propagated by throwing the seed in a standing water, and not cutting it the first year. From its agreeable warm taste, it is much esteemed in England, and is very good eating in Scorbutic cases, and is a great Dieuretic..

1709 Plants & Botany John Lawson's Descriptions of the Carolina's Vegetables, Fruits, & Nuts

John Lawson (1674-1711) sailed from London to the Carolinas in 1700, when he was 26 years old, after a friend told him that the Carolinas were the best part of America to visit. He set sail almost immediately arriving 1st in New York, then traveling on to the port of Charles Town, modern Charleston, in the summer of 1700. From there he began a 57 day trek that covered nearly 600 miles. They journeyed up the Santee River in a canoe large enough to hold 6 Englishmen, 4 Indians, & their equipment. They traveled up the Yadkin River valley to present-day North Carolina. All along the way, John Lawson recorded his observations in what became his 1709 book, A New Voyage to Carolina.

When he returned to London to publish his book, Lawson reportedly met James Petiver—an apothecary known for his vast collection of natural history specimens. Petiver asked Lawson to send him specimens of dried plants, after he returned to the New World. Petiver also supplied Lawson with apothecary & botanical materials. Lawson asked Petiver for varieties of grape vines & stone fruits to take back to North Carolina, as well as information on making wine & distilling spirits. 

Lawson sailed back to North Carolina in the spring of 1710, & began fulfilling his promise to Petiver. He sent packets of dried plants to him in 1710 & 1711. The plants usually reached London some 3 months after being shipped out of Norfolk, Virginia. These dried plants eventually found their way to the Natural History Museum (British Museum), where they can be viewed today. Lawson began collecting plants even as he led colonists south toward New Bern. On May 10, 1710, he collected a huckleberry & wrote this note: “The largest huckleberry... green berries on the stem... we’ve gotten in Norfolk County in Virginia.” 

The winter of 1711, Lawson left New Bern during the last week of January. On January 29 he recorded collecting a “spontaneous of Carolina growing on a Fork of Neus River & in other places... had from flowers, like drops of blood a few... sweet herb.” Two days later, he stopped at William Hancock’s “on the south side on Neus Rv.” There, he collected specimens of American olive, which he described as “a pritty tree growing on a sandy point by the water side.” 

He founded 2 settlements in North Carolina: Bath & New Bern, both at the coast. In September 1711, Lawson & his associate Christopher von Graffenried were captured by Tuscarora Indians while ascending the Neuse River. The Tuscarora released von Graffenried, but they subjected Lawson to ritual torture, typical of warriors, & killed him. Shortly thereafter, tensions between the Tuscarora & their allies & settlers erupted into a bloody conflict known as the Tuscarora War, lasting until the defeat of the Tuscarora in 1715. The colonists gathered their own American Indian allies, especially from among the Yamasee & Cherokee, traditional enemies & competitors of the Tuscarora.

The plants Lawson gathered during this trip were sent to England from Virginia in July. Lawson’s last letter to Petiver was written in July 1711 from Virginia. Petiver got the letter in London on October 20, 1711, almost exactly a month after Lawson’s death.

A New Voyage to Carolina; Containing the Exact Description and Natural History of That Country: Together with the Present State Thereof. And A Journal of a Thousand Miles, Travel'd Thro' Several Nations of Indians. Giving a Particular Account of Their Customs, Manners, &c. by John Lawson 1709

Of the Corn of Carolina.

        Wheat.
THE Wheat of this Place is very good, seldom yielding less than thirty fold, provided the Land is good where it is sown; Not but that there has been Sixty-six Increase for one measure sown in Piny-Land, which we account the meanest Sort. And I have been inform'd, by People of Credit, that Wheat which was planted in a very rich Piece of Land, brought a hundred and odd Pecks, for one. If our Planters, when they found such great Increase, would be so curious as to make nice Observations of the Soil, and other remarkable. Accidents, they would soon be acquainted with the Nature of the Earth and Climate, and be better qualified to manage their Agriculture to more Certainty, and greater Anvantage; whereby they might arrive to the Crops and Harvests of Babylon, and those other fruitful Countries so much talk'd of. For I must confess, I never saw one Acre of Land manag'd as it ought to be in Carolina, since I knew it; and were they as negligent in their Husbandry in Europe, as they are in Carolina, their Land would produce nothing but Weeds and Straw.

        Rye.
 They have try'd Rye, and it thrives very well; but having such Plenty of Maiz, they do not regard it, because it makes black Bread, unless very curiously handled.

        Barley.
 Barley has been sowed in small quantities, and does better than can be expected; because that Grain requires the Ground to be very well work'd with repeated Ploughings, which our general Way of breaking the Earth with Hoes, can, by no means, perform, tho' in several Places we have a light, rich, deep, black Mould, which is the particular Soil in which Barley best thrives.

        Oats.
The naked Oats thrive extraordinary well; and the other would prove a very bold Grain; but the Plenty of other Grains makes them not much coveted.

        Maiz.
 The Indian Corn, or Maiz, proves the most useful Grain in the World; and had it not been for the Fruitfulness of this Species, it would have proved very difficult to have settled some of the Plantations in America. It is very nourishing, whether in Bread, sodden, or otherwise; And those poor Christian Servants in Virginia, Maryland, and the other northerly Plantations, that have been forced to live wholly upon it, do manifestly prove, that it is the most nourishing Grain, for a Man to subsist on, without any other Victuals. And this Assertion is made good by the Negro-Slaves, who, in many Places, eat nothing but this Indian Corn and Salt. Pigs and Poultry fed with this Grain, eat the sweetest of all others. It refuses no Grounds, unless the barren Sands, and when planted in good Ground, will repay the Planter seven or eight hundred fold; besides the Stalks bruis'd and boil'd, make very pleasant Beer, being sweet like the Sugar-Cane.

        Rice.
There are several sorts of Rice, some bearded, others not, besides the red and white; But the white Rice is the best. Yet there is a sort of persum'd Rice in the East-Indies, which gives a curious Flavour, in the Dressing. And with this sort America is not yet acquainted; neither can I learn, that any of it has been brought over to Europe; the Rice of Carolina being esteem'd the best that comes to that Quarter of the World. It is of great Increase, yielding from eight hundred to a thousand-fold, and thrives best in wild Land, that has never been broken up before.

        Buck-Wheat.        Guinea-Wheat.
Buck-Wheat is of great Increase in Carolina; but we make no other use of it, than instead of Maiz, to feed Hogs and Poultry : And Guinea Corn, which thrives well here, serves for the same use.

        Pulse. Busshel-Bean.
Of the Pulse-kind, we have many sorts. The first is the Bushel-Bean, which is a spontaneous Product. They are so called, because they bring a Bushel of Beans for one that is planted. They are set in the Spring, round Arbours, or at the Feet of Poles, up which they will climb, and cover the Wattling, making a very pretty Shade to fit under. They continue flowering, budding, and ripening all the Summer long, till the Frost approaches, when they forbear their Fruit, and die. The Stalks they grow on, come to the Thickness of a Man's Thumb; and the Bean is white and mottled, with a purple Figure on each side it, like an Ear. They are very flat, and are eaten as the Windsor-Bean is, being an extraordinary well-relish'd Pulse, either by themselves, or with Meat.

        Indian Rouncevals.

        Pease and Beans.
We have the Indian Rounceval, or Miraculous Pease, so call'd from their long Pods, and great Increase. These are latter Pease, and require a pretty long Summer to ripen in. They are very good; and so are the Bonavis, Calavancies, Nanticokes, and abundance of other Pulse, too tedious here to name, which we found the Indians possess'd of, when first we settled in America; some of which sorts afford us two Crops in one Year; as the Bonavis and Calavancies, besides several others of that kind.

        Eng. Bean.
Now I am launch'd into a Discourse of the Pulse, I must acquaint you, that the European Bean planted here, will, in time, degenerate into a dwarfish sort, if not prevented by a yearly Supply of foreign Seed, and an extravagant rich Soil; yet these Pigmy-Beans are the sweetest of that kind I ever met withal.

        Pease.
 As for all the sorts of English Pease that we have yet made tryal of, they thrive very well in Carolina. Particularly, the white and gray Rouncival, the common Field-Pease, and Sickle-Pease yield very well, and are of a good Relish. As for the other sorts, I have not seen any made tryal of as yet, but question not their coming to great Perfection with us.

        Kidney-Bean.
The Kidney-Beans were here before the English came, being very plentiful in the Indian Corn-Fields.

        Roots.
The Garden-Roots that thrive well in Carolina, are Carrots, Leeks, Parsnips, Turneps, Potatoes, of several delicate sorts, Ground Artichokes, Radishes, Horse-Radish, Beet, both sorts, Onions, Shallot, Garlick, Cives, and the Wild-Onions.

        Sallads.
The Sallads are the Lettice, Curl'd, Red, Cabbage, and Savoy. The Spinage round and prickly, Fennel, sweet and the common Sort, Samphire in the Marshes excellent, so is the Dock or Wild-Rhubarb, Rocket, Sorrel, French and English, Cresses of several Sorts, Purslain wild, and that of a larger Size which grows in the Gardens; for this Plant is never met withal in the Indian Plantations, and is, therefore, suppos'd to proceed from Cow-Dung, which Beast they keep not. Parsley two Sorts; Asparagus thrives to a Miracle, without hot Beds or dunging the Land, White-Cabbage from European or New-England Seed, for the People are negligent and unskilful, and don't take care to provide Seed of their own. The Colly-Flower we have not yet had an Opportunity to make Tryal of, nor has the Artichoke ever appear'd amongst us, that I can learn. Coleworts plain and curl'd, Savoys; besides the Water-Melons of several Sorts, very good; which should have gone amongst the Fruits. Of Musk-Melons we have very large and good, and several Sorts, as the Golden, Green, Guinea, and Orange. Cucumbers long, short, and prickly, all these from the Natural Ground, and great Increase, without any Helps of Dung or Reflection. Pompions yellow and very large, Burmillions, Cashaws, an excellent Fruit boil'd; Squashes, Simnals, Horns, and Gourds; besides many other Species, of less Value, too tedious to name.

Fruits & Nuts
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

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. Eating Peaches in our Orchards makes them come up so thick from the Kernel, that we are forced to take a great deal of Care to weed them out; otherwise they make our Land a Wilderness of Peach-Trees.
They generally bear so full, that they break great part of their Limbs down. We have likewise very fair Nectarines, especially the red, that clings to the Stone, the other yellow Fruit, that leaves the Stone; of the last, I have a Tree, that, most Years, brings me fifteen or twenty Bushels. I see no Foreign Fruit like this, for thriving in all sorts of Land, and bearing its Fruit to Admiration. I want to be satisfy'd about one sort of this Fruit, which the Indians claim as their own, and affirm, they had it growing amongst them, before any Europeans came to America. The Fruit I will describe, as exactly as I can. The Tree grows very large, most commonly as big as a handsome Apple-tree; the Flowers are of a reddish, murrey Colour; the Fruit is rather more downy, than the yellow Peach, and commonly very large and soft, being very full of Juice. They part freely from the Stone, and the Stone is much thicker than all the other Peach Stones we have, which seems to me, that it is a Spontaneous Fruit of America; yet in those Parts of America that we inhabit, I never could hear that any Peach-Trees were ever found growing in the Woods; neither have the foreign Indians, that live remote from the English, any other sort. And those living amongst us have a hundred of this sort for one other; they are a hardy Fruit, and are seldom damaged by the North-East Blasts, as others are. Of this sort we make Vinegar; wherefore we call them Vinegar-Peaches, and sometimes Indian-Peaches.

        Apricock.
This Tree grows to a vast Bigness, exceeding most Apple-Trees. They bear well, tho' sometimes an early Spring comes on in February, and perhaps, when the Tree is fully blown the Cloudy North-East-Winds which attend the end of, that Month, or the beginning of March, destroy most of the Fruit. The biggest Apricock-Tree I ever saw, as they told me, was grafted on a Peach-Stock, in the Ground. I know of no other sort with us, than the Common. We generally raise this Fruit from the Stone, which never fails to bring the same Fruit. Likewise our Peach-Stones effect the same, without so much as once missing, to produce the same sort that the Stone came from.

 Damson, Damazeen, and a large round black Plum are all I have met withal in Carolina. They thrive well enough; the last to Admiration, and becomes a very large Tree, if in stiff Ground; otherwise they will not do well.

        Figs.
 Of Figs we have two sorts; One is the low Bush-Fig, which bears a large Fruit. If the Winter happens to have much Frost, the tops thereof die, and in the Spring sprout again, and bear two or three good Crops.
The Tree-Fig is a lesser Fig, though very sweet. The Tree grows to a large Body and Shade, and generally brings a good Burden; especially, if in light Land. This Tree thrives no where better, than on the Sand-Banks by the Sea.

        Cherries.
We have the common red and black Cherry, which bear well. I never saw any grafted in this Country, the common excepted, which was grafted on an Indian Plum-stock, and bore well. This is a good way, because our common Cherry-Trees are very apt to put Scions all round the Tree, for a great Distance, which must needs be prejudicial to the Tree and Fruit. Not only our Cherries are apt to do so, but our Apples and most other Fruit-Trees, which may chiefly be imputed to the Negligence and Unskilfulness of the Gardener. Our Cherries are ripe a Month sooner than in Virginia.

        Goosberry.
Goosberries I have seen of the smaller sort, but find they do not do so well as in England, and to the Northward. Want of Dressing may be some Reason for this.

        Currants.
Currants, White, Red, and Black, thrive here, as well as any where.

        Rasps.
Rasberries, the red and white, I never saw any Trial made of. But there is no doubt of their thriving to Admiration, since those of the Country do so well.

        Mulberry.
The Mulberries are spontaneous. We have no others, than what I have already mentioned in the Class of Natural Fruits of Carolina.

        Barberry.
Barberry red, with Stones, and without Stones, grow here.

        Strawberry.
 Strawberries, not Foreign, but those of the Country, grow here in great Plenty. Last April I planted a Bed of two hunded Foot in Length, which bore the same Year.

        Medlar.
 Medlars we have none.

        Walnut.
All sorts of Walnuts from England, France, and Maderas, thrive well from the Nut.

        Filbert.
No Filberts, but Hazle-Nuts; the Filbert-Nut planted, becomes a good Hazle-Nut, and no better.

        Vines.
As for that noble Vegetable the Vine, without doubt, it may (in this Country) be improved, and brought to the fame Perfection, as it is, at this Day, in the fame Latitude in Europe, since the chiefest part of this Country is a deep, rich, black Mould, which is up towards the Freshes and Heads of our Rivers, being very rich and mix'd with Flint, Pebbles, and other Stones. And this sort of Soil is approv'd of (by all knowing Gardeners and Vigneroons) as a proper Earth, in which the Grape chiefly delights; and what seems to give a farther Confirmation hereof, is, that the largest Vines, that were every discover'd to grow wild, are found in those Parts, oftentimes in such Plenty, and are so interwoven with one another, that 'tis impossible to pass through them. Moreover, in these Freshes, towards the Hills, the Vines are above five times bigger than those generally with us, who are seated in the Front-parts of this Country, adjoining to the Salts. Of the wild Vines, which are most of them great Bearers, some Wine has been made, which I drank of. It was very strong and well relisht; but what detains them all from offering at great quantities, they add, that this Grape has a large Stone, and a thick Skin, and consequently yields but a small Quantity of Wine. Some Essays of this Nature have been made by that Honourable Knight, Sir Nathanael Johnson, in South Carolina, who, as I am inform'd, has rejected all Exotick Vines, and makes his Wine from the natural black Grape of Carolina, by grafting it upon its own Stock. What Improvement this may arrive to, I cannot tell; but in other Species, I own Grafting and Imbudding yields speedy Fruit, tho' I never found that it made them better.

 New planted Colonies are generally attended with a Force and Necessity of Planting the known and approved Staple and Product of the Country, as well as all the Provisions their Families spend. Therefore we can entertain but small hopes of the Improvement of the Vine, till some skilful in dressing Vines shall appear amongst us, and go about it, with a Resolution, that Ordering the Vineyard shall be one half of their Employment. If this be begun and carried on, with that Assiduity and Resolution which it requires, then we may reasonably hope to see this a Wine-Country; for then, when it becomes a general Undertaking, every one will be capable to add something to the common Stock, of that which he has gain'd by his own Experience. This way would soon make the Burden light, and a great many short and exacter Curiosities, and real Truths would be found out in a short time. The trimming of Vines, as they do in France, that is, to a Stump, must either here be not follow'd, or we are not sensible of the exact time, when they ought to be thus pruned; for Experience has taught us, that the European Grape, suffer'd to run and expand itself at large, has been found to bear as well in America, as it does in Europe; when, at the same time, the same sort of Vine trimm'd to a Stump, as before spoken of, has born a poor Crop for one Year or two; and by its spilling, after cutting, emaciated, and in three or four Years, died. This Experiment, I believe, has never fail'd; for I have trimm'd the natural Vine the French way, which has been attended, at last, with the same Fate. Wherefore, it seems most expedient, to leave the Vines more Branches here, than in Europe, or let them run up Trees, as some do, in Lombardy, upon Elms. The Mulberries and Chinkapin are tough, and trimm'd to what you please, therefore fit Supporters of the Vines. Gelding and plucking away the Leaves, to hasten the ripening of this Fruit, may not be unnecessary, yet we see the natural wild Grape generally ripens in the Shade. Nature in this, and many others, may prove a sure Guide. The Twisting of the Stems to make the Grapes ripe together, loses no Juice, and may be beneficial, if done in Season. A very ingenious French Gentleman, and another from Switzerland, with whom I frequently converse, exclaim against that strict cutting of Vines, the generally approved Method of France and Germany, and say, that they were both out in their Judgment, till of late, Experience has taught them otherwise. Moreover, the French in North Carolina assure me, that if we should trim our Apple and other Fruit-Trees, as they do in Europe, we should spoil them. As for Apples and Plums, I have found by Experience, what they affirm to be true. The French, from the Mannakin Town on the Freshes of James River in Virginia, had, for the most part, removed themselves to Carolina, to live there, before I came away; and the rest were following, as their Minister, (Monsieur Philip de Rixbourg) told me, who was at Bath-Town, when I was taking my leave of my Friends. He assur'd me, that their Intent was to propagate Vines, as far as their present Circumstances would permit; provided they could get any Slips of Vines, that would do. At the same time, I had gotten some Grape-Seed, which was of the Jesuits white Grape from Madera. The Seed came up very plentifully, and, I hope, will not degenerate, which if it happens not to do, the Seed may prove the best way to raise a Vineyard, as certainly it is most easy for Transportation. Yet I reckon we should have our Seed from a Country, where the Grape arrives to the utmost Perfection of Ripeness.