Women Sail to 13 British American Colonies

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Women's Work from Garden to Table - Sweet Potato Squash

Upper Ground Sweet Potato Squash (Cucurbita moschata cv.)

This rare heirloom is a rugged variety that is tolerant of hot, dry weather, rendering it especially well-suited to the South. The vines are vigorous, with large, dark, metallic green-striped leaves, and it produces an abundance of medium-large, round-to-bell-shaped, tan-skinned fruit and moist orange flesh that resembles that of the sweet potato, hence the name.

In 1790, Jefferson sent to Samuel Vaughan Jr. seed of a melon species resembling a pumpkin and tasting like the sweet potato, calling it “potateo-pumpkin.” The Upper Ground Sweet Potato Winter Squash can weigh up to 20 pounds when ripe.

Chronological Quotes: Upper Ground Sweet Potato Squash (1600–1825)

Abbé Robin’s Account of America (1780s)

I was served a kind of gourd, resembling the sweet taste of batatas, though it was indeed a form of pumpkin, as the host said

This French visitor to Revolutionary-era Virginia likely encountered the sweet potato pumpkin cultivated by American colonists in the South for its dense, orange, sweet flesh

Source: Robin, J.F. (1782), New Travels in America – https://archive.org/details/newtravelsinamer00robi/page/n5

Thomas Jefferson to Samuel Vaughan Jr. (1790)

I send you seeds of a kind of melon which is much cultivated here, and which we call the ‘potateo-pumpkin,’ as it tastes like the sweet potato and has the form of a pumpkin

Jefferson’s seed exchange clearly names the cultivar and confirms its valued role at Monticello, reflecting its adaptation to Southern climates

Source: Founders Online – https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson

William Bartram, Travels through North and South Carolina (1791)

The natives grow divers varieties of squash and pumpkin, one especially sweet and of deep orange flesh, almost akin to the batata

Bartram describes Indigenous cultivation of Cucurbita moschata-like squashes that early colonists would have adopted and rebranded under various names including potato pumpkin

Source: Bartram, W. (1791), Travels – https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/51233

Bernard McMahon’s The American Gardener’s Calendar (1806)

In the South, plant pumpkin or squash varieties known for their drought resistance and sweet, orange flesh, especially after the last frost

While not naming it directly, McMahon’s description fits what we now know as Upper Ground Sweet Potato Squash, indicating its place in Southern horticulture

Source: McMahon, B. (1806), The American Gardener’s Calendar, Philadelphia

American Farmer Journal (1823), John S. Skinner

Among the rustic vegetables best suited for the Southern plantations is the ‘sweet-potato pumpkin,’ noted for its deep-colored flesh and hardy vine

This agricultural journal documents the crop’s identity under its colonial nickname in a practical context for plantation farmers

Source: https://books.google.com/books?id=VjNZoMeZfqkC

Contribución de plantas nativas a la seguridad alimentaria... (1824)

While this 1824 source discusses native plant nutrition in Guatemala, it makes general reference to sweet-fleshed squashes, though it falls outside the U.S. colonial/American context and likely refers to related cultivars used by Indigenous Mesoamerican communities

Source: https://publications.iadb.org/publications/spanish/document/Contribuci%C3%B3n_de_plantas_nativas_a_la_seguridad_alimentaria_en_comunidades_mayas_de_Guatemala.pdf

For more information & the possible availability for purchase

Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello

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

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

Monday, October 4, 2021

Gardening Books owned by Tho Jefferson (1743-1824)

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

Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), Virginia lawyer, diplomat, & statesman. Author of the Declaration of American Independence; of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom; & Father of the University of Virginia. First American Secretary of State, & 3rd president of the United States.

Thomas Jefferson was a lifelong, insatiable collector of books. From his book lists & correspondence, scholars know that he had the following book collections. Of these, only the books sold to Congress (section d below) are currently represented in this listing of landscape, garden, & farming books.

Shadwell Library (1757 to 1770)

Jefferson inherited his first library from his father, Peter Jefferson, when the latter died in 1757. On 1 February 1770, a fire destroyed almost all of the books in Jefferson’s home at Shadwell.

Monticello Library Eventually Sold to Congress in 1815

(circa 1770s to 1815)

Jefferson’s second library & his largest is the book collection he began at Monticello following the fire at Shadwell. Following the Shadwell fire on 1 February 1770, Jefferson wasted no time in replacing the library he lost. In his letter to Robert Skipwith dated 3 August 1771, Jefferson invites Skipwith to the “new Rowanty,” evidently a reference to Monticello, his own "mountain of the world," or "Rowandiz, the Accadian Olympos," & to his library there. Within this 2nd library collection, scholars identify the following sub-collections:

March 1783 Library Reconstructed (circa 1770s to 6 March 1783)

By 4 August 1773, Jefferson notes in his Memorandum Books a count of 1,256 volumes in his library at Monticello. In 1784 as he left America to take up his appointment by Congress as minister plenipotentiary to France, he may have had with him a catalog of the books he owned, along with titles he wished to acquire abroad. Earlier the previous year in Philadelphia, he had noted on page 5 of this catalog a count of 2,640 volumes as of 6 March 1783. He also states that he had placed a checkmark before each title he owned, & that unmarked titles indicate books that he hoped to acquire. Using this specific notation recorded by Jefferson himself in his 1783 Catalog, scholar Thomas Baughn has reconstructed a list of books that Jefferson owned as of this date. A list of this March 1783 Library Reconstructed library is available online.

Books Acquired While in Europe (1784 to 1789)

During his appointment as minister plenipotentiary & later minister to France from 1784 to 1789, Jefferson purchased some 2,000 volumes. Before he returned to America in 1789, he compiled a separate list of the books he acquired while abroad. This 1789 Catalog is a 50-page unbound manuscript in Jefferson’s own hand & is today at the Massachusetts Historical Society. The manuscript pages have been digitized by the Society & are available online. A transcription of this manuscript made by Thomas Baughn is available online.

1783 Catalog (circa 1770s to 1812)

The 1783 Catalog manuscript, a 246-page bound manuscript in Jefferson’s hand, is believed to be a record of his library following the Shadwell fire in 1770. In 1812, when this catalogue became crammed with interlineations, erasures, & marginal insertions, Jefferson made a fair copy of this catalogue, that he probably maintained for his offer to sell his library to Congress in 1814. The 1783 Catalog is today at the Massachusetts Historical Society, available online. A transcription of this manuscript made by Thomas Baughn is available online.

Books Sold to Congress (1815)

When the invading British army burned the congressional library in Washington, D.C. in 1814, an outraged Jefferson promptly offered his own library of 6,700 volumes to Congress to replace the one that was lost. A 5-volume work, The Catalogue of the Library of Thomas Jefferson, was published between 1952 & 1959. This is available online online through the Library of Congress; a transcribed electronic version of Sowerby's catalogue is available online. There is a 2nd manuscript associated with the books Jefferson sold to Congress. In 1823 Jefferson commissioned Nicholas Philip Trist, the young man who would eventually become Jefferson’s private secretary & his grandson-in-law, to recreate a list of the books sold to Congress. This 113-page Trist Catalogue manuscript was rediscovered at the Library of Congress, available online.

Retirement Library (1815 to 1826)

Following the 1815 sale of the bulk of his library to Congress, Jefferson continued to acquire books. The Retirement Library Catalogue in Jefferson’s own hand constituted his 3rd & final library at Monticello. The 83-page bound manuscript is at the Library of Congress, & is available online. After Jefferson died in 1826, his library at Monticello was sold at auction through auctioneer, Nathaniel P. Poor, in 1829 in Washington, D.C. The printed Poor Catalogue is available online.

Poplar Forest Library (1811 to 1826)

After Jefferson’s retirement from public office in 1809, he also maintained a library at his Poplar Forest retreat in Bedford County from around 1811. At his death, his books were inherited by his grandson, Francis Eppes, who offered them up for sale in 1873. There is no separate sale catalogue for this library, except for the portion that was listed in the 1873 auction catalogue of George A. Leavitt, published in New York City. The Leavitt Catalogue was transcribed by John R. Barden in 1999, & edited by Thomas Baughn.

Thomas Jefferson by John Trumbull (1756-1843). Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc., Monticello, Virginia.

For more information, go to the Thomas Jefferson's Libraries website at Monticello. See also the Library of Congress' interactive exhibit, Thomas Jefferson's Library.

Jefferson's Books on Landscape, Garden, & Farm

Abercrombie, John Every man his own gardener Being a new, and much more complete, gardener's kalendar than any one hitherto published 1767

Abercrombie, John The gardener's pocket dictionary ; or, a systematic arrangement of trees, shrubs, herbs, flowers and fruits 1786

Agricola, Georg Andreas The experimental husbandman and gardener: containing a new method of improving estates and gardens 1726

Ambler, Jacquelin A treatise on the culture of lucerne 1800

Baird, Thomas General view of the agriculture of the County of Middlesex 1793

Bakewell, Robert Observations on the influence of soil and climate upon wool 1808

Baildon, Joseph The laurel. a new collection of English songs and cantatas : sung by Mr. Lowe and Miss Falkner at Vaux-Hall and Marybon-Gardens / Book II

Belsches, R. General view of the agriculture of the county of Stirling 1796

Billingsley, John General view of the agriculture in the county of Somerset 1794

Binns, John Alexander A treatise on practical farming; embracing particularly the following subjects, viz. the use of plaister of Paris 1803

Bordley, John Beale Sketches on rotations of crops, and other rural matters, To which are annexed Intimations on manufactures 1797

Bordley, John Beale Essays and notes on husbandry and rural affairs 1799

Bordley, John Beale Sketches on rotations of crops, and other rural matters

Bordley, John Beale Outlines of a plan, for establishing a state society of agriculture in Pennsylvania 1794

Bordley, John Beale Country habitations 1798

Bordley, John Beale Husbandry, dependant on Live Stock 1799

Bordley, John Beale Hemp 1799

Bradley, Richard New improvements of planting and gardening : both philosophical and practical 1726

Bradley, Richard A General treatise of husbandry and gardening 1724

Bradley, Richard Ten practical discourses concerning the four elements, as they relate to the growth of plants 1733

Richard Bradley Dictionarium botanicum: or, A botanical dictionary for the use of the curious in husbandry and gardening

Chambers, Sir William Plans, elevations, sections, and perspective views of the gardens and buildings at Kew, in Surry 1763

Chambers, Sir William Designs of Chinese buildings, furniture, dresses, machines and utensils, engraved by the best hands, from the originals drawn in China

Cointeraux, François École d'architecture rurale

Custis, George Washington Parke An address to the people of the United States, on the importance of encouraging agriculture & domestic manufactures 1808

Darwin, Erasmus The botanic garden : a poem, in two parts. With philosophical notes.

Daubenton, Louis Jean Marie Advice to shepherds and owners of flocks on the care and management of sheep 1810

Dezallier d'Argentville, Antoine Joseph The theory and practice of gardening 1728

Dickson, Adam The husbandry of the ancients 1788

Donaldson, James General view of the agriculture of the county of Northampton 1794

Erskine, John Francis General view of the agriculture of the county of Clackmannan 1795

Errard, Charles Parallele de l'architecture antique avec la moderne, suivant les dix principaux auteurs qui ont écrit des cinq ordres

Evelyn, John Terra: a philosophical discourse of earth 1787

Evelyn, John Sylva, or, A discourse of forest-trees, and the propagation of timber in His Majesties dominions 1664

Fordyce, George Elements of agriculture and vegetation 1771

Forsyth, William A treatise on the culture and management of fruit-trees 1802

Gardiner, John The American gardener: containing ample directions for working a kitchen garden, every month in the year 1804

Gentil, François Le jardinier solitaire, ou, Dialogues entre un

curieux & un jardinier solitaire

Haines, Charles Considerations on the great western canal, from the Hudson to Lake Erie : with a view of its expence, advantages, and progress. Re-published by order of the New-York Corresponding Association, for the promotion of internal improvements

Hale, Thomas A compleat body of husbandry 1758

Hales, Stephen Statical essays; containing Vegetable Staticks 1738

Heely, Joseph Letters on the beauties of Hagley, Envil, and the Leasowes 1777

Heron, Henry A collection of songs. sung at Marybone Gardens by Miss Thomas / Book V and A collection of songs. sung at Marybone Gardens by Mr. Rennoldson / Book IV

Hepburn, Sir George Buchan General view of the agriculture and rural economy of East Lothian 1794

Home, Francis The principles of agriculture and vegetation 1762

Home, Lord Kames, Henry The gentleman farmer 1779

Jacob, Giles The country gentleman's vade mecum 1717

Kirwan, Richard The manures most advantageously applicable to the various sorts of soils, and the causes of their beneficial effect 1796

Langley, Batty Pomona: or, the Fruit-Garden Illustrated 1729

Langley, Batty Practical geometry applied to the useful arts of building surveying, gardening, and mensuration

Lastri, Marco Antonio Corso di agricoltura di un accademico georgofilo autore della Biblioteca georgica

Livingston, Robert R. Essay on sheep; their varieties--account of the merinoes of Spain, France &c 1809

Logan, George Fourteen agricultural experiments, to ascertain the best rotation of crops 1797

Logan, George A letter to the citizens of Pennsylvania, on the necessity of promoting agriculture, manufactures & the useful arts 1800

M'Mahon, Bernard The American gardener's calendar; adapted to the climates and seasons of the United States 1806

Main, Thomas Directions for the transplantation and management of young thorn or other hedge plants 1807

Miller, Philip The gardeners kalendar ; directing what works are necessary to be performed every month 1765

Miller, Philip The gardener's dictionary : containing the best and newest methods of cultivating 1768

Miller, Philip Dictionnaire des jardiniers, contenant les méthodes les plus sûres et les plus modernes pour cultiver et améliorer les jardins potagers, à fruits, à fleurs et les pépinières, ainsi que pour réformer les anciennes pratiques d'agriculture; avec des moyens nouveaux de faire et conserver le vin, suivant les procédés actuellement en usage parmi les vignerons les plus instruits de plusieurs pays de l'Europe...

Moore, Thomas The great error of American agriculture exposed : and hints for improvement suggested 1801

Mortimer, John The whole art of husbandry: or, The way of managing and improving of land 1721

Naismith, John Observations on the different breeds of sheep and the state of sheep farming, in the southern districts of Scotland 1795

Parkinson, Richard The experienced farmer 1799

Parry, R. Particulars of the breeding stock, late the property of Mr. Robert Fowler, of Little Rollright 1791

Pearce, William General view of the agriculture in Berkshire 1794

Pelloutier, Simon Histoire des Celtes : et particulierment des Gaulois et des Germains, depuis les tems fabuleux, jusqu'à la prise de Rome par les Gaulois

Peters, Richard Agricultural enquiries on plaister of Paris, also, facts, observations, and conjectures on that substance 1797

Pitt, William General view of the agriculture of the county of Stafford 1794

Randolph, John A treatise on gardening 1793

Reed, Joseph Lyric harmony : consisting of eighteen entire new ballads with Colin and Phaebe, in score : as perform'd at Vaux Hall Gardens by Mrs. Arne and Mr. Lowe : opera quarta by Thomas Augustine Arne Madrigal and Trulletta. A mock-tragedy. Acted (under the direction of Mr. Cibber) at the Theatre-Royal in Covent-Garden. With notes by the author, and Dr. Humbug, critick and censor-general

Roscoe, William An address delivered before the proprietors of the botanic garden in Liverpool previous to opening the garden, May

Seeley, Benton Stowe : a description of the magnificent house and gardens of the Right Honourable Richard Grenville Temple 1783

Spurrier, John The practical farmer: being a new and compendious system of husbandry 1793

Stone, Thomas General view of the agriculture of the county of Huntingdon 1793

Strickland, Sir William Observations on the agriculture of the United States of America 1801

Taylor, John Arator; being a series of agricultural essays 1813

Trinci, Cosimo L'agricoltore sperimentato, ovvero, Regole generali sopra l'agricoltura

Ure, David General view of the agriculture of the County of Kinross 1797

Vancouver, Charles General view of the agriculture in the county of Essex 1795

Whately, Thomas Observations on modern gardening 1770

Young, Arthur Rural oeconomy, or, Essays on the practical parts of husbandry 1773

Young, Arthur Proceedings of His Majesty's most honourable Privy council, and information received, respecting an insect 1789

Young, Arthur The farmer's guide in hiring and stocking farms 1771

Young, Arthur Travels during the years 1787, 1788 and 1789 1793

The Anglo-Saxon version, from the historian Orosius / by Ælfred the Great ; together with an English translation from the Anglo-Saxon by Paulus Orosius

The general history of Polybius / translated from the Greek by Mr. Hampton by Polybius

For more Legacy Libraries go to Library Thing.

Saturday, October 2, 2021

Seeds & Plants - History Blooms at Monticello - Virginia Sweetspire

Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica)

This handsome North American species is native from New Jersey south to Florida and Louisiana. It was introduced into cultivation in 1744 and was listed in Philadelphia nurseryman John Bartram’s catalogue of 1783.

Three years later, Jefferson, who was living in Paris at the time, requested Itea from both John Bartram, Jr. and Richard Cary of Virginia. Jefferson also included Itea virginica in his book, Notes on the State of Virginia. Its outstanding fall color is its greatest attribute, and a cultivar, ‘Henry’s Garnet’, received the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s award of merit.

Chronological Quotes

: Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica) | 1744–1787

1744 – Earliest Cultivation in Colonial America

“Itea virginica was first introduced into cultivation in 1744, likely by botanists exploring the southeastern colonies, such as John Clayton and John Bartram.”

Though the precise record of introduction is indirect, this date appears in major botanical sources and signifies early colonial adoption of this native shrub.

Grimshaw, J. (1998). New Trees. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

1783 – Bartram’s Plant Catalogue

“Itea virginica” appeared in the plant catalogue issued by John Bartram, Jr. (1743–1812), a Philadelphia nurseryman and son of famed botanist John Bartram, Sr. (1699–1777). The Bartrams were foundational to early American botany and plant exportation to Europe.

Bartram’s listing confirms the commercial availability and cultural recognition of this native species among early American horticulturists.

4 May 1786 – Jefferson’s Letter to Richard Cary

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), then Minister to France, wrote from Paris to Richard Cary (1739–1789) of Warwick County, Virginia, a Revolutionary patriot, member of the Committee of Safety, and Judge of the Admiralty Court.

“Knowing your fondness for Botany, and meeting with a new edition of Linnaeus’s Systema Vegetabilium in English... I procured one for you... I saw in the hands of Mr. Mazzei a list of flower roots and seeds which you had desired him to send you... Should you hereafter have any other wishes in this line you cannot oblige me more than by communicating them to me.”

This letter reveals Cary as both a scientific correspondent and a potential supplier of Itea virginica, reflecting Jefferson’s efforts to bridge colonial flora with European botanical circles.

1786 – Jefferson Requests Itea from John Bartram Jr.

In parallel, Jefferson also wrote to John Bartram, Jr., requesting native plants to be sent to him in Paris.

“I shall be much obliged to you to send me the following plants... Itea virginica among them. I mean to cultivate them in pots or boxes to preserve them for shipment.”

This marks a direct mention of Itea virginica as part of Jefferson’s botanical diplomacy.

1787 – Jefferson Includes Itea in Notes on the State of Virginia

Jefferson mentions the species in Notes on the State of Virginia, the first American book of natural history and science.

“Among the shrubs, we have the kalmia angustifolia, andromeda mariana, itea virginica, vaccinium arboreum...”

Here, he places Itea virginica among the most notable shrubs native to Virginia, cementing its place in early American botanical documentation.

Biographical Notes

Richard Cary (1739–1789)

A patriot and statesman from Warwick County, Virginia, Cary served in the Virginia militia during the Revolution, was a signatory to the Association of 1774, a member of the Committee of Safety, a delegate to the 1776 Virginia Convention, and Judge of the Admiralty Court. Jefferson considered him a trusted friend and botanical correspondent.

Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage Book, Entry A020257

John Bartram Sr. (1699–1777)

Celebrated as “the father of American botany,” he founded the first botanical garden in North America and corresponded with European naturalists like Linnaeus and Collinson.

John Bartram Jr. (1743–1812)

Nurseryman and plant exporter, he managed Bartram’s Garden in Philadelphia and played a vital role in distributing American native plants abroad.

For more information & the possible availability for purchase

Contact The Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants or The Shop at Monticello

Sunday, March 7, 2021

Seeds & Plants - Jefferson's "Belles of the Day" at Monticello - Bulbs in the Garden

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

Thomas Jefferson's "Belles of the Day" at Monticello

". . . the flowers come forth like the belles of the day, have their short reign of beauty and splendour, and retire, like them, to the more interesting office of reproducing their like. The Hyacinths and Tulips are off the stage, the Irises are giving place to the Belladonnas, as these will to the Tuberoses, etc. ... - Jefferson to Anne Cary Bankhead. Monticello. May 26, 1811

Thomas Jefferson wrote this often-quoted passage to his granddaughter as a means of instructing her on the ephemeral nature of beauty, the normal transitions in life, and the inevitable passage of time. That he used flowering bulbs as his metaphor is fitting. Jefferson often looked to the natural world for descriptive inspiration, and bulbs by comparison, through their unfolding transformations, compress the stages of a human lifetime into a single season.

Bulbs -- often called bulbous or flowering roots in the 18th century -- were common in American gardens by Jefferson's day. Their light-weight, easy portability during dormancy, as well as their ability to be shipped dry, were key factors in their dissemination. Because they could be layered into boxes, wrapped in pouches, stuffed in satchels, and tucked in pockets, they were ideally suited for the vagaries of transcontinental and transatlantic voyages. They were, undoubtedly, flowers that caught Jefferson's attention early on. The very first entry in his Garden Book, a diary of gardening activities kept for nearly sixty years, reads: "Purple hyacinth begins to bloom." This observation -- made on March 30th, 1766 -- was followed a week later with "Narcissus and Puckoon open." By the next year Jefferson, ever the scientist, began charting the regularity of their blooming periods, noting that both the hyacinth and narcissus were flowering on March 23rd, a full week earlier. Bulbs were the primary focus in his "Calendar of the bloom of flowers in 1782," where he, in a sense, graphically portrays the passage he later wrote to his granddaughter by showing the overlapping sequence of blossoms from the narcissus, jonquils, and hyacinths of March and April to the anemones, ranunculus, and tulips of May and on to the lilies of June.

Jefferson rarely specified beyond the genus of his bulbs, offering few clues as to the dozens of varieties or cultivars he might have grown. Yet, there is evidence of the sophistication of his taste and the tastes of the times. For example, Jefferson often sought the more highly developed florist types of flowers. He consistently ordered the double forms of anemones, Persian Ranunculus, and tuberose and, while in Paris in 1786, he sent double tulip bulbs to Francis Eppes at Monticello. He listed double hyacinths in separate colors of pink, yellow, white, blue, and red, and, in 1812, he received from Philadelphia nurseryman Bernard McMahon "3 Double blue Hyacinths, named Alamode by the Dutch, remarkably early & proper for forcing." Today, double hyacinths are rare commercially and very expensive. Likewise, his "1 Root silver striped Crown Imperial,"(Fritillaria imperialis) is now virtually a museum piece nurtured in Dutch botanical gardens.

If frequency is an indicator of preference, then the tulip, which is mentioned more than any other flower in the Garden Book, should be considered Jefferson's all time favorite. Jefferson was not unique in this, even in America. In the 1730s Williamsburg's John Custis received "Double Tulips" and "early tulips" from his mentor Peter Collinson of London, and a portrait of Custis clearly shows him holding a well-worn book with the words "of the Tulip" legible on its spine and a streaked tulip blossom beside it. Tulipomanea, a 17th-century European tulip "fever" where fortunes could be made or lost through the purchase of a single bulb, had long subsided from its peak in the 1630s. Yet, tulips retained universal appeal and remained the intense focus of florists well into the 19th century. Again, thanks to the discriminating Bernard McMahon, Jefferson was receiving some choice forms by 1806, when a shipment included such classics as: Bizarre (mustard yellow flowers marked red or brownish-black), Bybloemen (white ground marked deep rich purple), and Rose (white feathered with red or rose markings). Also in the package were the Baguet Rigauts and Primo Baguets, which had rosy-purple or brownish-red markings on a white ground with pure white bases. According to Anna Pavord, in The Tulip: The Story of a Flower that has Made Men Mad, the Baguets, a Flemish specialty, were amongst the most sought-after tulips of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. They were wide-cupped, round-petalled flowers, said to be capable of holding "a pint of wine" in their blossoms. While we can be impressed with Jefferson's florist tulips, the major caveat of these types was that they were not really meant for the garden. Pavord stresses that they were aristocrats, meant to be cosseted, covered, and protected from harm. Better suited for the garden were the "2 Roots Parrot Tulips ... red, green and yellow mixed" sent by McMahon in 1812.

When Jefferson divided his winding flower walk on the West Lawn into 10-foot compartments in 1812, bulbs were a major consideration in the planting scheme. Each of the 87 beds (43 on the North side and 44 on the South) were numbered such that: "the odd compartments are for bulbs requird. taking up the even ones for seeds & permanent bulbs." Thus, Jefferson tried to insure that each type of bulb would be cared for appropriately, and obvious perennials like daffodils would be left undisturbed. Bulbs were precious things then. Unlike today, they could not be replaced readily, and they required proper storage and cultural attention in order to multiply. An exchange between Jefferson and his daughter Martha in 1816 clearly reveals this arduous process. Jefferson, writing from his occasional retreat, Poplar Forest, on November 10th, asked that his faithful gardener, Wormley, bring "some of the hardy bulbous roots" divided from the Monticello collection: "... daffodils, jonquils, Narcissuses, flags & lillies of different kinds, refuse hyacinths &c. ...." Ten days later Martha responded that it was already too late to send all that he listed because the roots were actively growing, but she sent instead "... a number of offsets of tulips and hyacinths ... the smaller ones are not blooming roots yet, but will be in a year or 2. the tulips & hyacinths are mixed but Cornelia knows them all ...." The waiting was always part of the experience.

This leads to the natural question: what did beds of flowering bulbs really look like in early American gardens? Of all modern-day attempts to recreate 18th- and 19th-century flower plantings, the ubiquitous bulb display, featuring thousands of uniformly spaced blossoms, is probably the most misleading. Jefferson's modest planting of 50 ranunculus, 24 anemones, 27 hyacinths, and 20 tulips in 1807, for example, would seem starkly weak in comparison, especially when considering Ann Cary Randolph's appraisal of the borders in March of the following year. She reported to her grandfather, who was still serving as President, that all the bulbs were "coming up very well particularly the tulips of which he [Burwell] counted at least forty flourishing ones." By April 15th, 1808, she further observed that "neither the hyacinths nor Tulips grow as regularly this spring as they did the last. Wormley in taking them up left some small roots in the ground which have come up about in the bed & not in the rows with the other."

Jefferson's interest in bulbs extended to native sorts, as well. Like his contemporary, Jean Skipwith of Prestwould Plantation in south central Virginia, Jefferson grew the spectacular American Turk's Cap or Spotted Canada Martagon (Lilium superbum), received from McMahon in 1812. Because Jefferson pre-dated the great wave of Japanese introductions by about fifty years, nursery lists such as McMahon's offered a combination of North American and European species. Thus, the "various sorts of lillies" he ordered included not only the European Turk's Cap (L. martagon) but also possibly any number of native species, such as the Canada Martagon (L. canadense). The White Lily (L. candidum) of Europe, which became known as the Madonna Lily later in the Victorian period, was likewise at Monticello and Prestwould. More unusual were the Atamasco Lily (Zephyranthes atamasco), a southeastern U.S. species of Rain Lily similar to the Z. candida, and the "Columbia Lily." The latter is believed to be a western species of Fritillaria (Fritillaria pudica) collected during the Lewis and Clark Expedition and planted at Monticello in 1807 as: "Lilly. the yellow of the Columbia. it's root a food of the natives." While this diminutive, yellow bell-like flower is prolific throughout the Northwest, it has proven impossible to grow in central Virginia.

It is always intriguing to speculate if any bulb colonies have survived. Although some species, such as Narcissus, are extremely long lived, there appear to be no ancient stands of daffodils remaining from Jefferson's time. One unusual species, however, still thrives in the Monticello landscape. The southern European Tassel Hyacinth, Muscari comosum, has spread so abundantly that it has naturalized in the flower gardens, down the slope to the kitchen garden, and throughout the fruit garden. Jefferson's 1782 reference to Feather Hyacinth blooming from mid May to mid June and the "6 Feathered Hyacinth roots, Hyacinthus monstrosus L." sent by McMahon in 1812 technically implies the Tassel Hyacinth's more showy cousin, Muscari comosum 'Plumosum', whose blossom has turned the purple-blue tassel or topknot into a feathery plume. Whether the common names were confused or the bulbs were mixed or both forms were planted is not clear, but the longevity of the naturalized colonies is certain.

For the most part, Jefferson's "belles of the day" were indeed temporary beauties during a fleeting chapter of his life. In a touching remembrance made by his granddaughter Ellen Randolph Coolidge, she describes the magical moments of her childhood when new beds were prepared for his flowers. "I remember the planting of the first hyacinths and tulips, and their subsequent growth .... There was Marcus Aurelius, and the King of the Gold Mine, the Roman Empress, and the Queen of the Amazons ...." Their winter-long anticipation was answered when one of the grandchildren would "discover the tender green breaking through the mould, and run to granpapa to announce, that we really believed Marcus Aurelius was coming up, or the Queen of the Amazons was above ground!" The entire family was in ecstacy "over the rich purple and crimson, or pure white, or delicate lilac, or pale yellow of the blossoms," and Jefferson would sympathize in their admiration and discuss new groupings, combinations, and contrasts. She concludes, "Oh, these were happy moments for us and for him!"

This joyful scene dissolved relatively quickly when, after Jefferson's death in 1826, curiosity and souvenir seekers came in droves for mementoes of the great Sage of Monticello. In 1827 Virginia Randolph Trist reported to her sister Ellen Coolidge that, sadly, "Mama's choicest flower roots have been carried off ... and everything and any thing that they fancied." In this, the conclusion of Jefferson's 1811 "belles of the day" letter to Anne Cary Bankhead seems all the more poignant as he himself accepts the inevitable: "... as your mamma has done to you, my dear Anne, as you will do to the sisters of little John, and as I shall soon and cheerfully do to you all in wishing you a long, long goodnight."

From The Twinleaf Journal by Peggy Cornett, Tho Jefferson Center for Historic Plants, January 2001

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

Friday, March 5, 2021

Women's Work from Garden to Table - Birch Tree Wine

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

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

BIRCH TREE WINE
The liquor of the birch-tree is to be obtained in the month of March, when the sap begins to ascend. One foot from the ground bore a hole in each tree, large enough to admit a faucet, and set a vessel under; the liquor will run for two or three days without hurting the tree. Having obtained a sufficient quantity, stop the holes with pegs. To each gallon of the liquor add one quart of honey, or two and one-half pounds of sugar. Boil together one hour, stirring it well. A few cloves may be added for flavor, or the rind of a lemon or two; and by all means one ounce of hops to four and one-half gallons of wine. Work it with yeast, tun, and refine with isinglass. Two months after making, it may be drawn off and bottled, and in two months more will be fit for use, but will improve by keeping.

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.