The families being altogether on country seats,they have their grazers, seedsmen, gardeners, brewers, bakers,butchers and cooks, within themselves. They haveplenty and variety of provisions for their table; and as forspicery, and other things that the country don't produce,they have constant supplies of them from England. The gentry pretend to have their victuals dressed, and served upas nicely, as if they were in London.
When I come to speak of their cattle, I can't forbearcharging my countrymen with exceeding ill husbandry,in not providing sufficiently for them all winter, by whichmeans they starve their young cattle, or at least stint their growth; so that they seldom or never grow so large asthey would do, if people can but save the lives of their cattle, though they suffer them to be never so poor in thewinter, yet they will presently grow fat again in the spring,which they esteem sufficient for their purpose. And thisis the occasion, that their beef and mutton are seldom ornever so large, or so fat as in England. And yet with theleast feeding imaginable, they are put into as good case ascan be desired; and it is the same with their hogs.
Their fish is in vast plenty and variety, and extraordinarygood in their kind. Beef and pork are commonly soldthere, from one penny, to two pence the pound, or more,according to the time of year; their fattest and largestpullets at sixpence a piece; their capons at eight pence ofnine pence a piece; their chickens at three or four shillings.
the dozen; their ducks at eight pence, or nine pence a piece; their geese at ten pence or a shilling; their turkeyhens at fifteen or eighteen pence; and their turkey cocksat two shillings or half a crown. But oysters and wildfowl are not so dear, as the things I have reckoned before,being in their season the cheapest victuals they have. Theirdeer are commonly sold from five to ten shillings, accordingto the scarcity and goodness.
The bread in gentlemen's houses is generally made of wheat, but some rather choose the pone, which is the bread made of Indian meal. Many of the poorersort of people so little regard the English grain, thatthought they might have it with the least trouble in theworld, yet they don't mind to sow the ground, becausethey won't be at the trouble of making a fence particularly for it. And therefore, their constant bread is pone,not so called from the Latin panis, but from the Indianname oppone.
A kitchen garden doesn't thrive better or faster inany part of the universe than there. They have all theculinary plants that grow in England, and in greater perfectionthan in England. Besides these, they have severalroots, herbs, vine fruits, and salad flowers, peculiarto themselves, most of which will neither increase nor grownto perfection in England. These they dish up variousways, and find them very delicious sauce to their meats,both roast and boiled, fresh and salt; such are the Indian cresses, red buds, sassafras flowers, cymlings, melonsand potatoes, whereof I have spoken at large in the4th chapter of the second book, section 20.
It is said of New England, that several plants will notgrow there, which thrive well in England; such as rue,southernwood, rosemary, bays and lavender; and that othersdegenerate, and will not continue above a year or two at the most; such are July flowers, fennel, enula campana,clary and bloodwort. But I don't know any Englishplant, grain or fruit, that miscarries in Virginia; but most
of them better their kinds very much by being sowed orplanted there. It was formerly said of the red top turnip, that there, in three or four years time, it degenerated intorape; but that happened merely be an error in savingthe seed; for now it appears that if they cut off the top of such a turnip, that has been kept out of the groundall the winter, and plant that top alone without the bodyof the root, it yields a seed which mends the turnip in the next sowing.
Their small drink is either wine and water, beer, milk and water, or water alone. Their richer sort generallybrew their small beer with malt, which they havefrom England, though barley grows there very well; butfor want of the convenience of malthouses, the inhabitantstake no care to sow it. The poorer sort brew their beerwith molasses and bran; with Indian corn malted by dryingin a stove; with persimmons dried in cakes, andbaked; with potatoes; with the green stalks of Indian corncut small, and bruised; with pompions, and with thebatates canadensis, or Jerusalem artichoke, which somepeople plant purposely for that use; but this is the leastesteemed of all the sorts before mentioned.
Their strong drink is Madeira wine, cider, mobby punch,made either of rum from the Caribbee islands, or brandydistilled from their apples and peaches; besides brandywine, and strong beer, which they have constantly fromEngland.
Their fuel is altogether wood, which every manburns at pleasure, it being no other charge to him thanthe cutting and carrying it home. In all new grounds itis such an incumbrance, that they are forced to burn greatheaps of it to rid the land. They have very good pitcoal (as is formerly mentioned) in several places of thecountry; but no man has yet thought it worth his whileto make use of them, having wood in plenty, and lyingmore convenient for him.