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A54140
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A further account of the province of Pennsylvania and its improvements for the satisfaction of those that are adventurers, and enclined to be so.
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Penn, William, 1644-1718.
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1685
(1685)
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Wing P1294; ESTC R218868
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13,005
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21
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them and whoever they are they are great Debtors to the Country of which I shall now speak more at large Of Country Settlements 1. WE do settle in the way of Townships or Villages each of which contains 5000 Acres in square and at least Ten Families The regulation of the Country being a Family to each five hundred Acres Some Townships have more where the Interest of the People is less then that quantity which often falls out 2. Many that had right to more Land were at first covetous to have their whole quantity without regard to this way of settlement tho by such Wilderness vacancies they had ruin'd the Country and their own interest of course I had in my view Society Assistance Easy Commerce Instruction of Youth Goverment of Peoples manners Conveniency of Religious Assembling Encouragement of Mechanicks distinct and beaten Roads and it has answer'd in all those respects I think to an Universall Content 3. Our Townships lie square generally the Village in the Center the Houses either opposit or else opposit to the middle betwixt two houses over the way for nearer neighborhood We have another Method that tho the Village be in the Center yet after a different manner Five hundred Acres are allotted for the Village which among ten families comes to fifty Acres each This lies square and on the outside of the square stand the Houses with their fifty Acres running back whose ends meeting make the Center of the 500. Acres as they are to the whole Before the Doors of those Houses lies the high way and cross it every mans 450 Acres of Land that makes up his Complement of 500 so that the Conveniency of Neighbourhood is made agreeable with that of the Land 4. I said nothing in my last of any number of Townships but there were at least FIFTY settled before my leaving those parts which was in the moneth call'd August 1684. 5. I visitted many of them and found them much advanc'd in their Improvements Houses over their heads and Garden-Plots Coverts for their Cattle an encrease of stock and several Enclosures in Corn especially the first Commers and I may say of some Poor men even to the beginings of an Estate The difference of labouring for themselves and for others of an Inheritance and a Rack Lease being never better understood Of The Produce of the Earth 1. THe EARTH by Gods blessing has more then answer'd our expectation the poorest places in our Judgment producing large Crops of Garden Stuff and Grain And though our Ground has not generally the symptoms of the fat Necks that lie upon salt Waters in Provinces southern of us our Grain is thought to excell and our Crops to be as large We have had the mark of the good Ground amongst us from Thirty to Sixty fold of English Corn. 2. The Land requires less seed Three Pecks of Wheat sow an Acre a Bushel at most and some have had the increase I have mention'd 3. Upon Tryal we find that the Corn and Roots that grow in England thrive very well there as Wheat Barly Rye Oats Buck-Wheat Pease Beans Cabbages Turnips Carrets Parsnups Colleflowers Asparagus Onions Charlots Garlick and Irish Potatos we have also the Spanish and very good RICE which do not grow here 4. Our Low Lands are excellent for Rape and Hemp and Flax. A Tryal has been made and of the two last there is a Considerable quantity Dress'd Yearly 5. The Weeds of our Woods feed our Cattle to the Market as well as Dary I have seen fat Bullocks brought thence to Market before Mid-Summer Our Swamps or Marshes yeeld us course Hay for the Winter 6. English GRASS-SEED takes well which will give us fatting Hay in time Of this I made an Experiment in my own Court Yard upon sand that was dug out of my Cellar with seed that had layn in a Cask open to the weather two Winters and a Summer I caus'd it to be sown in the beginning of the month called April and a fortnight before Midsummer it was fit to Mow It grew very thick But I ordered it to be fed being in the nature of a Grass Plott on purpose to see if the Roots lay firm And though it had been meer sand cast out of the Cellar but a Year before the seed took such Root and held the earth so fast and fastened it self so well in the Earth that it held and fed like old English Ground I mention this to confute the Objections that lie against those Parts as if that first English Grass would not grow next not enough to mow and lastly not firm enough to feed from the Levity of the Mould 7. All sorts of English fruits that have been tryed take mighty well for the time The Peach Excellent on standers and in great quantities They sun-dry them and lay them up in lofts as we do roots here and stew them with Meat in Winter time Musmellons and Water Mellons are raised there with as little care as Pumpkins in England The VINE especially prevails which grows every where and upon experience of some French People from Rochel and the Isle of Rhee GOOD WINE may be made there especially when the Earth and Stem are fin'd and civiliz'd by culture We hope that good skill in our most Southern Parts will yeild us several of the Straights Commodities efpecially Oyle Dates Figgs Almonds Raisins and Currans Of the Produce of our Waters 1. MIghty WHALES roll upon the Coast near the Mouth of the Bay of Delaware Eleven caught and workt into Oyl one Season We justly hope a considerable profit by a Whalery They being so numerous and the Shore so suitable 2. STURGEON play continually in our Rivers in Summer And though the way of cureing them be not generally known yet by a Receipt I had of one Collins that related to the Company of the Royal Fishery I did so well preserve some that I had of them good there three months of the Summer and brought some of the same so for England 3. ALLOES as they call them in France the Jews Allice and our Ignorants Shads are excellent Fish and of the Bigness of our largest Carp They are so Plentiful that Captain Smyth's Overseer at the Skulkil drew 600 and odd at one Draught 300 is no wonder 100 familierly They are excellent Pickled or Smokt'd as well as boyld fresh They are caught by nets only 4. ROCKS are somewhat rounder and larger also a whiter fish little inferior in rellish to our Mallet We have them almost in the like plenty These are often Barrell'd like Cod and not much inferior for their spending Of both these the Inhabitants increase their Winter store These are caught by Nets Hooks and Speers 5. The SHEEPSHEAD so called from the resemblance of its Mouth and Nose to a Sheep is a fish much preferr'd by some but they keep in salt Water they are like a Roach in fashion but as thick as a Salmon not so long We have also the
as to the Town of PHILADELPHIA it goeth on in Planting and Building to admiration both in the front backward and there are about 600 Houses in 3 years time And since I built my Brick House the foundation of which was laid at thy going which I did design after a good manner to incourage others and that from building with Wood it being the first many take example and some that built Wooden Houses are sorry for it Brick building is said to be as cheap Bricks are exceeding good and better then when I built More Makers fallen in and Bricks cheaper they were before at 16 s. English per 1000 and now many brave Brick Houses are going up with good Cellars Arthur Cook is building him a brave Brick House near William Frampton's on the front For William Frampton hath since built a good Brick house by his Brew-house and Bake-house and let the other for an Ordinary John Wheeler from New-England is building a good Brick house by the Blew Anchor and the two Brickmakers a Double Brick House and Cellars besides several others going on Samuel Carpenter has built another house by his I am Building another Brick house by mine which is three large Stories high besides a good large Brick Cellar under it of two Bricks and a half thickness in the wall and the next story half under Ground the Celler hath an Arched Door for a Vault to go under the Street to the River and so to bring in goods or deliver out Humphery Murry from New-York has built a large Timber house with Brick Chimnies John Test has almost finished a good Brick House and a Bake-house of Timber and N. Allen a good house next to Thomas Wynns front Lot John Day a good house after the London fashion most Brick with a large frame of Wood in the front for shop Windows all these have Belconies Thomas Smith and Daniel Pege are Partners and set to making of Brick this Year and they are very good also Pastorus the German Friend Agent for the Company at Frankford with his Dutch People are preparing to make Brick next year Samuel Carpenter is our Lime burner on his Wharf Brave LIME STONE found here as the Workmen say being proved We build most Houses with Belconies Lots are much desir'd in the Town great buying one of another We are now laying the foundation of a large plain Brick house for a Meeting House in the Center sixty foot long and about forty foot broad and hope to have it soon up many hearts and hands at work that will do it A large Meeting House 50 foot long and 38 foot broad also going up on the front of the River for an evening Meeting the work going on a pace Many Towns People setling their liberty Lands I hope the Society will rub off the Reproaches some have cast upon them We now begin to gather in some thing of our many great Debts I do understand three COMPANIES FOR WHALE CATCHING are designed to fish in the Rivers Mouth this season and find through the great Plenty of fish they may begin early A Fisherman this Year found the way to catch Whiteins in this River and it 's expected many sorts of fish more then hath been yet caught may be taken by the skilful Fish are in such plenty that many sorts on tryal have been taken with Nets in the Winter time The Sweeds laughing at the English for going to try have since tried themselves The River so big and full of several sorts of brave fish that it s believed except frozen over we may catch any time in the Winter It 's great pity but two or three experienced Fishermen were here to Ply this River to salt and serve fresh to the Town A good way to Pickle Sturgion is wanting such abundance in this River even before the Town many are Catcht Boyld and Eaten Last Winter great plenty of Dear brought in by the Indians and English from the Country We are generally very Well and Healthy here but abundance Dead in Maryland this Summer The Manufacture of Linnen by the Germans goes on finely and they make fine Linnen Samuel Carpenter having been lately there declares they had gathered one Crop of Flax and had sowed for the Second and saw it come up well And they say might have had forwarder and better had they had old seed and not stayed so long for the Growth of the new seed to sow again I may believe it for large hath my experience been this Years though in a small peece of Ground to the admiration of many I thought fit to signify thus much knowing thou wouldst be glad to hear of the People and Provinces welfare the Lord preserve us all and make way for thy return which is much desired not only by our Friends but all sorts I am c. thy truly Loving Friend ROBERT TVRNER Of Further Improvements for Trade and Commerce THose things that we have in prospect for Staples of Trade are Wine Linnen Hemp Potashes and Whale Oyle to say nothing of our Provisions for the Islands our Saw-Mills Sturgeon some Tobacco and our Furs and Skins which of themselves are not contemptible I might add Iron perhaps Copper too for there is much Mine and it will be granted us that we want no Wood though I must confess I cannot tell how to help preferring a domestick or self subsistance to a life of much profit by the extream Toyl of forraign Traffick Advice to Adventurers how to imploy their Estates with fair profit IT is fit now that I give some Advertisement to Adventurers which way they may lay out their Money to best advantage so as it may yeild them fair returns and with content to all concerned which is the last part of my present task and I must needs say so much wanting that it has perhaps given some occasion to ignorance and prejudice to run without mercy measure or distinction against America of which Pennsylvania to be sure has had its share 1. It is agreed on all hands that the Poor are the Hands and Feet of the Rich. It is their labour that improves Countries and to encourage them is to promote the real benefit of the publick Now as there are abundance of these people in many parts of Europe extreamly desirous of going to America so the way of helping them thither or when there and the return thereof to the Disbursers will prove what I say to be true 2. There are two sorts such as are able to transport themselves and Families but have nothing to begin with there and those that want so much as to transport themselves and Families thither 3. The first of these may be entertained in this manner Say I have 5000 Acres I will settle Ten Families upon them in way of Village and build each an house an out-house for Cattle furnish every Family with Stock as four Cows two Sows a couple of Mares and a yoke of Oxen with a Town Horse Bull