Kalm's account of his visit to England : on his way to America in 1748 / translated by Joseph Lucas ; with two maps and several illustrations.

  • Pehr Kalm
Date:
1892
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Kalm's account of his visit to England : on his way to America in 1748 / translated by Joseph Lucas ; with two maps and several illustrations. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    of the poor people in that country are said to make [T. I. p. 385] their candles entirely from this wax. The Duke of Argyll had some of these bushes planted in his garden, which not only thrive there incomparably well, but had also borne such a quantity of fruit that he caused wax candles to be dipped from the wax which he caused to be boiled from the berries in the above- named manner. Villa Oxar. Wild Oxen. When the traveller in Virginia has gone some miles from the sea shore up country, or up towards the hills, he often gets to see a multitude of the wild Oxen which are found there. When they become aware of the presence of man, they run away directly without doing any harm ; but if any one shoots at them and they are only wounded by the bullet and not nearly killed, they come rushing at the one who has fired, and are dangerous enough unless one can find a means either to shoot them down directly and kill them, or to slip away. Their principal food is the great Reed (Arundo), which there grows everywhere in the morasses. The Indians or the wild folk there, shoot them, sometimes eat up the flesh, or throw it away and use the skin, or sell it to the Europeans, who make the same use of it as of any other ox-leather. A certain Gentleman of Virginia has caught some of their calves alive and reared them at home, but he has never been able to get them so thoroughly tame that they did not at the same time retain some of their wild and buffalo nature, yxa, natur 5 for as soon as they have been let loose they have run away to the woods, and no fence or hedge has been so good that they have not broken over it. Such a living calf had also been carried over to England and is the same [T. I. p. 386] which is
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