A true and faithful account of the four chiefest plantations of the English in America to wit, of Virginia, New-England, Bermudus, Barbados : with the temperature of the air, the nature of the soil, the rivers, mountains, beasts, fowls, birds, fishes, trees, plants, fruits, &c. : as also, of the natives of Virginia, and New-England, their religion, customs, fishing, hunting, &c. / collected by Samuel Clarke ...

Shell-fish of all sorts.

The luscious Lobster with the Crabfish raw, The Brittish Oyster, Muscle, Periwig And the Tortoise sought by the Indian Squaw; Which to the flats dance many a Winters Jigg: To dive for Cockles, and to dig for clams, Whereby her lazy husbands guts she crams.

The Seal, called also the Sea-Calf, whose Skin is good for divers uses, and his body between Fish and Flesh, neither delectable to the Pallat, nor well agreeing with the Stomack. His Oyl is used in Lamps.

The Shark is as big as a man, some as big as a Horse, with three rows of teeth in his mouth, with which he Snaps in two the Fishers Lines; he will bite off a mans Armor Legg at a bit, they are oft taken, and serve for nothing but to manure the Ground.

There are many Sturgious, but the most are caught at Cape Cod, and in the River of Meramack, whence they are brought to England, they are twelve, fourteen, and some eighteen foot long.

The Salmon is as good as ours, and in great plenty in some places: The Hollibut is like our Plaice or Turbut, some being two yards long, and one broad, and a food thick. Thornback and Scate is given to the Doggs, being so common in many places. The Bass is one of the best Fishes, being a Delicate and fat Fish: He hath a bone in his head that

contain a Saucerful of Marrow sweet and good, pleasant and whole∣some; they are three or four foot long, they take them with a Hook and Line, and in three hours a man may catch a dozen or twenty of them. The Herrings are much like ours. Alewives are much like Herrings, which in the end of April come into the fresh Rivers to spawn, in such multitudes as is incredible, pressing up in such shallow waters where they can scarce swim, and they are so eager, that no beating with poles can keep them back till they have spawned.

Their Shads are far bigger than ours: The Makarels be of two sorts; In the beginning of the year the great ones are upon the Coast, some 18. inches long: In Sommer come the smaller kind, they are taken with Hooks and Lines baited with a piece of Red Cloth. There be many Eels in the salt water, especially where grass grows, they are caught in Weels baited with pieces of Lobsters: Sometimes a man thus takes a busnel in a night, they are wholesome and pleasant meat.

Lamprons and Lampries are little esteemed. Lobsters are in plenty in most places, very large, and some being twenty pound weight, they are taken at low water amongst the Rocks; the smaller are the better; but because of their plenty they are little esteemed.

The Oysters be great, in form of a shoo-horn, some of a foot long, they breed in certain banks, which are bare after every Spring-tide; each makes two good mouthfuls.

The Periwig lies in the Oase like a head of hair, which being touched, draws back it self leaving nothing to be seen but a small round hole, Muscles are in such plenty that they give them their Hoggs. Clams are not much unlike to Cockles, lying under the Sand, every six or seven of them having a round hole at which they take in Air and Water, they are in great plenty, and help much to feed their Swine both Winter and Sommer; for the Swine being used to them, will constantly repair eve∣ry ebb to the places, where they root them up and eat them. Some are as big as a Penny Loaf, which the Indians count great dainties.