The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. VII. Being the Third of the Third VoyageKing, James
History
The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. VII. Being the Third of the Third Voyage
King, James
Cook, James, 1728-1779 -- Travel; Explorers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Voyages around the world -- History -- 18th century
Of the shrub kind, as junipers, the mountain-ash, wild rose-trees, and
raspberry-bushes, the country produces great abundance, together with a
variety of berries; blue-berries of two sorts, round and oval;
partridge-berries, cran-berries, crow-berries, and black-berries. These
the natives gather at proper seasons, and preserve, by boiling them into
a thick jam, without sugar. They make no inconsiderable part of their
winter provisions, and are used as sauce to their dried and salt fish,
of which kind of food they are unquestionably excellent correctives.
They likewise eat them by themselves, in puddings and various other
ways, and make decoctions of them for their ordinary liquor.
We met with several wholesome vegetables in a wild state, and in great
quantities, such as wild celery, _angelica_, chervil, garlic, and
onions. Upon some few patches of ground in the valleys, we found
excellent turnips, and turnip-radishes. The garden cultivation went no
farther; yet from hence I am led to conclude, that many of the hardy
sorts of vegetables (such at least as push their roots downward,) like
carrots, parsnips, and beet, and perhaps potatoes, would thrive
tolerably well. Major Behm told me, that some other sorts of kitchen
vegetables had been tried, but did not answer; that neither any of the
cabbage or lettuce kind would ever head; and that peas and beans shot up
very vigorous stalks, flowered and podded, but the pods never filled. He
likewise told me, that in the experiments made by himself at
Bolcheretsk, with different sorts of farinaceous grain, there generally
came up a very high and strong blade, which eared, but that the ears
never yielded flour.
This short account of the vegetable productions reaches to such parts of
the country only as fell within our notice. In the neighbourhood of the
Kamtschatka river, where (as has been observed) both the soil and
climate is by much the best in the whole peninsula, garden culture is
attended to, and probably with great success, as appears from our having
received at the same time, with a second drove of cattle from Verchnei,
a present of cucumbers, of very large fine turnips, celery, and some
other garden-stuff, of which I do not recollect the kinds.
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