This is the first time that his History has appeared in print in the English language, although a translation of it was prepared many years ago by the late Rev. John Bassett, D. D., formerly of Albany. The present translation is by Jeremiah Johnson, Esquire, of Brooklyn, New York. It is an interesting work, and although Lambrechtsen acknowledges some obligations, far less however than he had anticipated, to this history, we are inclined to think that many of our readers will be pleased with the plain, and, at times, curious descriptions which the author gives of the new country in which he was settled.

Of the fruit trees, which had been brought into this country by the Dutch settlers, he says,

"We have introduced morecotoons, (a kind of peach,) apricots, several sorts of the best plums, almonds, persimmons, cornelian cherries, figs, several sorts of currants, gooseberries, calissiens, and thorn apples; and we doubt not but that the olive would thrive and be profitable, but we have them not; although the land is full of many kinds of grapes, we still want settings of the best kinds from Germany, for the purpose of enabling our wine-planters here to select the best kinds, and to propagate the same." p. 153.

If almonds and figs grew and ripened in the open air, it is singular they should have been lost entirely; as the persimmon, which is mentioned as a fruit introduced from Holland, and cultivated in the colony, has now, since its cultivation has been discontinued, become wild in the woods in the vicinity of New York, and still yields its fruit abundantly, and is brought in the autumn to the markets of that city. One of the most striking characteristics of the country discovered by the Northmen in their early voyages, was the abundance of grapes, from which circumstance they named it Vinland; and here we have evidence, that this tract of country, when settled by the Dutch, "was full of many kinds of grapes." And our author, speaking of these grapes, says, "It is gratifying and wonderful to see these natural produc

• We would here observe, by the way, that Vander Donck in his article, -"How men and animals came on the American Continent," shows clearly to our mind, that the report of voyages of the Northmen to this continent, was then known to literary men in Europe, out of Norway and Sweden, and believed in by some, if not by many, of them.

tions, and to observe such excellent and lovely fruit growing And he further remarks, that "the country, when the vines are in bloom, is perfumed with the lovely fragrance of the blossoms, and it is delightful to travel at this season of the year."

What a beautiful description this is of our New World. We could almost wish to have lived in that age, if only to stroll along the bridle-roads, and Indian paths, and inhale "the lovely fragrance" of the grape blossoms. This portion of the country about New York is celebrated in all the ancient historical works treating of it, for its rich natural covering of flowers. In Denton's account (1670), the first work describing that colony under the English, a considerable portion is occupied in a beautiful picture of Long Island, which he styles a natural garden, and of parties, which we should now call pic-nics, making excursions through its verdant fields, to gather and eat the wild strawberries, and other fruits, then existing in great abundance.

If the climate of New York was at that period so mild, as to induce the colonists to believe they could successfully cultivate the olive, as an article of commerce, as would seem to be inferrible from what our author says on that subject, it would appear as if some change had taken place, and that not a favorable one, in the climate of some portion, at least, of our Atlantic coast. Smith, in his "History of New York," the first edition of which was published in 1732, insists, that the seasons have changed in this country. And we might here observe, that we have heard it remarked in support of that theory, that the farmers in the western part of the State of New York, have been induced to make a change in their mode of culture in consequence of this alteration of the seasons; that since about the year 1820, maize, or Indian corn, which they previously raised without any difficulty, has become a very uncertain crop, by reason of the cold summers, and early frosts in the autumn; and that they are not now able to raise several kinds of trees, as the weeping willow, the acacia, the alanthus, &c., which formerly grew in that district of country. We are gratified to learn, however, that for the last two years, the indications have been more favorable, that the summers have been much warmer, and the appearance of the fall frosts delayed for a longer period than had been experienced for many years previous.

And we trust, that the unfavorable change indicated in that district, will be temporary in its operation and effects; and that the more propitious seasons, which have been recently experienced, will be continued for a long time to come. Notwithstanding the recent favorable indications in Western New York, we believe they are not now able to produce in the open air, the sweet-water grape, or the black Hamburgh, which, some twenty-five years ago, they raised with ease. The change has been even more marked in the Southern States, than in New York, or its vicinity. About thirty-five years ago, oranges grew abundantly in North Carolina, and now they cannot be raised in Georgia, and have even become an uncertain crop in the north part of Florida. At St. Mary's, nearly on the line between Georgia and Florida, for about seven years previous to the great frost of 1835, the orange trees appeared to be healthy and were covered with a profusion of blossoms, but yielded no fruit; and in 1835, they were all cut off. So the yam was also formerly raised in great abundance in the southern part of Georgia, and now it will not grow there, any more than in New England.

Vander Donck seems to have had a strong love for natural objects, for trees, and botanical inquiries generally, which form the most pleasant portions of his work. In one place he complains, that the Indians destroy the chestnut trees "by stripping off the bark for covering for their houses." And in another place, he finds fault with what we should consider rather a strange process of nutting, by the Netherlanders felling the trees, and cutting off the limbs to gather the nuts. He tells us of a "certain honorable gentleman, named John Everts Bout," who laid a wager that he would raise a crop of barley, the ears of which could be easily tied together above his head ;" and who, when he went to see the barley, found, "that the straw, band by band, was from six to seven feet high, and very little of it any shorter."

But it was not alone to the natural products of the soil, that this writer extended his examination. He also describes the minerals found in that ancient colony, and gives us a curious story about a gold mine, somewhere in the vicinity of Albany; but where particularly, none of the money-diggers after the ill-gotten gold of the famous pirate Robert Kidd, and other secreted treasure, have as yet been able to discover. It appears, that in 1645, the author and some officers were

employed at Albany, in negotiating a treaty with the Mohawk Indians, "the strongest and fiercest Indian nation of the country;" at which, the Governor, William Kieft, and the Indian chiefs, attended. An Indian with a barbarous name, "well known to the Christians," was employed as interpreter. Vander Donck then proceeds;

"As the Indians are generally disposed to paint and ornament their faces with several brilliant colors, it happened on a certain morning, that this Indian interpreter, who lodged in the Director's house, came down stairs, and in the presence of the Director and myself, sat down, and began stroking and painting his face. The Director observed the operation, and requested me to inquire of the Indian what substance he was using, which he handed to me, and I passed it to the Director, who examined the same attentively, and judged from its weight and from its greasy and shining appearance, that the lump contained some valuable metal, for which I commuted with the Indian, to ascertain what it contained. We acted with it, according to the best of our judgment, and gave the same to be proved by a skilful doctor of medicine, named Johannes La Montagne, of the Council of the New Netherlands. lump of mineral was put into a crucible, which was placed in a fire, and after the same, (according to my opinion,) had been in the fire long enough, it was taken out, when it delivered two pieces of gold, worth about three guilders. This proof was kept secret. p. 161.

The

The Editor supposes the mineral thus found was probably pyrites, mistaken for gold. In this conclusion, we cannot agree with him, for we cannot conceive how it could possibly be pyrites, when it yielded those "two pieces of gold." Vander Donck was a Doctor of Laws, and must have been a man of considerable learning to have obtained that degree in Holland at that period; and it does seem to us, that his general information, as shown by his work, must have been sufficient to enable him to detect the difference between gold and copper.

The Doctor further states, that,

"After the peace was made, (with the Indians,) an officer with a few men were sent to the Berg mountain, to which the Indian directed them, for a quantity of the mineral, who returned with about a bucket full, intermingled with stones, as they deemed best. They did not observe, that the place from which they took the earth had been dug before. Of this min

eral several experiments were made, which proved as good as the first. We supposed that we had secured the discovery safely. The Director General thought proper to embrace the first opportunity to send a small quantity of the mineral to the Netherlands, for which purpose he despatched a man named Arent Corsen, with a bag of the mineral to New Haven, to take passage in an English ship for England, and to proceed to Holland. This vessel sailed at Christmas, and was lost at Misfortune attended all on board.”— p. 162.

sea.

Specimens of this gold seem to have been peculiarly unfortunate, and were destined never to reach the mother country. After the loss of the ship with all on board,

"the Director General, William Kieft, left the New Netherlands for the Netherlands, in the year 1647, on board the ship Princess, taking with him specimens of the proved minerals, and of several others. This ship was also lost, and the minerals remained in the sea.". - Ibid.

This work of Vander Donck was written in Holland, and, in order to place the existence of the mine beyond doubt, he observes;

"Now we have Cornelius Van Tienhoven for Secretary of the New Netherlands. Being here in Holland, he states that he had tested several specimens of the mineral, which proved satisfactory; the subject therefore need not be doubted."Ibid.

However well the existence of such a mine may be regarded as having been thus established, it is now lost, and no record or tradition remains desiguating its locality. It is better it should be so for the morals and industry of the people. It was probably the belief in the existence of this mine, that occasioned the first introduction of the reservation of mines, in the leases granted in the manor of Rensselaerwyck, the settlement of which had already commenced.

Vander Donck appears to have been acquainted with the existence of the great iron mines in the Northern portion of the State of New York, a fact which adds much weight to his observations in relation to minerals generally, showing him to have been an accurate observer of the country. He remarks;

"We find in the country up drifts, and signs of many mines, but mostly of iron." — Ibid.