Some of these trees and shrubs
serve a utilitarian end in art and medicine. The live-oak is famous in
shipbuilding. The palmetto, or cabbage-palmetto, as it is called,
resists destruction by worms, and is used for facing wharves. It was
employed to protect Fort Moultrie in 1776, when bombarded by the British
fleet; and the cannon-balls were buried in its spongy substance. The
moss (_tillandsia usneoides_) served to calk the rude vessel of the
first French colonists, longing for home. It may be used for bedding
after its life has been killed by boiling water, and for the subsistence
of cattle when destitute of other food. The cassena is a powerful
diuretic.
The game and fish, which are both abundant and of desirable kinds, and
to the pursuit of which the planters were much addicted, are described
in Eliot's book. Russell's "Diary" may also be consulted in relation to
fishing for devil and drum.
The best dwellings in Beaufort are capacious, with a piazza on the first
and second stories, through each of which runs a large hall to admit a
free circulation of air.
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