Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	bear_v	fruit_n	tree_n	2,434	5	8.1649	4	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A48869	A short relation of the river Nile of its sourse and current, of its overflowing the Campagnia of Ægypt, till it runs into the Mediterranean, and of other curiosities / written by an eye-witnesse, who lived many years in the chief kingdoms of the Abyssine empire.; Itinerário. English. Selections	Lobo, Jerónimo, 1596?-1678.; Wyche, Peter, Sir, 1628-1699?	1669 (1669)	Wing L2733; ESTC R12438	30,643	112

a thick Trunck nor boughes like other trees As they grow in height their boughes come out at the top and open to make room for others as the old ones fall they leave an impression in the Tree where they were If any have two truncks the thing is very peculiar and shewn as notorious I have seen one or two such in all the time and places I was in India One of them near the Coast of Melinde whence I imbarked for the Island Pate to see a thing so remarkable The tree called Macomeira from the fruit named Macoma is the onely one that grown to the height of a man divides her self into two trunks each of which at the same distance is divided into other two so grows on each Trunck producing two till she arrives to that hight the Natives allow proportionable to the species The tree called Trafulim grows the tallest and for hight were the thicknesse proportionable celfity is more considerable in this than any other of the sorts and the nature of the wood solid and strong might make a Mast for a great Vessel but it wants sufficient substance neither are those trees which yield Coco's proper for that use In little Vessels they serve as will be immediately related That the most favourable situation for the growth and fertility of these trees is the ground nearest the Sea has been said before and if the roots reach the mudd of salt-water they thrive best with that watering Experience hath found that those Palme-trees which grow nearest houses inhabited are the most fruitfull therefore the Natives if possible contrive to dwell in the Palme-Orchards having there their goods and Estates as will presently be said their pleasure and recreation These are the reall Estates in India as Vineyards and Olive-yards in Europe amongst these is arable Land which they sow and have a Crop of Rice Wheat and other grain I have seen fair and beautifull Palme-trees in the Inland remote from the Sea always in Plains never upon Hills where they come to no maturity either because in low grounds they shelter one the other or that on the hills the wind shakes them too violently to the no little detriment of their fruit being tall and tender with all their boughes and fruit on the top they are obnoxious to the wind the whole weight being at the head the body high tender and fragile they may be fitly compar'd to the Mast of a ship with round top and top-mast without the help of shrouds to support it These trees are planted by sowing the Coco's or Nuts in a Bed and covering them with Earth A little time will put forth a shoot the ordinary product of seed arrived at some growth they are transplanted into a place designed for that purpose There ranked in fit distance order and proportion where they remain till arrive to perfection And being planted in a line make a fair shew in the field so pleasant to the Natives that no Garden in Europe is with more care manured or of greater if of equal satisfaction This hath been experienced by presenting them with our Rarities who neglect them and sigh after the Palme-trees of their own Country though there is not a more melancholy and unpleasant sight to the Europeans than to be in a Palme-Orchard where nothing is to be seen but Truncks of Trees set in order which appear withered without any foliage all the greenesse being above the sight there is little enjoyed beheld at a distance no Prospect so gratefull Being young plants their mortall Enemies are the Cattle which risle their beauty and with their teeth do them no little damage that begets a necessity to encompasse them with fences These Plants are manured with small expence ordinarily they require not much watering grown to some bignesse they lay Ashes to their Roots all sorts of shell-fish particularly little fish called by the Natives Cuta putrefied at the foot of the tree are of admirable effect but all trees cannot be so indulged this is supplyed by Mud taken out of salt marshes by which their fruitfulnesse is very much advanced They bear fruit at five years if planted in soft Artificial Beds so taking root sooner and with greater ease At seven if the Earth be firme and hard spreading their roots leisurely and with more difficulty I onely know one spot of Ground in the Island of Ceilaon so fruitfull and proper for these trees that in two years they come to their growth get strength and are laden with fruit The fruit of this tree whatsoever the species is comes forth thus From the stem of the Palme shoots out a Twig made like a mans Arme not unlike a Moorish simiter which the Natives call Poyo This opens and puts forth a cluster of thirty fifty eighty sometimes an hundred Coquinhos or Nuts about the bignesse of an Hasle-nut should all come to perfection the quantity were stupendious but the Parent wanting sap and nourishment for so many young ones the greatest part falls off and comes to nothing few remain of the first appearing multitude twelve or fourteen in every cluster may come to maturity according to the goodnesse of the ground or the soyling implyed Nature supplies the lost ones by putting forth immediately another cluster before the first is ripe or cleared of the flower the same happens to the latter fruit and so to more every month a bunch appearing and all the trees having four or five clusters of different ages some in the blossom others newly cleared of the flower as big as ordinary nuts others larger some come to perfection The Palme-tree resembles an indulgent mother environ'd with greater and smaller Children at the same time feeding these and bearing others a rarity not experienced in other trees The Emolument of this fruit Coco is very extraordinary for divers wayes it proves good meat while the kernell is yet in water and full of liquor the Nut green and not come to maturity the Natives drink it as an exquisite Regallo being sweet and recreative affording a good Cup of wholesome water called Lanha arrived to a greater consistence like that of Cream they eat it with spoons then called Cocanha come to the last perfection it is eaten is savory and well tasted but being extreamly hot and of hard digestion much of it is unwholesome the Nut Barca excepted which is savoury and harmlesse The thin Rind which covers the kernell black and good in Medicine This Nut grated and put into the hollow joynts of Canes called Bambus is boyled and of it made * A Meat like the Italian vermicelli and near ' the Consistence of our Grout Cuscus The gratings steeped in water and squeezed the milk they yield makes a kind of broath frequent amongst them called Cerul which is very delicious the Nut Coco is eaten other different wayes which deservedly advance the esteem of this provision The two Rinds taken off the kernell divided into two parts and exposed to dry in the

man hath infirmities and diseases by which and many accidents they pine away decay dry up and at last dye There is a long list of diseases incident to this Tree which work her death if Remedies are not timely applyed A mortall Enemy to this Tree is a certain species of black wormes which are naturally so provided as easily to pierce any Timber green or dry thereby conveying themselves into the heart of it neither doth this consume much time they desisting not till they arrive at the innermost sap living on what they corrode and deface casting out the remainder This in the Palme-tree is effected with more facility and less time the wood being tender and the marrow the part fed upon savory With greater gusto and by natural instinct they get to the top of the Tree and what they did in the Trunck do in the Eye of the Palme-tree with more ease and satisfaction devouring the Eye which is Extreamly white tender sweet delicious and gratefull to a miracle A Palme-tree is often cut down to come at the Eye as her choycest fruit and dainty I have had great experience of its goodnesse the worme hath no ill palate in the choyce of this morsell timely remedy not applyed the worm leaves not till as they call it she procures the death of the poor Tree To prevent this the proprietor or those called Bandarins the onely men charged with these Trees are obliged to watch these thieves and with Iron Instruments invented for that purpose sometimes made streight when the holes go so sometimes crooked when they make their way by turnings and meanders to pursue them till they seize them and upon their forked point draw them out dead Another distemper fastens on these Trees through the carelessnesse or little dexterity of the Bandarins when they clime the Tree to empty the Sura out of the Gorgo or Vessel into their Gourds if by chance any drop lights on the Tree by a natural malignity it engenders another worme which attaques and devours the Eye This disaster is desperate beyond the help of remedy the Master looseth the Tree but the Custom of the Country obligeth the Bandarin to make satisfaction the price of every such neglect is ten Pardaos in our money three * ' twenty five shillings Mil-Rees The great abundance of these trees in India lessens the mulct Every Palme-tree well manured and growing in good ground yields the owner one Pardao yearly According to this Estimate every Proprietary gives a near guesse at the Rent of his Orchard A third disease seizeth this Tree her Emolument to man seeming to beget her more Enemies to lessen her value which is no open and violent adversary but created by the same Earth which gives growth and nourishment to the root of the tree and is no faint resemblance of a Nurse who for want of milk or having it spoyled sees her Nursling pine away and without umely prevention languish till it dyes The Palme-tree is not secure from this danger the Earth which produceth it in a long tract of time or by some maligne influence growing barren this defect is communicated to the Tree which renders it infirme vitiated barren till it fails utterly This distemper and indisposition of the Earth which the Palme-tree by an attractive virtue sucks in with the moysture that nourisheth it and conveyes throughout from root to head is discovered by a reddish minute sand appearing in the Earth The disease dilates not onely in the body but outwardly on the trunck of the Tree when the Bandarin perceives this he is forced through the sound part of the tree to make a great hole to hinder the contagious creeping further as is practized in Gangrenes where the sound part is cut off the parts affected without are unbark'd and where the sand appears they run in hot Irons These cures not timely applyed the profitable tree perisheth These disasters are accompanied with a secret of Nature worth reflection Two or three years before this untimely death these Trees are said to be laden with Coco's or Nuts so beyond Custome that this unusual excesse is suspicious to the Natives and awakens them to watch the diseases incident to the Palmetree so to hinder them by a timely prevention Nature by this overplus seems to supply the absence and losse of this Tree and the beneficial Palme foreseeing the End of her munificence strives to recompence her Owner There is yet in the Palmetree a thing more excellent delicious more gratefull to the palate than hath been mentioned a Morsell to be compared with whatsoever is esteemed most delicate is that they call Palmito the innermost Eye of the tree which being cut out and stript of the boughes may passe for the Center of all the branches which in the heart of the Tree before they shoot forth are so joyned and united as to appear the same thing The substance of this Palmito is white like milk delicious in extreamity coagulated tender of a taste above milk more delightfull and of a better Confection in fine a Bocone pleasing in the highest and free from all fulsomenesse What I have said is without exaggeration the Reader I am sure would if he tasted it be of my opinion who am able to give a sufficient account of this Palmito for besides my experience of it in India where other provision wanted not at the Cape of good Hope where the Vessel we came in for Portugal suffered shipwrack at the land called Terra de Natal and where we spent eight months on shoar in the place we were first cast upon to build two barks to save our Company I had leisure enough to be convinced of its exquisitenesse there scarcity of provision obliged us to make use of what we found 't was our good fortune to light on great store of Palmetrees not of those which yield Coco's or Nuts but of that species which bear Dates there having known in India what the Palmito was we in a short time furnished our selves with as many as grew in a leagues compasse the Palmito served us for food and dainty neither was its gratefullnesse hightned by our hunger The Fruitfullnesse and profit of the Palmetree lasts many years there are signs for a near guesse at her precise duration This tree puts forth every year four Branches which leisurely display themselves in the forme of a Crosse after three or four years decay which the Palmetree of her self casts off or they are lopt off by the Bandarins every one leaves a mark where it grew By these is given a probable conjecture at the age of the tree That it may appear how the whole Palmetree is serviceable to humane life nothing superfluous but all substantially profitable from the deepest root to the highest leaves The Root as hath been said before where we spoke of the virtue of the other parts Chark'd gives an excellent temper to Iron The boughes and leaves made up with a wick serve for a torch called by them Chuli with this Travellers are secure from all danger of Serpents which abound in India are of exquisite poyson and their multitude makes them frequent the Roads and assault Passengers They fly from the light of this Chuli of another service when they fish in the Rivers in stead of a Candle as is usual in Portugal Of the leaves besides are made great Parasols capable to shelter two persons from the Sun or Rain these require a man to carry them there are persons deputed for that office and are called Boy de Sombrero small portable ones there are for the same use none walking in the streets winter or summer without great or little Parasols The leaves have another use of them are made Coverings for their Palanquins or Litters in which one person is commodiously carried and defended from the rain and sun Some Palmetrees afford leaves called Olhas which serve for Books and Paper with a small Iron Pencil in stead of a pen they open and grave the letters upon the leaf or Olha without the use of Inke as fast and as easily as the swiftest writer The leafs of the Tree Cajuri dried remain of a lively white colour which are made into hatts of great account though cheap being so becoming so accurately wrought and light that every body the vice-roy not excepted desires to wear them the Indians call them Palhate The Bark of the Poyo or twig on which grow the fair clusters of Coc'os being of a thicker and stronger substance furnish the Common people particularly the Banderins who dresse the Palmetrees with Caps made like the English ordinary Riding-caps To end the discourse I shall observe what challenges a reflection the natural fabrick of the Palmetree that the trunk being very slender and disproportionable to the tallnesse the whole weight of the boughes called Palmes and of the fruit being at the top in a manner at the vertical point of the slim body the boughes as they grow displaying themselves and amongst them hanging the fair clusters of Coco's the shock of winds should without doubt easily break and ruine this disproportioned Machin Provident nature against this hath for every new birth of those boughes provided swathes of the same matter and texture of the Palmetree not unlike course cloath or Canvas with these the branches and what grows there are swathed so strongly and securely as to defy any violence of winds to disjoynt them they are liable to be shak'd yet not where they have this Girdle which to break is a work of Iron By these the Palmetree as a tender mother gathers her Children about her as secure from being lost and scattered as they are well defended against any violence of wind which would tear and force them from her bosom This is what for the satisfaction of the Curious could be known of the Palmetree of what species soever who desires a more particular and severe relation may travell into India and those other parts where this Tree grows may enquire more minutely and perhaps loose his labour Finis