Selected quad for the lemma: ground_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	flower_n	root_n	stalk_n	1,862	5	10.9023	5	false

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A57484	The history of the Caribby-islands, viz, Barbados, St Christophers, St Vincents, Martinico, Dominico, Barbouthos, Monserrat, Mevis, Antego, &c in all XXVIII in two books : the first containing the natural, the second, the moral history of those islands : illustrated with several pieces of sculpture representing the most considerable rarities therein described : with a Caribbian vocabulary / rendred into English by John Davies ...; Histoire naturelle et morale des iles Antilles de l'Amerique. English	Rochefort, César de, b. 1605.; Davies, John, 1625-1693.; Breton, Raymond, 1609-1679.	1666 (1666)	Wing R1740; ESTC R16877	340,702	386

called Mappou and divers kinds of thorny wood others only satisfie the smelling by their sweet scents others have venemous qualities as the Milkie-tree as also that whose root reduced to powder and cast into rivers inebriates the Fish the Mancenilier which we shall describe in its proper place and an infinite number of others the wood whereof is white soft and of no use and have yet got no names among the foreign Inhabitants of those parts CHAP. IX Of other Trees growing in these Islands whose Fruits or Roots contribute to the subsistance of the Inhabitants or serve for some other uses IT hath pleased the great Contriver of all things to divide that Element which we call Earth into several Countries each whereof he hath endued with certain advantages and conveniences not to be found in other places that by such a delightful variety of things he might make a more distinct and remarkable demonstration of his own all-cherishing Providence But it must be acknowledg'd that in the distribution which the Divine Wisedome hath made of its bounties the Caribby-Islands have had a very large portion For to confine our selves to the design we intend to prosecute not only the greater sorts of Trees which we have described in the former Chapters contribute to the Shelter Nourishment Cloathing Health and several other accommodations of the Inhabitants but there are also divers shrubs or lesser Trees which either shoot forth Roots or bear Fruits conducing to the same purpose as shall be seen in the perusal of this Chapter MANYOC INstead of Wheat the Inhabitants make use of the root of a small Tree called Manyoc by some Manyot and by others Mandioque of which is made a kinde of Bread delicate enough called Cassava whence it is also sometimes called the Cassava-tree This root is so fruitful that a small parcel of ground planted therewith will feed more persons then six times as much sown with the best Wheat could do It shoots forth crooked branches about the height of five or six foot easie to be broken and full of small knots the leaf is narrow and somewhat long at nine moneths end the root comes to its maturity Nay it is reported that in Brasil it grows to the bigness of a mans thigh in three or four moneths If the ground be not too moist the root may continue in it three years without corrupting so that there needs no Store-house o● Garret to put it up in for it is taken out of the ground as it is spent To propagate this Root you must take of the branches and cut them in pieces about a foot in length then make trenches in your Garden with a Hoe and thrust in three of those sticks triangle-wise into the earth which had been taken out of the trenches and wherewith a little hill or tump had been rais'd this is called Planting by the trench But there is another way of planting Manyoc much more expeditious and more easie but the Manyoc is neither so fair nor so much esteemed as the other The way is only thus to make a hole in the ground with a stick and to thrust the Manyoc strait into it care must be had in the planting of it that the knots be not set downwards for if they should the Manyoc sticks would not grow The Indians never plant it otherwise but that it may ripen in its season they observe a certain time of the Moon and see that the ground be not too moist There are several kinds of these shrubs differing one from the other only in the colour of the bark of their wood and of their root Those which have the bark greyish or white or green make a very good tasted bread and grow up in a short time but the roots they produce do not keep so well nor thrive comparably to those of the red or violet Manyoc which is the most common the most esteem'd and the most advantageous in house-keeping The juice of this root is as cold as Hemlock and so effectual a poyson that the poor Indians of the greater Islands being persecuted with fire and sword by the Spaniards to avoid a more cruel death made use of this poyson to destroy themselves There is to this day to be seen in the Island of Hispaniola otherwise call'd S. Domingo a place called the Cave of the Indians where there are the bones of above four hundred persons who ended their lives there with this poyson to avoid the cruelties of the Spaniards But let this juice which is so venemous to all sorts of living creatures rest four and twenty hours after it is taken from the root and it loses that malignant and dangerous quality PALMA-CHRISTI THere are in these Islands an infinite number of the shrubs called Palma-Christi or Ricinus and they grow up so high and so big in some places that they would be taken for a different kind from those commonly seen in Europe The Negroes gather the seed and extract an oyl from it wherewith they rub their hair to keep themselves clear from vermine The qualities attributed to it by Galen and Dioscorides confirm the use these Barbarians make of it the leaf of this shrub is sovereign for the healing of some kinds of Ulcers as being very attractive There grow in all these Islands two kinds of shrubs or rather great Reeds spongy within growing of themselves in fat ground neer little rivulets or in Valleys not annoyed by winds They are commonly called Banana-trees or Planes and Fig-trees or Apple-trees of Paradise These two kinds of shrubs have this common to both 1 That they grow of equal height to wit about twelve or fifteen foot above ground 2 That their stalks which are of a green colour shining spongious and very full of water shoot out of a great Onion like a Pear encompass'd with many little white roots which fasten it to the ground 3 That they have shooting forth at the foot of the stems certain Scyons which bear fruit at the years end 4 That when one stem is cut off for the getting of the fruit the most forward next that succeeds in its place and so the shrub is perpetuated and multiplies so exceedingly that in time it spreads over all the good ground neer it 5 That the substance of both is very soft and reducible into water which though extreamly clear yet hath the quality of dying Linen and white Stuffs into a dark brownish colour 6 That their Fruits lye at the top of the stem like great clusters or posies And lastly that their leaves which are about four foot or more in length and a foot and a half in bredth may serve for Napkins and Towels and being dried make a soft kind of Couch or Bed to lye upon These two shrubs have this further resemblance that which way soever their fruit be cut when it is come to maturity the meat of them which is white as snow represents in the middle the form of a Crucifix especially when it

name Nicotianum from one Nicot a Physician who first us'd it in Europe and sent it from Portugal into France It was also called Queen-herb hence that being brought from America it was presented to the Queen of Spain as a rare Plant and of extraordinary vertues The Spaniards give it further the title of Holy-herb for the excellent effects they have experienc'd from it as Garcilasso in his Royal Commentary of the Tncas of Peru lib. 11. ch 25. affirms Lastly the French call it Petun though de Lery is much displeas'd at the name affirming that the Plant he saw in Brasil and which the Topinambous call Petun differs very much from our Tobacco The Caribbians in their natural Language call it Youly Heretofore there were known in the Islands but two kinds of Tobacco-Plants commonly called by the Inhabitants Green-Tobacco and Tongu'd-Tobacco from the figure of its leaf but since there have been brought from the Continent the seeds of Virinus and the Tobacco of the Amazons they are divided into four kinds The two former are of a great produce but the two others are more esteem'd by reason of their sweet scent All these kinds of Tobacco-Plants grow in the Islands to the height of a man and higher if their growth be not check'd by cutting off the tops of their stems They bear good store of leaves which are green long downy on the lower side and seem in the handling as if they were oiled Those which grow towards the stock of the Plant are larger and longer as deriving more nourishment from the moisture of the root At the tops they shoot forth little branches which bear a flower like a small Bell which is of a clear violet colour And when that flower is dry there comes into its place a little button wherein is contained the seed which is of a brownish colour and very small There are sometimes found under the leaves and branches of this Plant the nests of the little Birds called Colibris which we shall describe in its proper place INDICO THe material of which is made the Dying commodity called Indico is got from a Plant which grows not above two foot and a half above the ground It hath but a small leaf of a grass-green colour inclining to yellow when it is ripe The flower is reddish It grows from the seed which is sown by trenches in a streight line It hath a very bad scent quite contrary to that growing in Madagascar which bears small flowers of a purple colour mixt with white which smell well GINGER OF all the Spices of the Levant that have been planted in America only Ginger hath thriv'd and come to perfection 'T is the root of a Plant which grows not much above ground having green long leaves like those of Reeds and Sugar-canes The root spreads it self not in depth but in bredth and lies neer the surface like a hand encompass'd by many fingers whence the Inhabitants of the Islands call it a Paw This Plant may be propagated by the seed or as is most commonly done by certain small roots which grow like so many strings all about the old stem and the greater roots as there do about Skirretts It grows with ease in all the Islands especially at S. Christophers many Inhabitants of which Island have planted it and traded in it with advantage since Tobacco came to so low a rate POTATOE THe Potatoe is a root much like the Saligots growing in Gardens which are called Topinambous or Jerusalem Artichokes but of a much more excellent taste and more wholsome Those Topinambous or Artichokes which are now not only very common in most parts but cheap and slighted as being a tteatment for the poorer sort were heretofore accounted delicacies For in some extraordinary Entertainments made at Paris by the Princes to certain Embassadours in the Year M. DC XVI they were serv'd up among the most exquisite dishes But the Potatoe is infinitely beyond it It thrives best in a light ground somewhat moist and well ordered It shoots forth abundance of soft leaves of a very dark green in figure like those of Spinage They spring from certain fibres which creep along the ground and in a short time over-run the place where it is sown And if the ground be well order'd these fibres within a certain time frame divers roots by the means of certain whitish filaments which shoot forth below the knots and easily fasten into the earth It bears a flower near the same colour with the root and like a bell within which lies the seed But commonly to propagate this fruit they take only of these strings or fibres which lye scattered all over the ground as we said and thrust them into ground prepar'd for them and at the end of two or three months they will have produc'd their root which hath this further vertue that being cut into small pieces and thrust into the ground it produceth its root and leaf as effectually as if the seed lay in each of its least parts These roots are of several colours and in the same piece of ground there will be some white ones which are the most ordinary some of a violet colour some red as beetroots some yellow and some marbled They are all of an excellent taste For provided they be not full of water and grew in a ground moderately moist and dry that is participating of both they taste like Chest-nuts and are a better nourishment then the Cassava which dries up the body for they are not so dry Some as particularly the English use these roots instead of bread and Cassava and to that purpose bake them under the Embers or upon the coals For being so prepar'd they are of a better taste and are clear'd of that windy quality which is commonly observ'd to be in most roots But for the most part they are boyl'd or stew'd in a great iron pot into which there is a little water put to keep the bottom from burning then the pot-lid is set on as close as may be that they may stew by that smother'd heat This is the ordinary treatment of the Servants and Slaves of the Country who eat them out of the pot with a sauce made of Pyman and juice of Oranges If this root were not so common it would be more esteem'd The Spaniards think it a delicacy and dress it with butter sugar nu●meg and cinamon Others make a pottage of it and putting into it some fat pepper and ginger account it an excellent dish But most of the Inhabitants of the Islands trouble not themselves so much about the dressing of it There are some will gather the tender extremities of the aforesaid strings and having boil'd them eat them as a Sallet like the tops of Asparagus or Hops ANANAS THe Ananas or Pine-Apple is accounted the most delicious fruit not only of these Islands but of all America It is so delightful to the eye and of so sweet a scent that Nature may be said to

have been extreamly prodigal of what was most rare and precious in her Treasury to this Plant. It grows on a stalk about a foot high encompassed by about 15 or 16 leaves as long as those of some kinds of Thistles broad as the Palm of a mans hand and in figure like those of Aloes they are pointed at the extremity as those of Corn-Gladen somewhat hollow in the midst and having on both sides little prickles which are very sharp The fruit which grows between these leaves strait up from the stalk is sometimes about the bigness of a Melon its figure is much like that of a Pine-Apple its rind which is full of little compartiments like the scales of fish of a pale-green colour border'd with Carnation upon a yellow ground hath on the out-side several small flowers which according to the different Aspects of the Sun seem to be of so many different colours as may be seen in the Rain-bow as the fruit ripens most of these flowers fall But that which gives it a far greater lustre and acquir'd it the supremacy among Fruit is that it is crown'd with a great Posie consisting of flowers and several leaves solid and jagged about which are of a bright red colour and extreamly add to the delightfulness of it The Meat or Pulp which is contained within the rind is a little fibrous but put into the mouth is turn'd all to juice it hath so transcendent a taste and so particular to it self that those who have endeavour'd to make a full description of it not able to confine themselves to one comparison have borrow'd what they thought most delicate in the Peach the Strawberry the Muscadine-grape and the Pippin and having said all they could been forc'd to acknowledg that it hath a certain particular taste which cannot easily be express'd The vertue or shoot by which this fruit may be perpetuated lyes not in its root nor yet in a small red seed which is many times found in its Pulp but in that Garland wherewith it is cover'd for as soon as it is put into the ground it takes root shoots forth leaves and at the years end produces new fruit It happens sometimes that these fruits are charg'd with three posies or crowns all which have the vertue of propagating their species but every stalk bears fruit but once a year There are three or four kinds of them which the Inhabitants distinguish by the colour figure or scent to wit the White-Ananas the Pointed and that called the Pippin or Renette This last is more esteem'd then the other two inasmuch as being ripe it hath as to the taste all the rare qualities before described it hath also a sweeter scent then the others and does not set the teeth so much on edge The natural Indians of the Country and the French who live in the Islands make of this fruit an excellent drink not much unlike Malmsey when it hath been kept a certain time there is also made of it a liquid Conserve which is one of the noblest and most delicate of any brought out of the Indies they also cut the rind into two pieces and it is preserv'd dry with some of the thinnest leaves and then the pieces are neatly joyn'd together again and they ice it over with Sugar by which means the figure of the fruit and leaves is perfectly preserv'd and there may be seen in those happy Countries notwithstanding the heats of the Torrid Zone a pleasant representation of the sad productions of Winter In Physick the Vertues of it are these The juice does admirably recreate and exhilarate the Spirits and comfort the Heart it also fortifies the Stomack cureth Queasiness and causeth Appetite it gives present ease to such as are troubled with the Stone or stoppage of Urine nay it destroys the force of Poyson If the fruit be not procurable the root will do the same effects The water extracted from it by distilling hath a quicker and more effectual operation but in regard it is too corrosive and offends the mouth palat and uretory vessels it must be very moderately used and with the advice of an able Physician who knows how to correct that Acrimony SUGAR-CANES THe Reed which by its delicious juice supplies that substance whereof Sugar is made hath leaves like those of other Reeds which grow in Marshes and neer Ponds but only they are a little longer and sharper for if they be not taken with a certain care and sleight they will cut a mans hands like a Rasour It is call'd the Sugar-Cane and grows up in height between five and six foot and two inches about it is divided by several knots which are commonly four or five inches distant one from another and the greater the distance is between the knots the more Sugar are the Canes apt to yield The leaves of it are long green and grow very thick in the midst whereof rises the Cane which also at the top is loaden with several pointed leaves and one kind of knot of them which contains the seed it is as full as it can be of a white and juicy pith out of which is drawn that liquor that makes the Sugar It thrives extreamly in a fat soil so it be light and somewhat moist it is planted in trenches made at equal distances one from another either with a Hoe or a Plow about half a foot deep Having there laid the Canes being ripe they cover them with earth and a little while after out of every knot shoots forth a root and out of that a stem which produces a new Cane As soon as it appears above ground it must be carefully weeded all about that the weeds choak it not but as soon as it hath cover'd the ground it secures it self and keeps its footing as well as any Copse-wood might do and it may last fifty years without being renew'd so the main root be sound and not injured by the worm for if there be any jealousie of that the remedy is to take up the whole Plant as soon as may be and to order it all anew Though the Canes be ripe at the end of nine or ten moneths yet will they not be any way prejudic'd if continu'd in the ground two years nay sometimes three after which they decay But the best and surest way is to cut them every year as neer the ground as may be and below the last knot or joynt Those who cross the Fields when these Canes are come to maturity may refresh themselves with the juice of them which is an excellent beverage and hath the same taste with the Sugar But if it be taken immoderately it may occasion fluxes and looseness especially to such as are newly come into the Country for those who by a long abode there are in a manner naturaliz'd are not so subject to that inconvenience There grow also in some of these Islands those neat and precious Canes which are us'd in walking naturally marbled and enamell'd with several

top of every Plant those only excepted which are reserv'd for seed After all this ordering the Plant is to continue some weeks in the ground ere it comes to maturity during which there is a little cessation of labour and attendance about it But if the laborious Planter be exempted from the great pains he had bestow'd about it he shall not want work for there must be a place prepar'd where it is to be dispos'd as soon as it is ripe Care must be taken that the Grange or Store-house where it ought to be dry'd to a certain mediocrity be well cover'd and close of all sides that it be furnish'd with good store of poles fit for it to be laid upon that provision be made of a certain thin bark taken from a tree called Mahot to fasten every Plant to the poles and that the place design'd for the making of it up into rolls or pricks should have all things requisite for that work While all these preparations are made if the Tobacco-leaves lose ever so little of their first verdure and withal begin to bow down more then ordinary towards the ground and if the scent of them grows stronger it is a sign that the Plant is come to maturity And then taking a very fair day after the dew is fallen off it is to be cut about an inch above ground and left upon the place till the evening turning it once or twice that the Su● may take away somewhat of its moisture In the evening it is carry'd by armfuls into the house It is fasten'd by the lower end of the stalk to the poles so that the leaves hang downwards It is also requisite that they should not be laid too close one to the other lest they be corrupted or be not dry enough for want of air This first cutting down of the Tobacco being over they often visit the Plants which are hung up a drying while the rest which had been left growing comes to ripeness and when they find the leaves fit to be made up into rolls that is when they are neither too dry for in that case they would not be able to endure the wheel nor yet too moist for then they would corrupt in a short time they are taken off the poles they are laid in heaps at the end of the Grange and every stalk is stript of its leaves after this manner In the first place they lay aside all the longest and all the broadest leaves and they take away the great stalk which runs through the midst of them the lesser leaves are also laid by themselves to be dispos'd within the roll and the greater serve for coverings and shrowds for them These leaves thus dispos'd are ranked on planks or tables close by him who is to make them up into rolls which he makes bigger or smaller as may be seen by those brought over into these parts There is a certain art in making up the rolls and those who can do it with expedition and dexterity are highly esteem'd and get much more then those who are employ'd about ordering the ground They must have their hands and arms extremely supple and nimble to make the wheel turn with such speed and still to observe the same proportion that so the roll may be equally big in all parts There is a particular artifice in the business of Tobacco to dispose and lay it after the winding so as that it may be the more easily put up on the sticks which are all to be of a certain bigness and length to avoid deceit When the Tobacco is thus made up it is convey'd to the Store-house and cover'd with Bananas or some other leaves that it may not be prejudic'd by taking wind and be of a good fair colour That which cuts somewhat unctuously is blackish and shining and hath a pleasant and strong scent and burns easily in the Pipe is accounted the best We told you that the Tobacco-plant was cut almost even with the ground and not pluck'd up by the roots and it is purposely so cut that it may shoot forth new stalks And indeed it produces a second Plant but such as is neither so strong nor so fair as the former nor is the Tobacco made thereof so much esteem'd nor will keep so well It is call'd by some Shoot-Tobacco or Sucker-Tobacco or Tobacco of the second cutting or growth Nay some will have three shoots from the same stalk and that humour hath brought the Tobacco which comes from some Islands into dis-esteem Now since we have express'd our selves so much at large concerning the manufacture of Tobacco we shall not think it improper to insert in this place what is practis'd by some curious persons whereby it is made more excellent then that which commonly goes under the name of Virinus-Tobacco keeps well and hath a scent which fortifies the brain After they have set aside the Plants of the first cutting and while they are drying on the poles they gather together all the cast leaves the small shoots as also the filaments which are taken out of the midst of the leaves which have been already cleer'd and after they have pounded them in a mortar all is put into a bag which is put into a press to force out the juice which is afterwards boil'd over a soft fire till it be reduc'd to the consistency of a Syrup That done there is put into that decoction a little Copal which is an aromatick gum the virtue whereof is to fortifie the brain This gum distills from a tree of the same name which is common in the Continent of America and in the Islands about the gulf of Hondures After this drug is put into the composition aforesaid it must be well stirr'd that its sweet scent and other qualities may be communicated and diffus'd through the whole decoction Then it must be taken off the fire and when it is cold it is set in a vessel neer the person who makes up the roll of Tobacco and as often as he takes a handful of the leaves to feed the roll he must wet his hand in that liquor and wipe it with the leaves This secret hath an admirable effect to make the Tobacco keep well and derives to it a virtue which extremely heightens its price The Tobacco thus order'd is to be made up into a roll at least as big as a mans thumb and be afterwards divided into little rolls not weighing above ten pound at the most and then sent in little vessels or close baskets made for that purpose to keep it the better Some Inhabitants of the Islands having made tryal of this secret have put off theirs for right Virinus-Tobacco and sold it at the same rate Those who imagine that Tobacco grows without any trouble and that rolls of it are as they say found growing on Trees in America and that there is no more to be done but to shake them down or haply are perswaded that it requires no great trouble to

half deep In these Coppers the Sugar receives its last boiling for then there is a more violent fire made and it is continually stirr'd and when it bubbles up so as that it may be fear'd it should boil over the Coppers it is allay'd by the casting in of a little sallet-oil and as it begins to grow thick it is pour'd into the last of those Coppers from whence as it inclines to a consistency it is dispos'd into vessels of wood or earth and so carry'd into the Curing-house where it is whiten'd with a kind of fat earth mixt with water which is spred upon it then they open the little hole in the bottom of every vessel or pot that all the filth or dregs that is about the Sugar may fall into another channel which conveys it into a vessel prepar'd for that purpose The first skimmings which had been taken off the great Coppers is laid aside only for Cattle but the other serves well enough to make a certain drink for the Servants and Slaves The juice which is drawn from the Cane will continue good but one day insomuch that if within that time it be not boil'd it grows sharp and turns to vinegar There must also be a very great care taken that the Reservatory into which the squeezed juice falls and the pipes or channels whereby it is thence convey'd into other places be often wash'd for if they contract ever so little sharpness the juice cannot be reduc'd to Sugar The whole work would also miscarry if any butter or oil chance to be cast into any of the three greater Coppers which are to be wash'd with Lye or in like manner if ever so little Lye fall into the three lesser ones where the juice is form'd into a Syrup and curdles by the violence of the fire and the continual agitation and stirring of it with a skimmer But above all things there must be a great care taken that there fall not any juice of Citron into the Coppers for that would absolutely hinder the coagulation of the Sugar Many of the Inhabitants who are not able to get so many Coppers nor furnish themselves with those great Engines whereby the Canes are squeez'd have little Mills made like Presses which are wrought by two or three men or driven about by one horse and with one or two Coppers they purifie the juice gotten out of them reduce it to the consistence of Syrup and make good Sugar without any further trouble The greatest secret in the business of making good Sugar consists in the whitening of it Those who have it are very loth to communicate it From what hath been said it may be easily inferr'd what extraordinary advantages accrue to the Inhabitants of that Island by means of this sweet and precious Commodity and what satisfaction it brings to their Correspondents in other parts of the world who have it at so easie rates This plenty of Sugar hath put the Inhabitants upon the preserving of abundance of excellent fruits of the growth of the Island as Oranges Lemons Citrons and others especially Ginger whereof we shall give an account anon and the fruit call'd Ananas and the flowers of Oranges and Citrons As concerning the preparation of Ginger when the root is come to maturity it is taken out of the ground then it is dry'd in places well air'd and it is often stirr'd to prevent corruption Some make no more ado then to expose it to the Sun in order to the drying of it but others think it requisite to cast lime on it the more to facilitate the drawing away of the moisture This root which is one of the most considerable among Spices is transported all over the world but it is most sought after in cold Countries The French do sometimes take it out of the ground before it is fully ripe and preserve it whole with such artifice that it becomes red and transparent as glass The preserv'd Ginger which is brought over from Brazil and the Levant is commonly dry full of filaments or little strings and too biting to be eaten with any delight but that which is prepar'd at S. Christophers hath no fibres or strings at all and it is so well order'd that there remains nothing that is unpleasant to the tooth when it is eaten It hath a singular property to fortifie the breast when it is weakned by a confluence of cold humours as also to clear the voice to sweeten the breath to cause a good colour in the face to take away the crudities of the stomach to promote digestion to sharpen the appetite and to consume that waterishness and phlegm which puts the body into a languishing condition nay it is affirm'd by some that it preserves and wonderfully fortifies the memory by dispersing the cold humours or the phlegm of the Brain This root may also be reduc'd into a paste of which there may be made a Conserve or cordial Electuary that hath the same effects We come now to give a short account of Indico The Plant being cut is bound up into little bundles or fagots and left to rot in cisterns of stone or wood full of fair water on which there is cast a certain quantity of oil which according to its nature covers all the surface of it They lay stones upon the fagots that they may the better keep under the water and after three or four days that the water hath been boiling which it does by the meer virtue of the Plant without any assistance of fire the leaf being rotted and dissolv'd by that natural heat which is in the stalk they take great stakes and stir the whole mass that is within the cisterns so to get out all the substance of it and after it is setled again they take out of the cistern that part of the stalk which is not rotted that done they several times stir what is left in the cistern and after they have left it to setle they let out the water at a cock and the lees or dregs which remains at the bottom of the cistern is put into molds or left to dry in the Sun These dregs is that which is so much esteem'd by Dyers and commonly known by the name of Indico There are some make use of Presses whereinto having put little bundles of the rotted Plant they by that means get out all the juice of it But in regard they are the leaves of the Plant that the foresaid Commodity is made of those who are desirous to have it of the highest price think it enough to have the dregs which remains after the corruption of those leaves and is found after so many stirrings at the bottom of the cistern The French Inhabitants of the Caribbies were there a long time ere they drove any trade in that Commodity by reason that the Plant whereof it is made being of it self of a very strong scent exhales an insupportable stink when it is rotted But since Tobacco came to so low a

figures The sides of great Ponds and all Fenny and Marshy places are also furnish'd with a big sort of Reeds which grow up very high and very strait whereof the Inhabitants commonly make the partitions of their Houses and use them instead of Lats for the covering of them The Indians also make use of the tops of these Canes in the making of their Arrows CHAP. XI Of some other rare Productions of the Caribbies and several sorts of Pulse and Flowers growing in those Islands HAving spoken of the Plants Herbs and Roots considerable for their Leaves Fruits or Vertues we now come to treat of some other rare Productions of these Islands for the most part not known in Europe RAQVETTES THat which the French call Raquettes from the figure of its leaves which are like a Racket is a great thorny bush creeping along the earth and not able to raise it self to any height in regard the stem which is only a leaf grown big in process of time grows not much more then half a foot above ground and though it be big enough yet is it not to be seen till the leaves which are green heavy ill-shap'd and about an inch thick and fasten'd one to another encompassing it be first taken up they are armed with prickles extreamly sharp and small and upon some of these long and prickly leaves there grows a fruit about the bigness of a Date-plumb which hath also on the out-side several very small prickles which prick their fingers who would gather them being ripe it is red within and without of a Vermilion colour the Hunts-men of these Islands think it very delicate and refreshing but it hath this property that it colours a mans Urine as red as blood as soon as he hath eaten it insomuch that such as are ignorant of this secret imagine they have broken a vein Nay some perceiving that alteration in themselves have taken their Beds out of an imagination that they were very sick Some report that in Peru there is a kind of Plumb which works the same effect nay there are who affirm that they have observ'd as much after the eating of a Gelly of red Goose-berries Those who have described Tunal which is so much esteem'd for the precious Scarlet-dye lying in its leaves make it like the Plant we now describe save that they assign it no fruit Some others have ranked it among those Thistles which bear Figs because the fruit is of that figure and when it is open instead of a stone it hath only small seeds like those of the Fig. There is also another kind of this Plant whereof the fruit is white and of a sweeter and more savory taste then the red we spoke of before nay there is yet another which no doubt is a kind of Tunal on which there have been seen certain little worms in colour like a Ruby which dye Linen or Woollen-Cloth whereon they are crush'd into a very fair and lively Scarlet-colour TORCH THe Plant called by the Caribbians Akoulerou some of the European Inhabitants of these Islands call the Torch it is a kind of great Thistle growing like a great bushy Briar furnish'd of all sides with prickles extreamly sharp and small there shoot forth in the midst of it nine or ten stalks without either branches or leaves growing up to the height of nine or ten foot strait and channelled like so many Torches they have also very sharp prickles like so many small Needles which so secure them that they cannot be touch'd of any side the rind and what is within it is soft and spongy enough Every Torch bears at a certain season of the year between the channels of the stalk certain yellow or violet flowers which are succeeded by a fruit like a great Fig good to eat and delicate enough The Birds love it well but they can only peck at it flying because the prickles hinder them from lighting on any part of the Plant. The Indians get off the fruit with little forks or sticks cleft at one end LIENES THere are several kinds of Plants which creep along the ground or are fasten'd to Trees nay some which very much obstruct peoples passage through the Forests The Inhabitants call them Lienes some are like a great Cable others bear flowers of several colours nay some are loaden with great brownish husks a foot or better in length four or five inches thick and as hard as Oak-bark wherein are contained those curious fruits called Sea-Chestnuts which have the figure of a heart and the pulp taken out are made into Boxes to keep Sneezing powder or any other sweet powder The fruit called by the Inhabitants Lienes-Apples grows on a kind of Willow which is fasten'd to the greater sort of Trees like Ivy it is about the bigness of a Tennis-ball and cover'd with a hard shell and a green out-side containing within it a substance which being ripe hath the figure and taste of Gooseberries SEMPER-VIVUM THere are in these Islands several kinds of Herbs that never dye or wither whereof some grow on trunks of old Trees as Missletoe does on the Oak others grow on the ground and upon rocks They have so much natural moisture that being pluck'd and hung with their roots upwards in the midst of rooms where they are many times kept as rarities and to recreate the eye they lose nothing of their verdure SENSITIVE PLANTS THere is in the Island Tabago a kind of Herb which besides its perpetual growing is also sensible whence it is called the Sensitive Plant it grows up about a foot and a half in height encompass'd with a many leaves in length a foot or better in bredth three fingers jagg'd almost like those of Fern being at the extremities of a green colour checquer'd with little brownish or red spots In the season of fruits there grows out of the midst of this Plant a round flower consisting of several leaves standing much after the same order as those of the Marigold but they are of a bright violet colour and being handled have a good scent the nature of this Plant is such that if one pluck off the leaves of it or so much as touch them the whole Plant withers and all the other leaves fall to the ground as if it had been trod under feet and according to the number of the leaves that had been pluck'd off it will be a longer or shorter time ere it recover that loss There grows such another at Madagascar which the Inhabitants call Haest-vel that is the Living-herb but it is not the same kind as that which may be seen in the Kings Garden at Paris for that hath a much lesser leaf and it is neither spotted nor jagg'd and which is more it bears no flowers besides its leaves being touch'd close together by a certain kind of contraction whereas that we describe sheds its leaves on the ground There is also another kind of living or sensitive Plant in some of the other Islands

think it a little whirle-wind rais'd of a sudden in the air and blowing in his ears And in regard he takes a pleasure to flye neer those who pass by he sometimes by his sudden surprisal frightens those who hear him before they see him He lives only on the Dew which he sucks from the Flowers of Trees with his tongue which is much longer then his beak and hollow as a small reed and about the bigness of a small needle He is very seldom seen on the ground nor yet standing on the Trees but suspended in the air neer the Tree whence he hath his nourishment He is born up by a gentle agitation of his wings and in the mean time he draws to him the dew which stays longest at the bottom of the flowers half-blown 'T is pleasant to look on him in that posture For spreading abroad his little crest a man would think he had on his head a crown of Rubies and all sorts of precious stones and the Sun adding somewhat to the natural lustre of his plumage makes him look as if he were a composition of precious stones animated and flying in the air In those places where there are most Cotton-trees is commonly the greatest store of Colibris Though his plumage lose much of its beauty when he is dead yet is there so much left that some Ladies have worn them for Pendants Nay some have imagined they became them better then any other This miraculous Bird is not only extreamly delightful as to his colours but there is one kind of it which having recreated the eye satisfies also the nostril by the sweetness of his scent which is like that of the finest Musk and Amber He commonly makes his nest under a small branch of some Orange-tree or Cotton-tree and as it must be proportionable to the smallness of his bulk he so covers it among the leaves and so industriously secures it against the injuries of the weather that it is in a manner imperceptible he is such an excellent Architect that to prevent his being expos'd to the Easterly and Northerly Winds which are the ordinary winds in those parts he places his nest towards the South It consists on the out-side of little strings taken from a Plant called Pite and wherewith the Indians make their cordage These little strings or filaments are as small as a mans hair but much stronger He ties them and weaves them one into another so closely about the little forked branch which he hath chosen for the perpetuation of his species that the nest being thus among the leaves and hanging under the branch is as we said before both out of sight and out of danger Having made it strong and fortifi'd it on the out-side with these filaments and by some little bits of bark and small herbs interlaced one within another by a miraculous artifice he furnishes it within with the finest Cotton and the Down of certain little feathers softer then any silk The Female commonly lays but two egges which are oval about the bigness of a Pea or small Pearl To what is abovesaid we shall add the account given of it by our noble Traveller du Montel in his familiar Relations to a friend of his There are saith he sometimes found the nests of the Colibris under the branches of those Plants of Tobacco which are suffered to grow as high as they can for seed I remember a Negro of ours shew'd me one of them which was very neatly fashioned under one of those branches Nay being in S. Christophers an English-man shew'd me one of them which was fastened to one of the Reeds that sustain'd the covering of a Hut I saw also one of these nests together with the egges which was fastened to a branch that had been cut off to adorn the Closet of a curious person who had also the Male and Female dried and preserv'd entire and there it was that I attentively considered both the Nest and Bird and having admired the operations of Divine Providence in that little creature how could I less then be astonish'd at the miraculous Architecture of the Nest which though built with an unexpressible artificel was nevertheless performed only with his little beak There are of these Birds seen in most of the Caribby Islands but according to the diversity of the Islands they also differ as to bigness and plumage The most beautiful and least as to bulk are in the Island of Aruba which depends on the Dutch Colony at Corassao It might haply be here expected we should speak of the singing of this Bird and that having entertain'd the sight with its beauty and the smelling with its scent it should also satisfie the ear with its harmonious musick Some affirm that there is a kind of them that sings at a certain season of the year But it is probable that what is called the singing of the Colibry is only a little noise like that of the Cigale which is always the same note But though it should not sing at all it is endued with so many other extraordinary advantages of Nature that it may be ranked among the most beautiful and most excellent of Birds Those who have liv'd at Brasil do unanimously affirm that there is in those parts a little Bird called Gonambuch of a shining white colour whose body is no bigger then that of a Hornet and as to a clear and distinct note is nothing inferiour to the Nightingale It 's possible it may be a kind of Colibry as indeed some do make it yet is it not comparable either as to beauty of feathers or scent and other transcendent qualities to that whose description we have here made Those have come neerer the mark who have affirmed that this master-piece of Nature is a kind of those little Birds which some Indians call Guaraciaba or Guacariga that is to say Sun-beam and Guaracigaba that is Hair of the Sun The Spaniards call it Tomineios forasmuch as having put one of them with his nest into a pair of Scales wherewith gold is weigh'd it commonly weighs not above two of those little weights which the same Spaniards call Tominos that is four and twenty grains Some have been of opinion that some of these excellent Colibris were at first Flies which were afterwards transform'd into Birds Others have written that the Caribbians called these Birds Renati or New-born because they sleep one half of the year as the Dormice do and that they awake in the Spring recovering as it were a new life with that delightful season of the year Nay there are some affirm that when the leaves fall they thrust their little beaks into the trunks of the Trees and there remain immoveable and as it were dead for six moneths till the earth puts on a new livery of flowers But these are frivolous stories grounded on conjectures which may be touch'd by the way but not admitted to any competion with the true account we give of our Colibry We will conclude