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Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
ground_n	grow_v	root_n	small_a	3,915	5	5.8532	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A05102	The third volume of the French academie contayning a notable description of the whole world, and of all the principall parts and contents thereof: as namely, of angels both good and euill: of the celestiall spheres, their order and number: of the fixed stars and planets; their light, motion, and influence: of the fower elements, and all things in them, or of them consisting: and first of firie, airie, and watrie meteors or impressions of comets, thunders, lightnings, raines, snow, haile, rainebowes, windes, dewes, frosts, earthquakes, &c. ingendered aboue, in, and vnder the middle or cloudie region of the aire. And likewise of fowles, fishes, beasts, serpents, trees with their fruits and gum; shrubs, herbes, spices, drugs, minerals, precious stones, and other particulars most worthie of all men to be knowen and considered. Written in French by that famous and learned gentleman Peter de la Primaudaye Esquier, Lord of the same place, and of Barree: and Englished by R. Dolman.; Academie françoise. Part 3. English	La Primaudaye, Pierre de, b. ca. 1545.; Dolman, R. (Richard)	1601 (1601)	STC 15240; ESTC S108305	398,876	456

is one of the most gentle medicines and least annoying that may be amongst laxatiue remedies But it is euerie where so common that none esteeme of it It is not only laxatiue but doth also fortifie the interiour members bindeth their veines which are too loose as also those of the stomacke and of the liuer and healeth feuers that proceed by choler or through stoppings It euacuateth the cholerike humour verie much in vrine the seed thereof is bitter and somewhat sharpe and it is somewhat more hot then the herbe that is temperate so that the whole plant is purifying penetratiue opening and laxatiue And because of the cold and stiptick qualitie thereof it bindeth restrayneth and fortifieth It doth gently loosen the belly it purgeth choler and burning humours Wherefore it is good against the meazels against cankers and all infections of the skin and other maladies which doe proceed from oppilations the iuice thereof cleereth the sight causeth teares to issue euen as smoke or fume doth whereof it seemeth to haue taken name Angelica is a most excellent plant Of Angelica and verie worthie to bee here described It is aboue a cubit in height it produceth a knottie stalke crested and full of pits the leaues thereof are long and indented round about the flowers white growing in bunches out of which springeth a little graine and smooth like a lentill The roote is as thicke as a reddish diuided into many branches sharpe in taste and sweete in smell Also there are sundry sorts thereof for one kinde is set in gardens another sort is wild and another groweth in watrie places All this plant is hot and drie in the second degree full or to the beginning of the third Wherefore it is opening attenuating and resoluing It is singular against poysons so that taken in drinke or often chewed it preserueth from the plague being taken alone it attenuateth flegmaticke and clammie humours And so doth the decoction of the roote thereof which doth readily heale the cough that comes through cold for it causeth one to spit out and voide all clammie fleame The same decoction receiued in wine or water healeth vlcers in the interior members dissolueth clotted blood and fortifieth the stomacke The roote beaten to powder is soueraigne against fainting of the hart other passions thereof It is singular against bitings of mad venimous beasts being laid thereupon with Rue or taken inwardly for which cause many of our moderne phisitions imploy it in their counterpoisons preseruatiues There is giuen halfe a dram of the root with a dram of treacle and the distilled water hereof to such as haue the plague who are constrained to sweat and seuen howers after to resume this drink and by this onely counterpoison some haue beene holpen This roote chewed and put into holow teeth asswageth the paine of them It also sweetneth the breath Whosoeuer shall hold a little peece thereof in his mouth or in the morning drinke two spoonefuls of wine wherein it hath beene steeped hee shall not easily bee infected with euill aire all day after The leaues thereof with the leaues of Rue and honie applied in a cataplasme heale the bitings of madde-dogs and stingings of serpents And being laide vpon his head that is sicke of an ague it attracteth to it selfe much of the heate of the ague Of Maidenhaire Maidenhaire also is a very exquisite plant much like vnto ferne but with smaller leaues set in order heere and there one ouer against another in fine smal branches sharpe in taste black and shining It is temperate in heate and coldenes and therefore it drieth purifieth and resolueth It is good to cause one spit and voide out of the breast and lungs all grosse and clammy humors It staieth the fluxe of the belly resolueth the kings euill and other tumors and being taken in drinke is singular for hardnes of water when one can make it but drop by drop it breaketh the stone The decoction also thereof is good for them that draw their breath with paine and is profitable for the spleene and against the iaundise And the herbe thereof being laid vpon the bitings of serpents is a singular remedie therefore To open also the infusion thereof made in parsley water or in endiue water or in broth of blacke chich-pease or in a little goats-milke is very good and adding sugar thereto it healeth inflammations of the side doth greatly prouoke vrine Briefly all the vertues that Phisitions attribute to Venus-haires called commonly Capilli Veneris agree with Maiden-haire Now AMANA let vs heare you choose out other plants for the subiect of your discourse Of Rheubarb Licorice Aloes Sene Saffron and Centurie Chapter 78. AMANA SIth that it is not our purpose to write an entire Historie concerning simples but onely to consider of the most excellent in their effects me seemeth that it is sufficient for vs so to make way to another matter to adde to our precedent discourses that which I intend nowe to speake concerning some singular plants amongst which I preferre Rheubarb to the first place which is very plentifull in all India The leaues of it are commonly two foote long broad aboue and so growing narrower towards the stalke Of Rheubarb and the excellent virtue thereof hauing a certaine cotton or as it were haire round about it as is cōmonly seene in the herb called in French Bouillon blane The stalk therof is but a foote high or little more and is all greene like the leaues In the middle thereof groweth out a very small branch hauing certaine flowers about it that enuiron it which are like vnto purple violets saue in colour onely which is different being white and blew of sharpe smell and very vnpleasant to their nose that smell thereat The roote is very deepe in the ground of a foote and an halfe long and as thicke as a mans arme some more some lesse and out of it there do many small ones sprout which before the great one be cut are digged vp with the principall to the end that it may more easily be cleft in peeces It is on the outside of an ashie colour and full of yellowish iuice while it is fresh and greene and so clammie that in touching thereof it causeth the fingers to sticke togither Now this roote is an excellent medicine gentle and without danger wherein many singularities requisite in a laxatiue simple are comprised And Rheubarb is best while it is greene of a blackish colour somewhat enclining to a redde and heauie although it be of a rare bodie and which being broken is mixed with red and skie colour within and being chewed waxeth as yellow as Saffron Besides it purgeth choler and flegme it clenseth and fortifieth the stomacke and liuer and healeth the paines and prickings of them It clarifieth the bloud openeth and healeth all maladies that proceed of stoppings as the iaundise the dropsie swelling of the spleene and long feauers It is good

vessell and then put into a presse there issueth a licour which being cold is congealed like to new waxe and smelleth passing sweete and is very excellent for olde griefes of the sinewes and ioints engendred through cold Now speake we of Ginger and other spices Of Ginger which for the most part growe in the same regions of Asia and especially in the Indies and Molucca-isles where Nutmegs abound In them there is great quantitie of Ginger which is a roote not of such a plant as may properly be called a tree but rather an herbe considering that it groweth not very high but beareth leaues like a cane or reede which doe wax greene twise or thrise a yeere This roote is very knottie and not aboue three or fower spans deepe in the ground and sometimes so big that it waigheth a pound They that dig vp these rootes do alwaies leaue a space between two knots in the pit and couer it againe with earth as being the seede of this plant to receiue the fruit thereof the next ensuing yeere that is the rootes which shall be newly sprouted In Calecut the greene Ginger is steeped and conserued in sugar or in a kinde of honie that is taken out of certaine cods or husks and is conuaied into Italie where it is much more esteemed then that of Venice For that which is there is made of dry roots artificially mollified Propertie of Ginger and which want much of their vertue and power Moreouer Ginger is very profitable For it helpeth digestion it looseneth the belly moderately it is good for the stomacke and profitable against all things that may dim or blinde the sight It heateth much not at first tasting like pepper For which cause we may not thinke it to consist of so subtile parts the heat would else presently declare it selfe and it would suddenly become hot in act Wherupon Ginger is knowne to be composed of a grosse and indigested substance not drie and earthie but moist and watrie which is the cause that it doth easily corrupt and rot to wit by reason of the superfluous moisture thereof For such things as are very drie or moistned by a digested naturall and moderate humiditie are not subiect to corruption and rottennesse Thence also it proceedeth that the heate which commeth of Ginger doth endure longer then that of pepper For as drie stubble is soone on fire and soone burnt out euen so is the heate that proceedeth from simples and drie drugs But that which issueth from moist ones as out of greene wood doth inflame slowlier and endure longer Of Pepper and the diuers kinds thereof Pepper doth grow abundantly in the Indies especially in the two isles called the greater lesser Iaua It doth grow vpō little trees the leaues whereof resemble much the leaues of a Citron-tree the fruit whereof is no greater then a ball And according to the diuers places where Pepper groweth it is different in kinde yea in one place there are diuers sorts and chiefly round long Pepper Now in some isles as alongst the riuer Ganabara when the inhabitants plant Pepper they burie the roote thereof neere to some other fruit trees and oftentimes neere to yoong palmes or date trees vpon the top whereof the twigs or syons doe at length growe Which the rods and small branches puld from pepper trees doe likewise being planted with the same trees which they imbrace running to the very top of them where the pepper hangs in clusters like the grapes of a wilde vine but closer and thicker And when it is ripe they gather it and lay it in the sunne to drie vpon lattises made of palme trees till such time as it become blacke and wrinkled which is commonly done in three daies And this pepper is round But the trees that beare long pepper do differ from the rest especially in leaues and fruit For the leaues are sharper at the end and the pepper hangeth vpon the tree like clusters of nuts made and heaped with many little graines There is yet another kinde of pepper called Ethiopian pepper or pepper of the Negros which groweth in cods like beanes or pease and the graines thereof are a little lesse then those of blacke pepper Moreouer all pepper is hot in the fourth degree and therefore it burneth and blistereth the bodie so that the vse thereof cannot but be dangerous though it haue many secret properties against the quiuerings and shakings that accompanie feuers which vsually come to one and against the cough and all maladies of the breast There is also a kinde of watrie pepper which groweth neere to slowe waters that runne but softly The stalke thereof is knottie massiue hauing many pits out of which the branches doe growe The leaues of it are like to mints sauing that they be greater softer and whiter The seede is sharpe and strong and groweth vpon little twigs neere to the leaues in manner of grapes It is so named of the places where it groweth and the likenes of taste which it hath with common pepper But we haue spoken ynough concerning spices Let vs now consider of other most rare and singular trees the woonder whereof declareth the author of nature to be exceeding admirable as we may note ARAM by your discourse Of the Date-tree of the Baratha or tree of India of the Gehuph and of Brasill Chap. 71. ARAM. THose Portugals Spanyards and some Frenchmen that in our time haue nauigated through the Atlanticke sea towards the south and from thence towards the cast vnto Calicut Taprobana and other isles of the Indian sea and regions vnknowne to ancient Cosmographers doe make credible report vnto vs of so many diuers singularities which they haue beheld that we should be too vngratefull towards them if so often as we behold any of them in their writings we should not attribute praise vnto them for their laudable curiositie which hath vrged them to such discoueries considering that they are like so many mirrors to represent vnto vs that great Architect of nature who amongst the very Barbarians hath engrauen images of himselfe in euery work of his omnipotencie Now among such trees as they haue written of and which as mee seemeth are worthie of greatest admiration although they bee not altogither so rare as many others the Date-trees require place which are very common in Arabia Egypt and almost in all parts of Africa and in Iudaea as likewise in many Isles of Greece and regions of Europe where they beare no fruit Of the Date-tree which is not so throughout all Africa for the Palmes or Date-trees beare in many places a sweete pleasant and very delicate fruit to eat and this tree is very high and hath the stock thereof very hard bearing no branches but round about the top with the ends of them hanging downe to the ground-wards It buddeth forth many blossomes hanging at certaine fine small stalkes clustred togither in figure like to clusters of saffron but much lesse

The powder therof dried doth consolidate greene wounds if they be washed before with wine wherein rosemarie hath beene sodden and then the powder be strowed on afterwards The flowers thereof confected in sugar are good for all things aforesaide particularly against cold passions of the hart against maladies of the breast and against the plague The decoction of rosemarie made in water and taken in drinke doth heale the iaundise So likewise doth the seede being drunke with pepper and white wine In the plague time it is good to perfume the house with this plant for the fume thereof driueth away ill aires Cammomill also groweth abundantly amongst corne Of Cammomill and in the fieldes bearing yellow flowers enuironed with whitish leaues and is of a strong sauour But to mollifie resolue rarifie and loosen this plant is of singular operation And in this respect no medicine is better for wearie folkes then a bath of cammomill The leaues beaten and put into white wine make a profitable drinke to heale quotidian and quartan agues the decoction thereof drunke healeth paines in the side and so doth the water distilled of the flowers which flowers being gathered without leaues beaten in a morter formed with oile into trochisks afterwardes dissolued againe in oyle if they bee therewith rubbed and chafed which are troubled with feuers from the crowne of the head to the foote and that they presently goe into bed to sweate they shall be holpen bicause of the abundant heate that goeth out of their bodie Cammomill is especially good to dissolue feuers that are without inflammation of any chiefe intraile principally those which proceede from cholericke humors and thicknes of the skin Being taken in drinke or the fume thereof receiued in at the fundament it is a great helpe to voide vrine and grauell Of the Lillie The lillie is likewise very woorthie of consideration It beareth long leaues euer greene smooth and iuicie it hath a stalke of two cubits high round straight euen thicke and strong all clad with leaues from the bottome to the top At the top of the stalke growe three or fower little branches out of which issue small long heads of the colour of the herbe which in time become faire lillies of exquisite whitenesse crossed on the outside and the ends turned outwards round about At the bottome of the flower growe certaine yellow stalks as it were dustie on the vpper side of the fashion of toongs out of the midst of which groweth one long one hauing a round head of the colour of the herbe There is no flower so high and it surpasseth in beautie all other whitenesse Now for the vertue of this plant The leaues thereof are good beeing applied against the biting of serpents beeing boiled they heale burnings and confected in vineger are good for wounds water distilled of the flowers are profitable for women that are deliuered of childe with great difficulty and voideth out the after-burden beeing mixed with saffron and Cinamon The oile drawne out of those flowers is good against all cold diseases of the sinewes as cramps and palsies and to mollifie all stiffenes in the ioynts and all hard-swollen kernelles Lillies long time steeped in oile beeing applied hot do ripen hot impostumes without paine and do breake them especially such as are in the ioints And the bodie of the roots hath the same propertie For beeing boiled and braied with oile of roses they ripen impostumes and beeing braied with hony they heale cut and lame sinewes clense the head of scabs and clarifie the visage and make it smooth The seede of Lillies also taken in drink serueth against the bitings of serpents And the water that is distilled of the flowers in a limbeck doth take wrinkles out of womens faces and doth beautifie them very much Of Baulme Baulme is a very odoriferous plant and smelleth much like a Citron the stalke and leaues thereof are somewhat rough and many stalkes issue out of the roote The property of it is to reioyce the heart to comfort cold and moist stomacks to helpe digestion to euacuate the stoppings of the conduits of the braine to heale feeblenes and faintnes of hart to fortifie it being weake especially if the weakenes bee such that it oftentimes breaketh ones sleepe in the night moreouer this hearb staieth the panting of the hart driueth away cares and sad imaginations which proceede either from the melancholie humor or from fleame combust It hath also a laxatiue vertue not so feeble but that it clenseth and purgeth the spirits and bloud of the hart and arteries from all melancholie vapors which it cannot do to the other parts of the bodie The leaues thereof taken in drinke or outwardly applied are good against stingings of the Tarantula of Scorpions and against the biting of dogs and it is good to bath such wounds with the decoction thereof Beeing mixed with salt they are profitable against the kings euill and mundifie vlcers and beeing applied do asswage the paine of gowts They are vsed in clysters against the flux Also the leaues taken in drinke with niter are very good for them that are stopped by eating toad stooles or mushrums and in loch for them that are troubled with shrinking vp of the bellie and breath with such difficulty that they cannot do it except they stand vpright Grasse Of Dogs-tooth or Dogs-tooth is one of the commonest herbs in the field yea euen in leane grounds The branches thereof ly a long vpon the earth and are full of knots out of which and out of the top it often sendeth new rootes The leaues are very small and pointed it is maruailous in propertie For the decoction thereof taken in drinke healeth wringing in the bellie and hard making of water and breaketh the stone and grauell in the bladder The root braied and applied searcheth wounds And the iuice of the decoction thereof may bee vsed to the same effect which the herb also doth beeing beaten and keepeth wounds from all inflammation if to the decoction thereof bee put a little wine or hony and the third part of so much Pepper Myrrh Franckincense and be made to boile afterwards againe in some copper vessell it is a singular remedy for the tooth-ach and the rheume which falleth into the eies Grasse also that hath seuen spaces betwixt the knots is very good for the headach beeing bound about it It likewise stauncheth bleeding at nose The seede thereof doth greatly prouoke vrine and bindeth the bellie and staieth vomiting It is speciall good against byting of Dragons There is found in some places of Germany a certaine kinde of grasse which is tilled with as great care as other corne or pulse because the people vseth the seede thereof in their meats which seede they call Mama and they seeth it in pottage with fat meate and finde it as good as Rice It is smaller then millet and very white But it must bee beaten in a morter to vnhuske it Of

elect a king to conduct them They alwaies soare very high so to make a farther discouerie of the countrey Euery troupe hath a captaine who is alwaies in the rereward at whose onely crie all the rest do obey and do keepe their rankes and order and each of them taketh his place by turnes They do also set their night watch and keepe sentinell one after another The sentinell standeth vpon one foote onely holding a little stone in the other to the end that if he happen to sleepe the stone which falleth out of his paw might waken him All the rest do this while sleepe hauing their head vnder their wing keeping watch neuertheles sometimes vpon one foote sometimes vpon another But their captaine holdeth his head alwaies in the aire to make signe to the rest of what they are to doe Of Storkes The Storkes are resident in winter in Egypt and in Africa and in sommer in many other warme countries When they will passe to any countrey they do all assemble in one place at a daie appointed and so depart in a troupe Some say they haue no toongs In Thumenestia this kinde of foule is had in such respect bicause they ridde the countrey of serpents that no man dare kill any one vpon paine of hanging and to be punished as an homicide for such are the lawes of the countrey And in Suessia the like is almost vsed The storkes do neuer change their nests and doe retaine this propertie by nature that the yoong ones nourish the old so long as they liue Of wilde-geese Wilde-geese are a kinde of wilde foules as the foresaid birds they make their squadrons pointed like the beake of a ship for so they cut the aire better then if they should flie in a square and they spred themselues abroad by little and little behinde like a corner the better to gaine the wind which guideth them The hindermost-doe commonly rest their heads vpon the foremost and when the guide is wearie of going before he commeth hindmost to the end that euery one may keepe his turne Of Quailes Quailes are also a kinde of flying foules very small of body but singular in diuers properties They soare not very high in the aire in these countries but flie neere to the ground They flie in troupes and that sometimes to the great danger of those which saile vpon the sea or are neere the ground For these birdes doe pearch in so great number by night vpon the sailes that they oftentimes sinke barkes and small vessels They know their ordinarie pearches and do neuer flie abroad in a south winde bicause it is too heauie and too moist and yet they must of necessitie be aided by the winde to performe their voyage by reason that their bodies are more heauie then their wings can sustaine And therefore they hang their wings as if they were pained with flying So then they make choise of the northerne winde for their comming And when they retire themselues they assemble their troupes If the winde be contrarie to them they swallow much grauell and take little stones in their tallents to make themselues more heauie that they may not be caried away by the winde Swallowes also are a kinde of wilde fowle Of Swallowes for they go away in winter But they retire not themselues verie far off but keepe in those coasts which are warmed with the Sunne many are seene bare and vnfledged This bird onely of all those that haue not crooked clawes doth feed on flesh One may put in the number of wilde fowles Blacke-birdes Thrushes Stares Other wilde foules Ringdoues and Pigeons although they vse not to retire to farre countries But they mew not as others doe neither keepe themselues close for they are vsually seene in the countrey where they winter The propertie of Stares is to go in a great troupe together and to flie in a round euerie one of them endeuouring to gaine the middle place The swallow onely of all other birds flieth askew is passing quick of wing so likewise is it hardest of all birds to be taken Moreouer it is peculiar to hir not to feed but in flying Thus then you see what I thought to deduce briefly concerning wilde-fowle You ASER shall prosecute the discourse of this matter Of singing birdes and chiefly of the Nightingall and of sundrie others and of their witte and industrie Chap. 53. ASER. NAture sheweth herselfe verie admirable in that she doth not produce euerie thing indifferently in all places nor doth priuiledge some countries rather then others as well for plants as for liuing creatures indued with sense so that many times that which men thinke to bring home for meere strangenes dieth before it come there To declare that it is verie difficult if not altogether impossible to make any thing liue in what place soeuer Rarenes and changes of many birdes against the ordinance of nature So it was that in the whole Isle of Rhodes there could not be found one only nest of an Eagle though that in the neighbouring territories there were ynough So though the lake of Como which is on the other side of the riuer Po in Italy be very plentiful in fruit trees faire pasturage yet for all this there cannot be found within eight miles almost one storke It is said also that in all Tarentum there is not one Wood-pecker to be found And in the territory of Athēs the partridges passe not the limits of Boeotia So in Mar Maggiore or the Euxine sea there is no fowle seene And in Volaterra the ring-doues are seene to come euerie yeere in great vollies ouer the sea But besides all this there is great difference in seasons for birdes for some appeere all the yeere long others shew themselues but halfe the yeere some are seen abroad but three moneths Some also go away presently after they haue hatched and brought vp their yoong ones But aboue all there are maruellous things found in singing birdes For some there are which chaunge their feathers and their note one season of the yeere so that one would say they were quite other birdes which happeneth not to the greater fowles except to the crane which waxeth blacke in age Black-birds Of blackbirdes which are naturally blacke being old become of a reddish colour They sing in sommer in winter they doe but chatter and are altogether dumbe when the daies begin to lengthen as about mid-December and the cockes of a yeere old haue an iuorie white bill Thrushes haue their necke particoloured in sommer but in winter it is all of one colour Of the Nightingale But amongst singing birdes the nightingal is most admirable For it is a miracle that so shrill a voice can proceed out of so small a bodie and that it can hold breath so long Moreouer it hath a verie harmonious note and perfectly musicall For sometimes shee draweth out her notes long another while shee quauers straightwaies she

Tamariske the Willow and the Reede doe sping at pleasure though many of them doe growe in mountaines vallies plaines and forrests but they prosper not there so well This difference also is marked in herbes and shrubs For some growe well in marishes others in lakes and pooles others on riuers sides other prosper in watrish and muddie places others againe not abiding them doe growe in drie and stonie ground Some spring indifferently both in moist and drie ground And some require the fields others vineyards and others meadowes Some also loue the valleies others hillocks others high mountaines Some likewise prosper in priuate places and growe neere to wals of townes and cities and some growe in old ruines But it is to be noted that though each kinde of plants growe and prosper best in his proper ground and doth loue very much his owne naturall situation yet sometimes herbs are found indifferently in mountaines hillocks valleies fields and meadowes Likewise the industrie and trauell of man doth bring to passe that that which is strange becommeth domesticall yet not without some manifest difference between the pure naturall production and that which is caused by arte Moreouer the parts of plants are the roote the stocke The parts of plants the branches the leaues the fruit the stalke the tufts called Vmbellae the graines the seedes the flowers the mossie-downe the wood the barke the sinewes the inner pil the vaines the sap the pith the gum called Lachryma the knot and many other small parcels which the curious obserue therein all which serue to distinguish trees and herbes one from another which parts are somewhat answerable to the parts of liuing creatures For the roots seeme to agree with the bellie as Theophrastus holdeth or else with the mouth as others maintaine who referre the lower part of the stocke to the bellie and the leaues haue some reference to the haire the barke to the hide and skin the wood to the bones the vaines to the vaines the matrice to some entrailes which cannot liue without the matrice the flowers to egges the seedes to seede the branches and boughes to the extreme parts of liuing creatures and the fruit to the menstruous blood wherein the seede is many times inclosed Moreouer the parts of parts are woorthie of consideration as those of the roote whose middle part is as it were of wood out of which the plant doth oftentimes bud and is therefore defended with greater strength And therefore if this middle part bee taken out of garlicke that which remaineth is not so sharpe and of so strong sauour as before and it seemeth likewise to bee lesse full of iuice Next the second part is the rinde or coate which is very small and the third is the peele or huske and the fourth is the inner-peele which enuironeth the huske which is not properly called so because it is ment for that which compasseth the seede of the fruit and the fruit it selfe and also because it contayneth that which enuironeth the wood in the root insteed of the seed Whereby it appeereth that they which cast away this part full of wood when they make their decoctions do verie ill considering that it is the most excellent of all the rest and of greatest force That the wood of roots must not bee cast away in decoctions for that which produceth the seede that onely contayneth the whole vertue thereof because it alone hath life That part then which is of wood seemeth to be the chiefe and principall substance of the medicine because that that thing onely which liueth produceth the seed in that part only wherein it hath life For although that in succorie and such like herbes some leaues grow out of the barke yet the herbe it selfe and the seed doe proceed out of the wood As the leaues then are in the stalke or slip so is the barke in the wood and both leaues and barke are therein for safegard thereof In the lower part the iuice falleth into the roote by the middle part the roote is nourished and in the vppermost part it is conuerted into seed Wherefore the vppermost part of the roote is best and most different from the nature of earth The flowers likewise haue their parts for there is a kinde of leafe in the flower which alwaies shineth and is in all flowers because it is made of a verie fine substance The buddes likewise wherein the flowers are contayned are parts of them and the seede of which the flower springeth as it is cause of the generation thereof so is it a part of the flower What plants and what parts of them haue the greatest virtue and so is the stalke or foote called Pediculus in which all these things are as it were planted and adioyned thereto Let vs also note that amongst trees the old are of more subtile qualitie then the other And euerie tree which beareth leaues all the yeere long is hot and drie as the palme tree the oliue tree the cedar the myrtle But this reason is not auaileable in herbes for houseleeke is of a grosse substance and yet beareth leaues all winter And indeed both in herbes and trees they which grow wilde abroad are better then the domesticall and so are they which are odoriferous much more then they which haue a badde sauour and haue no sent at all especially if they grow in mountaines and therefore they are preferred by phisitions before the other And we must note that most commonly the roots smell better and are sweeter then the other parts of the plant except the flowers which is so because the concoction is best done in the rootes For all things which haue the humour well boiled smell best for that humour is most subtile and close For which cause all flowers almost doe smell well For by reason that the humour which is in them is verie subtile and little it is the more easily concocted therein and therefore also it sooner perisheth But this humour remayneth and is preserued in the rootes and in the stocke for the subtile substance thereof being well concocted doth abide in the earthie substance Why young folkes breth is sweeter then that of the old whereby we may learne why yoong folks haue sweeter breath then olde and distempered people For children haue their humour verie subtile and the small humour may be verie well concocted in yoong folkes by the great heat which aboundeth in them But want of heat hindreth it in olde folkes and the qualitie of the humour is hurt in those that are distempered causeth that the decoction cannot be performed Now we haue staide long enough in this discourse But as we haue distinguished plants into fower principall kindes let vs now speake of the nature and propertie of the most especiall among them to the ende that according to our intention we may not passe ouer any of the workes of God without producing some testimonies which may cause vs more and more

it is singular good against hot and contagious feuers This same iuice is of so strong and pearsing vertue that if you powre it out twise or thrise fresh and wash whole pearles therewith steeping them in it and afterwards expose them to the sunne they will within fiue or six daies become as soft as honie in such sort that you may fashion them how you list Likewise if you steepe for certaine howers golde therein it wil diminish in waight In briefe limons doe not much differ from the vertue and nature of citrons but they are commonly somewhat lesse longer and not of so thicke a rinde fuller of iuice sharper in taste almost alike in seede of colour pale Oranges are more round and being ripe they haue a very orient golden colour Of Oranges and of their fruit their peele is thicker then that of limons and more bitter The iuice within whereof they be full is not in all of one taste for some are sweete some sower and some tart Orange-trees are alwaies greene like citron-trees They haue leaues like laurell broad thicke smooth sweete and pointed Their branches likewise are flexible pricklie and couered with a greene whitish coloured barke Their blossomes are white of a very excellent smell and are diligently gathered by perfumers where there is any quantitie for the composition of perfumes Some also distill water of them not onely for the excellencie of the smell thereof but also to serue in medicine especially against pestilent feuers which cause blisters Being taken in drinke it is very profitable when neede requireth to haue infected humors euacuated out of the inner part of the bodie to the outtermost part by sweatings for this water doth cause much sweating and doth greatly comfort the hart The peele of oranges is hotter sharper and bitterer in taste then that of citrons and limons And sweete oranges are hot in all parts but the iuice of all others is cold and resisteth corruption Wherefore they are good against feuers which the sweete are not Moreouer their iuice pressed out of the rinde doth easily inflame and doth also penetrate through great tenuitie within a glasse euen to the wine therein contained Of the Oliue-tree The oliue-tree also is excellent amongst trees and doth require a warme and temperate aire as is that of Prouence It is planted of twigs faire and fruitful yoong branches pulled from off the boughes of the tree being very thicke and of a foote and halfe long Oliue-trees haue long pointed leaues thicke smooth greene aboue and whitish vnderneath bitter in taste and somewhat sharpe They bud in Iulie and haue white flowers hanging in clusters out of which grow the fruit greene at first and as they ripen paler then waxe they purple and at last turne blacke They are gathered in the latter moneths of the yeere being no sooner ripe They are strowed vpon the floore till such time as they become wrinckled Afterwards they are ground and then put into the presse with hot water and so they yeeld their oile The wood of the oliue-tree is faire full of veines speckled massie and burneth as well greene as drie It is in no wise subiect to vermine especially so long as it is planted bicause of the odour thereof which is strong yea it defendeth all other plants therefrom which are neere vnto it as likewise through the bitternesse thereof it causeth Cabbages and Lettuse to die and all other moist herbes which are sowed in the plot with it Of the vse of Oliues Oliues are gathered for two occasions either that oile may be extracted out of them or that they may be reserued for bankets wherein they are serued to excite the appetite but all kindes of oliues doe not serue indifferently for these two vses for the greatest are best to eate and the least to drawe oile out of They which are kept for feasts are conserued in brine and salted vineger in such sort as they retaine their naturall verdure For the propertie of the oliue it hath in it a very restringent vertue for the decoction of the leaues in a clyster staieth the flux of the bellie and the iuice pressed out of the leaues with white wine and raine water restraineth all manner of bloodie flixe The licour which distilleth out of the greene wood as it burneth healeth the itch tetters and ringwormes New oliues being eaten prouoke the appetite and get a good stomacke although they harden the bellie Being very ripe they are moderately hot otherwise they are more binding and cooling The oile that is extracted out of oliues is of singular vertue being either applied outwardly or taken inwardly according to the indisposed parts of the bodie it looseneth and mollifieth the bellie dulleth the malice of poysons and doth subtilly driue them away yea if any venim or burning happen on the skin of the bodie and begin to make an vlcer or sore there nothing is better to heale this hurt then to annoint it with new fresh oile of oliues The Pomegranate tree also is to bee no lesse esteemed of Of the Pomegranate tree and of the fruit thereof then the forenamed trees because of the excellency of the fruit thereof The leaues of it resemble those of the Oliue-tree of a darck-greene colour very thick and full of many red strakes hanging by a red stalke The branches are pliable and full of prickles The blossomes red and open like bels the mouth of them cut in fashion of a star out of which proceede thinne red leaues with certaine small seedes hanged by the midst like them in a rose The fruit is couered with a rinde like vnto leather red without and yealow within full of infinite pointed graines red full of a wine-like iuyce with a stone in them And these graines are separated one from another with maruailous cunning of nature by fine thin yealow skinnes Moreouer there are three sorts of Pomegranates sweete sharpe and winie And the qualitie of them all is restringent but not alike For by their tast you may iudge of their difference And their graines are more binding drying then their iuice the rinde more then the graines and the blossomes haue the same virtue with the fruit And the powder of a Pomegranate dryed in an ouen in a new earthen pot close stopped beeing taken in drinck is maruailous singular to stay the flux of the bellie The leaues also of a Pomegranate tree well beaten or the iuice of them mixed with oile of roses doth verie much ease inueterated paines of the head beeing often laide to the forehead The boughes of this tree do chase away venemous beasts for which cause the ancients were wont to lay them ouer and vnder their beds The decoction of the root beeing drunck doth also kill great wormes in the belly and doth void them out Now haue wee said enough concerning trees for the subiect by vs vndertaken To morrow wee will discourse of the most singular hearbes and rootes to the

Pimpernell There are three sorts of Pimpernell One groweth very great and hath a long root the leaues are couched round vpon the earth beeing cut and indented about the stalke is square the flowers thick in bunches smal and whitish The next sort is little and hath a red stalke the leaues small not so much cut and thinner dented The third kinde is the most common which is often eaten in sallades and set in gardens The root of the two first kindes wherein all their vertue lieth is very good for paines in the reines and bladder which are caused by the stone For it cleereth the reines of grauell and driueth foorth long kept vrine The iuice also of this root beeing drunke with wine is singular against all poisons and bitings of venemous beasts For which cause some esteeme much of this root to bee vsed against the plague The third kinde of Pimpernell is different in vertue from the former although they be verie like in forme of leaues For it is more restringent in taste and verie nourishing for which cause it may be thought to be of a binding nature Wherefore it stayeth the Dysenteria and other fluxes and the vomiting of cholericke humours It healeth wounds and vlcers and it is of speciall vse in ointments that are made for wounds in the head and for cankers Some phisitions haue much commended it in the cure of pestilent and contagious feuers affirming also that the often vsage thereof is a soueraigne preseruatiue against dangerous diseases Now ASER do you proceed in this our treatise concerning simples Of Night-shade Alkakeng Pellitorie of the wall Fumitorie Angelica and of Maidens-haire Chapter 77. ASER. IT is wonderfull to rehearse the vertues properties which many affirme to vs in their writings to cōsist in the Solanum whereof the Ancients made fower kindes But I will heere make mention of two onely which are verie common Of Nightshade and the properties thereof sith that the rest are seldome found or neuer The first kinde is called Night-shade which is a small little herbe hauing many pits in the stalke thereof out of which grow blacke leaues like to those of Basill but a little greater It beareth white flowers yealow in the midst in fashion of a starre The fruit thereof is round hanging in clusters full of a winie iuice no lesse then Iuniper seede wherein a small white graine is enclosed this fruit is of diuers colours for in some plants it is blacke in others yealow and in some enclining towards a greene Concerning the propertie of this plant the iuice of the fruit thereof as likewise of the leaues mixed with oyle of roses and a little vineger is singular against the headach when it is caused by heat It is good for such as are franticke if one steepe linnen clothes therein and lay them to the forepart of their head In like sort may they be applied to the forehead against hot rheumes that fal downe into the eies It is good also to gargle it against inflammations of the throat and falling of the pallat It is put in ointments to heale sore and grieuous vlcers The leaues thereof beaten with salt and laide on a plaister breake impostumes that grow behinde the eares In briefe when need is to refresh to dry vp or to restraine night-shade is verie conuenient Now for the other kinde of Solanum commonly called Alkakeng Of Alkakeng and the vertue thereof it hath leaues like vnto Nightshade but broader stronger somewhat sharp and not so black the stalke thereof is supple which beeing growne vp enclineth towards the ground The flowers are white out of which rise little bladders as big as a nut and growe sharpe they are composed of eight sides of equall distance one from another And they are at first greene and beeing ripe red within them they containe fruit one graine in each of them beeing fastned to the bottome of the bladder like to the seede of a red grape both sharp and bitter and full of a great number of small white graines within In this fruit also is great vertue not onely to prouoke vrine but also to allay the burning heat thereof For the iuice of it beeing drunke with the iuice of white poppie or of the seed of Melons or of Gourds or with the decoction of Mallowes or with barly water is marueilous singular for the scorching heate of vrine And this plant is so contrarie to adders that laying the roote thereof neere vnto them they are sodainly surprised with so great sleepe that they die therewith The fruite thereof steeped in new wine is very good being laide on the eie lids Some put it in a vessell togither with ripe grapes which they suffer to boyle for certaine daies togither out of which they extract a very profitable wine for such as are troubled with grauell euacuating the grauell marueilously well and clensing the reines being drunke to the waight of fowre ounces And the same fruite taken in drinke healeth the iaundise Of Pellitorie Pellitorie is an herbe very well knowne and hath manie great properties the leaues thereof are rough the stalke redde about which are bitter graines which are fit to lay amongst apparell This plant hath the vertue to refresh and binde for which cause it is singular good to heale greene wounds For if it be laide vpon a wound being halfe beaten and very fresh and be not taken off for three daies togither there shall be no neede to vse any other medicine The waight of three ounces of the iuice thereof being drunke is marueilous good to free vrine that hath long beene holden and the herbe heated vpon a tile and sprinkled with Malmesey and applied to the forehead is very good for such as are troubled with grauell and cannot make water The iuice thereof held within the mouth healeth the toothach The distilled water thereof clenseth and clarifieth the visage the leaues being applied heale burnings swellings and inflammations being fried with fresh butter or capons grease and laide in manner of a serge-cloth vpon the belly they ease the colicke A cataplasme also made of greene pellitorie beaten with crums of bread and oyle of roses or cammomill resolueth impostumes which grow in the dugs And being mixed with goates-grease or kids grease it is good for gouts and fals The iuice likewise mixed in like quantitie of white wine and oile of sweet almonds being newly made alayeth the paines torments of the stone and dropped into the eares with oyle of roses it healeth the paine of them Some minister them to gargle for inflammation in the throat And some giue them for an old cough It is seene by experience that this herbe is abstersiue in so much as it is verie good to expell wormes Of Fumitory Fumitorie is an herbe much branched and tender hauing verie small leaues growing here and there of a white ashie colour and in great number vpon euerie side The flower thereof is purple This plant

of it one is called great Centurie and the other is lesser Centurie The great hath leaues like a walnut tree long greene like Colewoorts indented about a stalke of two or three cubits high The flower thereof is blew and the roote verie big full of iuice sharp with astriction and sweetnes The lesser sore hath leaues like rue a square stalke somewhat more then a span long the flowers thereof are red inclining to purple and the root is small smooth and bitter in taste For their properties the vertue of great Centurie consisteth in the roote thereof which serueth for ruptures conuulsions difficultie in breathing old coughes pleurisies and spitting of blood It is also giuen to them that are sicke of the dropsie of the iaundise and are pained in their liuer being either steeped in wine or beaten to powder and drunke Of the lesser Galen hath composed an whole booke which he dedicated to his friend Papias concerning the great and admirable vertues therein For it purgeth choler and fleame for which cause the decoction thereof is good against tertian feuers which also and the iuice thereof helpeth stoppings and hardnes of the liuer and spleene Being drunke likewise to the waight of a dram with honie or laid vpon the nauell it auoideth wormes out of the belly The leaues of this herbe wherein and in the flowers thereof lyeth all the vertue being applied fresh to great wounds search them and heales vp old vlcers But now changing our talke let vs leaue phisicke plants and say somwhat concerning those more excellent ones which particularly serue for the nouriture of Man Of Wheate Rie Barley and Oates and of Rice and Millet Chap. 79. ARAM. AMongsts herbs and plants wherewith men are fed and nourished the chiefe degree is by good right assigned to wheat as to that graine whereof the best bread is made which onely with water may very well suffice for the mainteinance of our life hauing many properties also in the vse of phisick Now according to the diuersitie of places wherein it groweth people do name it and one sort differeth from another but wee will heere speake of that which is most common amongst vs. All wheat hath many verie small roots Of Wheat and of the forme and fertilitie thereof but one leafe and many buds which may diuide themselues into sundry branches All the winter time it is an herb but the weather waxing milder there springeth out of the midst thereof a small stalk which after three or foure knots or ioints beareth an eare not by and by seene but is hidden within a case The stalke beeing made the flower bloometh some foure or fiue daies after and about so long endureth That past the graine swelleth and ripeneth in forty daies or sooner as the climate is in heat The fertility of this plant is meruailous as wee behold by daily experience For there are some places in Italie especially in the territory of Sienna about the sea coasts where there hath beene seene to grow out of one only graine foure and twenty eares of corne and that one bushell of seede hath yeelded an hundred The best wheat should bee hard to breake massiue waightie of the colour of gold cleere smooth kept three moneths ripe faire and growing in a fat soile to be the fitter to make better bread of And the meale also must not be too much ground neither yet too fresh nor too long kept before it be vsed for if it be too much ground it maketh bread as if it were of branne that which is too fresh doth yet retaine therein some heat of the mill-stone and that which is kept too long will be spoyled either by dust or by mouldines or will else haue some bad smell Now besides the common vse of wheat the manner how to make it in drinke is verie notable which drinke serueth insteed of wine in those countries where the vine cannot fructifie Beere For there they take wheat and sometimes barley rie or oates euerie one apart or else two or three sorts of these graines or else all mingled togither and steepe them in fountaine water or in water of the cleanest and cleerest riuer that may be chosen or else for better in a decoction or wourt of hops and this is done for so long time till the graine begin to breake then is it dried in the sunne being drie it is beaten or else ground afterwards sodden in water in which it hath first beene steeped for the space of three or fower howers putting thereto a good quantitie of the flowers of hops and skimming the decoction or wourt verie well that done it is powred out and put in vessels for the purpose This drinke is called Beere And they which will haue it verie pleasant to the taste after it is made doe cast into the vessels sugar cinamom and cloues and then stirre it verie much Some doe put cockle into the composition of beere the more to sharpen the taste And sith we are entred into this speech we will here note that wheat doth easily conuert into cockle chiefly when the weather is rainie and cold Of Cockle for it commeth of corne corrupted by too much moisture or that hath beene too much wet by continuall raines in winter It springeth first out of the ground hauing a long leafe fat rough with a slenderer stalk then that of wheat at the top whereof there is a long eare hauing on all sides little sharpe cods or huskes out of which three or fower graines grow together being couered with a verie hard barke The bread that hath much thereof in it doth dizzie and hurt the head so that they which eat thereof do commonly fall into a sound sleep and their head is much troubled It annoyeth the eies and dimmeth the sight Some also do make * As some thinke wafer-cakes Amylum of wheat which serueth for many things They take verie cleane wheat of three moneths olde which they wet fiue times a day and as often by night if it be possible being well soaked and steeped they powre the water away not shaking it to the ende that the thick and that which is like creame may not runne out with the water After that it is verie wel mollified and the water changed it must be sifted that the bran which swimmeth at top thereof may bee done away and then must it be kneaded verie hard together casting fresh water stil vpon it And so it must be laid in panniers or dossers to drie and then vpon new tiles to be parched in the sun with as much speed as may be for if it remaine neuer so little a while moist it waxeth sowre The best is that which is white fresh light and smooth It hath power to mollifie in sharpe and rough things and is good against rheumes that fall into the eies Being taken in drinke it restraineth spitting of blood and asswageth the sorenes of the throat Next after Wheat Rie is in

common vse to make bread of Of Rie This plant hath many stalkes smaller then those of wheat and blacker as the graine is also Meale made of Rie is good for plaisters to draw The decoction of the seede voideth wormes out of the belly especially if Coriander seed be mixed therewith The straw being soaked in water is good to binde vines insteed of rush or broome Barley is also much vsed euerie where Of Barley It beareth a broad leafe and rougher then wheat hath a britler and lesser stalk of eight knots with one onely rough broad leafe vpon the stalke The graine is lapped in a cod which is close shut out of the top whereof groweth a long and sharpe beard The best is that which is whitest most full heauie easie to boyle not waxing mouldie There groweth a certaine kinde of it in many places the graine whereof is easily taken out of the huske or cod and is therefore called clensed Barley Besides all barley drieth and cooleth and is also abstersiue The meale thereof boyled in honied-water with figs resolueth al inflammations and impostumes with rosin and pigeons dung it ripeneth all hard swellings with melilot heads of poppie it easeth the paine of the sides and with quinces or vineger it appeaseth inflammations of the goute in the feete The ashes of burnt barley is verie good for burnings being laide thereupon and applied to flesh that cleaueth not to the bone Concerning barley-bread besides that it lyeth heauie vpon the stomacke it engendreth also cold and clammie humours it nourisheth little causeth windines and yet some say it is very good for them that haue the gout in their feet Of Beere There is a certain kind of drink called Beere made of barley which is cōmonly vsed insteed of wine in al the north-countries to wit in Germany Bohemia Polonia Flāders other cold countries of Europe And if one take too much therof it wil inebriate or make drūken as wel as wine that for a lōger time bicause that beere is more grosse and materiall and of harder digestion then wine whereto it is so like also in force and vertue that aqua-vitae is likewise made thereof Next after barley oates are a graine very commodious Of Oates In leafe and stalke this graine resembleth wheate but it beareth on the top thereof as it were little twolegd grashoppers hanging where the graine is inclosed which though it seeme to be created of nature rather fit for beasts foode then for man yet in Germanie they oftentimes eate it in good fat flesh pottage being boiled therein after it hath beene cleansed of all filth as is vsed in rice Oates also in the vse of phisicke doe very neere approch to the qualitie of Barley For being applied it drieth and moderately resolueth But it is a little more cold and somewhat more restringent in temper so that it is good for the flux in the belly and profitable for those that haue the cough Of Rice Wee may likewise consider of Rice which the Ancients did hold to bee a kinde of corne The leafe thereof is very thick resembling that of a leeke The stalke thereof is about a cubit long knotty bigger then that of wheat and stronger on the top of it groweth an eare parted into little branches on both sides whereof is the graine included in a yealow huske rough and hauing creuises on the side of an ouall figure and beeing taken out of the huske it becommeth white It groweth in some places of Italie in moist ground but it aboundeth in Asia Syria and Egypt Rice is very vsuall in meat and nourisheth meanely but it is made of more e●●●… digestion and of better tast beeing sod in cowes-milk almond milke or fat flesh pottage It is very good to giue to such as haue the laxe and colick The flower thereof is good in repercussiue plaisters It staieth inflammations that rise in the dugs The decoction of Rice also is very profitable in clisters against laxes or fluxes and in drinke likewise Now to end this talke Of Millet wee will say something concerning Millet for it hath many properties both in food and phisick This plant beareth leaues like those of a reed hauing a stalke of a cubit long thick knottie and rough At the top thereof do hang certaine hairie heads in which the graine groweth in great abundance beeing round massiue yealow and lapped in a thin skin In many places bread is made of this graine and euen at Verona it is carried hot about the streets whereof they make much account for it hath a sweetnes very pleasant to the tast if it bee eaten a little after it is drawne out of the ouen but beeing hard it is vnpleasant The common people of Trent are nourished with Millet boiled onely eating it with milke and it is the best food that they can get Besides there are very good fomentations or serge-clothes made of Millet to dry moderately and to driue out ventosities especially beeing mixed with salt It is happily applied against griping in the bellie caused through windines but it is much better yet beeing mingled with flowers of Cammomill It is commonly fried in a pan and then put hot into a bag and so laid vpon the diseased parts It hath the vertue to preserue medicines long time from moulding and putrifying if they bee buried in an heape of Millet yea and fresh flesh is long kept thereby in hot weather Now to finish this daies discourse it seemeth good to me ACHITOB that you speake of the vine and fruit thereof of which men make their most delicious drinke Of the Vine of Grapes of Wine and of Aqua-vitae Chap. 80. ACHITOB. IT were very superfluous to make here a long discourse concerning the Vine and concerning the diuers qualities which are found in this plant of which wee doe not onely receiue Grapes a most pleasant and delicious meat but haue also that most exquisite drinke which wee call wine for all the world hath so much cherished the vine that there are few people of any condition soeuer but can discourse sufficiently well of it and of the nature thereof Property of the Vine We will briefly then declare that which wee shall thinke most notable therein and chiefly in the vse of medicine The leaues and tender branches thereof helpe the head-ach beeing laid thereupon and appease inflammations and heat of the stomack The iuice of them drunke serue against Dysenterias or fluxes spitting of bloud weakenes of stomack and the corrupt appetite of great bellied women The licour of vines which lieth thick vpon the stock thereof like gum beeing taken in drinke with wine purgeth grauell The ashes of the branches and stones beeing mixed with vineger helpeth the hard bindings of the fundament and is good against the stingings and bitings of vipers and against inflammation of the spleene beeing laid thereupon with oile of Roses Rue and vineger As grapes are the most singular fruits

the ship on dry land Lib. 3. Plinie recordeth many other wonders concerning these beasts saying that they honour the stars and principally the sunne and moone that some haue beene seene who beeing sicke haue fallen downe back-wards casting vp herbes towards heauen as if they would offer vp the fruits of the earth in sacrifice and praier to obtaine succour from aboue that all of them doe honour a king and fall downe vpon their knees before him and that they bring chaplets of hearbes and flowers vnto him Hist nat lib. 8. That some of them haue beene seene to record by themselues in the night time that which they haue beene taught in the day time to the ende that they might the better put it in practise That marching in troupes the eldest amongst them goeth formost as captaine and another behinde them as ordering the rereward that intending to passe any riuer they put the yoongest elephants formost knowing that the great elephants would sinke lower because of their excessiue heauines and would by that meanes make the fourd more difficult to passe by reason of the water which would gather there That they doe no harme except they be prouoked thereto and also that they are so gentle towards other weake beasts that passing by a flocke of small cattell they will gently turne backe with their heads all those beasts which they meete for feare of hurting them or treading them vnder their feete They are verie long liued euen to two hundred or three hundred yeeres as Aristotle affirmeth and when the male and female couple together as man and woman they withdraw themselues for this purpose into most secret and hidden places and the females bear their yoong ones for two yeeres together and do neuer bring foorth but one and that but once onely in their life Of their teeth is the true iuorie made but because there are but few to be had therefore some saw and cut in pieces the bones of Elephants which they sell for iuorie Moreouer Historiographers report that the first time that Elephants were seene at Rome was in the triumph of Pompey after he had subdued Africke for he had two yoked to his chariot and that in the turnies and fence-playes which Germanicus Caesar made to shew pastime to the people of Rome there were Elephants that leaped as if they would skippe and daunce and that fortie two Elephants were brought in triumph to Rome after the memorable victorie which Ruscius Metellus did obtaine in Sicily against the Carthaginians Of the Cammell The camell is also a verie tractable beast and profitable to man verie ingenious and apt to receiue discipline For they serue to ride vpon to beare great burthens and also to shew men pastime in many exercises which is taught them by vse There are some in all parts of the world but they abound in Africa And the Arabians hold them for their greatest riches and possessions There are three kindes of them one whereof is verie great another sort are verie little these two kindes hauing but one bunch vpon their backes and the other are of meane stature and haue two bunches each whereof are fit to carrie burthens and to ride vpon also besides some of them resemble asses in colour and some are reddish and they haue their hoofes almost clouen in two but not exactly so that their foote expresseth a kinde of semblance of fiue toes fleshie vnderneath which maketh them tender in stonie places The best Camels are those of Africa because they beare their charges for the space of fortie daies together without euer eating any oates but onely such grasse as is in the fields or some boughes and their least burthen is of a thousand waight being by a naturall instinct so vrged to the seruice of man that with the least touch which may be vpon their necke or knees they will presently bend and kneele vpon the ground to receiue their loade which when they feele to be answerable to their strength they rise againe vpon their feete There are some of them so swift that they will run fiftie miles and more in one day but these are of small stature being good for nothing but to ride vpon The noblemen of Arabia Numidia and Africans of Lybia do neuer vse other steeds And when the king of Tombuto would haue any matter of importance to be signified to the merchants of Numidia with speed he sendeth a Poste vpon one of his camels who runneth from Tombuto to Darha or Segelmessa in the space of seuen or eight daies which are about fower hundred and fiftie French miles being a countrey full of deserts so that the way is verie hard to finde out but by the verie direction of the Camell it selfe When these beasts are lustie which lasteth for fortie daies together with them they waxe verie fierce and outragious and will remember the least blow that their masters shall strike them with a sticke so that if they may fasten their teeth vpon any of them they will lift them vp into the aire then cast them downe againe and murther them with their fore-feete in terrible and grieuous manner but that time being passed they become gentle and tractable as before They neuer drinke but from fiue daies to fiue daies and sometimes they stay nine or fifteene daies whether it be by custome or that this beast is drie or else that Nature hath so well prouided that this creature which liueth in deserts should haue no need to drinke oftentimes in those places where water is seldome found He daunceth at the sound of the trumpet and seemeth to reioice at musicke refreshing himselfe and taking new courage then when being tyred with a tedious iourney his guide beginneth to sing some merrie song Lib. 9. and some also haue beene seene to daunce at the sound of a tabor as the Author of the description of Africa doth testifie Now speake we of the Rhinoceros which is named by some the Bull of India being admirable amongst other beasts Of the Rhinoceros For he is almost as big as the Elephant his thighes are bigger of the colour of wood being all naturally armed with shels which he beareth like bucklers He hath in the vppermost part of his forehead an horne for the length of a span or more very hard strong straight and verie sharpe which turneth towards the forehead and when he will fight he whetteth it And there are some also which haue another little horne vpon the skinne of their backe which is so hard and difficult to penetrate that no arrow how sharpe soeuer it be can pierce it thorough And therefore the Indians arme themselues with their skins as we doe with harneis and murrions and couer their horses with it as we doe ours with barbs and armour This beast hath continuall warre with the Elephant and is his great enemie fighting chiefly with him yea and with all other beasts when the female bringeth foorth her yoong ones of which