body and are quick of Concoction cleanse the Passages are good against the Obstructions of the breast gently loosen the belly and purge by urine especially if a whole Meal be made of them without flesh and only eaten as aforesaid They are under the dominion of the Moon and Cancer Of Potato's THis is a very brave noble and more excellent Root than any other the West-Indies bring forth of a friendly temperate Quality somewhat windy if eaten hot or whilest the fiery Atomes or Vapours be in it therefore they are far better and wholsomer cold as many other of the like nature are They afford a brave firm substantial Nourishment surpassing therein all other Roots but not comparative to that of Bread they are Restorative of a most pleasant Taste comfort and strengthen the body of a warming nature and operation so that they are a good food eaten alone or with Bread Butter Flesh or the like The common ways of preparing or dressing them are divers but the most common are Stewing and Roasting them in the Embers the last of which is most commendable but being more tedious than the other is not so frequently practised either way they make a good Dish being eaten when through cold with Oyl Vinegar Salt and Bread or Butter instead of Oyl to such as do not love it or cannot procure it As to Temperature they are of a middle Nature but rather warm than cold easie of Concoction and the drier they are prepar'd the warmer and firmer Nourishment they yield Likewise they make a good sort of Drink but it will not admit of much age being apt then to become acid sharp and keen it may be made either stronger or smaller according to the Quantity of Potato's allowed and Water put to them There are various sorts but the driest and yellowest are best They are under Sol in the sign Taurus The young and tender Leaves are a pretty good Sallet boyl'd they cleanse the stomach and loosen the belly being eaten with Butter Vinegar Salt and Bread a fine Meaâ— may be made of them Of Yams THis also is an excellent Root temperately hot and more dry than moist of a lovely white Colour and pleasant innocent Taste which demonstrates their good Vertues they afford an harmless clean and yet pretty substantial Nourishment neither much bind nor relax the belly but of the two rather loosen They are easie of Concoction and if they be well prepared according to Art make a brave friendly pleasant food drest with Butter Vinegar and Salt and eaten with Bread They are good for every Age and Constitution rarely disagreeing with any they are very useful to be eaten with Flesh a little Flesh and good store of Yams They are under the government of Venus and Luna and the sign Libra Of Cusado-Bread THis Bread is of an innocent nature and operation yet affords a strong substantial Nourishment far beyond what most People suppose for being put into any kind of Pottage Milk or the like it dissolves its self into gellious substance which is a token of its strength as its pure white Colour and innocent Taste demonstrates its innate Vertues and Equality of Parts The four grand Qualities at large described in my other Treatises whence the four perfect Tastes do proceed being so equally mixt that by its Taste it can hardly be distinguished which does carry the upper dominion under which simplicity lies hid the most soveraign Vertues of Nature it is most pleasant when new but not then the wholsomest 't is a good Ingredient to be eaten with Butter Cheese Herbs Milk or any kind of Pottages as also with Flesh and will alone sustain Nature for a man may live as long without being tyred and be as well supported as to health and strength with it as with the best Wheaten Bread and being once familiariz'd through a little custom and use it becomes pleasant to most Ages and Constitutions I remember a Master of a Ship that assured me That being by stress of Weather kept out at Sea much longer than they expected so that all their Provisions were spent but Water and Cusado Bread of which they had plenty he and his Ships Crew lived thereon for many days without any other Sustenance and though at first being used to variety of other Foods they thought it some-what hard yet after some days it became most pleasing and they were so far from complaining of their strength being diminished that they found themselves more than ordinary brisk and active As for the Temperature of this Bread it is rather hot than cold and is of easie concoction 't is under the government of Saturn and Venus in the sign Scorpio It s poysonous Liquor which is pressed out of the Root when it is made into Bread is Saturnine and the white flowery substance or matter is Venereal Nor is it strange to those that understand Nature's course that Poyson and most wholsom Food should proceed from one and the same Vegetable diversly prepared for such do know that in all things as well as in this there are lurging Poysons that are the Root of every Life and without which there could be neither Vitality nor Vegetation Of Ginger THis is an excellent Spice of an hot dry tart Nature endued with a stronger and more durable heat than Pepper and every way more efficacious so that where-ever this Spice is there is no need of Pepper it is chiefly good for cold and moist Stomachs and such as are troubled with cold windy Diseases for it discusseth and helpeth Digestion and in some degree consumeth crude phlegmatick Humors good especially for aged People in cold and moist Seasons of the year But neither this sort of Spice nor any other is good to be used in hot Seasons or Climates except in a Physical way as I have else-where demonstrated Particularly in Young People and Chollerick Complexions the frequent use of such things does heat dry and consume the purer Spirits and Radical Moisture and inflame the Blood and in some Constitutions makes it sharp and keen they are also injurious to the natural Heat of the Stomach and digestive Faculty whence the Scurvey Ioynt-Aches and many cruel Distempers proceed and assist not a little to the generation of the Stone where-ever they meet apt matter for that purpose The same is to be understood of all other things in which heat and driness do too violently predominate the frequent use of which is like the common drinking of Brandy when once the Stomach is accustomed to them it cannot digest its food without them and yet the Remedy is as bad as the Disease for as the natural heat is more debilitated so more Brandy is craved for till People utterly destroy themselves Of Oranges THere being various sorts of this Fruit differing in their Temperature and Nature they are to be considered according to the sweetness sowrness and tartness of them the sowrest sort are the coldest most sharp and penetrating and
Friendly Advice TO THE Gentlemen-Planters OF THE East and West INDIES In Three Parts I. A brief Treatise of the most principal Fruits and Herbs that grow in the East West Indies giving an Account of their respective Vertues both for Food and Physick and what Planet and Sign they are under Together with some Directions for the Preservation of Health and Life in those hot Climates II. The Complaints of the Negro-Slaves against the hard Usages and barbarous Cruelties inflicted upon them III. A Discourse in way of Dialogue between an Ethiopean or Negro-Slave and a Christian that was his Master in America By Philotheos Physiologus Printed by Andrew Sowle in the Year 1684. A Brief TREATISE Of the Principal Fruits and Herbs That grow in Barbadoes Jamaica And other Plantations in the West-Indies The First Part. THis short discourse of the Qualities of the Fruits which that gallant Island of Barbadoes yields I thought would not be improper as well for that I do not know that any has hitherto distinctly spoken thereof as also because they being for the most part the same with those produced not only in the Western Plantations but also in Guinea the East-Indies and most hot Countries one and the same pains will serve to describe the Properties of them all or at least to give such a general Philosophical Account that whatever you meet with in thâ—se Reigons neighbouring to the Sun 's more near and direct Beams you may be well able by this Specimen and from the Form Taste Colour Smell and Signature of each Vegetable to understand its Nature Use and Operation In the first place we must in general observe that all Fruits in hot Climates are better as being as by Nature prepared to an higher degree of Maturity than in Cold for the Sun making his nearer visits with auspicious Beams and an innocent and complemental Warmth both better disposes the Earth's teeming Womb and by a most excellent Chymistry refines the ripening Fruits from their gross dull phlegmatick Juices Winter Snows Frosts and other Excesses are there only remembred and talkt of not known and that Sol's too ardent kisses may not be offensive Nature provides always delicate cooling Briezes and refreshing Gales of Wind which not only relieve the Inhabitants from the ill effects of an excessive Heat but much conduce to the melioration of the Fruits Which being thus brought to its full and absolute perfection before gathered may much safer be eaten in those warm Countries than in Cold where they have not Sun enough to digest their Rawness into a Temperature so fit for Food And as it is not fit for Man or Beast to labour so much and so hard in hot Regions as in cold therefore the wise Creator has by his Hand-maid Nature given them food prepared to their hands that they might have no such need of Toiling there being there no Winter to consume what Summer brings forth but a continued Spring or perpetual Harvest of most excellent and never-failing Vegetations some of the chief of which we shall proceed to speak of in particuâ—ar Of Pine Apples THis incomparable Fruit deservedly claims precedency for its delicacy and excellency for when full Ripe its Taste is so exquisitly delightful and pleasant that it seems to exceed all others that the Earth produces whence 't is reported that when some of them by great care and the favour of a speedy Voyage were brought into England for very rarely can they be preserv'd so long and presented to King Iames he was so ravisht with its charming deliciousness that he said It was not fit to be tasted by a Subject but only proper to Regale the Gusto of Princes inured to the highest Delicacies The four grand Qualities whence all perfect Tastes do proceed viz. the Astringent or Saltish the Bitter the Sweet and the Sour are herein so equally mixt and compounded by Gods Hand-maid Nature that 't is hard to distinguish which of them does predominate but the truth is the most delightful Moderator and King of all Tastes viz. the Sweet doth a little exceed all the other three so that there is nothing appears but an inviting Beauty delightful Redolency and ravishing Taste that feasts in the highest degree all those Senses at once For it must be noted That all the various and numberless Tastes of things both in the Annimal Vegetable and Mineral Kingdoms do all proceed and arise from the four grand Qualities aforesaid at large described in my Way to Health and The Good House-wife made a Doctor c. so that there are but four perfect Tastes they being the Radix of all others as the seven Notes are the Basis or Foundation of all Musical Harmony and according to the Equality of those four or the weakness or predominancy of each such a Taste does carry the upper dominion in all things and accordingly is the same more or less grateful to the Pallate and Stomach and homogeneal to the Body But though our Pines are one of the best sorts of Fruits in the world they stand the Inhabitants of those parts and the Eaters of them but in very little stead being by our English chiefly eaten after or betwixt Meals to pleasure wanton Appetite and depraved Senses for which cause their genuine nature and operation is hardly known to those that devour the most of them however their excellent Taste pleasant Smell and curious Shapes do declare their noble Vertues being either eaten alone or with Bread on a well prepared Stomach for they moderate cool comfort and refresh the Spirits cleanse the Passages remove Obstructions that fur the Pipes and also purge away and help to digest all slimy and sharp Juices that offend Nature being light of Concoction and if eaten full Ripe on an empty stomach it powerfully purgeth by Urine It makes a good breakfast or supper with the help of Bread it being clean and easie that the natural Heat can easily overcome and digest it at pleasure and Bread does dry up the humidity of the Fruit and renders the Nourishment more firm But note likewise that this rare Fruit is only good Raw as we usually but improperly call it that without any other Preparation than what Nature and the Sun 's digestive Heat gives it and entire and alone except only a little Bread eat with it it is so compleat that it will not admit of any alteration or composition since they cannot add to its Vertues or raise Nature to an higher degree as in many other things may be done but here what-ever humane Art is used or things intermixt it is still for the worse because Nature the Art of God has already cook't it to the sublimest Perfection it being the best and most fragrant Fruit the West-Indies do bring forth most wholsom and healthy to be eaten now and then viz. two or three times a week to make a Meal or part of a Meal with it for the God of Eternal Wisdom hath appointed all things
to be used with Sobriety Temperance and Order for which end he hath given all these brave comforts unto the Sons of men This is a Fruit highly dignified with Coelestial Energy being under the Sun and Venus in the Sign Leo. Of Plantains THis is a brave noble Fruit pleasant and grateful to the Senses if not gathered till full ripen'd on the Trees they afford a Nourishment of a middle nature but not so quick nor brisk on the Pallate and Stomach nor so easie of Concoction as Pines because in these the Lunar Property does predominate and the four Qualities or Tastes are not so equaliz'd yet it must be acknowledged a good and wholsom Fruit especially for such as live easily and work but little for hard Labourers ought to have food that affords a Nourishment more firm and substantial and therefore such should eat Bread or some other dry Food with them It is a general custom to gather them before they are ripe and let them ripen off the Trees which is both contrary to Reason and Nature for thereby the purer brisk spirituous parts are as it were totally destroyed so that the true lively Vertues and Sweetness become of a dull heavy nauseous and unpleasant Taste and harder of Concoction affording a much worse Nourishment Nor is this Fruit good being any way prepar'd as by Art tho' it be customary for many to make Tarts with them and compound them with several Ingredients which is not commendable for Nature has already advanced them to the highest degree provided you let them alone long enough viz. till they are full Ripe and all alteration then is for the worse and not for the better But the Women must be doing something though it be Mischief as Mother Eve has given them an Example But if when 't is full Ripe it be eaten temperately either alone or rather with some Bread it is wholesom and profitable to Nature but be advised not to eat them in wantonness on full Stomachs or between Meals as the custom of the English is but not without great prejudice to Nature for they are naturally a little dull and heavy and therefore they require a brisk Appetite and well prepared Stomach and store of heat to concoct them This Fruit is under the dominion of the Moon and the Sign Pisces as to heat they are moderate viz. rather cooling than hot when full ripe they gently open Obstructions of the breast being eaten with Bread in a Morning but unripe they are binding and if baked with Sugar Spices and the like lose their natural operation and thereby become hot and apt to obstruct the Passages and tire the Appetite and Stomach generate evil Juices dull Spirits and thick Blood and therefore so prepared are no commendable Food Of Bonnanoes IT is a Fruit much of the nature with Plantains but somewhat sweeter or more Venereal and easier of Concoction very pleasant and delightful to the Pallate Stomach and Senses Nature having likewise prepared this to the height so that whatever alteration Mrs. Housewife makes proves improper and hurtful the best way of eating them is like the rest before either alone or with Bread and so they cleanse open and remove Obstructions gently loosen the Belly being of a middle Quality neither hot nor cold in Excess a Meal of them now and then will be not only grateful but also healthful but if they are eaten green or ripned off the Trees then their nature and operations will be altogether contrary and have many ill effects for before Fruits arrive to their full Maturity the Astringent Bitter and Sowr Qualities do too violently predominate and all such things must therefore prove hurtful to the Body whereas when full ripe the sweet balsamiak and pure spirituous Qualities do tincture the Saturnine and Martial Properties and as it were captivate their poysonous fierce hot Natures that they can scarce be felt or tasted the powers and vertues of Sol and Venus being become more strong Besides ripening of Fruits off from the Trees is unnatural and opposeth her method in the highest degree as is before declared Of Cocoe-Nuts THe Kernels of this Fruit are of a full strong sweet and delightful Taste to the Pallate and Stomach but apt to stop and fur the Passages if eaten alone or in Quantities ut on the contrary if Order and Temperance be observed it makes a brave sublime Food very profitable for all Ages and Constitutions affording a clean pure Nourishment easie of Digestion breeds good Blood and pure fine brisk Spirits Besides this Fruit contains a thin or milky Substance of a Cordial nature if eaten with some dry Food as Bread and the like But neither this nor the Kernal is not to be eaten alone on full Stomachs or between Meals as English People are apt to do in all places where they come accounting nothing food but Flesh and Fish whereas Herbs Seeds Fruits and Grains do far transcend them as to brave firm substantial Nourishment as I have else-where in several Treatises demonstrated viz. in my Way to Health long Life and Happiness The good Housewife made a Doctor c. These Cocoe-Fruits are under the Sun and Venus and the Coelestial sign Libra but its outward shell or covering is Martial and Saturnine Of Gâ—ovars THis Fruit is under the dominion of the Moon and Mars and the sign Scorpio it hath its harsh Taste from Mars its Sweetness from the Moon If eaten unripe or green then it binds the belly but when full ripe it is a good wholsom pleasant Fruit may be eaten raw at Meals with bread and other food as Milk or the like They are of a moderate cooling opening Quality but there are two sorts one that are white within and the other Red which last are the best of the two Of Sour-Sopps THis is a good Fruit agreeable to the Stomach if full ripe and it lie not too long after it be gathered before it be eaten it is endued with a grateful pleasant Taste very easie of Concoction if eaten moderately especially with Bread or some other dry food if a Meal be so made now and then it will prove very profitable to the breast by cleansing and removing Obstructions that lie in those Passages it also moderately cools and allays Drought and gently loosens the belly and if a Glass of White-Wine allay'd with Water be drank after it or other proper Liquor it will bravely cleanse the passages of the Uriters and cause plentiful evacuation of Urine but if they lie too long after gathering before you use them much of the good Qualities and natural Vertues will be abated and it will be apt to have a contrary operation it is cold in Quality and therefore proves most profitable to the Chollerick and Sanguine Complexions but not so good for Phlegmatick Bodies Mercury and the Moon have dominion over it and it is to be attributed to the sign Taurus Of Prickle-Pears THis is a pleasant delightful Fruit very
salt-Fish for by its mild friendly Nature it allayes the harsh stubborn fierceness of such Flesh and the heat of the Salt which if frequently eaten without store of either Herbs or Roots to qualifie them proves very prejudicial to Health especially in hot Countries The truth is this is an excellent Herb and ought to be encreased and planted for general use for it ought to be held in greater estimation than either Mutton or Beef or indeed any other sort of Flesh it being an allayer of all immoderate heat It is under the Dominion of Iupiter in Pisces There are also a great Number of brave Herbs in the West-Indies which are transplanted from the more Northern Climates and thrive very well there viz. Sage Rosemary Thyme Winter and Summer Savory Mint Penny-royal Parsely Charvil Onnions Lettice Sorrel Beetes both white and Red Spinnage Cabadges or Colworts Comfry and many other gallant wholsome Herbs and they are all or most of them by the Coelestial influences and continual enlivening Beams of that Fountain of heat the Sun rendred far more fragrant and salutiferous than in colder Regions and so do make most excellent Sallads which being mixt with Oyl or Butter the Juice of Oranges and Salt warm the whole Body and more naturally and pleasantly exhillerate the Spirits than any sort of Wine drank in Moderation Some brief Directions for the Preservation of Health and Life in hot Climates IT is a very common conceit amongst the Europeans that of late are come to Inhabit in Plantations of America that by the Nature of the Climate or by reason of the unusual Heats People there are not so long-liv'd as in the more cold Northren parts of the World and for this they appeal to Experience Do not we see say they how men are cut off by Diseases in the prime of their Years and very few attain to old Age Whence 't is a common Proverb amongst them Soon Ripe Soon Rotten as if this were the very Nature of the Climate but this is all Mistake they blame the Climate when themselves are only to blame 'T is their own Intemperance not that of the Heavens which shortens their days The wise and merciful God hath ordered so providentially all parts of this habitable World that his Creature Man may thereon live comfortably if he please 'T was the Error of the Antients when they divided the Earthly Globe into five Zones to imagine two of them uninhabitable one of which they called the Frigid Zone through excessive Cold and the other Torrid Zone through extreamity of Heat But Experience has confuted their guessing Philosophy and shews us that both these are commodious enough to dwell in if Discretion and Sobriety be used Is one Region cold God has given its Inhabitants strong Constitutions great Stomachs gross suitable Food and Furze wherewith to defend them Is another very hot Here are refreshing Briezes constantly imployed by Nature to fan and divert them rare delicate Fruits easie of Digestion to supply all the necessities of Nature and support them in Strength and Health But such is the Perversity of men that being depraved by custom they pursue and take quite contrary measures to those that Nature dictates and in the hottest Climates gorge themselves with the grossest Foods various Dishes of Flesh Fish and Fowls whereof they daily eat to Gluttony and the strongest Liquors as Madera Wines Brandy and Punch so that where they need the least finest and lightest Meats and Drinks they cloy and oppress Nature with the grossest and strongest And is it any wonder that they are then afflicted with Diseases or cut off by immature Deaths If a man will turn the top of his Candle downwards and extinguish it by excess of Tallow how unjustly does such an one blame the Winds for putting out its light The sweet Influences of the Coelestials and especially the heat of Heaven's bright Eye the Sun does in hot Countries prepare all sorts of Vegetations and Fruits so as that they become more wholsom and proper for the Body than in colder Regions thereby pointing out which is the most natural food in such Climates of which the Natives though by us esteemed Barbarous are so wise as to take notice for they in most hot Countries do more incline to eat Herbs and Fruits though not so much as they ought nor do they prepare many of them so well as they should yet thereby and by being strangers to Riot and Intemperance they retain an undisturbed Health to very great Ages So in the East-Indies where the food is chiefly Herbs Fruits and Grains and their Drink only Water to meet with Persons of One Hundred Years of Age is common nay it is credibly reported that some of those called Brachmans who do wholly abstain from eating either Flesh or Fish do lengthen out their days to One Hundred and Twenty and One Hundred and Fifty Years And in Guinea tho' it be a very hot Country and generally the Constitution of the Air accounted very unwholsom yet you shall see the Ethiopians frequently live One Hundred and Twenty Years in great strength and vigour By all which it is plain that the fault is neither in the Soil nor the Climate but it is Intemperance both in Quantity and Quality is the main cause of the grievous Distempers and short Lives of our English that travel into hot Countries and also of the Weakness and untimely Death of so many of their Children For Prodigious in the Excess they commit such as cannot rationally be imagined of any that had not a mind willfully to destroy themselves for to omit their Extravagances in ordinary Diet the vast Quantities of Flesh and Fish which they unnecessarily devour I have heard it credibly related and affirmed That there has been the Quantity of One Thousand or One Thousand Two Hundred Bottles of Wine Madera and Claret consumed at one Feast made by a common Plantes of Barbadoes and that the like Superfluity as if they would vye for Luxury with the old Romans in the declining Age of their Empire is not infrequent in that and other Western Plantations Now let all the World judge if men will thus seek Death in the Errors of their Lives how is the Country to be complained of He that takes his share of three or four such Treats will have little reason to accuse the heat of the Weather for casting him into a Feaver If our English and others that travel to and live in those Westenr Eastern or Southern Regions would be but so obedient to Nature and kind to themselves as to observe a proper Order and right Method of Living they would not only live long but healthy And for their furtherance and benefit therein I mean such as have not absolutely forsworn hearkening to any Remonstrances of Reason nor betrothed themselves to Madness and ruinating Debauchery I shall here add a few general Rules or Directions for the Preservation of Health very necessary to be regarded by all
such as live in Hot Climates 1. Flesh ought not to be eaten at all or very sparingly for Flesh in hot Countries is nothing so firm good and wholsom as in cold though the eating thereof may well be spared in both but on the other side Herbs Roots and most Fruits are abundantly more excellent for Food in hot Climates than in Cold The same is to be understood by Fish as experience has taught the Natives of all such places who therefore do more incline to eat Herbs Fruits and Vegetations and for want of this Prudence have not many of our Northern People after a full Meal of Flesh or Fish in those hot parts been suddenly surprized with various cruel Diseases as Feavers Fluxes and the like 2. Full and Liberal Eating of any sort of Food proves of more dangerous consequence to Health especially if the Foods be gross fat and succulent because the natural and central Heat is by the great Power of the Coelestial Influences continually exhaled and so becomes more external which does in a degree debilitate the Digestive Faculty for which cause a mans Stomach and Appetite is rarely so sharp and strong as in cold Countries 3. Great Drinking especially of strong exhilerating Liquors as Wine Brandy or other Spirits is very pernicious for all such Drinks if not cautiuosly used and well allay'd with Water proves of fatal consequence and wounds Nature to the very heart as daily Experience does testifie and doth sooner destroy Health than in cold Countries though bad in both I know this is contrary to the Vulgar Notions but it is agreeable to Truth Experience and Reason only People by a vitious Inclination had a mind to debauch themselves with strong Liquors and the Devil to humor them suggested that such Liquors forsooth were necessary and most to be used in hot Countries and so they got a colour for their Excess and continue the Maxime and now plead They must be Drunk if they mean to be Healthy c. But Nature as well as Christianity will read them another Lesson for in hot Climates the natural or central Heat being not so strong by reason of the forcible Influences of the Sun powerfully exhaling the Radical Moisture opening the Pores and too violently evaporating the Spirits the Stomach and Digestive Faculty thereby become weak and the inclination to drinking is encreased for which reason many desire hot spirituous Drinks finding a present Refreshment for such Liquors do powerfully awaken the internal or central Spirits by Simile which makes the Drinkers quick lively and brisk during the time of their operation which is but for a Moment but afterwards they find themselves heavy dull and indisposed their Stomach more feeble cold and raw than before which inclines them to take t'other Dram and still the more the worse till Nature be debilitated to the utmost Extremity The same operation have all Wines and other Drinks if Temperance be wanting but not so violently as the former therefore in all hot Climates there ought to be double the care and temperance as in cold both in Meats Drinks and Exercises of which the Natives of hot Countries may be our Examples for they do for the most part live temperately their Drink Water or Wine allay'd with Water their Food mean or more simple and innocent than ours whereby they are better preserved in Health the Constitutions of all People in hot Climates being not so able to bear or endure great Meals and superfluous Drinking of strong Liquors as in cold Therefore most of those that in such places accustom themselves to the frequent use of those strong spirituous fiery Drinks and the common course of gormandizing on Flesh and Fish become very obnoxious to the Dry Belly-Ake or Griping of the Guts Dropsies and the Gout For all such Foods and Drinks too violently stir up and consume the natural Heat and Moisture whereby the digestive Faculty of the Stomach is rendred uncapable to concoct or make any perfect seperation whereby the body grows oppressed with a Mass of Crudities and noxious Iuices that sometimes fall into the Joynts infeebling and tormenting them and this is the original of that Rich Evil call'd The Gout In other Complexions these and the like Disorders prey upon the sollid parts and waste the Flesh taking away natural strength and vigour so that such Persons pine and languish under such a load of daily ingested Aliment for nothing is more usual in Nature than for Extreams to generate or occasion each other and these you call Consumptions In others for want of Heat and Moisture the Excrement in the Bowels is contracted into so hard a substance that it cannot freely pass and this is that which the learned call The Illiacal Passion and the Vulgar The Plague in the Guts for which most cruel Disease there is scarce a Doctor that hath yet found out a certain Remedy Now in these our Western Plantations all these tormenting Diseases are much encreased by the frequent Tippling of that pernicious Drink called Punch the Nature and effects of which I have herein before hinted but more fully demonstrated in my Treatise entituled The Country-Man's Companion pag. 110. In some other Constitutions the central Heat and Humor Radicalis being wasted by such unfit Meats and Drinks so received is turn'd into a flux of Humors both windy and watery which swells the lower parts of the body and this is the generation of your Dropsies But as the Lord our bountiful Creator is always good and his Hand-maid Nature an indulgent Mother so they have as it were chalked out the means of preventing these Evils and prescribed proper Diet and Drinks in every Country and Climate to its Inhabitants by the natural Productions of each respective Region would men be so wise to follow those Dictates for all hot Climates as is before intimated do furnish their Inhabitants with wonderful variety and plenty of brave noble and most fragrant Herbs Fruits Roots and Grains and most pure Water far exceeding those of cold Countries both in Quantity and Quality for in those hot Regions Heaven's bright Lamp that central Fire of the Universe the SVN has greater power strength and vertue to fit and prepare all things for our use and if our English and others would be so prudent as to accustom themselves to those harmless natural simple Food and moderate Drinks then the fore-mentioned Distempers would hardly be known amongst them 4. They ought likewise to have regard to the proper Times of their eating or Meals that is to say to eat about Eight or Nine a Clock in the Morning and then again at Four or Five 'i th Afternoon for the common time of Dinner about Twelve or One is neither Rational nor Natural because the Sun is then near the Meridian and doth then so powerfully draw forth exhale and weaken the Natural and Centeral heat of the Stomach that it indisposes the whole Body more than at any other time of the day
Crop A Boâ— alwayes bent will hardly send an Arrow to the Mark but our inconsiderate Masters regard neither the voice of Nature nor Reason but with Cruelty compel us to Labour beyond our strength and allow us no competent time of Rest or Refreshment in so much that often-times we are forc'd to work so long at the Wind-Mills until we become so Weary Dull Faint Heavy and Sleepy that we are as it were deprived of our natural Senses or like men in a maze that we fall into danger and oft times our Hands and Arms are crusht to pieces and sometimes most part of our Bodies and though sometimes these evils do befall us through Carelessness yet oft times they come by the means aforesaid So also we are forced to stand and work at the Coppers in the hot sulpherous Fumes till Nature being overcome with weariness and want of proper Rest we fall into the fierce boyling Syrups and in these disasters little or no pitty is taken of us for though some indeed profess a superfinal sorrow for our mischances it is cheifly for their own sakes not ours because thereby they have lost the worth of so much Money as we were reckon'd at not for the loss of our Lives which yet to us are as precious and of as much value as those of our proud and haughty Masters and so also they are in Thy sight O our gracious Creator for we likewise are the work of Thine hands and endued with equal Faculties both Sensitive and Intellectual As in the excess of Labour so also 〈◊〉 the hours of working our Christian and European Masters do commit great Errors compelling us to work â—ll day in the scorching heat till our Spirits are thereby exhaled and our Radical Moisture dryed up which is the fountain of Life they seldom consideâ—ing the nature of hot Climates wherein no Mortal can endure so many hours severe Labour as in colder Regions For 1 st The Constitutions of men in hot Climates are naturally weaker than in cold 2 dly They come to Maturity in fewer years 3 dly The continual Heat of the scorching Sun opens the Pores and at those innumerable Sally-ports powerfully draws out and steals away the sweet Oyl and Radical Balsom of Nature which causeth a dull faintiness and wearisom Indisposition to attend the whole Body with great Drought which proves very injurious to Health and Strength 4 thly All sorts of Foods are here of a weaker or more unfirm Nature than those of cold and as they sooner arrive to Maturity so consequently they sooner perish and corrupt For all which reason it is unreasonable to expect men should constantly and without due intermission undergo such Labour and Travel in torrid Climates as in those more temperate and refrigerating Do not hot Countries presently set open all the Gates and secret Passages of Nature even to the very Centre which weakens and evaporates the pure subtle or volatile Spirits whence follows excessive Sweating Drought Faintiness whereas on the contrary cold Climates shutting up the external Passages drives the natural heat inward and makes it more central which occasions strong natural Heats and Stomachs able to digest the firmest Foods and in great Quanties whence Persons there become strong hardy and healthy likewise most sorts of Food in cold Countries is of a firmer stronger Nature and generates a more vigorous Nourishment and firmer Flesh and Fat and their Fruits will generally keep longer good Nor did the All-wise Iehovah intend or require men to work and labour so strenuously much and long in hot Climates having in his natural Providence made no such occasion for it because there is there no Winter nor sharp saturnal Airs to cut off and destroy what the Summer brings forth but Nature here is always pregnant and teeming and displays her self in all Seasons of the year with pleasant and fragrant Fruits and prepares them to an higher degree and fitter for present Food though not so firm and lasting Besides People in hot Regions have not need of so many things there is no occasion for their Houses being so close nor furnisht with so many Circumstances of Beds and Bedding continual Fires and the like Provisional Accommodations to be laid up before-hand either for Man or Beast as also half the Clothing will furnish Nature and the same is to be understood of Foods for all things necessary to the Maintenance of Life are far easier and with half the Labour procured in hot Countries But these things our Masters never lay to heart but lay burthen upon burthen till we utterly sink under the weight of their Oppressions though many of them cannot but be sensible that they themselves though they do little or nothing but eat and drink of the choicest Meats Drinks and sleep their fill without disturbance yet they are here nothing so strong or able to endure Labour and robust Exercises as they have been and would be in cold Countries which Reflection if they had any Bowels of humane Sympathy and Compassion should encline them to moderate our Servitude and grant some Allowances of respit and Refreshment unto us such as might enable us both more cheerfully and effectually to serve them It is a custom amongst many of the great Dons of Masters to allow their Servants little more than only a small piece of Ground to raise their whole Food and Sustenance from and tho' this be hard yet that which renders it worse is that they will not allow us any sufficient time to manure it but we must abate it out of that little time which is permitted us to rest in otherwise it must be done upon their Sabbath day whereon we are allowed to rest from our ordinary Labours for our Masters but if then we must work as hard to manure our small pittance of Ground or else starve I do not find what great advantage we have of that day more than another It is also an order or custom in some Plantations where the Christians inhabit to allow their Negroes two hours Rest at Noon viz. from eleaven of the Clock till one which is a wise and righteous Law but few there are that will admit us above half that time but hurry us again to work which proves very injurious to our Healths for then the Sun which is the central heat of the Universe draws near the Meridean which does powerfully open the Pores especially of those that labour hard in the scorching beams thereof and exhales the Radical Moisture which weakens and indisposes the whole body and mind and renders us unfit for the After noons work for he that shall rest from eleaven till wo which is three hours shall thereby be rendred so lively lightsom and brisk that he shall be able to perform more labour than another man of the same natural strength that is kept to it all day long or allowed but one hours rest only and with much less prejudice to Nature This is a thing worthy to
grateful to Nature and may with safety be eaten both in health and sickness being easie of concoction it quickly passeth away digesting and moving the Obstructions that offend the Passages if eaten on an empty Stomach either alone or with Bread or some other food it is moderately cooling and good against the Stone and Gravel if eaten alone in a Morning when fasting and a glass of White-Wine allay'd with Water viz. one third part Wine and two Water drank after it Mercury governs it and the Sign Aries But neither this nor any other fruit ought to be eaten in wantonness nor for state or vain pleasure as between Meals and after Dinner our Creator never intending them for such uses but for the support and health of mankind and those that abuse them otherwise commit a very great Evil of which they ought to Repent and forsake all such superfluities Of Papaes THis is an innocent yet noble Fruit of little Taste taken as it grows and that which it hath not very delightful but it hath a wonderful and as it were Paradisical and most ravishing Vertue that internally lies hid which being awakned and raised up by the skill of the good Housewife and proper Ingredients it makes various sorts of most delightful food but more especially Pyes or Tarts there being no other fruit in the West-Indies nor perhaps else-where in the world comparable for that purpose for it hath no manifest Taste or Quality that does too manifestly predominate as most other fruits have that are used for such foods and thereby it is capable of being raised to what degree of taste or pleasantness the Cook or good Housewife pleases by mixing and adding proper Ingredients which cannot be done with any fruits or things wherein any of the four Qualities do too violently over-rule for such things as are unequal in their Properties or Qualifyings or where unripe things are joyned with ripe can very rarely be altered for the better This fruit being so unparrallel'd a thing for the use aforesaid the good Dames of the Western Plantations have no reason to desire or long after other improper Fruits or Mixtures for this being aptly prepared and made into Tarts may yield the nicest Pallates most ample satisfaction It is under the dominion of the Moon and Venus in the sign Taurus but the Moon predominating in its governance hides the pleasant Qualities of Venus but when other Ingredients are mixt with it then the sleeping or captivated Vertues of Venus appear in their splendor or ravishing Tastes They are of a cooling opening Nature and Operation of themselves but when mixed are varied according to the nature of the Ingredients I know no other fruit in the West-Indies that can be altered to so good advantage as this And as the Pine-Apple is the King of all Fruits to be eaten Raw so on the other side this is the best and properest to be used in variation or further prepared Of Water Melons THis is a most delicious Fruit very pleasant and delightful both to sickly and healthy People if eaten moderately 't is very profitable for hot Chollerick Complexions and such as are subject to be feaverish or fumes flying into their Heads 't is of a cooling cleansing Property easie of Concoction and dis-burthens the Passages of all gross offensive Matter if eaten â—asting in a Morning with a little Bread also it powerfully cleanseth the Reins and Melancholly purges by Urine and therefore the frequent use of them moderates the astringent harsh Quality in such Constitutions as are liable to the Stone and Gravel for which it is one of the best Remedies in the World But if you mix Sugar Wine or the like Ingredients then you cannot perceive nor feel its genuine vertue or operation for thereby its nature and effects are changed just as a Painter does alter one Colour into another by adding other Colours which ought seriously to be considered by all Compounders of food or Medicines and the natural Reason to be well understood This fruit is under the Moon and Venus but Luna hath the greatest share in Government in the sign Libra whence it is that they gallantly purge by Urine There are two sorts Red and White but the Red are the best Of Musk-Melons THere are two sorts of these one about as big as our ordinary Pumkins the other smaller not much bigger than those in England of the two this last sort are the best though the other are very good in their kind and to be preferred before any our Northren Climate produces The best way of eating them is with Salt and Bread which renders them more warming and grateful to the Stomach nor do they gripe except it be for want of the bodies being used to them They gently loosen the belly and moderately purge by Urine if eaten for a breakfast with a glass or two of White-Wine or White-Wine and Water mixt or plain Water drank after them They may be eaten by all Ages and Constitutions but are best for young People and especially for Chollerick hot Complexions for they allay drought and gently cool the whole body but they may not be often eaten as food because they afford not so firm a Nourishment but between whiles it will be very profitable to make a whole Meal of them now then with only Bread and Salt Of Pumkins PUmkins that grow in the West-Indies are much of the nature of those we have here with us in England but not altogether so cold being brought to an higher degree of Maturity by the powerful Influences of the Sun-beams who caress them with nearer Embraces yet still this Fruit is of a cold phlegmatick Nature but eaten stew'd with warming Ingredients makes an indifferent good food taking store of Bread therewith its Nourishment is not firm but easie of concoction loosens the belly is not proper for cold phlegmatick Complexions but very profitable to be used now and then by the Chollerick It also gently purgeth by Urine as indeed most of the fruits in the West-Indies do and 't is a great Error in our Northren People settled in those parts especially such as are obnoxious to the Stone Gravel and the like that they do not accustom themselves more to the use of those noble fruits for if they did they would not be so subject to those torturing Diseases as they are for all foods be they fruits or other things and also Drinks that moderately cool the body and are of light concoction do naturally prevent the generation of those cruel Diseases as on the other side such as heat and are of an astringent nature do generate them in all Complexions but especially in those that are inclinable thereunto The Coelestial Regiment of this fruit is to be attributed to the Moon and to the sign Pisces Of Squashes THese are of a mild gentle nature and operation being briskly boyled and eaten with Bread Butter Vinegar and Salt they afford a good Nourishment but not very firm cool the
therefore are not so good and profitable as those called Sevil which is a mean between the sowr and the sweet and therefore is best for sawce and far more acceptable to the Pallate but especially to the Stomach than either the sweet or the sowr which being full ripe fresh gathered do not only make the best Sawces to most sorts of Food as Herbs both raw and boyled Flesh c. far exceeding all Vinegars made with Wine or other Liquors but they also prove profitable in many Diseases especially to allay Drought in Feavers and prevent the putrifaction of the Humors for they cool and refresh the Stomach and are good moderately used in times of Health for Chollerick People but eat them not too frequently for they astringe or bind the belly and are not proper for Phlegmatick or Melancholly Complexions and as the moderate use of them for Sawce in food does excite and sharpen the Appitite so on the contrary the frequent custom of eating them is apt to hurt the digestive Faculty by their cold dry astringent Qualities they being Extreams in Nature and therefore cautiously to be used The Sweet Oranges are not good for Sawce for they naturally dull or subvert the Appetite nevertheless they being of a middle Nature or temperate Quality are good and very grateful to well-prepared Stomachs to be eaten alone or with some Bread or other dry food after them in time of Health especially for Young People and the Phlegmatick and Melancholly but still they ought to remember their sure friend Temperance else they will prove injurious and hinder Concoction Of Lemmons AS these are sharper and more sour then Oranges so they are colder more keen or piercing but they make a Sawce that does wonderfully cool and for the present stir up the Appetite comfort the Stomach and are good against Vomiting very grateful to such as have weak dull or flat Stomachs they cut and attenuate gross Humors allay Thirst and are refreshing to such as have hot Livers but on the other side if not very moderately used their astringent sharp or keen Quality will by simile awaken the Saturnal and Martial Fires in the Body and instead of allaying heat they inflame the Blood and irritate the natural Spirits which proves fatal as to Health for as all such Fruits are unequal in their parts so they by simpathy cause an unequal operation in the Humors which is the Radix of all Distemperatures Of Limes LImes are an Immature Fruit in which two extream Properties do predominate viz. the Saturnal and Martial Poysons because the Sun and Coelestial Influences have not had Power to raise or awaken the balsamick or friendly Vertues of Nature or bring the Properties into an equal operation as is done in other Fruits for these two fierce Qualities are so powerful as indeed being the very Radix of the Fruit that the friendly Property or good Vertue is wholly hid or captivated by them so that it cannot be tasted or felt hence the Juice of this fruit does contain as I have elsewhere declared a Saturnine churlish fire which is of an hard coagulating astringent or binding nature and operation like the raw cold saturnine Air of Winter which does congeal the Water and harden all things 2 dly A sharp keen Martial Property of a sour harsh fretting nature and operation Now these two Extreams meeting together do render it very hurtful to the genuine nature of the Stomach and generate bad Blood stir up the original Poysons by simile and the Saturnine Property does draw together and congeal the Excrements in the Bowels and the Martial Fires are forth-driving and cannot endure to be bounded from whence proceed various Diseases as Gripes Collicks Illiacal Passions or cruel Belly-Akes For this cause our English and others that use these Juices in their Voyages to the East-Indies and other parts are sorely vexed with many Diseases which they contract though they little think it from their Punch-Bowls rather than the disagreeableness of the Climate Moreover the sharp cold Juices of Oranges and Lemmons which in hot Countries they are greedy of and do eat too freely do prove very pernicious as to their Health for the truth is it is not the Climate whether hot or cold that causes so many Diseases but Peoples Intemperances and taking wrong Measures for the Natives both of the East South and West are as healthy and long liv'd as those of the North and these our frequent Distempers when we travel into those parts do but declare our Intemperances and that the Meats and Drinks we so much desire are not proper for our Bodies in such Climates where not our own irregular Fancies but the usages of the Natives of each Country ought to be our Guides and Examples both as to Meats Drinks and Exercises and then each Country would soon become as natural and wholsom to us as our own our Bodies being assimulated thereunto Of Pinpillow-Pears THis is a Fruit that is not much in use being some-what troublesom to procure by reason of their Martial Weapons or Prickles they are of a sharp brisk Taste their Juices quick and penetrating they cut Phlegm beget Appetite and help Conoction being of a cooling Nature they may be eaten with a little Sugar with safety but they are chiefly good for Chollerick and Sanguine People and are under Mars in Aries Of Pepper commonly called Guinea-Pepper OF this there are two sorts one great the other small but both are much of the same nature and operation only the smallest is rather the hottest They both contain three extream Qualities viz. 1. An astringent Sulpher or stupifying Poyson from Saturn 2. A fierce bitter keen sharpness from Mars And 3. An hot penetrating Poyson from Mercury In this Vegetation all friendliness and pure Vertues are captivated and the original forms of Nature do predominate there being in it no kind of Equality or Harmony but all is out of Tune and the four grand Qualities whence all Tastes proceed have here their operations in Discord and confusedly combate one another therefore whatever any may pretend the frequent eating of it must needs prove pernicious to Health for those forementioned fierce poysonous Qualities do by degrees as it were insensibly prey upon and violate the natural Heat and hinders the way of the Spirits as if men designed to mortifie their natural Legs on purpose to use Wooden ones or Crutches so they destroy the genuine innate heat of their Stomachs and vainly endeavour to procure a false and adventitious one that may better forsooth supply Nature The truth is this hot fiery Sawce does powerfully stir up or beget Appetite and warms the Stomach which does intice many to eat it with their common food but they never consider the mischiefs it brings unto Health being like Brandy a dram of which after a full Meal of heavy Victuals will help Concoction and ease the burthened Stomach but the frequent use of it will so destroy the natural Heat
that the Stomach will not be able after a little time to digest its food neither with it nor without it So this Spice being too much eaten wounds Nature to the very Heart for by degrees it debilitates the proper Heat infects the Blood with a salt sharp keen Quality partches up and consumes the sweet Oyl and Radical Moisture suffocates the pure Spirits by whole-sale causing the Blood their limpid Fountain and natural habitation to become wheyish and watery Especially if Chollerick or Sanguine Complexion'd People shall accustom themselves to the eating of such Sawces it will much sooner and more deplorably vitiate the Tone of their Stomachs than of such as are Plegmatick but they are not good nor natural for any whatsoever except now and then in a Physical way for very cold dull heavy Phlegmatick People and they must eat it sparingly too but the mischief is whoever shall accustom themselves to these Sawces cannot forbear from Excess therein without great trouble and constraint upon themselves The very same is to be understood of all other Extreams as Brandy Tobacco and the like Besides all such things are far more pernicious and bring greater danger to Health in hot Countries than in colder Climates as many have found by woful Experience because there the central Heat is nothing so strong and powerful as in colder Regions and consequently the pure Spirits and Radical Moisture weaker and more apt to be wounded suffocated or evaporated as all do know that have Eyes that can see into the Arcana of Nature But to return to our Guinea-Pepper it is such an Extream in Nature viz. so hot and poysonous that if the bigger sort be dryed and the Cods cut and the Seeds scattered amongst Clothes Hats or the like that are to be packt up it proves the best Preservative from the Moth and other Vermine that is known for its excessive keenness destroys all Generation even in the very bud Likewise if it be burnt in a Room the Doors and Windows being close shut it will destroy and kill all Buggs Fleas or the like and you too if you do not get out in time its fumes are so hot poysonous and penetrating when once the fire has open'd its body and manifested what before internally lay hid This bigger sort our English do commonly pickle and so preserve it for a common Sawce to eat with Flesh Now this pickling of it with Salt and Vinegar does still add to its heat and sharpness For Salt is of an hot harsh sharp Nature and if it be not moderately eaten dries heats and is of a partching operation very inimical to Health but a Ring-leader to the Scurvey and other Diseases and Vinegar is also of an hot keen fretting Nature especially when joyned or incorporated with such high fires and things of unequal Natures Therefore the frequent use of this sort of Swace is to be accounted very injurious to Health especially in such hot Climates where the continual influences of the Sun do more exhale and draw forth the Radical Moisture thereby weakning the central parts which ought therefore rather to be refresht and cherisht by proper Foods than annoyed and prejudiced by such hot violent things as do yet further depress and debilitate them Of Occora or Grommer THis is a brave Noble Fruit and being boyled they make a gallant substantial Food affording a good firm Nourishment being eaten with Butter Vinegar and Bread Some will boyl and eat them with Flesh but they do not eat so well as many other sorts of Herbs and Roots do in that case for they being in themselves of a jellyous Nature do not seem so proper to be eaten with Flesh But they make an excellent Pottage which if well prepared and proper Ingerdients added afford a brave strong firm Nourishment and yet easie of Concoction If the intrinsick Vertues of this Fruit were understood the Food made thereof would be had in far greater estimation than it is for both the Fruit it self and the Pottage made thereof are of singular Vertues and use for weakly People and such as are inclinable to Consumptions weak Heats and Obstructions of the Breast far more excellent than Mr. Doctors Ielly made of Harts-Horn and the like as being much more natural and agreeable to the Stomach Which way ever you dress them they are not only delightful to the Pallate when a little innur'd to them but also easie of Concoction gently loosing the Belly of a moderate or middle Nature as to heat and may by all Ages and Constitutions healthy or sickly be eaten with safety and to the advantage of Health and Strength and we do advise all the English to eat of it more frequently and then they shall assuredly find more Vertues therein than is here set down Of Aguma THis is an Herb of a bitter Nature but when boyled that Martial Taste is much allayed and it becomes a brave noble Salad or Food being boyled in plenty of good Water and eaten with Butter Venegar Salt and Bread or with Flesh for it powerfully opens the gates of Nature and the obstructions of the Breast and Stomach it moderately relaxes the Belly cools and refresheth all the internal parts affording brisk lively Spirits pure Blood and a good Habit of Body if Temperance be observed by the eaters thereof which does give the greatest Credit and Reputation to all sorts of Meats and Drinks for the best and most Natural cannot but prove burthensome and harmful when Sobriety is wanting The excellency of this Herb does chiefly reside in the distasteful or bitter Quality which at first eating is somewhat unpleasant but a little custome will make it friend and more delightsom than others that are less bitter for all Herbs are the most grateful to the Stomach and easiest of Digestion in which the Bitter Quality or Taste is a little predominant for this property is lively and the cause of Motions quick and penetrating for which cause the wise Antients have noted and not without sufficient ground all or most bitter Herbs to be good against most kinds of Stoppages and Obstructions And therefore on that account this Herb is to be preferred before those of a sweeter milder Nature because all sweet things are heavy and more flat on the Stomach and harder of Concoction and nothing so brisk and lively for which reason the Natives in Guinea have a certain Root or Fruit call'd Tantarobois which is full of bitter Seeds and them they mix with their Foods which proves very profitable to their Healths so that they live strong and lusty to very great Ages This herb Agumma is under the Government of Mercury and Mars in the sign Gemini Of Red-weed or Catterpillars THis is an Herb of a mild gentle friendly Nature and Operation easie of Concoction cleanseth the Stomach and gently loosens the Belly and is very profitable boyled in plenty of Water and eaten with Butter Salt and Bread as also with Flesh but especially with