VINES. 267 



CHAP, xxxii. Of grapes, vines, olives, mulberries, and canes 



of sugar. 



I meane by profitable plants, those which, besides that LlB&amp;gt; Iv&amp;gt; 

 which they eate in the house, bring silver to theyr masters; 

 the chiefe of these is the vine, whereof commeth wine, 

 vineger, grapes, greene and dry, veriuyce, and sirrope ; but 

 the wine is the best. There growes no wine nor grapes in 

 the Ilandes, nor in Tierra Firme, but in New Spaine there are 

 some vines which beare grapes, and yet make no wine. 

 The cause is, for that the grape ripens not well,, by reason 

 of the raine that falles in the months of luly and August, 

 which hinders their ripening, so as they serve onely to eate. 

 They carry wine out of Spaine, and from the Canaries, to 

 all partes of the Indies, except Peru and the realme of 

 Chile, where there are vines that yeelde excellent wine, 

 which increase daily both in quantity, for that it is great 

 riches in that country, and in beauty, for that they are 

 become with time and practise more expert vine growers. 

 The vines of Peru are commonly in hote vallies, where there 

 are water channels, and they irrigate by hand, because there 

 falles no raine at all from heaven in the Llanos, and the rains 

 in the Sierra are not in the proper season. There are some 

 places where the vines are not watered, neither from 

 heaven nor earth, and yet they increase in great aboundance, 

 as in the valley of Yea, -and in the hoy as that they call 

 Villacuri, in which places they finde hoy as where the earth 

 is suncke downe amongest the sands, which are thorow- 

 out the yeare of a woonderfull coolenesse, and yet it raines 

 not there at any time, neither is there any maner of meanes 

 to water it artificially; the reason is, because the soile is 

 spongy, and suckes vp the water of the rivers that fall 

 from the mountains, which moisten these sands, or else it is 

 the moistnesse of the sea, as others suppose, which passing 



