88 ovalle's historical relation of chile. 



its nature is to lofe all its old branches as the new ones come out ; by which means, 

 the body of the tree rifing free, and difencumbered from fuch boughs as ufe in other 

 trees to grow out of the fides of them, is totally employed in feeding the top ; and the 

 fruit which grows within it, being, as it were, a pyramid round it, to preferve it by 

 the admirable texture of its leaves and branches which incompafs it. 



Thefe palm-trees have a wonderful property, and moft certain, which is, that none 

 of them give their fruit, except they are in fight of each other ; and if it happens that 

 one comes up alone, without a companion, though it thrive to a great largenefs, yet 

 it never bears, except another be planted by it, and this they call the female ; and as 

 foon as the female is planted, though never fo little a one, yet the great ones bear, 

 and the fecond in its time, when it is big enough : I have feen the experience of this ; 

 and it is a thing well known to all. The fruit of thefe trees is called Cocoas, and is 

 like filberts, though bigger by half, and the meat within the fhell is not folid, but 

 hollow, and is,^ round the edge, about the thicknefs of a crown -piece, and in the refl 

 of the hollow is a kind of milk, or water, of an excellent relilh ; and fo is the flefh of 

 it, which is white, and ferves to preferve the liquor like a viol, which flays in it till it 

 be imbibed by the cocoa, which happens in fome months ; and then they are not fo 

 good to eat as when they are frefh ; but then they are good to preferve, as almonds 

 are, and other kernels of that nature. 



Antonio de Herrera, and other authors, fay, that thefe cocoas are good againft poifon ; 

 and nature feems to fet a value upon it, by the many covers in which it is involved ; 

 firft, the kernel is covered with a fhell harder than that of the almond, then it has an- 

 other cover of a green colour, and fometimes yellow, which is woven fo clofe about 

 it, and fo flrongly, that when it is green, it is eafier to break it than to peal it off. 

 The fruit grows clofe to a flalk, which fometimes will have above a thoufand on it ; and 

 this is environed by a great fhell, which grows bigger and bigger with that bunch it con- 

 tains, till at laft the fruit makes it burfl and open into two parts, which are like two 

 boats, each ab6ve half a yard long, and two fpans diameter in the broadeft place, and 

 the bunch within all of a fine yellow, very beautiful to look on. It hangs on the 

 branches till it be ripe, and then falls to the ground, where it is gathered, and great 

 provifion is made of it for Peru ; for befides their being made a fweetmeat, the chil- 

 dren rid the merchants of them for play-things, it being one of their greateft enter- 

 tainments. 



The palm-trees which bear dates do not feem to be natural to this country, but 

 brought from abroad ; for I never faw them, as others, wild in the fields, but only in 

 gardens. 



There are other fruit-trees wild, which come in the fields, and are called Pengue ; 

 they have a red fruit, fomething bigger and more oval than the filberts ; thefe the 

 Indians eat boiled with other ingredients. There are alfo trees called Magues, which 

 are very beautiful and cooling ; the leaves are admirable againft a burn j the fruit * 

 black like a myrtle-berry ; it is very well relifhed, having a dulce-piquante very agre 

 able ; it blackens the mouth and hands when it is eaten, and, for that reafon, tl 

 more civilized people do not ufe it fo much. There are alfo fruits of which the Indiai 

 make their fermented liquors, whofe names and properties I cannot call to mind ; onl 

 I know there is great variety of them ; and I can remember one called Quelu : the fru 

 is very fweet and fmall, between red and yellow ; of this they make a drink extrao} 

 dinarily fweet. They make another drink of that which they call Iluigan, and the Spj 

 niards, Ivlolle ; it is of the fhape and colour like pepper ; the tree on which they gro^ 

 is but little, but a great bearer : this drink is very agreeable, and coveted even by th 



greatei 



