24-0 



J M E%I C A 



Chap. V. 





Richei of 

 Mixico. 







part o c Guatimala. Iixtendeth it fclf in length from Jucatan South*Eaft, to the Bor. 

 dcrs of 2N(n* Galiicia Northward, above eight hundred Italian Miles, and in breadth 

 from <Pa}iuco to the Suth Sea, about half fo much. It lieth wholly under the Tor- 

 rid Zone : nor is it aDountrey generally fo mountainous or high feated, as fome 

 others of- America are but for the moft part level or low . yet is it fo fann'd, (for 

 three parts at leaft o four, by the cooling Blafts of the Sea, and the Heats other- 

 wife fo moderated v th frequent Rains, which it hath conftantly three Moneths in 

 the Year, vi^. June,] ly, and Mguft) that the Air is rendred thereby exceeding tem- 

 perate, and the Clin, te not unhealthful,efpecially to temperate Bodies, and fuch as 

 are never fo little li I to it* A goodly Countre^ it is, of inexhauftible Wealth and 

 Riches, whether welegard the Mynes of Gold, Silver, Brafs, Iron, eye. of all 

 which it hath man , and very good ; or the Fruits of the Earth, abundance of 

 Cattel, plenty of Co 1 and Grain, of which they have two Harvefts ; or any other 

 Commodities and Eiiowmentsof Nature, which fervc for the enriching of the 

 World, Amongft ot er things, it affords Caftia, the Fruit whereof is a thing well 

 knowc,and much co imended by the Apothecaries for its ufc in Phyfick, efpecially 

 in Pnrgations, and t moving of all Obstructions of Phlegm, Choler, (src. Such 

 ftore of Balm, Amb •, all forts of Gums and precious Liquors, as no Countrey in 

 the World is better fjrnim'd with excellent Perfumes and Phyfick, than the King- 

 dom of 2S(m? Spain. 

 iWTrec. Amon^the many Ither forts of Trees which this Countrey produces, the moft 

 remarkable is their Twos, of which, there being five kinds, one is call'd Qwibeba, 

 from whence proceed that admirable Tinfture, commonly known by the Name 

 of Cocbinele, which is t us made : On the top of this Tree is found a Worm, which 

 hath the bignefsandf ape of a great Loufe, which fo increafes, that in one years 

 time a hundred Treesjhallbe ftock'd from the feed of one of thefc Animals. The 



Worm it felf being w 



and^that in fo 



great 



ite, after the Skin is carefully pull'd off, put in cold Water 



or Aflies, and fo dry'c, becomes Cocbinele. The beft fort of it is to be had in Tlafcala, 



Pine-Apples.' 



¥rwt CmcmI 



mantity, that no lefs than five or fix hundred Arrobes of Spa- 

 ?iijh Meafure (each Jiktbe is as much as five Englifl) Bufhels) is yearly Tranfported 

 thence. The other foil which grows on the Mountains, and that which is not lb 

 carefully gather'd, caljd Cbicbimecas, Dyes not fo well as the right Cocbinele. The 

 Tunas alio bears a Fruit long and whitifli, w4th a fmooth Shell, and full of lit- 

 tle Seeds like Figs : Tfe red, which are inferior in tafte to the white, colours the 

 Urine red. 



The Pine*Apples wiich grow here differ from the Spaniflt, for the Pulp is not 

 inclos'd in a Shell : Tiey have a pleafant fmell, and a Pulp, which if eaten much 

 of, caufes an Appetitejt being of a tartilh tafte 5 they keep good a long time when 

 Salted. 



But much more beneficial is the Cacao, with which Fruit New Spain drives a great 

 Trade ; nay, ferves far Coin'd Money. When they deliver a Parcel of Cacao, they 

 tell them by five, thirty and a hundred. Their Charity to the Poor never exceeds 

 above one Cacao^ut. The chief reafon for which this Fruit is fo highly eftcem'd, 

 is for the Cbocolate, whiih is made of the fame, without which the Inhabitants (be- 

 ing fo us'd to it) are not able to live, notwithstanding it caufes Phlegm and Vo- 

 miting to thofe that are ftrangers thereto. When the EngltfJ? Commander Thomas 

 Candijh coming into the Haven Guatulco, burnt two hundred thoufand Tun of Cacao y 

 it prov'd no fmall lofs to all !<{as> Spain, the Provinces Guatimala and Nicaragua not 

 producing fo much in a whole year. The Trees on which this Fruit grows are di- 

 vided into four forts, differing in bignefs and fliape : all of them are very tender, 



for 



