Plinics Nattii-dH Hiftorie. 



Chap. vi. 



^ Of the tree named Pala: of ether Indm trees ^whereof the names he un* 

 hcwne, Alfo efthofe that heare WooU or Cotton* 



ANothcr tree there is in India, greater yet than the former, bearing a fruit much fairer,big- 

 ger^and (wecter than the figs aforelaid 5 and wherof the Indian Sages and Philofophers do 

 ordinarily live. The Icafe refcmblch birds wings, carrying three cubits in lcngth,and two 

 in brcdth.Thc fruit it putteth forth ac the barkjhaving within it a wondcrfull pleafant juice : info- 

 much as one of them is fufficient to give four men a competent & full rcfe6tion.Thc trees name 

 is Pala^and the fruit thereof is called Ariena, Great plentie of them is in the country of the Sy- 

 dracijtheutmoft limit of i^UxanderxhQ Greathis expeditions and voiagcs* And yetis there 

 another tree much like to this^ and beareth a fruit more delectable than this Ariena, howbcit 

 the guts in a mans belly it wringeth^and breeds the bloudie flix. Whereupon i^lexandtr made 

 open proclamation and f^reightly forbad. That no man fhould taft thereof. As for the Mace- 

 donian fbuldiers, they talked much of many other trees, but they defcribed them in general! 

 tearmes only, and to the moft of them they gave no names at all. For one tree there is befides, 

 in other relpcdts relembling the Terebinth, and it carrieth a fruit much like to Almonds ; only it 

 isleflcjbutofamoflfweetand toothfometaft. In Ba6lriana verily, fometakeit to be a fpeciall 

 kind of the Terebinth indeed, rather than a tree like unto it. But thaf tree which carrieth a fine 

 flaxe,whereof they make their daintie linnen and lawnc,it hath leaves like to thofeof a mulberric 

 tree, and beareth a red berrie like to the hips of an Eglantine. They plant and Ictthefcin theic 

 fields and plaincs : and furely, Handing as they doc in fuch order5thcre are no rowes of any trees 

 that yeeld a fairer fight and profpcct. The Olive tree of India is but barren , fave that it bringeth 

 a fruit much like the wild Olive. 



Chap, vii, 



^ of Pepper trees : of the Cl(fve tree, and many other. 



THc trees that beare Pepper every where in thole parts, belike unto our lunipcr trees . And 

 yet fbmc have written. That they grow onely upon the front of the hill Caucafus on that 

 fide which lieth full upon iheSunne. The cornesorgraincs that hang thereupon jdiffct 

 from luniperbcrrics rand thole lie in certaine little huskes or cods like to the puUe called Fa- 

 fcls or Kidney beanes.lf that be plucked from the tree before they gape and open ofthemlelvcs, 

 they make that Ipice which is called Long-pepper :but if as they do ripen,they cleave & chawnc 

 by little and little, they fhewwithin, the white pepper :which afterwards beeing parched in th« 

 SunnCjchaungethcoIourandwaxethblackejandihcrewithrivelcd alfo. Peppers be fubjed to 

 the injurie of the weather as well as other fruits : for if the feafon be unkindly and untemperate, 

 they will catch a blaft,and then the feeds will be deafe^voidjlightjand naught.This fault is called 

 among thcIndians,Brcchmafis, which in their language fignifieth, an abortive or untimely 

 fruit. This pepper of all otherkindsismofibitingandfliarpe,butitis thelighteft, and pale of 

 colour withall. The blackeis more kindly and pleafant : and the white is more mild in the mouth 

 than both the other. Many have taken Ginger (which fome call Zimbiperi, & others Zingiberi) 

 for the root of that tree: but itis notlo, although in taf^ it fomewhatrelemblcth pepper. For 

 Ginger groweth in Arabia and Troglodytica in mcdows about the villages:andit is a white root 

 of a certaine litdc hearb. And howloever it be very bitter and biting, yet it quickly meeteth with 

 a wormcjand rottcth.A pound of Ginger is commonly fold at Rome for fix deniers . Long pep- 

 per is foonefophifticated, with the Senvie or muftard-feed of Alexandria -.and a pound of it is 

 worth fifteen Roniane deniers. Thewhitecofiethfeven deniers apound,andthe blackeis fold 

 after fourc deniers by the pound. Aslor Peppery I wonder greatly that it fhould be fo much in 

 requeft as it is .-For whereas fome fruits are Iweetand pleafant in taft, and thcreforcdefired 50- 

 thersbeautifullto the eye, and in that regard draw chapmen .-pepper hath neither the one nor 

 the other. A fruit orberrieitis (call it whether you will) neither acceptable to the tongue nor 

 delegable to the eye '.'aifid yet for thebiting bitternes that it hath, we are plealed therewith, and 

 wc muft'havc it fct forfooth from asfarre as India. What was he^ gladly would I know, that ven- 



li tured 



