Cap. IX. TfoCaribby-Iflands. 



5i 



trenches, and wherewith a little hill or tump had been rais'd j 

 this is called Planting by the trench. But there is another way 

 of planting Manyoc^ much more expeditious and more eafie, 

 but the Manyoc is neither fo fair, nor fo much efteemed as the 

 other. The way is only thus, to make a hole in the ground 

 with a (rick, and to thruft the Manyoc ftrait into it : care muft 

 be had in the planting of it, that the knots be not fet down- 

 wards, for if they mould the Manyoc fticks would not grow. 

 The Indians never plant it otherwife , but that it may ripen in 

 its feafon, they obferve a certain time of the Moon, and fee 

 that the ground be not too moift. 



There are feveral kinds of thefe ftirubs differing one from 

 the other only in the colour of the bark of their wood and of 

 their root : Thofe which have the bark greyifti, or white, or 

 green, make a very good tafted bread, and grow up in a (hort 

 time } but the roots they produce do not keep lb well, nor 

 thrive comparably to thofe of the red or violet Manyoc^ which 

 h the moft common, the moft efteem'd, and the moft advan- 

 tageous in houfe-keeping. 



The juice of this root is as cold as Hemlock, and fo effe&ual 

 a poy fon, that the poor Indians of the greater Iflands being per- 

 fecuted with fire and fword by the Spaniards, to avoid a more 

 cruel death, made ufe of this poyfbn to deftroy themfelves. 

 There is to this day to be feen in the Ifland of Hifyaniola, other- 

 wife call'd S. Domingo y a place called the Cave of the Indians, 

 where there are the bones of above four hundred perfons, who 

 ended their lives there with this poyfon, to avoid the cruelties 

 of the Spaniards. But let this juice, which is fo venemous to all 

 forts of living creatures, reft four and twenty hours after it is 

 taken from the root, and it lofes that malignant and danger- 

 ous quality. 



'Here are in thefe Iflands an infinite number of the ftirubs 



JL called Falnta-Chrifii or Kicinus 5 and they grow up fo 

 high, and fo big in fome places, that they would be taken for 

 a different kind from thofe commonly feen in Europe. The 

 Negroes gather the feed, and extract an oyl from it, wherewith 

 they rub their hair to keep themfelves clear from vermine. 

 The qualities attributed to it by Galen and Diofcorides, con- 

 firm the ufe thefe Barbarians make of it : the leaf of this ftirub 

 is fovereign for the healing of fome kinds of Ulcers, as being 

 very attractive. 



There grow in all thefe Iflands two kinds of ftirubs, or rather 

 great Reeds, fpongy within , growing of themfelves in fat 

 ground neer little rivulets, or in Valleys not annoyed by winds. 

 They are commonly called Banana trees , or Flanes > and Fig- 



PALMA-CHRISTh 



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trccs^ 



