428 



THE CHILI PINE. 



among the Indians except he should be wholly 

 deprived of every other kind of food cannot 

 consume more than two hundred nuts in a day, 

 it is obvious that eighteen Araucarias will main- 

 tain a single person for a whole year. The kernel, 

 which is of the shape of an 

 almond, but double the size, 

 is surrounded with a tough 

 membrane, which is easily 

 removed; though relishing 

 when prepared, it is not easy 

 of digestion, and containing 

 but a small quantity of oil 

 it is apt to cause disorders 

 in the stomach with those 

 who are not accustomed to 

 this diet. The Indians eat 

 them either fresh, boiled, or 

 roasted ; and the latter mode 

 of cooking gives them a 

 flavour something like that 

 of a chestnut. For winter's 

 use, they are dried after 

 being boiled ; and the wo- 

 men prepare a kind of flour 

 and pastry from them. The 

 collecting of these fruits 

 would be attended with 

 great labour, if it were 

 always necessary to climb the gigantic trunks, 

 but as soon as the kernels are ripe, towards the 

 end of March, the cones drop off of themselves, 

 and, shedding their contents on the ground, 

 scatter liberally a boon which nothing but the lit- 

 tle parrot and a species of cherry-finch divide 



CONE OF CIHLI PINE. 



