Ch.VIII. south AMERICA. 77 



is drawn a milk like that of almonds, and at Car- 

 thagena is ufed in dreffing rice. 



Though lemons, of the kind generally known in 

 Europe, and of which fuch quantities are gathered in 

 fome parts of Spain, are very fcarce yet there are fuch 

 numbers of another kind, called futiles or limes, that 

 the country is, in a manner, covered with the trees that 

 produce them, without care or culture. But the tree 

 and its fruit are both much lefs than thofe of Spain, the 

 height of the former feldom exceeding eight or ten 

 feet ; and from the bottom, or a little above, divides 

 into fevcral branches, whofe regular expanfion forms a 

 very beautiful tuft. The leaf, which is of the fame 

 Ihape with that of the European lemon, is lefs, but 

 fmoother-, the fruit does not exceed a common egg 

 in magnitude ; the rind very thin ; and it is more juicy 

 in proportion than the lemon of Europe, and infinitely 

 more pungent and acid ; on which account the Euro- 

 pean phyficians pronounce it detrimental to health ; 

 though, in this country, it is a general ingredient in their 

 made difhes. There is one Angular ufe which this 

 fruit is applied to in cookery. It is a cuftom w^ith the 

 inhabitants not to lay their meat down to the fire 

 , above an hour at fartheft, before dinner or fupper; 

 this is managed by fteeping it for fome time in the 

 juice of thefe limes, or fqueezing three or four, accord- 

 ing to the quantity of meat, into the water, if they in- 

 tend boiling; by which means the fleih becomes fo 

 foftened as to admiit of being thoroughly drelTed in this 

 fhort fpace of time. The people here value themfelves 

 highly on this preparative, and laugh at the Europeans 

 for fpending a morning about what they difpatch fo 

 expeditioufly. 



This country abounds in tamarinds-, a large brarxhy 

 tree, the leaf of a deep green. The pods of a m.iddle 

 fize, and flat; the pulp of a dark brown, a pleafant 

 talle, very fibrous, and is called by the fame name as 

 the tree itfelf. In the middle of the pulp is a hard 



