786 Sthe Voyages and Obfervatiom of J. A. de Mandelfloe, Book I. 
pofe of her again, but mufl make Provifion for the Chil- 
dren, if they leave any behind. But the Chinefe are of all 
Foreigners here the moil induftrious in their Trading, be- 
ing looked upon in the fame Light as the Jews in Europe . 
Their main Bufinefs is to foreftal and buy up the Pepper 
in the Country, againft the coming of their Fleet to Ban- 
tam (which conftfts commonly in ten Ships of 50 Tuns 
each) in January. Thefe bring in a fort of wretched Mo- 
ney called Pity by the Javanefe , and Cas in the Malayan 
Language, being a Mixture of Lead and Brafs, fo brittle, 
that if they fall upon the Ground they certainly break. 
They are made in the City of Chincoa in China , having 
each a four-fquare Hole in the middle, through which 
they hiring them upon Straw. It palled at firft very cur- 
rent in Java, but fince this Bafenefs has been difcovered, 
it goes at a very low Rate. The Chinefe fell their Porce- 
lain here at cheap Rates, and bring alfo Silk, Sattin, and 
Damafks of their own Manufactory, w'hich they exchange 
for Pepper, Lacque, Indigo, Sandal Wood, Nutmegs, 
Cloves, Tortoilhels, and Ivory. They have neither Tem- 
ples nor Priefts at Bantam , but they have both at Pana- 
rucan. 
, Java abounds both in wild and tame Bealls. The Fo- 
refts are filled with Elephants, Rhinocerofes, Leopards, and 
Tygers, which make them very unfafe, and is the reafon 
why Frankincenfe, Maftick, Myrrh, and Benjamin (which 
is better here than in any other Place) are not gathered in 
fo great Quantities, the before-mentioned Bealls, as well 
as the Serpents, Lizards, and Salamanders, making the 
Forelts fo very dangerous to pafs. The Hogs here are 
without Briftles, but their Bellies hang down to the Ground. 
The Rivers are very well flocked with Fifh, there having 
been Oyfters feen in thofe Parts that weighed 300 Pounds, 
which would feem incredible, if there were not to be feen 
to this Day, two Oyfter-fhells in the Duke of Holflein-Got- 
terp’s Cabinet, which Olearius , in 1657, bought of a Sea- 
Captain’s Wife at Enchuyfen , and weighed 462 Pounds. 
Deer, wild Goats, and Boars, are likewife here in vaft 
Plenty, but are not eafily to be taken, by reafon of the 
Unpaffablenefs of the Woods, and the Unlkilfulnefs of 
the Javanefe in the Ufe of Fire-arms. The Rivers feed 
alfo abundance of Crocrodiles ; the Chinefe tame, fat, and 
eat them for a peculiar Dainty. Their Civet is not fo 
white, nor well fcented, as that of Guinea. They have two 
forts of tame Fowls, one like thofe of Europe , the other 
of the Indian Breed, wild and furious ; fome have black 
Flefh, but notwithftanding this they are very good Food : 
The Rhinoceros is in the fame Efteem with them nowa- 
days, as the Unicom v r as with the Ancients, his Flefh, 
Horn, Blood, and Teeth, nay, even his Dung, being 
applied to medicinal Ufes. 
They have alfo Ants here of a much larger Size than 
ours, they fpoil every thing they come at. They have a 
certain kind of thefe Creatures reddifh, and of the Length 
of a Man’s Finger ; but thefe live in the Fields upon the 
Barks of Trees. Among the Fruit-trees of Java the Ar- 
requeco , which bears the Areca , is none of the worft ; it 
is a Species of the Cocoa/ but lefs in Bulk, and with nar- 
rower Leaves. The Fruit refembles a Date inclofed in a 
Hulk, which falls off when it ripens 5 it is without Tafle, 
but taints the Lips and Teeth of a black Colour. The 
Indians , after they have mixed it with a little Lime, wrap 
it up in a Beetle Leaf, and fo chew it, looking upon it as 
a good Remedy againft the Scurvy. It will caufe in fuch 
as are hot ufed to it, a Dizzinefs in the Head, but it foon 
paffes over. The Mango is a Fruit growing upon a Tree 
not unlike our Walnut-trees ; it is fomething like our 
Peaches in Bignefs and Colour, being of a red and green. 
The Shell indoles an Almond, which is of a grateful 
Tafle when roafted in the Allies : They pickle them whilft 
green, and they are accounted a good Remedy againft the 
Worms, and Loofenefs; the wild ones are rank Poifon, 
which kill without a prefent Antidote. 
The Ananas grow on a Shrub with Leaves like a Semper- 
vivum ; is green at firft, but when ripe, turns to the Orange 
Colour. Its Shape is like a Pine- apple, yellow within, but they 
are dangerous it ufed in Excefs, tho’ the Tafle is very plea- 
fant ; they are not much larger than a good Lemmon. The 
Stalk is like a Thiflle, every one bearing but one at the 
Top; it. is very apt to over-heat,’ and occafion Fevers, 
The Fruit called Samaca is alfo of the Bignefs of a Citron 
juicy and tart, with black Kernels ; the Leaves, which are 
like to, but fomething lefs than the Lemmon-trees, pickled 
with Salt and Sugar, are accounted a good Remedy in 
Fevers and Inflammations, as we do our Tamarinds, 
which alfo grow in great Plenty here. The Tabaxir , /. e. 
a white frozen Liquor, is found in the Knots of certain 
Canes, of the Bignefs of a Poplar, with ftrait Branches 
and Leaves not unlike thofe of the Olive-tree, but fome- 
what longer ; it is like Starch, and in fuch Efteem with 
the Perfians and Arabians for the Virtues they attribute to 
it in the Cure of Fevers and Bloody-fiiixes, that they buy 
it at a very dear Rate. Thefe Canes are fo big, that the 
Indians cleave them afunder, and make Boats of them, 
leaving a Knot on each End. The Ifle of Java produces 
alfo another Fruit called Durions , not to be met with any 
where except here and in the Moluccas . 
The Tree called Bat an is of the Size of our Apple-trees ; 
the Bloffom of a pale yellow Colour, the Leaves half a 
Foot long, and three Inches broad, of a very lively green 
on the Infide. The Fruit, both for its Colour, Bignefs, 
and outward Divifion, refembles our Melons, but within 
is divided into four Partitions, which being again fubdi- 
vided into two or three Idler Cells, contain the Fruit, 
which is as big as a Pullet’s Egg, and of the molt lufcious 
Tafte in the World. It has a Stone rough, and as big as 
that of a Peach. It will not keep, and therefore muft be 
ufed as foon as the outward Hulk opens. One thing is 
very obfervable, that if you lay but a few Beetle Leaves 
near a whole Room full of Durions , they will all rot imme- 
diately ; and if you have furfeited yourfelf with the excef- 
five eating of this Fruit, two or three Beetle Leaves ap- 
plied to your Breaft, or one of the fame Leaves eaten, will 
give you Eafe, and you may digeft them without any farther 
Danger. A Lantor Tree, another Species of Cocoas, has 
Leaves five or fix Feet long, and fo fmooth, that the Ja- 
vanefe ufe them inftead of Paper. Cubebs are found no 
where in the Indies , but in the Ifle of Java. They grow 
upon a Tree not unlike the Pepper, and in Bunches. The 
Javanefe hold them in fuch Efteem, that they will not 
fell them unboil’d, nor will allow fo much as one Plant to 
be tranfported into other Places. The Magojlan is much 
of the Tafte of our Sloes, and grows wild in the High- 
ways of Java ; and the Herb PalaJJe , bearing neither Flower 
nor Fruit, is ufed green in Sauces, its Virtue being to for- 
tify the Stomach : The Fruit Jaca, is of the Bignefs of a 
Citrul , having a rough Rind, within which are certain 
Nuts, the Kernels thereof being roafted, are a prefent 
Remedy againft a Loofenefs. It is obfervable, that this 
Fruit often changes its Tafte; fomedmes it refembles a 
Melon, fometimes a Peach, and at other times a fweet 
Lemmon. The Nut is as big as a Date, but is not to be 
ufed raw, becaufe it occafions Vomiting and griping in 
the Guts ; but roafted, it is both pleafant and good, and 
reckoned a great Reftorative. 
On the Side of the Illand towards the Strait of Sunda, 
you meet with abundance of wild Cinnamon, but it is never 
tranfported into foreign Parts. The Carcapuli are a kind 
of Indian Cherries, white, dark, red, and of a Carnation 
Colour; the Trees and Fruit are like thofe in Europe . 
Th e C of us Indicus , called Pucho by the Malayans, refem- 
bles in every refpedl, both in Height and Flower, the Eu- 
ropean Elder-tree, wherewith the Perfians and Arabians 
drive a confiderable Trade, as they do alfo with the Cala- 
mus Aromaticus. There is a yellow and fpungy Matter in 
its Stalk/which fome Women make ufe of to appeafe 
Fits. The Zerumbet , called Canlor by .the Malayans, is 
like Ginger, except that it has fomewhat larger Leaves ; 
it is preferved, or dried like Ginger, but valued above it. 
Of Galanga there are two kinds, the Idler is brought from 
China , and is . preferable to that of Java. The Herb 
grows wild, about two Feet high, with a white Flower, 
and pointed Leaves ; the Javanefe ufe both the Root and 
Herb in their Sallads ; the firft are knotted like Canes, 
and of a biting Tafte, and good Scent. Benjamin is a 
Gum of a Tree, refembling a Lemmon-tree ; whilft they are 
young, the Gum is white, but as they grow old, it changes 
black. It is by the Moors called Levan lavy, i. e. the 
