346 / 1070
Royal
Commentaries.
·
BooK
VIII,. ·
" a great benefit co che Biíhop and Canons, and other Depéndents on che C~–
" chedral Church of
Col/;,co,
che Tithes of che Leaves of
Cuca
being cheir greatefi:
" Revenue. it is alfo a great Commodity amongft che Merchants; notwith–
" íl:anding ~11 which good Qg_alities if_ the
_Cuca,
tliere are many, who being ig–
·«
norant of its Virtues have wrote agamíl: 1t; for no ocher reafon, chan becaufe
" che Gentiles in anciem tirnes did by their Diviners and Wiza.rds offer chis
Cuca
" to rheir Gods in Sacrifice; and therefore having been abufed co Idolatry, they
" conclude chat it oughé for ever
to
be eíl:eemed abominable and prophane. This .
ce
.Argumenc n1ig~t be ava_ilable, if it h~d been _che cuíl:ome to off~r chis Herb
" onely
to
che Devil, bue
m
regard chat both anc1ent and modern Idolaters have
'' made cheir Coro; and Fruits, and whatfoever grows above 9r beneath che earch,
ce
cheir Drinks and Water, ,their Wool and Clothing, cheir Flocks and Herds, ·
" and al! chings el[e, che mauer and fubjeél: of r.heir Sacrifices; we may argue from
ce
che fame foundation, cbac all chofe things are defiled and rendred as abominable
ª
,
and unclean as che
Cuca;
but
to
che clean all things being clean
lecus ·ceach
" chem to abhor and forfake their fuperíl:icious and idolatrous Woriliips, and lec
'' us, ufing our ChriíliJn Liberty, receive chofe Bleffings_with moderation and
'' chankfgiving. Thus far a_re ~he Word~ of
[JI.u Va/era.
_To which we íh~II add
chus much farcher, chat chis httle Tree 1s about che he1ght
of
a Man,
m
che
planting
of
which chey caíl: rhe íeed in its green íhell, and when it grows up,
they cben hoa and open che Earth for it, as they doe for Vines, fupporting che ,
tender twigs wich íl:akes; and in plai:cing they cake grea~ care -that che tender roots
be laid íl:reight in che Earth, for w1th che leaíl: doublmg they dry and wither;
they cake likewife che leaf of every_ fprig by it felf, and holding it between d1eir
fingers, they cut it with great care
t1l1
they come to rhe Bud, bue do not touch
it,
for then che whole branch will wicher; both che outfide and infide of
this
Leaf in
che greennefs and íbape of ir, is like the
Arbutem,
onely the Leaves are
fo
chin,
chac rhree or four of them being doubled, are not
fo
rhick as rhat of che
Ar–
buteu-1.
I am pleafed to find any fort of Fruits here in
Spain,
to
which I may
compare cliem; rhough che difference between chem is
fo
great, that they may
eafily be diíl:inguifhed one from che ocher. When they gacher che Leaves they
dry
chem in che Sun; bue care is to be taken that tbey_be not over-dried, for then
they lo[e much of cheir Virrne, and being very thin, foon turn into powder
j
nor
will they bear mach moiíl:ure; for they foon grow muíl:y and rotten; but they
lay rhem up in Baskets of
ílit
Canes, of which man_y fine ones are ma<le in the
Antú.
With che Leaves of thoíe big Canes, which are abouc che rhird of a
yard broad, an.d abouc half a yard long, they .cover the top of che Baskecs, to
keep moiíl:ure from che Leaves, which is very prejudicial
to
them; and to conú–
der che great pains and care which is raken to nouriíh chis
Cuca,
anq the provifions
of ali chings which are made for
it,
we ought rather to render thanks to God for bis
abunda
ne
blefling
in
che variecy of his Creamres, than to believe or conclude thac
what we
v,
rite is fabulous or incredible;
if
theíe fruits were co be plaoted or nou–
rifhed in ocher Counrries, che charge and labour of them would be more chan rhe
benefü.
~
·
ThisHerb is gathered every four months, that is three times ayear, and in che
mannring
of le
care is taken to weed it ofren; for che Counrrey being hoc and
moiíl:, che Weeds grow apace, and che Herb fometimes íncreafes fo
fafi,
that che
íeaíon for garhering ofit advances fifteen days ; fo thac fometimes chey have four
Hir\i"dl:s for it in a year; che which
a
certain covetousTiche-gacherer obfervin_g in
my time, farmed .the Tithes of all the principal and rich Inheritances and Poíleffi–
ons about
Co~i:o,
and caking careto keep them clear and clean from Weeds, he
fo
improved his Revenue, rhac the year following che Farmer of the Tithes 1nade
rwo chirds more chan what had been made in che pre(i'.eding years; which caufed
.a Law
Suit between che Farmer and che Proprietor, but what the Iífoe was of
it,
I,
that was then bue a Boy, did not much remark.
Amongft many other Virtues o( chis
Cuca,
chey fay
it
corroborares che Gums,
and forrifies che Teeth, and chat it gives íl:rength and vigour to any perfon thac la–
·bours and coils, onely by carrying ic in his mouth.
I remember a Story which I
heard in my own Countrey. That a certain Gentleman both by Bloud and
V
ercue,
called
Rodrigo
Pantoia,
journyiog once. from
Coz.coto Rimac,
met
wlth
a poor
Spa–
niard
(
for there are fome poor there as well as here) travelling on foot, carrying
a
líccle Girl of about cwo years
of
age in bis Armes; and being an acquaintance
of