Of Auellana. chap. 109.
AVellana is a field nut, and a wood nut in comparison to the French Nut. For without craft of Gardeners, it gro∣weth on Haselles, that be Trées that grow in groaues, as Isidore sayeth. And for they grow in common places, wheras men passe therby, & pull and gather ther∣of, they haue worthely the name Auella∣na. And Auellana, as Isaac saith, be lesse hot in substaunce then other Nuts, and store sowre, and more fast in substance & vnctuous. And be therefore hards to de∣fie, and the more slowe to passe out of the body: but when they be defied, they nou∣rish much the bodye, and they ingender much veutosity,* 1.1 if they be eaten with the small skins. Therefore to take away the griefe, it is goo to blaunch them in hot water: and helpeth well then against ma∣ny passions and euills. The skinne ther∣of medled with hony, helpeth against fal∣ling of haire, and maketh haire growe in the body••, as Isaac sayth, and Constan∣tine also. There is also many diuersities of Nuts, that accord to medicine, as Nux Muscata, Mude Indica, & Nux Vomica, and other such. Nux Muscata, the Nut∣meg; is the fruite of a Trée that groweth in Inde, in a shale that is hard, and coue∣red with a skinne, as Auellana. And the ••inde thereof is called Macis, and is right medicinable. And comforteth namely the heart, and purgeth the spirit of féeling in the Maine: and he heateth the colde sto∣macke, and comforteth appetite, and this ••inde is somewhat bitter. And the barke thereof is yeolow, & hath a sharp fauour, and somewhat bitter: & that that is black or earthy, and hath not a sharp sauour, is to be forsaken: and the Nutmegge ta∣ken out of thē rinde and of the shale, is inuironed with a thin skinne & plaine. And the more heauy the Nutmeg is in weight, and the more swéet in smell, and sharpe in sauour, the better it is. And so the best is heauie and sound within, and séemeth reddy in coulour, and falleth not to Pouder when it is broken, and hath a strong sauour and swéete, and it hath vertue to comfort & to heat the stomack: and to consume and wast ven••ositie: and to heale head ach that commeth of cold. The Nutmeg held to the nose, comfort∣eth the braine and the spirituall mem∣bers, as Plinius, Dioscorides, and Plate∣arius meane.
(* 1.2The Filbert is better then the ba∣sell nut, and inferiour to the Almonde nut, being new ripe they are best to bée eaten, especially with bread.)