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FRUITS and their BUDS.
GReen Figs, are held to be of ill juyce, but the best is we are not much troubled with them in England; dry Figs helps coughs, clense the breast, and help infirmities of the lungues, shortness of wind, they loose the belly, purge the reins, help inflama∣tions of the liver and spleen; outwardly they dissolve swellings; some say the continual eating of them makes men lousie.
Pine-Nuts, restore such as are in consumptions, amend the failings of the lungues, concoct flegm, and yet are naught for such as are troubled with the headach.
Dates, are binding, stop eating ulcers being ap∣plied to them, they are very good for weak stomachs, for they soon digest, and breed good nourishment, they help infirmities of the reins, bladder, and womb.
Sebestens, cool choller, violent heat of the sto∣mach, help roughness of the tongue and windpipe, cool the reins and bladder.
Raisons of the Sun, help infirmities of the breast and liver, restore Consumptions, gently clense and move to stool.
Walnuts, kill worms, resist the Pestilence, (I mean the green ones, not the dry.)
Capers, eaten before meals, provoke hunger.
Nutmegs, strengthen the brain, stomach, and li∣ver, provoke urin, ease the pains of the spleen, stop loosness, ease pains of the head, and pains in the joynts, ad strength to the body, take away weakness coming of cold, and cause a sweet breath.
Cloves help digestion, stop loosness, provoke lust, and quicken the sight.
Pepper, binds, expels wind, helps the chollick, quic∣kens digestion oppressed with cold, heats the sto∣mach, (for al that old women say, 'tis cold in the stomach.)
Quinces, See the Compositions.
Pears are grateful to the stomach, drying, and therefore help fluxes.
All Plums that are sharp or sour, are binding, the sweet are loosning.
Cucumers, or (if you will) Cowcumbers, cool the stomach, and are good against ulcers in the blad∣der.
Gaules, are exceeding binding, help ulcers in the mouth, wasting of the gums, easeth the pains of the teeth, helps the falling out of the womb and funda∣ment, makes the hair black.
Pompions are a cold and moist fruit, of smal nou∣rishment, they provoke urine, outwardly applied, the flesh of them help inflamations and burnings, be∣ing applied to the forehead they help inflamations of the eyes.
Melones, called in London Musk-millions, have few other vertues.
Apricocks are very grateful to the stomach, and dry up the humors thereof, Peaches, are held to do the like,
Cubebs, are hot and dry in the third degree, they expel wind, and clense the stomach of tough, and viscus humors, they ease the pains of the spleen, and help cold diseases of the womb, they clense the head of slegm and strengthen the brain, they heat the sto∣mach and provoke lust.
Bitter Almonds, are hot in the first degree and dry in the second, they clense and cut thick humors, clense the lungues; and eaten every morning they are held to preserve from drunkenness.
Bay-berries, heat, expel wind, mitigate pains are excellent for cold infirmities of the womb, and drop∣sies.
Cherries, are of different qualities according to their different tast, the sweet are quickest of digestion, but the sour are most pleasing, to a hot stomach, and procure appetite to ones meat.
Medlers, are strengthening to the stomach, bind∣ing, and the green are more binding than the rotten, and the dry than the green.
Olives, cool and bind.
English-Currance, cool the stomach, and are pro∣fitable in acute feavers, they quench thirst, resist vo∣miting, cool the heat of choller, provoke appetite, and are good for hot complexions.
Services, or (as we in Sussex call them) Checkers, are of the nature of Medlars, but something weaker in operation.
Barberries, quench thrist, cool the heat of chol∣ler, resist the pestilence, stay vomiting and fluxes, stop the terms, kill worms, help spitting of blood, fasten the teeth, and strengthen the gums.
Strawberries, cool the stomach, liver, and blood, but are very hurtful for such as have agues.
Winter-Cherries, potently provoke urine, and break the stone.
Cassia-fistula, is temperate in quality, gently, purgeth choller and flegm, clarrifies the blood, resists feavers, clenseth the breast and lungues, it cools the reins, and thereby resisteth the breeding of the stone, it provokes urine, and therefore is exceeding good for the running of the reins in men, and the whites in women.
All the sorts of Myrobalans, purge the stomach, the Indian Myrobalans are held to purge melancholly most especially, the other slegm; yet take heed you use them not in stoppings of the bowels: they are cold and dry, they all strengthen the heart, brain, and sinnews, strengthens the stomach, releeve the sences, take away tremblings and heart-qualms. They are seldom used alone.
Prunes, are cooling and loosning.
Tamarinds, are cold and dry in the second degree, they purge choller, cool the blood, stay vomiting, help the yellow Jaundice, quench thrist, cool hot stomachs, and hot livers.
I omit the use of these also, as resting confident a child of three yeers old, if you should give it Rai∣sons of the sun or Cherries, would not ask how it should take them.