Of a tree called _molle_, and of other herbs and roots in this kingdom
of Peru.
When I wrote concerning the city of Guayaquil I treated of the
sarsaparilla, an herb the value of which is well known to all who have
visited those parts. In this place I propose to treat of the trees
called _molles_, and of their uses. In the valleys and great forests of
Peru there are many trees of different kinds, and with different uses,
very few of which are like those of Spain. Some of them, such as the
_aguacates_, _guayavos_, _caymitos_, and _guavas_ bear fruits such as I
have already mentioned in various parts of this work; others are covered
with thorns, and others are very large, with great hollows in their
trunks, where the bees make their honey with marvellous great order and
concert. In most of the inhabited parts of this land, large and small
trees are to be seen, which they call _molles_. These trees have very
small leaves, with a smell like that of fennel. Their bark is possessed
of such virtue that, if a man has great pain and swelling in his legs,
it is removed, and the swelling is reduced, by merely soaking this bark,
and washing the place several times. The small branches are very useful
for cleaning the teeth. They also make a very good drink from the very
small berries which this tree bears, as well as vinegar, by merely
steeping the quantity required in vases of water, and putting them on
the fire. After they have stood some time, the residue of the liquor is
converted into wine, vinegar, or treacle, according to the manner of
treating it. The Indians hold these trees in great estimation.[518]
There are also herbs of great virtue in these parts, and I will mention
some which I saw myself. In the province of Quinbaya, where the city of
Cali stands, they raise certain roots among the trees, which are so
efficacious for purging, that it is merely necessary to take a little
more than a _braza_ in length, of the thickness of a finger, place it in
a small jar of water, and drink the greater part of the water during the
night, to cause the required effect, as well as rhubarb. There are also
beans which have the same effect, but some praise them, while others say
they do harm. In the buildings of Vilcas one of my slave girls was very
ill with certain tumours, and I saw that the Indians carried yellow
flowers, which they reduced to powder by applying a light to them. By
anointing her once or twice with this powder she was cured.
In the province of Andahuaylas there is another herb so good for
cleaning the teeth, that by rubbing them with it for an hour or two, the
teeth become as white as snow. There are many other herbs in these
parts, which are useful for curing men, and others which do harm, and
form the poisons of which men die.[519]