THese are a white Sort of little longish Almonds, that are round on one Side, of a sweet Taste, to which they give the Name of sweet Pine Kernels. These small Almonds are cover'd with a thin Pellicle or Skin, that is light, reddish, and has a very stong Nut. These Nuts, supply'd with Almonds, are found in the Pine Apples, and are call'd, according to their Subject, Pine-Nuts, Pine-Kernels, or Almonds from the Pine Fruit: Those we now sell come from Catalonia, as likewise Provence and Languedoc, and several other Parts of France. To get the Kernels from the Pine-Apples, they are thrown into a hot Oven, where the Heat obliges them to open; afterwards they break the Nuts, and take from thence the Kernels, which are sent into different Parts of the World: Chuse 'em white, the largest and least mix'd with Shells and Skins that you can get, and which are of a sweet Taste; in a Word, which neither smell of Oil or Mustiness: They are much us'd, especially in Lent, to make several Sorts of Ragoos: The Confectioners cover them with Sugar, after having stoved them some time to take out the Oil: They make an Oil of them by Expression, which has the same Virtues with Oil of sweet Almonds, especially when the Kernels are fresh and new: They are sometimes us'd to feed Canary Birds; and a Paste made of the Powder after the Oil is press'd from them, is good to wash the Hands with.
Ricinus Vulgaris according to Bauhinus and Tournefort, or Cataputia major Vulgaris, the common Ricinus, or greater Spurge, is a Plant that has the Resemblance of a small Tree, whose Stalk rises six or seven Foot high, thick, woody, hollow within like a Reed, branching at the Top, of a dark, purple Colour, cover'd with a white Powder like Meal; the Leaves are in the beginning round, but as they grow bigger they become corner'd, and divided like the Fig-Leaf, but much larger and soft to the Touch: The Flowers are so many pale Stamina, Threads, or Chives, which do not last long, and which leave nothing after them, either of Seed or Berry: These Fruits growing separately, upon the same Stalk, dispos'd in the Nature of a Bunch, that is prickly and rough to the Hand: Each of this Fruit has three Sides, and is made up of three Capsulae or Coverings, which contain severally an oval or oblong Seed; pretty thick, of a livid Colour, spotted without, and fill'd with a white tender Pith: When the Fruit is full ripe it is full of Chinks, or Cracks, by which the Seed rushes out with force; the Root is long, thick, hard, white, and stringy: They cultivate this Plant in Gardens, not only for its Beauty, but because it drives away the Moles; it grows of different Sizes and Heights, according to the Places wherein it is set; for in Spain one may see them of the Height of a man; and in Candia there are others that grow to the Bulk of large Trees, provided there be Poles for them to mount on: The Ricini, or Tyle-Berries, are us'd in Medicine, and contain in them Plenty of Oil and Salt; they purge violently all Sorts of Humours, and may be given from one Grain to six.
There is an Oil made of them by Expression, after they have been well beat, call'd in Latin, Oleum de Kerva, Oleum Cicinum, Oleum ficus infernalis: It purges only by rubbing the Stomach and Belly with it: It kills the Worms, cures the Itch, deterges old Ulcers, and allays the Suffocation of the Womb. These Berries are brought from America, and are call'd, in Latin, Grana Tiglia, Tyle-Berries, or Indian Pine Kernels, because, in Shape and Size, they resemble the Pine Kernels, which are larger than these, grow in a Shell like them, but are not thorny. There are several Sorts of Pine Kernels, from the several Sorts of Pines, which produce them; of which I shall give you an Account of four; one whereof is cultivated, and the other three wild.
The cultivated Pine is call'd Pinus, or Pinus Sativa, vel Domestica, by Bauhinus, Raius, Tournefort and Gerard: The Trunk of which is large, upright and tall; naked, or bare at the Bottom, and full of Branches at the Top, cover'd with a rough, reddish Bark; the Wood is firm, strong, yellowish and scented; the Branches are dispos'd in order; the Leaves grow two and two, long and small like Threds; hard, durable, and constantly green; pointed or prickly at their Tops; surrounded at the Bottom with a membranous Sheath. The Husks or Shells, are of several membranous Foldings, which contain two Cells, fill'd with nothing but a light Dust; these Husks leave no Fruit behind them growing upon the same Stalks with the Leaves, and begin by a Button, which arrives to be a large scaly Apple, almost round, or pyramidal, of a reddish Colour: These Scales which form it are hard, woody, thicker commonly at the Point, or Top, than at the Bottom; hollow lengthwise, with two Cavities, each of which contains a hard Shell, or oblong Nut, cover'd, or edg'd with a thin, light, reddish Rind; they call these in Latin, Strobili seu Pinei, seu Nuces pineae, or Pine Nuts, which enclose in each an oblong Kernel, half round, white, sweet to the Taste, and tender.
The second Sort is call'd Pinus Sylvestris, by Raius, &c. or Pinus Sylvestris vulgaris Genevensis, by Bauhinus and Tournefort, the common wild Geneva Pine; this grows, usually, less high than the cultivated, but sometimes it attains to the same Height and Size; its Trunk more frequently straight, but is sometimes crooked; the Leaves are long and narrow; the Fruit much smaller than the first, more resinous, and falls easily when ripe: This Tree grows in mountainous and rocky Places.
The third Sort is call'd Pinus Sylvestris Mugo, five Crein, or Pinaster Austriacus the Austrian wild Pine, being a diminutive Pine, which grows not above the Height of a Man; it divides itself from the Root into several large Branches, that are flexible and pliant, spreading wide, cover'd with a thick, rough Bark; the Leaves are of the same Form, and dispos'd like the cultivated Pine, but much shorter, thicker, fleshy, less sharp at their Ends, and greener: The Fruit are not so big as those of the Larix, or Cyprus, but they are scaly, form'd pyramidally like other Pine-Apples; the Root is thick and woody: This Plant grows in mountainous and Stony Ground; as about the Alps, and among other Rocks.
The fourth Sort is call'd Pinus Sylvestris Maritima, conis firmiter ramis adhaerentibus, by Bauhinus, Ray and Tournefort, or Pinus Sylvestris altera Maritima, the wild Sea Pine: This is a small Tree whose Wood is white, strong-scented and resinous; the Leaves are like those of other Pines; the Fruit are in Pairs, and shap'd like those of the cultivated Pine, but a great deal less, being ty'd strongly to the Branch, by their woody Stalks. This Plant grows in mountainous Parts, near the Sea.
All the Pines that grow in the hot Countries yield Plenty of Rosin, by Incisions made in their Bark; they afford Abundance of Oil and essential Salt: The Bark and Leaves of the Pine are astringent and deficcative. We have Pine Kernels from Catalonia, Languedoc and Provence, which are taken from the Pine Apples, as taught by Pomet: Chuse such as are new, plump, clean and white, that have a good sweet Taste; they contain a great deal of Oil, and some Salt; are pectoral, restorative, sweeten and correct the Acrimony of Humours, increase Urine and Seed, cleanse Ulcers of the Kidneys, resolve, attenuate, and mollify; and may be us'd internally and externally.