Green Figs, are held to be of ill juice, but the best is, we are not much troubled with them in England; dry figs help coughs, cleanse the breast, and help infirmities of the lungs, shortness of wind, they loose the belly, purge the reins, help inflammations of the liver and spleen; outwardly they dissolve swellings.

Pine-nuts, restore such as are in consumptions, amend the failings of the lungs, concoct flegm, and yet are naught for such as are troubled with the head-ache.

Dates, are binding, stop eating ulcers being applied 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 choler, violent heat of the stomach, help roughness of the tongue and wind-pipe, cool the reins and bladder.

Raisins of the Sun, help infirmities of the breast and liver, restore consumptions, gently cleanse 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 liver, provoke urine, ease the pains of the spleen, stop looseness, ease pains of the head, and pains in the joints, strengthen the body, take away weakness coming of cold, and cause a sweet breath.

Cloves, help digestion, stop looseness, provoke lust, and quicken the sight.

Pepper, binds, expels wind, helps the cholic, quickens digestion oppressed with cold, heats 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 loosening.

Cucumbers, cool the stomach, and are good against ulcers in the bladder.

Galls, are exceeding binding, help ulcers in the mouth, wasting of the gums, ease the pains of the teeth, help the falling out of the womb and fundament, make the hair black.

Pompions are a cold and moist fruit, of small nourishment, they provoke urine, outwardly applied; the flesh of them helps inflammations and burnings; applied to the forehead they help inflammations of the eyes.

Melons, have few other virtues.

Apricots, are very grateful to the stomach, and dry up the humours thereof. Peaches are held to do the like.

Cubebs, are hot and dry in the third degree, they expel wind, and cleanse the stomach of tough and viscous humours, they ease the pains of the spleen, and help cold diseases of the womb, they cleanse the head of flegm and strengthen the brain, they heat the stomach and provoke venery.

Bitter Almonds, are hot in the first degree and dry in the second, they cleanse and cut thick humours, cleanse the lungs, and eaten every morning, they are held to preserve from drunkenness.

Bay-berries, heat, expel wind, mitigate pain; are excellent for cold infirmities of the womb, and dropsies.

Cherries, are of different qualities according to their different taste, the sweet are quickest of digestion, but the sour are more pleasing to a hot stomach, and procure appetite to one’s meat.

Medlars, are strengthening to the stomach, binding, and the green are more binding than the rotten, and the dry than the green.

Olives, cool and bind.

English-currants, cool the stomach, and are profitable in acute fevers, they quench thirst, resist vomiting, cool the heat of choler, provoke appetite, and are good for hot complexions.

Services, or Chockers are of the nature of Medlars, but something weaker in operation.

Barberries, quench thirst, cool the heat of choler, resist the pestilence, stay vomiting and fluxes, stop the menses, 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 choler and flegm, clarifies the blood, resists fevers, cleanses the breast and lungs, it cools the reins, and thereby resists the breeding of the stone, it provokes urine, and therefore is exceeding good for the running of the reins in men, and the Fluor Albus in women.

All the sorts or Myrobalans, purge the stomach; the Indian Myrobalans, are held to purge melancholy most especially, the other flegm; yet take heed you use them not in stoppings of the bowels: they are cold and dry, they all strengthen the heart, brain, and sinews, strengthen the stomach, relieve the senses, take away tremblings and heart-qualms. They are seldom used alone.

Prunes, are cooling and loosening.

Tamarinds, are cold and dry in the second degree, they purge choler, cool the blood, stay vomiting, help the yellow jaundice, quench thirst, cool hot stomachs, and hot livers.

I omit the use of these also as resting confident a child of three years old, if you should give it Raisins of the sun or Cherries would not ask how it should take them.