A tree called del jaboncillo grows in the hedges; it has the appearance of the laurel, and produces a quantity of round fruit, of the size of small plums; a hard kernel is enclosed in a tough rind, which when ripe contains a pulpy matter; this, on being mixed with water, produces a white froth, and is used instead of soap for washing.
In some gardens the achote is cultivated; this tree is seldom above ten feet high, the leaves are heart-shaped, and the seeds are enclosed in a prickly capsule about three inches long; they are covered with an unctuous matter, of a vermilion colour, and are thrown into hot water, and afterwards strained, when the liquor is boiled to the consistency of paste, and forms the annotta dye. The natives often use it as a spice, or as a colouring matter for their food.
Mani is also cultivated; the plant is very frondiferous, is about two feet high, and has white flowers; but the mani, or nuts, are attached to the roots; they are about the size of horse beans, and when roasted or boiled are delicate eating; they contain a considerable quantity of oil, of a beautiful green colour, which is obtained by pressure; it is equally palatable with the best olive oil. The root is remarkably nutritive, and very agreeable to eat when on a long journey.
A tree called pilco grows in the hedge rows; the leaves are lancet formed, and the branches very straight; the fruit is like that of the common laurel. If a person remain but a short time under the shade of this tree when the sun shines, swellings and pustules make their appearance on the face and arms, or any other naked part of the body. The juice is extremely caustic, and ulcerates the skin wherever it touches; on which account it is called in the Quichua language capsicarancha, the itch tree. When it is necessary to cut down any of these trees, a fire is made at the foot of them, and their offensive property is destroyed.
The plant which produces the castor bean, from which the castor oil is obtained, grows wild; the oil is often extracted by the natives, and on some sugar plantations it is used for the purpose of burning in lamps. One variety of this plant produces very large beans, which are called piñones: it grows about six feet high; the leaves are somewhat like those of the vine; the beans are enclosed in prickly capsules, each containing two beans, which have a thin black shell, and very white kernel; two or three of these chewed and swallowed prove a violent purgative. The natives extract the oil and apply it to the abdomen in cases of dropsy; they also dilute a small quantity in urine, and pour one or two drops into the ear, in cases of deafness or a pain in the ear.
During the damp season, in foggy months, a species of cactus grows on the lomas or sand hills which produces a fruit called caimito; this resembles in shape a large cucumber; it is first green, afterwards brown, with yellow stripes, and when ripe it is red. The taste is an agreeable subacid; but after eating the fruit a very disagreeable feeling is left on the lips, which is removed by rubbing them with a piece of the rind. The fruit is remarkably fragrant, and on this account it is frequently kept in the houses.
In the garden at Huaito there were a few plants of coffee; they were very healthy and bore fruit abundantly. Cotton of a good quality grows near the cottages of the indians, who always cultivate a few plants for their own consumption; among these plants I have observed many bearing cotton of a nankeen colour, but of this they seldom make any use.
Quantities of small lizards are to be seen on every heap of rubbish or stones, particularly when the sun shines, busily employed in catching flies, on which they appear to subsist; I have frequently watched them while seizing their prey. As soon as they observe a fly on the sand they creep out of their holes and make their advance with a slow and almost imperceptible motion; they place themselves in a right line with the object, and then make a dart at it open mouthed, and swallow it in a moment, very rarely missing it. They are often beautifully striped with green, yellow, and brown, and are generally about eight inches long. On some parts of the coast the indians eat them; they cut off the tail and the feet and fry the body, which has then the appearance of a fried smelt. I ate some at San Pedro, and believed them to be the peje rey until I was undeceived. The indians consider them as a medicinal food for persons afflicted with cutaneous diseases.
The opossum is found in all the valleys of the coast; it is about two feet long including the tail, which is as long as the body; the nose is pointed like that of a hog, and has no hair on it from the eyes to the mouth; the ears are thin, without any hair on them, and stand erect; the feet are also naked and small, and it holds its meat with its fore paws, like a monkey; the body is covered with hair, black at the roots and white at the points, which gives it a shady grey colour; the tail is slender and naked, and by it the animal can hang suspended to the branch of a tree. The female brings forth four or five young ones at a time, not larger than mice when first born, and they immediately betake themselves to the pouch under the belly of their mother. The pouch is formed by a fold of the skin, hairy on the outside and covered with a very soft down or fur on the inside; the nipples are so situated, that the young ones can suck them as they are carried about by their mother; when about the size of full grown mice they leave the pouch by an opening in the centre, and bask in the sun, but if any danger threaten them they immediately take refuge in their natural home. I one day caught an old opossum by the tail, when four of her young ones ran out; I chased and captured two of them; they immediately hid themselves by running up the inside of my coat sleeves; I took them home, reared them, and they became perfectly domesticated, were very tame, and would sleep on the same mat with a dog. They feed on fruit or esculents, will eat flesh, and are particularly fond of eggs. The indians esteem them as food, but I never had an opportunity of eating any. The natives sometimes call the opossum mochilera, from mochila, a knapsack; the indians call it mucamuca.
The añas of Peru is a species of pole cat, and is nearly the size of a domestic cat; its colour is a deep brown approaching to black, with a line of round white spots extending from the nose to the tail; the head is long, the ears broad and covered with hair, the eyes large with small black pupils, the nose sharp like the opossum; the upper lip is shorter than the lower one, which projects, and the mouth contains twelve incisorial, four canine, and sixteen grinding teeth. The hind legs are longer than the fore, and each foot has five toes, armed with long sharp nails, with which it burrows into the ground, and forms a place of security for its young. When walking it carries its head down, and its tail, which is bushy, is turned on the back like that of a squirrel.