June.—Cherimollas and guanavanas; sweet and sour oranges; a few apples.
July.—The same as June, with the exception of apples and limes; sweet lemons and sour lemons begin to ripen.
August.—The same as July; but slight demand for oranges this month.
September.—Lucumas, paltas, and the fruits of the previous month.
October.—Same as September; but a great demand for limes and sweet lemons.
November and December.—During these two months there is a great demand for sweet and sour lemons, for “frescos” or cooling drinks. Sweet oranges rarely remain good after the middle of November.
Plantains produce all the year, but the greatest abundance is during the hot months. The pepino is also much eaten during December, January, and February. In the months of April and May, the pulp surrounding the seeds in the pod of the pacay are much eaten.
In addition to the above account by Mr. Mathews, we may notice that the melon and sandia, or musk and water-melon, are much cultivated in the neighbourhood of Lima; and are to be seen in large heaps by the bridge, and at the corners of streets, where they are bought up, and consumed with avidity, in the hot month of February. Olives too, and very good ones, grow in the Vale of Rimac, and arrive at maturity in February and March. During the late civil wars, several valuable olive plantations were wantonly cut down. Strawberries, and likewise “tunas,” or Indian figs, of inferior quality, grow in Lima; but the market is supplied with these fruits, and of the best quality, from the neighbouring valley of Sta. Ulaya. The pine-apple does not ripen spontaneously in Lima, though attempts are now making near the Callao gate of the city to cultivate it. The pine-apple eaten in Lima is usually brought from the eastern side of Peru, from the Montaña of Tarma and Guancayo, &c. Sometimes, also, a few pine-apples are carried from about Moro on the coast to the northward; but these often decay before they arrive in Lima.