Among the pulse there are different kinds of peas (garbanzos) on the coast; beans (frijoles), on the contrary, occupy the hilly grounds. All vegetables of the cabbage and salad kinds cultivated in Europe will grow in Peru. The climate, both of the coast and the hills, suits them perfectly; but the hot, damp temperature of the eastern declivity of the Andes is adverse to them. Numerous varieties of the genus Cucurbita are cultivated in the chacras, or Indian villages, on the coast. They are chiefly consumed by the colored population. I did not find them very agreeable to the taste. They are all sweetish and fibrous.
Among the edible plants which serve for seasoning or spicery, I must mention the love-apple (Tomate), which thrives well in all the warm districts of Peru; and the Spanish pepper (Aji), which is found only on the coast and in the mild woody regions. There are many species of the pepper (Capsicum annuum, baccatum, frutescens, &c.), which are sometimes eaten green, and sometimes dried and pounded. In Peru the consumption of aji is greater than that of salt; for with two-thirds of the dishes brought to table, more of the former than of the latter is used. It is worthy of remark that salt diminishes, in a very striking degree, the pungency of the aji; and it is still more remarkable that the use of the latter, which in a manner may be called a superfluity, has no injurious effect on the digestive organs. If two pods of aji, steeped in warm vinegar, are laid as a sinapism on the skin, in the space of a quarter of an hour the part becomes red, and the pain intolerable; within an hour the scarf-skin will be removed. Yet I have frequently eaten twelve or fifteen of these pods without experiencing the least injurious effect. However, before I accustomed myself to this luxury, it used to affect me with slight symptoms of gastritis. On the eastern declivity of the Cordilleras I found no capsicum at a greater height than 4800 feet above the level of the sea.
Lucern (Medicago sativa), called by the natives alfa or alfalfa, is reared in great abundance throughout the whole of Peru, as fodder for cattle. It does not bear great humidity, nor severe heat or cold; yet its elevation boundary is about 11,100 feet above the level of the sea. On the coast it flourishes very luxuriantly during the misty season; but during the months of February and March it is almost entirely dried up. The maisillo (Paspalum purpureum, R.) then supplies its place as fodder for cattle. In the mountainous districts it is also most abundant during the humid season; but, as soon as the first frost sets in, it decays, takes a rusty-brown color, and remains in a bad state until the beginning of the rainy season. On an average, the alfalfa may be cut four times in the year; but in highlying districts only three times; and in humid soils on the coast, particularly in the neighborhood of rivers, five times. Once in every four or five years the clover-fields are broken up by the plough, and then sown with maize or barley. In the sixth year clover is again raised.
The olive-tree is cultivated chiefly in the southern provinces of the coast. In flavor, its fruit approximates to the Spanish olive. That the oil is not so fine is probably owing to the bad presses which are used, and the rude manner in which the operation is performed. The olives (Aceytunas) are preserved in a peculiar manner. They are allowed to ripen on the tree, when they are gathered, slightly pressed, dried, and put up in small earthen vessels. By this process they become shrivelled and quite black. When served up at table pieces of tomato and aji are laid on them: the latter is an excellent accompaniment to the oily fruit. Some preserve them in salt water, by which means they remain plump and green.
The castor-oil plant (Ricinus communis) grows wild, but it is also cultivated in many plantations. The considerable quantity of oil which is pressed out of the seeds is used unpurified in Lima for the street lamps, and also in the sugar plantations, for greasing the machines employed in the works. The purified Ricinus oil required for medicine is imported from England or Italy.
The Piñoncillo tree (Castiglionia lobata, R.) is cultivated only about Surco, Huacho, and Lambayeque, in some of the Indian chacras; but it grows wild in considerable abundance. Its bean-like fruit, when roasted, has an agreeable flavor. When eaten raw, the etherial oil generated between the kernel and the epidermis is a strong aperient, and its effect can only be counteracted by drinking cold water. When an incision is made in the stem, a clear bright liquid flows out; but after some time it becomes black and horny like. It is a very powerful caustic, and retains its extraordinary property for years.
The fruits of the temperate climates of Europe thrive but indifferently in the warm regions of the coast of Peru. Apples and pears are for the most part uneatable. Of stone fruits only the peach succeeds well. Vast quantities of apricots (called duraznos) grow in the mountain valleys. Of fifteen kinds which came under my observation, those called blanquillos and abridores are distinguished for fine flavor. Cherries, plums, and chestnuts I did not see in Peru, yet I believe the climate of the Sierra is very favorable to their growth. Generally speaking, the interior of the country is well suited to all the fruits and grain of central Europe; and doubtless many of our forest trees would flourish on those Peruvian hills which now present no traces of vegetation. But as yet no system of transplantation has been seriously set on foot. The praiseworthy attempts made by many Europeans, who have sent seeds and young plants to Peru, have failed of success, owing to the indifference of the natives to the advancement of those objects.
All the fruits of southern Europe thrive luxuriantly in the warm regions of Peru. Oranges, pomegranates, lemons, limes, &c., grow in incredible abundance. Though the trees bloom and bear fruit the whole year round, yet there are particular times in which their produce is in the greatest perfection and abundance. On the coast, for example, at the commencement of winter, and in the woody districts in the months of February and March, melons and Sandyas (water melons) are particularly fine.
The figs are of two kinds: the one called Higos, and the other Brevas. In the former the pulp is red, in the latter it is white. They are usually large, very soft, and may be ranked among the most delicious fruits of the country. Fig-trees grow frequently wild in the neighborhood of the plantations and the Chacras: and the traveller may pluck the fruit, and carry away a supply for his journey; for, beyond a certain distance from Lima figs are not gathered, being a fruit not easy of transport in its fresh state; and when dried, it is not liked. Pomegranates and quinces seldom grow on the coast: they are chiefly brought to the Lima market from the neighboring Quebradas. The mulberry-tree flourishes luxuriantly and without cultivation; but its fruit is not thought worth gathering, and it is left as food for the birds. In the southern province of Yca, the cultivation of the vine has been attended by most successful results. In the neighborhood of Lima grapes are seen only in a few Huertas (orchards); but for size, sweetness, and aromatic flavor, there are no such grapes in any other part of the world.
Of tropical fruits, the number is not so great in Peru as in the more northerly district of Guayaquil. But there are some Peruvian fruits, the delicious flavor of which cannot be excelled. One of these is the Chirimoya (Anona tripetala). Hanke, in one of his letters, calls it "a master-work of Nature." It would certainly be difficult to name any fruit possessing a more exquisite flavor.