COOK AND COLLINS—ECONOMIC PLANTS OF PORTO RICO. 221 
This tree is sparingly introduced into Porto Rico, but if the accounts of it are 
eorrect it is worthy of much more general planting, as advisefl in Trinidad by 
Professor Hart in connection with the following report: 
‘* Probably there are few tropical trees which are so useful for a variety of pur- 
poses as the saman or zaman of Central America. In Jamaica this tree is known 
as the ‘guango;* in Trinidad, by its Spanish name of ‘zaman.’ or its corrup- 
tion ‘saman.’ The tree is a native of Central America, from Nicaragua south- 
ward toBrazil. Itisalarge, umbrageous tree, belonging to the order Leguminosae, 
or the Pea family, many of which are noted for their property of accumulating 
or storing nitrogen in the soil. In Jamaica it is well known, and grown for shad- 
ing ‘ Guinea’ grass fields. In Trinidad it has not the same good reputation for 
shade purposes, as its place is in a manner usurped by the quicker growing ‘ bois 
immortel.’ 
There is some reason, however, to doubt the superiority of the latter over the 
former, and personally I am inclined to the belief that the claims of the ‘saman’ 
are much higher from every standpoint. The tree can be seen in the botanic 
gardens, shading nutmegs, cacao, coffee, tea, and other products to the greatest 
advantage: it is, besides, a tree much less liable to fall and injure the plantation 
than the bois immortel, and being of the same family it possesses the power of 
becoming a real ‘madre de cacao,’ just as well as the bois immortel or Erythrina, 
For ‘Guinea grass” pastures the tree gives a fine shade, and it is also an excel- 
lent one for planting in ordinary ‘low-bite’ pasture, both for the benefit of 
herbage and also as a shade for the cattle. 
‘*In Nicaragua the wood of this tree is used to make wheels for ox carts, solid 
sections being sawn through the trunk for the purpose. It gives a splendid 
dark-colored wood with excellent grain, which takes a fine polish. The legumes, 
or beans, as they fall from the tree, are greedily eaten by cows and_ horses, 
although they are apt to give internal troubles of a minor character to the latter. 
Professor Harrison, of Demerara, who analyzed the pods, observed that the beans 
have about the same average composition as carob beans, obtained from Ceratonia 
siliqua, but as the seeds of the saman invariably pass through the stomach of a 
cow without being digested, the food value of the seed must be eliminated to 
obtain the true value of the legume as a cattle food. I understand that Professor 
Harrison, who published the original analysis, will shortly complete it by a sepa- 
rate examination of the seed. Whatever may be the result, it is certain that the 
pods or beans are a very suitable food for milch cows, as shown by the character 
of the milk afforded by animals fed regularly upon them. In some places Pithe- 
colobium saman has obtained the name of ‘rain tree,’ for what reason it is not 
clearly apparent; but it is certain that much larger crops of ‘Guinea grass’ can 
be grown under its shade than in the open. It is one of those trees in which, like 
some of the Mimosas, the leaflets are possessed of the power of movement, and close 
together at sundown, thus allowing the dew to fall upon the crops beneath; while, 
when the sun is high, the foliage is spread out ina form which securely screens 
off its rays and protects the ground beneath from excessive evaporation. In the 
gardens we have large examples of these trees, planted it is supposed between the 
years 1818 and 1824, so that they are over 70 years of age, and are probably the 
finest in the West Indies. The spread of the branches of several of them reaches 
a diameter of considerably over 140 feet (42 meters). For all purposes of shade, so 
necessary in a moist tropical climate, the saman is certainly an excellent tree, and 
it grows at a rate which should satisfy any but the most impatient. A tree with 
a trunk of 12 inches (30 centimeters) diameter can be grown in good soil in about 
ten years, and large enough to shade cacao and other shrubby trees in from four 
to five years, 
“In islands subject to cyclonic storms the tree suffers considerably, owing to 
