410 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. - 
about ten bushels, which are covered with grass and earth to keep out 
moisture. The Apaches and Mexicans gather and consume the fruit of 
the dwarf oak, which grows abundantly in many parts of New Mexiéo 
and Arizona, this fruit being smaller and not so bitter as the former. 
Some of the species are quite sweet, and in seasons of plenty the Indians 
gather large quantities and sell them to the people along the Mexican 
frontier, and they are often to be found for sale in the stores of Arizona 
and New Mexico under the name of bayotis. 
Mesquite, (Algarobia glandulosa, Plate 3.)\—Frequenitly called mosqueit. 
The bean-like production of this common tree of the deserts is an im- 
portant article of food with the Indians living within its reach. The pods 
are seven to nine inches long, of a buff color, ripen in June sufliciently 
for summer use, and travelers, both Indians and whites, chew them as 
they journey ou. ‘They are not only nutritious, but a preventive of thirst, 
having an agreeable blending of acidity and sweetness, somewhat like 
the early harvest apple. The pods, when in their fresh ripe state, are 
put into a wooden or stone mortar and bruised, then emptied into an 
earthen dish, mixed with water and allowed to stand a few hours, the 
result being a kind of cold porridge or mush. AIH] present then collect 
around the newly-prepared mess, seating themselves on the ground near, 
the dish, and, pressing the fingers of theright hand tightly together, at 
the same time bending the hand so as to form a scoop, dip in without 
ceremony, and without distinction of rank, age, or sex, forming a gro- 
tesque sight rarely to be witnessed outside of an Indian camp. The 
nearly naked bodies of the Indians soon become smeared from head to 
foot, and the shaggy appearance of their hair does not exhibit a lively © 
sense of cleanliness. Each face wears a complaisant look, while their 
tumid abdomens afford certain proof of the quantity consumed. As the 
fruit or bean-like pods ripen they are gathered for winter use, being 
thoroughly dried and stored in cylindrical-shaped baskets, made of twigs 
and covered with grass and earth to keep out rain, in which shape they may 
be preserved a long.time. They form a sweet, nutritious food, and are 
among the great luxuries of the Apaches, Pimas, Maricopas, Yumas, 
Yavapais, Mohaves, Hualipais, Cocopahs, and Moquis of Arizona, besides 
many tribes in New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and the southern portion of 
California. The Indian women pound the dry pods until reduced toa fine 
powder, which being mixed with a little water, is pressed into large thick 
cakes of several pounds’ weight, and dried in the sun, to be used as circum- 
stances require. They are often kept in the pulverized state in bags, or 
stored as pods, but if not thoroughly pulverized so that the seeds are as © 
fine as the pulp they will soon become a living mass, since from every seed 
will come forth an insect, a species of Bruchus. This, however, makes 
littie difference to the Indians, who do not pick the insects out, but let 
them become an ingredient of the bread. Ifreduced to fine flour the larva 
of the insect becomes a part, forming a homogeneous mass of animal and 
vegetable substance. The flour, being very sweet, when mixed ith water 
forms an agreeable drink, and when made into gruel is very palatable. If 
boiled in water and fermented, a pleasant and nutritious drink, much 
esteemed by the Indians, is the result. When the crop of mesquite beans 
fails there is great suffering among the tribes. Excellent vinegar can, 
be made from the pods, and horses and cattle soon-grow fat by eating 
them. The gum which oozes out of this tree, when perforated by 
insects, is often eaten. All the Ihdians of Arizona mix this exudation 
with mud, which is then daubed over the entire head, serving two pur- 
poses—killing all the insects, and rendering the hair very black and 
glossy. It is in facta very good hair-dye. The women use the bark 
