946 _ PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION G. 
No. 14.—THE MESQUIT-TREE (PROSOPIS DULCIS, 
Bentu.) AND ITS SWEET PODS. 
By Tuos. Srezz, F.L.S., F.C.S. 
(Read Tuesday, 11 January, 1898.) 
THe Mesquit-tree is an important leguminous tree, a native of 
certain parts of North and South America. Its value lies in its 
capacity for flourishing in arid and stony regions, in affording a 
grateful shade for stock, and in providing a “fair crop of sweet, 
nourishing pods, which are much relished by horses and cattle. 
It appears to have been experimented with in different parts of 
Australia, notably in Western Australia.* 
The economic value of this plant has been fully dealt with by 
the late Baron von Mueller,t by L. A. Bernays,{ and other 
writers, and the object of the present paper is to oie the results 
of a chemical examination of the sweet pods, the nature of which 
proved to be interesting and somewhat unexpected. 
Mueller states, on the authority of Sievert, that Argentine- 
grown pods of this tree contain 25 to 28 per cent. of grape sugar, 
and 11 to 27 per cent. of starch. An analysis of a sample of the 
air-dried ripe pods, brought from Honolulu, where the tree is 
extensively grown, and is known as “ Aljeroba,” and given to me 
by Dr. J. H. Reed, has proved the presence of nearly 29 per cent. 
of cane sugar—not grape sugar—together with over 5 per cent. 
of fruit sugar, while starch is practically absent. This result was 
subsequently confirmed by an examination of another sample of 
the pods sent to me from Honolulu by Mr. Ralph Pearson, 
For purposes of comparison, the results of a similar analysis of 
the ripe pods of Gleditschia triacanthos, Linné, are placed alongside 
those of the Mesquit-tree. The Gleditschia pods are locally 
popularly known as “ Honey Locusts,” and closely resemble those 
of the Mesquit in composition. The present sample is from a tree 
growing at Sydney. 
* Journal Bureau of Agriculture, Perth, Western Australia, iv, 1119. 
} Select Extra-Tropical Plants, 8th Ed., 382. 
t Cultural Industries for Queensland, 1883, 127, 
