Pro sop is, ] 117 



taining, it is said, as much as 90 per cent, of tannic acid. They are known by tin- 

 name of u Balsamooarpon." 



P. glandulosa, Torr., the " Mesquit or Algaroba of Texas," is a native of th 

 mountain regions of Western Texas, when- it grows into a small tree from 20 to 40 feet 

 high, and with a diameter of 18 inones. It has straight or curved, rather flattened, 

 almost jointed pods, the interior of which is filled with a sweet pulp. The pods, 

 it is believed, are useful for fodder, and are not injurious. It yields an excessively 

 hard and durable timber, with a beautiful grain, and is used for furniture picket poles 

 and in the manufacture of charcoal. It also affords a large quantity of gum resem- 

 bling gum arabic, which exudes from the stem and branches, and has been used as 

 mucilage in the making of jujubes, and for other purposes. 



P. pubescens, Bth., the " Screw Bean " or " Screw Mesquit, " is a small tree of 

 Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Remarkable for its screw-shaped pods. These 

 pods grow in abundant clusters of 8 or 10 upon the same stem, ripen at all times 

 of the year, and contain much nutritious saccharine matter ; but great caution is re- 

 quired in their use as fodder for horses. 



Another species, a native of Jamaica, and possibly not distinct from P. glandu- 

 lomt, is the P. juliflora, DC., of the section Algarobia. Its fruits have poisonous 

 properties, though, for other purposes, the tree appears to be useful for planting in 

 some localities, as the plants when once established go on sending up shoot after shoot, 

 aud are difficult to eradicate. 



1. P. spicigera, Linn.; Hook. Fl. Ind. ii. 288; Beddome t. 56; 

 Brandis 169. Adenanlhera aculeata, Roxb. Fl. Ind. ii. 371. Vern. 

 Jhandj khdr, Ph.; Kandi, kundi, Siiid. ; Chaunkra, Agra; Khejra, 

 Rajputana; Sangri, Pertabgarh; Semru, hamra, Guz. ; Shemi, saunder, 

 Mar.; Shami, Beng., Uriya; Perumbe, vunne, jambu, Tarn.; Chani, Tel. 



A moderate-sized, deciduous, thorny tree. Bark | to 1 inch thick, 

 grey, rough, with deep longitudinal fissures and horizontal cracks. 

 Sapwood large, perishable ; heartwood purplish brown, extremely hard. 

 Pores very small to moderate-sized, generally imbedded in narrow irre- 

 gular concentric bands of soft tissue, filled with resin. Medullary rays 

 short, extremely numerous, fine, wavy. 



Arid, northern and southern dry zones. Punjab, Sindh, Rajputana, Guzerat, 

 Bandelkhand and Dekkan. 



Brandis says the growth is probably slow, it having 3 feet girth in 30 years 

 (Saharanpur) ; this would give about 5 years per inch of radius, which is moderately 

 fast. 



Weight, according to Skinner, No. 108, 72 Ibs., but the identification of his 

 specimens is doubtful ; Dalzell gives 58 Ibs. ; and J. L. Stewart 51 Ibs. ; our specimens 

 give 58 Ibs. Skinner gives P = 981. The wood is tough, but not durable, liable to 

 dry rot, and readily eaten by insects. It is easily raised from seed and coppices well. 

 It is used for building, carts, well curbs, furniture, and agricultural implements ; but 

 is chiefly valuable for fuel, as its heating power is very great. Brandis gives the 

 results of experiment made at Karachi in May 1869, that 1,374 Ibs. of its wood were 

 consumed in evaporating 11'8 cubic feet of water per hour during 7 hours, the pressure 

 of steam being kept at 27 Ibs. per square inch, while of Acacia arabica wood 

 1,388 Ibs., and of Tamarte gallica wood 1,627 Ibs., were required for the same test. 

 It is largely used for fuel for locomotives and steamers in the Punjab aud Sind, and 

 has been planted in the Punjab plantations. The pods are used as fodder for camels, 

 cattle and goats ; and the mealy sweetish substance is eaten, raw or cooked, in parts of 

 the Punjab, Guzerat and the Dekkan, and has the flavour of that of the Carob tiv< . 

 It has an enormously long tap roOt : one specimen of which pieces were sent to the 

 Paris Exhibition of 1878 had a root 86 feet long, penetrating vertically to a depth of 

 T> 1 foot. It gives a gum somewhat similar to gum arabic, but which is not used. 



1K-. 



P 882. Multan 57 



P 939. (root wood) 



P 1380. Karokpo Foivst. Hyderabad, Sind 59 



P 459. Ajinero (young tree) 37 



