USEFUL WILD PLANTS 



in the folklore of some regions where it grows. 

 In Mexico a curious tradition is current to this 

 effect: Long before the Spanish Conquest, the 

 Apostle Thomas, in his heavenly home, became in- 

 terested in the Aztecs, and descending to earth 

 appeared to them in the guise of the Mexican hero- 

 god Quetzacoatl and preached the gospel. The 

 Aztecs heard the doctrine but coldly, and so San 

 Tomas in most unchristian dudgeon departed, leav- 

 ing the curse of sterility upon the plain of Anahuac 

 and turning all its cacao trees into mesquites, which 

 remain mesquites to this day ! 



Closely related to the Mesquit-bean and of similar 

 utility is the Screw-bean, called by the Mexicans 

 tornilla. It is a curious, slender, spirally-twisted 

 pod, borne in clusters, upon a small tree (Prosopis 

 pubescens, Benth.) having much the same geographi- 

 cal range as the mesquit. The Screw-bean is even 

 more sugary than the Mesquit-bean, and it may be 

 made by boiling to yield a very fair sor-t of molasses. 

 Water in which a small quantity of the meal is soaked 

 makes a palatable and nutritious beverage. In mak- 

 ing Screw-bean meal, the Indians grind the whole 

 pods, seeds and all. 



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