1899.] ESSAYS. 33 



his belly, and which Scripture says the swine did eat, were not 

 after all such very poor fare. Many a repentant sinner niic^ht 

 go farther and fare worse. They are the fleshy pods of the 

 U)cust ivea ( Ceralonia i^iUquas), 'A leathery brown when fit to 

 eat, sonic six to eight inches in length, containing a spongy, 

 mealy pulp, of a sweet and pleasant taste in its ri{)encd state, 

 and in which are imbedded a number of shining, brown seeds, 

 very hard, and somewhat resembling a split pea. These seeds 

 are of no value whatsoever, on account of their bitter flavor ; 

 but the sweet pulp of the pod, when dry, is extensively used 

 as an article of food, particularly among the laboring classes. 

 In Syria it is ground up into a coarse flour, and a species of 

 molasses made, which is used in the preparation of different 

 kinds of sweetmeats. As food for horses it is exported in large 

 quantities into the south of Europe. Into this country and 

 Great Britain it finds its vvay, under the name of locust beans 

 or St. John's Bread, receiving both names from the ancient 

 tradition that they are the " locusts" which formed the food of 

 John the Baptist in the wilderness. The tree is cultivated 

 extensively in all the countries bordering the shores of the 

 Mediterranean, both for its food-producing qualities, and its 

 wood, which is hard, and susceptible of a fine polish. In size 

 and manner of growth it resembles an apple-tree, but is more 

 bushy and thick-set. It yields a prolific harvest, and it is 

 not unusual to see a tree bearing over half a ton of green 

 pods. 



One other tree deserves mention, not on account of its food- 

 producing qualities, but for its importance in a commercial 

 point of view. It is the shrub oak, — the Quercus cef/ilops, — 

 which, growing wild on the mountain slopes and rugged steeps, 

 where nothing else will grow, gives employment to hundreds of 

 men, women and children, who, in the season, go out to gather 

 the acorns. These are brought down in sacks to the nearest 

 seaport, whence they are exported, thousands of tons annually, 

 under the name of " valonia," to be used in the tanneries of 

 Europe. They readily command eighty to ninety dollars a ton ; 

 and, from the seaport towns of Smyrna and the islands adjacent, 



