IN EXTRA-TROPICAL COUNTRIES. 73 



Ceratonia Siliqua, Linn&* 



The Carob Tree of the Mediterranean regions. It attains a height 

 of 30 feet and resists drought well ; succeeds best on a calcareous 

 subsoil. Wood pale red. The saccharine pods, Algaroba or St. 

 John's Bread, of value for domestic animals. The seeds germinate 

 readily. The exportation of the pods for cattle food from Greta 

 alone is now about 180,000 tons annually (Dr. Masters). The 

 fruit serves for a medicinal syrup, Caramel, an imitation of 

 chocolate, and a liqueur (Wittmack.) In some of the Medi- 

 terranean countries horses' and stable cattle are almost exclusively 

 fed upon the pods. The meat of sheep and pigs is greatly improved 

 in flavour by this food, the fattening properties being twice that of 

 oil-cake. The pods contain about 66 per cent, of sugar and gum. 

 To horses and cattle 6 Ibs. a day are given of the crushed pods, raw 

 or boiled, with or without chaff. The Spanish conquerors took this 

 plant early to Central and South America. 



Cercocarpus ledifolius, Nuttall. 



California. Rises in favourable spots to a tree 40 feet high, with a 

 stem diameter of 2 J feet. The wood is the hardest known in Cali- 

 fornia. It is of a dark colour, very dense, used for bearings in 

 machinery (Dr. Gibbons). C. parvifolius is of lesser dimensions. 



Cereus Engelmanni, Parry. 



Utah. A dwarf species with large scarlet flowers, and refreshingly 

 cool fruits of strawberry taste. C. Lecontei attains there to the size 

 of a flour-barrel. 



Cereus Quixo, Gay. 



Chili. This stately Cactus attains a height of 15 feet, and is one 

 of the hardiest species. The charming snow-white flowers are 

 followed by sweetish mucilaginous fruits, available for the table 

 (Philippi). C. giganteus (Englemann), from New Mexico, which 

 attains the stupendous height of 60 feet, with a proportionate 

 columnar thickness, yields also edible fruits, and lives unprotected 

 in our clime. It was introduced by the writer many years ago. 

 Columnar species of Cereus rising to a height of 40 feet occur also 

 in Argentina. C. repandus and C. triangularis (Haworth), of West 

 India and Mexico, together with several other species, are available 

 in places free of frost as hedge plants. 



Ceroxylon andicola, Humboldt.* 



The Wax-Palm of New Granada, ascending the Andes to 11,000 

 feet. One of the most majestic and at the same time one of the 

 most hardy of all Palms, attaining occasionally a height of 180 feet. 

 The trunk exudes a kind of resinous wax, about 25 Ibs. being 



