422 Select Plants for Industrial Culture and 



with a stem 2^ feet in diameter ; adapted for live fences. Thrives 

 in damp saltish air and at a sea-level [J. W. Button]. May send 

 its roots to great depth, exceptionally to 60 feet, in order to reach 

 underground water [Professor Sargent] ; the same may occur with 

 P. spicigera [Sir D. Brandis]. The wood is durable and of extra- 

 ordinary strength and excessive hardness, fit for select furniture 

 particularly, assuming when polished the appearance of mahogany. 

 Drawn into use also for knees of boats locally. This is one of the 

 species yielding the sweetish Algaroba-pods for cattle-fodder, and 

 utilised even in some instances for human food. The pods of the 

 various kinds of Prosopis are adapted only for such animals as chew 

 the cud, and thus get rid of distending gases [R. Russell]. Argen- 

 tina Algaroba-pods contain, according to Sievert, 25 to 28 per cent, 

 of grape-sugar, 11 to 17 per cent, starch, 7 to 11 per cent, protein, 

 14 to 24 per cent, of organic acids, pectin, and other non-nitrogenous 

 nutritive substances. They are also comparatively rich in potash, 

 lime and phosphoric acid. A sparkling drink called Aloja is made 

 of the fruits. This and some allied species yield the Algarobylla- 

 bark for tanning ; the leaves contain, according to Sievert, 21 per 

 cent, tannin. The pods also of several species are rich in tannic 

 acid. Mere varieties, according to Bentham, are : P. horrida, P. 

 juliflora, P. siliquastrum, P. glandulosa. Particularly the latter 

 variety exudes a gum not unlike gum-arabic, and this is obtained at 

 times so copiously, that children could earn two or three dollars a 

 day in Texas, while gathering it, latterly about 40,000 Ibs. being 

 bought by druggists there. A short communication on the American 

 Algaroba-trees was presented to the Parliament of Victoria by the 

 writer in 1871. Pods of some Prosopis, used as fodder, have caused 

 the death of horses in Jamaica by overfeeding. P. juliflora has not 

 found favour in India. In some places these kinds of plants are 

 subjects to the attacks of boring insects. 



Prosopis pubescens, Bentham. 



The Tornillo or Screw-bean. Texas, California, Mexico. The 

 pods ripen at all seasons and contain much saccharine nutritive sub- 

 stance [J. S. Gamble]. Likely available for hedges with other 

 species of other countries. Seeds can be converted into food [Sar- 

 gent]. Not resisting climatic vicissitudes so well as P. dulcis. Mr. 

 Edw. Alston, cultivating this plant in South- Africa, finds that in soil 

 strongly pervaded by soda- and magnesia-salts it will still succeed, 

 where few or hardly any other utilitarian plants can be reared. 



Prosopis spicigera, Linn. 



India, extending to Afghanistan and Persia, in dry regions. A 

 thorny tree, also producing edible pods and enduring some frost. It 

 attains a height of 60 feet, but is of slow growth [Brandis]. Serves 

 for hedge-lines. It can be chosen for desert-land [Kurz]. The tap- 



- root has been known to attain a length of 86 feet and to penetrate to 



