250 



the Philippine Journ. Science, i. 1906, pp. 1032-1034. " Caesalpinia 



Bonducella" in Comm. Prod. India, Watt, pp. 190-191. 



Caesalpinia coriaria, Willd. Sp. PL ii. p. 532. 



A small, glabrous, unarmed tree. Leaves bipinnate ; pinnae 6-8- 

 jugate ; leaflets 15-20-jugate, opposite, linear, obtuse, very shortly 

 petioled. Panicle terminal about an inch long. Flowers shortly 

 stalked, yellow. Calyx subequally 5-lobed. Petals 5, subpapilion- 

 aceous. Stamens 10. Ovary shortly stalked, glabrous. Pod oblong, 

 sinuous, 1tt-2 in. long, about J in. broad, glabrous, septate, mesocarp 

 spongy. 



III.— Kunth, Voy. Humb. & Bonpl. Mimosa t. 45 ; Tropenfl. 1901, 

 p. S6, p. 87 (Plantation in the experimental garden, Par-es-Salam, 

 G.E. Africa) ; Wiesner, Rohstoffe Pflanzen. ii. p. 84, f. 262 (pods). 



Vernac. names. — Libi-dibi (Bombay, Watt) ; Cascalate (Mexico) ; 

 Sumaque-Amriquah (Arabic, and Persian, Watt). 



Divi-Divi : American Sumach. 



Indigenous in Central and South America. Cultivated in 

 Australia, Java, India, German East Africa, &c. 



The pods are an important tanning material ; they yield a medium, 

 light -coloured, fairly heavy and firm leather,but the use is limited by 

 the liability to fermentation of tanning liquors prepared from it. 

 (Bull. Imp. Inst. 1904, p. 276.) 



The wood is hard and heavy — weight 74 lbs. per cubic foot ; the 

 sapwood is greyish- white, the heartwood nearly black ; the rate of 

 growth is fairly fast, 6 rings per inch of radius (Gamble, Man. Ind. 

 Timb. p. 268). 



May be propagated by seed, which may be sown in bamboo pots, 

 or in nursery beds and transplanted when about 5 or 6 months old. 

 The distance apart in permanent places will require to be 10 to 15 feet, 

 and finally about 30 feet. The principal requirements are good soil 

 — though it will grow on comparatively poor soil — moderate rainfall, 

 a warm climate, and careful pruning. 



The trees begin to bear in 3 to 4 years after transplanting and yield 

 about 5 lbs. of pods per tree (Indian Forester, ix. p. 103). They con- 

 tinue to yield pods in profitable quantities for about 25 years (Bull. 

 Imp. Inst. 1904, p. 276), and trees 15 feet apart (192 per acre) yield 

 8£ cwt. of pods ; 10 feet apart (436 per acre) J.9^ cwt. of pods per 

 annum (Indian Forester, I.e.). In Curacoa the yield of pods from one 

 tree is given at 40 lbs. to 80 lbs. annually (Versluys, Agric. News, 

 Barbados, 1907, p. 159) ; in India, when in full bearing there is an 

 average yield of 100 lbs. per tree, which at 135 trees per acre equals 

 about 6 tons of pods (Agric. Ledger, No. 10, 1899, p. 2). 



In preparation for the market the seeds should be removed, and 

 the pods carefully dried and graded before shipment. 



Pods from the Gold Coast have been found to contain 33 ' 10 per 

 cent, of tannin (Agric. News, Barbados 1909, p. 124), while 30 to 50 

 per cent, is given for American, and about 30 per cent, for Indian 

 pods (Bull. Imp. Inst. I.e.) — valued at £5 per ton with West Indian 

 and South American at £9 to £11 per ton (Agric. News, I.e.) 



The pods are shipped largely from the Island of Curacoa, and the 

 mainland of Venezuela and Colombia, valued at about \d. to \d. per lb. 

 [1,090,602 kilos value £4550 18s. M. Curacoa 1900 (Cons. Rep. Ann. 

 No. 2902, 1902, p. 12) ; 488,540 kilos, value £3256 18s. ±d., Curacoa 

 1905 (I.e. No. 3894, 1907, p. 8)]. 



