ECONOMIC PLANTS WORTHY OF INTRODUCTION . 27 



have very little resemblance to the real Jaffa orange. They are rep- 

 resented as having- seeds, while the true Jaffa orange is seedless. 



Saida. the ancient Sidon. is another center of orange production. 

 Many different stocks are used, and several varieties of oranges are 

 known. Two of these are blood oranges, one called " Danaoui " 

 (blood) and the other "Hutmali " (meaning " ringed," because it has 

 a ring around the base). These two varieties are very popular. The 

 " Beledi " (seedling) is also grown. This commonly yields three 

 thousand fruits to the tree, and sometimes as many as five thousand. 



FORAGE PLANTS. 



Stocks and fruit trees are not the only interesting things in the 

 Palestine flora. It contains some very valuable forage plants. This 

 may seem to be strange in a country which suffers from a lack of 

 forage, but this is due to the fact that the people do not cultivate the 

 plants they have at hand. 



The Leguminosae must be considered first. In this family we find 

 one of the most valuable forage plants in existence for semiarid re- 

 gions, the importance of which for this purpose has not been suffi- 

 ciently appreciated. This is the carob tree, sweet-pod. or St. John's 

 bread (Ceratoma siliqua). 



The carob tree is not. properly speaking, a native of arid, desert 

 regions. It grows 20 to 25 feet in height, with a trunk as much as 

 40 inches in diameter. A tree 25 to 30 years old yields about 450 to 

 550 pounds of pods. I have seen wild stock, 15 or 18 years after 

 grafting, that yielded 900 to 1,100 pounds of pods in good years, 

 although a good average is 450 pounds to the tree. Counting twenty 

 trees to the acre, this gives more than 8.000 pounds of pods to the 

 acre. The pods contain 40 per cent of sugar — even more in good 

 varieties — and 7 to 8 per cent of protein, so one can readily see why 

 we rank it at the head of all forage plants. 



An acre of carob trees upon arid soil yields a much greater quantity 

 of food matter than an equal area planted with the best alfalfa. The 

 food value of the carob has been known for a long time. It is the basis 

 of the fodder of the English cavalry horses at Malta and of the horses 

 belonging to the tramway company of Xaples. It is among the chief 

 exports from the island of Cyprus, and the growing of carob trees is 

 one of the best sources of income on the island, for, once started, the 

 tree continues to yield for many years. In this respect it is similar to 

 the olive, which grows in the same localities, but it is generally ad- 

 mitted that the carob can not stand so arid a soil as the olive, as it 

 requires more moisture in the subsoil. However, on this point also 

 there are differences between the local races, there being some which 

 will stand a considerable degree of aridity. There are several wild 



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