642 
Products  of  the  Mezquite. 
(■  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\       Not.,  1885. 
standards.  It  rests  largely  with  Associations  like  this  one  to  cultivate 
the  analytical  investigations  which  will  result  first  in  fixing  such  au- 
thoritative standards,  and  then  in  securing  such  an  education  of  the 
retail  druggist  as  shall  enable  him  to  save  the  law  from  becoming  a 
dead  letter. 
OcTOBEB  8th,  1885. 
PRODUCTS  OF  THE  MEZQUITE. 
By  Herman  J.  Bchuchard,  Ph.G. 
Abstract  from  a  Thesis. 
On  the  hills  surrounding  San  Antonio,  Texas,  the  Algarobia  glan- 
dulosa,  Torrey  and  Gray  (s.  Prosopis  juliflora,  De  Cand.),  is  a  thorny 
shrub,  branching  directly  at  or  a  few  feet  above  the  ground ;  but  on 
rich  soil  and  under  favorable  conditions  it  becomes  a  tree  30  to  40  feet 
high.  The  legumes,  which  are  somewhat  constricted  between  the 
seeds,  ripen  in  July  and  August,  and  are  then  yellowish  white,  mot- 
tled with  red,  four  to  six  inches  long,  and  contain  10  to  20  seeds.  In 
the  unripe  state  they  are  bitter,  but  at  maturity  have  a  sweet,  pleasant 
taste,  and  have  been  sold  by  the  bushel  when  grain  Avas  scarce  in  the 
Alamo  City.'^  The  Mexicans  and  Indians  prepare  a  favorite  dish 
from  mezquite  beans;  after  the  seeds  have  been  picked  out,  the  pulp 
is  ground  into  a  coarse  meal,  well  seasoned  with  "chile"  (capsicum), 
wrapi)ed  in  corn  husks  and  boiled.  The  roots  of  the  mezquite  spread 
sideways  for  many  yards,  but  others  are  said  to  dip  into  the  ground 
sometimes  50  feet,  thereby  enabling  the  shrub  to  thrive  during  the  hot 
and  dry  season.  The  wood  of  the  mezquite  is  very  hard,  and  takes  a 
fine  polish,  but  is  usually  too  crooked  and  knotted  to  be  used  for  cab- 
inet work.  It  is  brought  to  the  San  Antonio  market  by  the  Mexican 
"  carrettas  "  and  sold  for  fuel,  for  which  it  is  unsurpassed  ;  it  is  also 
used  in  fencing,  and  blocks  of  the  wood  have  been  employed  to  a  small 
extent  for  paving  sidewalks  in  San  Antonio. 
During  the  summer  months  a  gum  exudes  from  the  stem  and 
branches,  which  was  brought  into  notice  by  Dr.  Shumard,  U.  S.  A., 
in  1854,  and  described  by  Prof.  Procter  (see  "Amer.  Jour.  Phar.," 
1855,  pp.  14  and  223).  The  gum  dissolves  completely  in  an  equal 
weight  of  water,  in  24  hours,  at  a  temperature  of  about  70°F.,  and 
forms  a  thick  mucilage,  of  an  acid  reaction,  which  is  not  precipitated 
by  subacetate  of  lead,  or  thickened  to  a  jelly  by  silicates,  borates  or 
