66 
A  Igarob ia  Glandu losa . 
I  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
\        Feb.,  1890. 
occur  singly  or  in  clusters,  armed  generally  at  the  base  with 
a  pair  of  straight  whitish  thorns.  The  compound  leaf  is 
from  4  to  7  inches  long  and  bears  from  8  to  1 5  pairs  of  leaflets, 
which  are  linear-oblong,  1  to  2  inches  long  and  from  \  to  -fl- 
inch in  width.  The  inflorescence  is  an  axillary  cylindrical, 
catkin-like  spike,  with  a  rather  short  peduncle  and  very 
fragrant.  The  flowers,  on  short  pedicels,  are  polygamous, 
with  a  five-toothed  calyx— and— 5— petals.  The  stamens  are 
distinct,  and  10  in  number.  Pistils  h  ave  a  villous  ovary, 
truncate  stigma  and  filiform  style.  The  fruit  consists  of 
indehiscent  legumes,  4  to  6  inches  in  length,  compressed 
laterally  and  narrowing  between  the  seeds,  which  are  from 
10  to  20  in  number.  These  legumes  occur  in  clusters,  from 
2  to  12  on  the  peduncle,  and  are  of  a  light  greenish-yellow, 
externally  streaked  with  red,  internally  spongy,  enclosing  the 
seeds  in  separate  casings.  They  form  in  Texas  early  in 
June,  and  through  July  and  August  the  process  of  ripening 
goes  on.  In  some  dry  localities  they  are  mature  before  the 
last  of  June,  while  in  other  sections  they  could  be  hardly 
called  so  before  the  early  days  of  September. 
The  leaflets  have  been  used  with  great  success  in  the  treat- 
ment of  inflamed  eyes.  They  are  also  applied  to  inflamed 
surfaces  in  the  shape  of  a  poultice,  and  as  such  have  their 
virtues.  In  the  form  of  a  hot  infusion  they  are  administered 
as  a  febrifuge  in  certain  mild  forms  of  fever.  The  leaflets 
are  of  an  emerald-green  color,  a  peculiar  odor  and  a  bitter, 
somewhat  mucilaginous  taste.  The  flowers  have  no  medici- 
nal uses  that  I  have  learned  of.  The  legumes  on  the  other 
hand  possess  properties  which  render  them  valuable. 
Whether  they  have  any  medicinal  properties  beyond  that  of 
a  simple  laxative  is  extremely  doubtful,  but  they  are  economi- 
cally of  some  considerable  value.  They  are  a  first-class  feed 
for  cattle  when  ripe,  and  a  plentiful  crop  of  them  is  always 
produced  no  matter  how  dry  and  unpropitious  be  the  season 
for  products  of  tilled  soil.  They  are  rich  in  grape  sugar 
and  other  nutritive  principles,  and  are  easy  of  digestion. 
When  unripe  though,  they  are  apt  to  produce  in  horses  and 
cattle  the  disease  known  as  scours,  a  species  of  dysentery. 
A  pleasant  beverage,  called  by  the  Mexicans  "  atole,"  is  made 
