Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1855-01-30

L he folloWlng extract oil letter from Capt.
r. B. Marcy to Messrs. Rushton & Co., New
York, will be interesting to our readers:
New YORK, Dec. 20, 1854.
GENTLEMEN: Your note of the --th inst,
in which you request information concerning
the mesquite tree and its gum, was duly re.
ceived, aud with pleasure avail myself of the
FIRST leisure moment to reply to your interrog.
atories.
The tree commonly known in this country as
the " mesquite" was first discovered by DR..
Edwin James, formerly assistant surgeon in
the United States army, while attached to Col.
Longs exploring expedition to the Rocky
Mountains, thirty six years ago. 1t is variety
of the acacia, which is found SO abundanty in
India, Africa, and other parts Of the East, and
possesses many properties in common with
other species of that group Of plants
What the exact geographical range of this tree
is, we are as yet unable with great portion OF
our territory unexplored) to defne my own
observations, however, warrant me in asserting.
confidently, that it is only indigenous to the
great plains of the West and South, extending
far beyond the limits of most other varieties OF
trees, and it would seem from its locality to
have been planted by an All-wise Providence,
with special reference to the wants of the oc-
cupants Of a section of country suited to the
growth of no other tree.
Between the twenty-sixth and thirty-sixth
parallels Of north latitude, within the ninety.
seventh and one hundred and third meridians
of longitude, it is found everywhere, often con-
stituting vast tracts of woodland, and is, in.
deed, almost the only sylvia of the section. II
is also found in very many places between the
Rocky Mountain range and the Pacific ocean ;
but it appears to flourish better and to obtain
greater dimensions in the vicinity Of the ella
river than in any other locality i have heard
of west Of the Rio del Norte.
In going north from the parallel Of thirty
three degrees, lin the direction have travelled. J
the trees gradually become smaller and smaller,
until at last they are mere bushes, and finally,
on arriving near the latitude Of thirtysix de.
grees, they entirely disappear.
| The vast geographical range Of the MESQUITE
tree, covering as it does an area Of more than
10000 square miles, and its many useful pro-
perties, some Of which will be enumerated in
the sequel, renders it available, and have no
doubt it is destined to become highly important
to the future occupants Of large section of our
new territory.
1t is tree Of short, scrubby growth, the
stock averaging from four TO fifteen inches in
diameter, and seldom attaining n height in
GLIDING its top, Of more than twenty feet The
limbs are short, crooked, and thickly studded
with long, sharp thorns the leaves pinnated,
and the leaflets are long and elptical; the bark
dark gray, resembling that of the peach tree /;
the wood coarse-grained, very brittle, and the
heart, which constitutes nearly the entire tree,
somewhat like the darker varieties Of ma
hogany.
1t burns readily, even when green, with a
bright, cheerful fame, leaving residue of
Goals almost as perfect in form as the original
wood, making very hot FIRE, and is, indeed
the best fuel have ever seen, hickory not ex.
cepted.
1t possesses durability in an eminent degree
and is, in consequence, much used for building
and fencing in southern Texas and Mexico
As an evidence of its lasting qualities, have
seen pieces of the wood, in perfect state of
preservation, embedded in the stones of an old
ruin upon the Nueces river, in Texas, which
must have been exposed to the weather for
scores of years, as many Of the stones had be-
come disintegrated, and crumbled away with
age, while the wood remained sound.
The mesquite is often found upon very ele-
waited and arid prairies far from water courses,
but will, believe, only grow upon soil of the
first quality; and so we'll is this fact estab-
lished, that the mesquite groves, or fats" as
they are called, are sought after in western
Texas as the most desirable spots for cult.