The Hawaiian gazette., 1873-09-24
The Alxaroba.

short characterization o. the szhjees.
The slg4rOba Or esrcb irss tesraio1is siEqeal
belongs TO the order FsSrisesa. It IS eou1cn
IN portions CT Asa and Africa. and il Eurcpe It's
habitat Is eoasaed % the south Of SPAN do1b;
whether l. Is indigenOas 70 Spain, As the na1e i
Arabic. fron a the article the and gsu-os,;,
bear. The Spanish ortA~gaPby for the tree Is
alyarro5o or algarrobera-
On the rev Continent Il Is fsond IN Peru and
portions Of Bolivia and Chih. where il Is planted
add cared foe As 0ae Of the most valuable trees Of
the country, IS il furnishes food for horses and
other stock, uhere no ether vegetation aoarishes.
Il Is peculiarly hardy. and when Il 0ocs takes
root, i vii groE and flourish in The most arid
and barren sol As vigorossly As il o1eo the most
geoiAl and MOST In South America il Is almost
Indispensable ca the dry slopes between tie An
dss and the sea- where rain seldom falls, and the
country IS barren Of grass Horses. asses. wules,
As vel as cattle. sheep, goats and hogs flourish
and fartsn uPou the nutritious bean. AID the "a
lives makes Il INTO cakes Ct bread that are quite
u1tritioas and palatahls- In the form Of pressed
cakes. similar to oil cakes, It has bsen imported
frou The soath Of Spain into Grsat Bciaiu. The
eurrsns approximation snong the Spanianis IS,
that It vas The food q 81. john IN The wilderness,
a1d il has received the name Of S. johns bread.
There nay be sone foandaiioG fer This popular
belief. IS the tree Is sl found in portions Of P4-
lestine Idanea and Arabia The weight Of the
carat used for diano1ds and gold, bad its origin
il The seed Of the earob tree Or slgaroba the ca
rat being the weight Of oos Of the seeds
In North America the alg1Eobs has vide
range. aud Is known b. its a0cisat Aztec name
Of Me<quitl. nov spelled sad pronounced mes
qui. lneskeel. It reaches lis greatest perfection
and vigUr Of grosih o. the slopes Of the table
lands Of Mexico, Tens. Arizona and New Mex
CO Il IS found nowhere shove IS deg. Of north
latitsds, and it becomes dininutlve in growth as
far north IS 81 deg. 90 the American continent
Ia Arizona and New Mexico i. furnishes the
principal food OF the savage tribes Of Apachss,
and the more civilized PlusS and Nohayes use
the bean as az article Of diet. Wbeu ground on
the HsstIe. II the sane method they grind maze
or Indian corn, and formed into cakes. It IS both
Pa4table and nutritious. have frequently test
ed is qualities. and foand it equally As nu,ritous
IS the sane qpaatity Of hard bread, and more
paatabIe.
The Nohave Indians. inhabiting a. extensive
and secluded valley IN the Colorado OF the West,
principally sa5zist on the algaroba or mezquit
bean They are physically the largest and best
prupordousd race on or planet Few OF them,
male or female, are Under SIX feet high and well
Proportioned. They are as far superior to the
Patagocia1s in physique as the latter are to the
Inhabitants Of Terra del Fusgo. and yet, until in
tercogrse With the white race in 1850, animal
food was unkuovu TO them. and 1t required some
years Of intercourse before they could De induced
10 Taste beef
When the overland mail stage WIS started from
San Diego, California, to san Antonio, Texas.
there were desert stretches OF hundreds Of niles,
where there WIS no grass and 60 inhabitants bat
the Wild Indians Il vas foaad impossible to
P5Oeare supplies Of grain to keep up the line, and
resort vas had TO the algaroba or me<qgit bean
At each station Indians and others we're Induced
TO procure supplies from this tsee. which FORUM
atsly grew in the most desert situations, and the
stock on the Ire thrived better than when fed
with grain passed twice over this route in
ls5s. and /. was remarked by the drivers that the
stock did better and we're faiter and stronger
than When led BY cats or barley. can verify
the fact
The EoUd Of the tree IS hard. cIosegrsiued
and durable It IS used IN Mexico and Arizona
for wagoo-babs, and also for furniture In the
valley Of the santa Cruz river. above Tucson, are
extensive forests When saxn into planks and
worked Up into furniture, It wogId be very diff
cult to distinguish il from the Hawaiian koa- Il
bears 6Ge polish and the grain. ike the koa, is
often carried and notified. For 6rswood it has
10 superior, and the charcoal Is esteemed the
best for all purposes IN countries where it is
known.
It Is noted for the production Of honey. The
flowers are the resort Of the ho1ey-bee, and they
inpart most agreeable favor 10 the honey. There
Is district IN Yucatan, where this tree fourishes
to the exclusion Of ali others It's honey is so
noted that il is frequently exported to Europe;
and known As the honey Of Eslebeatun- Its de-
Hcious favor Is attributable entirely to the flowers
Of the algaroba or mesq1ii.
Thea there Is another pecaIiarity about the
alzarohur which makes il inEaIuable- 1t a5arisbes
better IN ils grass than in any other situation
The mezquii grass Is peeuliar to this tree Il has
been transPLIntsd from Tens to oshsE Southern
States Of America, and found 10 f5grish Vigur-
oosly aod dispIaces all other grasses. That grass
Is What IS here called the H,a5siasria Il s not
the Bermuda grass, Is NorthoE would make Us
believe, but the uezqait CT algarOba grasz. which
seems al least IN America to be peculiarly asset
atsd With that trse, wherever thee Is moisture
eaough to Pr0daes blade, and il aourizhes best
IN grove Of slgaro5as. aud that young trees
flourish best in that grass. know Of no sin
ilzr case IN the botanical World Plant aIsaro6ss
and the uesq1ft grass, and yoa VII 5000 have
SHADED grassy lawn. il districts Ehsre all Is nov
barrenue<s-
II the waikiki plains we're fenced in, ID I've
years il would De an sx-enziFe gr4ssy park cover
ed With groves Of beautiful trees mare productive
than the sane extent If plAaied in sugar cane.
And more than this. the trees would spring I'D