CAR'OB, Am:Alum:A. or Locusr-TaLli ear from Ar. kl(tr1 ab. bean pods) ICrrrufomln si hi tm ). A tree of the natural order Lego minosx, a native of the countries around the Sea, in size and manner of growth much resembling the apple-tree, but with abrupt ly pinnate. dark, evergreen leaves. which have two or three pairs of large oval Wallets. The flowers :ire destitute of corolla: the fruit is a brown. leathery pod 4 to 10 inches long and an inch or w, wile, a little curved, ;.ind containing gummy pulp, of an agreeable. sweet taste. in which lie a number of shining, brown seeds. some what resembling small flattened beans. The seeds are bitter and of no use. lint the sweet pulp renders the pods an important article of food to the poorer classes of the countries in which the tree grows, as they contain as nmeh as 00 per cent. of sugar. They are very much used by the Moor, and Arabs. They are also valuable as food for horses and cattle, for which they are much employed in the smith of Europe, and have of late years begun to be extensively imported into Great Britain under the name of loeust-lwans or Saint John's bread. The Arabs
make of the pulp of the can't) a preserve like tamarinds, which is gently aperient, and also a kind of liquor. The carob-trec is ton tender for the climate of Great Britain. Its introduction into the north of India has recommended as an important addition to the resources of that country and ti valuable safeguard against famine. At the California Experiment. Station the tree is highly thought of for its shade. it grows well in dry, rocky situations, and is eonsidered a valuable acquisition. It will not stand frost. The product is extremely abundant, some trees yielding as much as 800 or 900 pounds of pods. The wood is hard and much valued, and the bark and leaves are used for tanning. The locust tree (q.v.) of America is quite distinct from this.