We are now come to a tree on many accounts worthy of particular note;
the fruit of which is called by the Spaniards _alfaroba_. The American
alfaroba differs in size, form, and colour from that which is commonly
put to sale in Germany, and is called by the Spaniards _alfaroba de la
Berberia_; for from Barbary it was brought by the Moors to Spain and
Portugal, where, at this day, it grows in such abundance in the woods,
without culture, that in those countries, during the winter season, it
is given to oxen and mules for their daily fodder. The sheath of the
Spanish alfaroba is rather wide, full of seeds, or large pebbles, and of
a dusky colour, although its pulp is sweet and whitish. The sheaths or
hulls of the Paraguayrian alfaroba, which are almost a span long, and
the breadth of a man's thumb, are covered with a soft yellow skin;
moreover the seed is smaller and softer, and they have a pleasanter
taste. Of the many kinds of alfaroba which Paraguay produces, the most
remarkable are those two which are distinguished by the names of the
white and the black. It is chewed white and dry, as it falls from the
tree, and when pounded in a mortar, is either eaten, or drunk mixed with
water, and fermented, by the Abipones and other savages. It is the
employment of the women to gather it in the woods, carry it home on a
horse, pound it in a mortar, and pour it, mixed with cold water, on a
hide, which serves both for tub and drinking vessel, where, without
addition of any thing else, in about twelve hours, it effervesces so
much with its own natural heat, as to become at last, a sharp, sweet,
and wholesome beverage. Immoderate use of it disorders both the head and
feet, and still more the tongue; yet, when taken in moderation, it is a
means of strengthening the constitution, and inducing uncommon
longevity. Moreover horses, mules, and oxen are never fatter, or more
robust than after feeding on the alfaroba, woods of which abound
particularly in Chaco, and the territories of St. Iago, though not even
the shadow of such a tree is to be seen in any other part of the immense
tracts of Paraguay. The Guaranies, who, being distributed into
thirty-two colonies, inhabit a vast extent of country, are destitute of
this most wholesome fruit; neither did we ever think fit to plant the
alfaroba, which grows so quickly, lest the Abipones, like the other
Indians, should turn it to a bad use, and that it should cause
drinking-parties and intoxication. Moreover the seeds of the alfaroba,
if carelessly scattered in any soil, will certainly, and quickly grow up
into trees. The white alfaroba affords not only meat, drink, and
medicine, but also excellent materials for building waggons, houses and
ships: for its violet-coloured wood is docile, and extremely firm, even
under water. The leaves of this tree are small; and from its little pale
flowers grow seeds, inclosed in a pod. They ripen in the month of
November, and last in the woods till March, or are gradually collected
and preserved at home by provident persons.
The other species of alfaroba, which the Spaniards call the black,
resembles the former in all respects, except that it is smaller and
sweeter. Its dusky bark is covered with red spots. The pods, though
agreeable to the palate from being extremely sweet, create a roughness
in the tongue, if eaten raw too freely, and a difficulty in speaking. I
write this on my own experience; for once in a long journey, happening
to pluck some of that fruit as I rode along, I was suddenly deprived of
the power of speech. Some hours' silence was both the disease and the
remedy; the Spaniards who accompanied me being greatly amused at my
taciturnity. This kind of alfaroba is more commonly used for food than
for drink. Its hulls, when pounded in a mortar, are reduced to a flour,
which, after being strained through a sieve, is thrown into a round
wooden box, pressed with both hands, and, as it is naturally resinous,
forms into bread of itself, and becomes as hard as a stone; for as it
abounds in thick rosin, its own dust glues it together. These loaves,
which are called _patay_, and are chiefly made in the colonies of St.
Iago, and sent to other cities, are taken, not only as food, but as
medicine, especially by Europeans labouring under stone or strangury. No
one ever doubted that both the black and the white alfaroba, as they
have a diuretic property, are of much use, whether taken in a solid or
liquid state, to persons in a consumption, or labouring under diseases
of the bladder. Some say that spirits of much efficacy in diseases of
the kidneys, and in hectic fevers, might, by chemic art, be extracted
from both the alfarobas. We must not pass by a third species of
alfaroba, which appears little different from the acacia. It has very
hard, dark, red wood, is clothed with the same sort of leaves as the
other alfarobas, and bears small yellow flowers, growing in clusters,
and exhaling an aromatic smell. The rind of the pods is thick and black.
The seeds, inclosed in the pods, are like pulse, but harder. The pods,
with their pulp, are resinous, of a sharp, bitter taste, and fit neither
to be eaten nor drunk. The fruit is used by the people of Cordoba, and
St. Iago, to dye wood, and cotton of a black colour, with the addition
of alum, and copperas. This tree exudes rosin like gum Arabic. To it you
may add a fourth species of alfaroba, a small tree, the pods of which
are of a dark red colour, and taste neither sweet nor bitter. Of this
the natives make a potion which is remarkably sudorific, and which,
according to Thomas Falconer, will cure many persons who, in Europe,
could not be restored to health without the aid of salivation.