Ceratonia Siliqua

The carob bean. This leguminous plant is a

native of the countries bordering on the Mediterranean. The seed

pods contain a quantity of mucilaginous and saccharine matter, and

are used as food for cattle. Besides the name of carob beans,

these pods are known as locust pods, or St. John's bread, from a

supposition that they formed the food of St. John in the

wilderness. It is now generally admitted that the locusts of St.

John were the insects so called, and which are still used as an

article of food in some of the Eastern countries. There is more

reason for the belief that the husks mentioned in the parable of

the prodigal son were these pods. The seeds were at one time used

by singers, who imagined that they softened and cleared the voice.