Loretta Young age ll, of Garden Grove, Me, for her question:

What use is the carob bean?

The dry dark brawn pod of the carob tree reminded people of a large locust bug. They called it the locust bean and ground it into powdery flour to make locust bread, The carob tree is a native of the Holy hand and other Mediterranean lands. some say it provided the so called locusts eaten by John the Baptist. It is often called saint John's bread tree.

The leathery bean pod is four to l0 inches long, flat and chewy. It has a sweet flavor with a fruity taste of its own. Cattle and horses loves its and in eastern countries tons of winter fodder are made from the sweet. sticky pulp inside the pods. The carob tree is a spreading evergreen that usually grows in the wilderness. Its leafy branches of rusty green look like ,a shady apple tree., and its big tasty bean pods develop from flowers that are almost too small to be noticed.