Trees Found in the Fields 139 



and other ornaments. Horses feeding upon the fol- 

 iage lose their manes and tails, and even their hoofs. 



Logwood. A very crooked, irregular tree of me- 

 dium size, with hard and heavy wood, which is at 

 first reddish-white, becoming dark-purple after it is 

 cut and exposed to the air. The logwood of com- 

 merce is obtained from the roots and lower part of 

 the trunk. Trees that are too old lose some of their 

 value, and some trees have been found to be en- 

 tirely without coloring-matter in their wood. 



Nutmeg Tree. A small tree with aromatic 

 leaves, covered with yellowish-green fruits about 

 the size of a peach. The shell, when ripe, splits off 

 in two pieces, revealing a nut covered with a thin 

 reddish membrane, called the mace. On cracking 

 the nut, the kernel comes out whole and proves to 

 be the nutmeg. Nutmegs are packed in lime to pre- 

 serve them and prevent them from sprouting. 



Papaya. This small and valuable tree begins to 

 bear fruit when a year old and produces from twenty 

 to a hundred large, melon-shaped fruits at a time. 

 The dark-green leaves, twenty to thirty inches in 

 length, are clustered at the top of the trunk. The 

 fruits are yellow within, agreeably sweet, and con- 

 tain many jet-black seeds. Both the fruit and 

 leaves contain a pepsin-like principle which greatly 



