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point, would be expressed in our language, as " wondrous and nutri- 

 tious delicacies." 



A plant so universally distributed and possessed with such varied 

 properties, naturally takes an important place in the native materia 

 medica. In the native parlance " it makes him much well." 



The seeds are reputed as anthelmintic^ and eramenagogue, they 

 are also used as a thirst quencher, form component parts of a drink 

 used in fevers, as well as being used as a carminative. Syrups, wines 

 and elixirs made from the ripe fruit are expectorant, sedative and 

 tonic. 



A malady which the natives call the " cocoa bag," is a troublesome 

 tropical disease, reputed to be hereditary and contagious ; at all events 

 it seems to lurk in the blood of persons of otherwise apparently good 

 health and habits. Suddenly the victim becomes a mass of offensive 

 sores, debilitated, etc. The native doctors add the papaw fruit to the 

 diet drinks used in this disease, and succeed in moderating its violence, 

 at least. To the sores a paste made with the papaw milk as one of the 

 constituents is also applied. 



The slijiht pimples accompanying the first stages of the yaws soon 

 spread into ulcerous sores that cover the entire body. Here, too, the 

 claim is made that a slice of the papaw rubbed over the pimples will 

 abort them. It is also claimed that the ulcers may be cleaned in a 

 similar fashion. 



I witnessed a most striking cleansing of a black foot in which the 

 chiga had bored and laid its eggs, producing a mass of foulness be- 

 yond description. Here a paste of the papaw milk was pushed into 

 the seething mass and kept there for fortv-eight hours. It was then 

 ;flushed, curetted, and antiseptics were applied. A clean wound which 

 readily healed resulted. 



The green leaves or slices of the green fruit of thepqpaw are rubbed 

 over soiled and spotted clothes, and by its power of dissolving stains 

 papaw has acquired the name of " melon bleach." The leaves or a 

 portion of the fruit are steeped in water and the treated water is used 

 in washing coloured clothing, especially black, the colors are cleaned 

 up and held fast. 



The seeds are eaten as a delicacy. They have quite an agreeable 

 taste, something of the order ot the water-cress and a piquancy slightly 

 suggestive of the mustard family. Macerated ■ in vinegar they are 

 served as a condiment.''^ 



The strange and beautiful races of the Antilles astonish the eyes of 

 the traveller who sees them for the first time. It has been said that 

 they have taken their black, brown and olive and yellow skin tints 

 from the satiny and bright hued rinds of the fruit which surround 

 them. If they are to be believed, the mystery of their clear, clean 

 .complexions and exquisite pulp-like flesh arises from the use of the 

 papaw fruit as a cosmetic. A slice of the ripe fruit is rubbed over the 



iThe anthelmintic properties residing in both the seed and juice have beau 

 noted by various authorities. 



2The seeds are encased in a slimy coating and advantage is taken of thia by 

 the younger generation, who spread them out on a board, and by this menus form 

 a " slide," which corresponds with the frozen gutters so agreeable to our northern 

 urchins. 



