THE GKAFTED PAPAYA AS AN ANNUAL FRUIT TREE. 7 



countries have not learned to propagate the good varieties asexually, 

 as the Arabs have the date palm. 



POSSIBILITIES OF THE GRAFTED PAPAYA. 



With the discovery, therefore, of a practical method of rapid asex- 

 ual propagation, the papaya enters upon a new era of possibility. 

 That this is a possibility may be judged from the observations which 

 have been made during recent years by one of the writers, particu- 

 larly in southern Florida. It is found there, for example, that seeds 

 of the papaya, when planted in the greenhouse in February, produce 

 young seedlings large enough to graft some time in March; that these 

 grafted trees, which can be grown in pots, when set out in the open 

 ground in May or the latter part of April, make an astonishing growth 

 and come into bearing hi November or December; that they continue 

 bearing throughout the folio whig spring and summer, and, if it is 

 advisable, can be left to bear fruit into the following autumn. 



A single March-budded plant will bear from two to three dozen 

 fruits during the following whiter and spring, and these fruits will 

 average from 2 to 3 pounds apiece, so that a single papaya tree should 

 yield 48 to 72 pounds of fruit within 15 months. It has been found, 

 however, that the papaya is a plant peculiarly subject to root-knot, 

 caused by a species of nematode, and it is therefore important that 

 it be handled as an annual tree crop and be not planted year after 

 year on the same ground, but in rotation with other crops. 



The papaya is a gross feeder, producing a root system composed of 

 large soft-wooded roots which anchor it firmly to the ground. It is 

 not particular as to soil. It will grow on a manure heap or on rocky 

 coquina soil, on sandy land or in rich clay loam — in any place where 

 its large roots can get a foothold. In clearings in a hammock, for 

 example, it is one of the first plants to make its appearance, and it is 

 remarkable how commonly the wild papaya fills a clearing through 

 the hammock in southern Florida. 



It would seem to be an ideal plant for a small grower for home use, 

 as it can be fed liberally with manure and has the nature of a dwarf 

 tree. The fact that the fruits are clustered around the mam stem 

 in the axils of the leaves would suggest the possibility of easily pro- 

 tecting them from birds, insects, and perhaps from frost injury. 



The fruits when ripe are of a golden-yellow color and when they 

 are cut open somewhat resemble a yellow cantaloupe, although the 

 color of the interior is a deeper orange. The dark-brown seeds are 

 as easily removed as the seeds of a cantaloupe. There is less fiber 

 to the papaya than the muskmelon, and the fruit flesh is more melting 

 in character. It has a characteristic flavor and odor of its own, which 



[Cir. 119] 



