8 CIKCULAR NO. 119, BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 



varies greatly. The milder flavored varieties are generally preferred 

 by those who are not familiar with the papaya, but the richer flavored 

 ones, although they sometimes have an odor objectionable to those 

 unacquainted with them, are generally preferred by people familiar 

 with the papaya. 



Since this fruit, however, has been until the present time on a seed- 

 ling basis, it has been impossible to select strains and keep them 

 pure. From now on it will be possible, it is believed, to select from 

 the host of seedlings which appear in any planting of papayas the 

 forms best suited for shipping and marketing purposes. As the size 

 of these fruits varies from a few ounces to 20 pounds, it is apparent 

 that this work of selection will offer an interesting field for the tropical 

 horticulturist. For shipping purposes, the small-fruited forms will 

 probably be best adapted — those weighing not over a pound and a half 

 apiece ; and the more nearly round the shape the more easily the fruits 

 will be packed and, in all probability, the better they will carry to 

 market. While such experiments as have been made in the shipping of 

 the papaya indicate it to be a rather poor shipper, these early experi- 

 ments were generally made with the large-fruited types. The scanty 

 experience of the writers in shipping papayas indicates that if packed 

 just before the fruits begin to turn yellow, they can be sent to the 

 northern markets and arrive in a marketable condition. "Mr. Gardner, 

 of Jamaica, has shipped papayas successfully from Kingston to Lon- 

 don. These are questions, however, which were difficult of solution 

 so long as the papaya remained on a seedling basis. 



That there will be a growing demand for the papaya is the full 

 conviction of the writers. Fruits of good varieties have sold in 

 Miami locally for several years for fancy prices. As high as 25 cents 

 has often been paid for a single fruit, and Mr. Gardner has sold the 

 fruits in London for 40 cents apiece. Such prices as these can not 

 be expected to prevail after the fruit is put on a commercial basis. 



METHOD OF GRAFTING EMPLOYED. 



The method of grafting the papaya is so extremely simple that it 

 seems remarkable that it was not discovered earlier. The difficulty 

 evidently lay hi the fact that a bearing papaya tree under ordinary 

 circumstances has no bud wood for grafting purposes. After a seed- 

 ling begins to fruit, it does not normally produce side shoots which 

 can be used for grafting. It has been observed for some time, how- 

 ever, that if the top of a bearing tree is cut or broken off accidentally, 

 a large number of shoots begin to form, one from the upper part of 

 each leaf scar; that is, the axil of the leaf. This takes place three or 

 four weeks after the tree is decapitated. It is these small shoots 



[Cir. 119] 



