ILLUSTRATIONS OF INDIAN BOTANY. 35 



confirmed bv M 



FENTiKR CossiGNi, as mentioned in the Asiatic Researches, by Dr. 

 t LKMiNG (vol 11. p 162). A single dose, that gentleman says, is .sufficient to cure the disease, 

 howeverabundantthe worms may be. Another French writer (Poupkb Dfsportes) recom- 

 mends the use of the powder of the seed instead of the juice. 



r,,^'^''i^^^'^''''^^^^'^^'^''J'^^^ is related, first I 



f\! Jfll ^- ''*"T!l'" ^'' Natural History of Jamaica; namely, that -water impregnated with 

 the milky juice of this tree is thought to make all sorts of nleat washed in it very tender: but 

 eight or ten mmutes steeping, it is said, will make it so soft that it will drop in pieces from 



hr«?/r T^ ^^''■'"rT^'^'V''^'"'"''"^ '^« boiling." Mr. NE.r.r/mentioned 



this circumstance more fully m his interesting Horticultural tour through Holland and the 



Netherlands; and It has repeatedly been confirmed to me by gentlemen of this country who 

 have been long resident ,n the West Indies, and who speak of the employment of the juice for 

 such a purpose as of quite general occurrence; and more, that old hogs and old poultry, which 

 are ted upon the leaves and fruit, however tough the meat they aflPord might otherwise be, it is 

 thus rendered perfectly tender; and good too, if eaten as soon as killed, but that the flesh 

 soon passes into a state of putridity. 



...//.^^""'^■f -^^''^ power of hastening the decay of meat be attributable to the animal 

 7natte? or Jlbrine contained in the juice of the Papaw or not. I will not pretend to say, but the 

 presence of such is a fact scarcely less wonderful than the property just alluded to. Two spe- 

 cimens of the juice were brought from the Isle of France ; in the one the juice had been evapo- 

 rated todry-^ness, and was in the state of an extract; in the other, the juice was preserved by 

 being mixed with an equal bulk of rum. " Bo,h were subjected to analysis by Vauquelin. 

 Ihelirst wasofayellowish-whitecolour, and semitransparent. Its taste was sweetish. It 

 hadnosmell, and was pretty sobd; but attracted moisture when kept in a damp place. The 

 second was reddish-brown, and had the smell and taste of boiled beef. When the first specimen 

 was macerated in cold water, the greatest part of it dissolved. The solution frothed with soap. 



very 



ihe addition of nunc acid coagulated it, and rendered it white ; and when boiled, it threw down 

 abundance of white flakes. When the juice of the Papmv is treated with water, the greatest 

 part dissolves; but there remains a substance insoluble, which has a greasy appearance. It 

 n^lrr/" r/w^" ^''"r"'"' ''^""^'^^ ^•'°^"' ^"^ semitransparent. When thrown on burning 

 «m.L r^u 1 *T''^^Tf'^''f"'^'''''"^ "^^^t roasting, and produced a 



Xl/ Th "^ '^"^ r^^'V'^ ^'' volatilized. -It left behind it no residue. The substance was 

 Ji(?rme. Ihe resemblance between the juice of the Papaw and animal matter is so close, that 



one would 1,6 tempted to suspect some imposition, were not the evidence that it is really the 

 juice of a tree quife unquestionable." ' 



Thhjib' • • ■ - - 



but i^t has since been found in othe4-\'egetable.s,' especially in' j^r^?'^!'^ '" "'" *""""' ^'"S^^"^ • 

 nr 1... "^ " "'' ""l ^'/^i'iife of fhe Carlc'i Papaya, or Papaw Tree, whether of the fruit, stem, 

 or leaves or even of he exhalation from the plant, in lessening the cohesion of the muscular 

 rir,re. and acting on he fibrin of the blood, are matters of common observation in the Island of 

 TkI M ""' '"habitants availing themselves of this property, to render more delicate, when 

 thought necessary, the beef, mutton, pork, and poultry of their tables. If the milky juice. 

 Which IS readily procurable by incision into the tree, or unripe fruit, be thoroughly rubbed on 

 the nesh ot a tough or old animal, and the animal be cooked by roasting, the fibres so complete- 

 ly lose their cohesion, that the flesh will fall from the bones, or be separated by the slightest 

 Jorce It a smaller quantity of the juice be used, the flesh will be rendered tender; but so 

 great is the ettect, and so difficult is it to ascertain the degree to which it may be carried, if the 

 milky juice oe directly applied to the flesh, that another and more certain mode has been resort- 

 ed to, tor procuring the inteneralion of the flesh of different animals. By simply suspendinff 

 the animal to a bough of the tree, for a space of time proportioned to the size of the animal, or 

 ot (he joint of meat, the flesh is found to be sufficiently intenerated. A particular friend of 

 mine, was in the constant habit of having his meat so prepared for his table, and was particular 

 enough (or thought it necessary), to use his watch to regulate the time of suspension. 



lijis quality of destroying the cohesion of the mu.scular fibre, probably resides chiefly in 

 the milky juice, or in the vapour, which, i conjecture, is exhaled from the tree, since the boiled 



iruit, when given to animals, does not produce this eff'ect to such a degree as to be sensible. The 



