Where Are the Best Papaws? 
incomparable custard-apple or cheri- 
moya. ‘These fruits are larger and finer 
than the papaw, but too tender to 
grow in the United States except in 
southern California and southern 
Florida. There would appear to be a 
good chance that they could be crossed 
with the papaw, and a fruit produced 
THE PAPAW 
Cross section of a fruit, natural size, 
photographed by W. E. Rum- 
sey, of the West Virginia Experi- 
ment Station. The flesh is ordin- 
arily yellow but sometimes white, 
and custard-like in consistency, 
with a peculiar pungent aroma. 
(Fig. 3.) 
which would be hardy in a large part 
of the United States, while superior in 
quality to the papaw itself. So far 
as is recorded, this cross has never been 
made. 
PROPAGATION FROM SEED 
It may be helpful to give the advice 
of the late James A. Little on the 
295 
propagation of the papaw. To grow 
seedlings, he writes, ‘“‘“My plan, which 
has been entirely successful, is to make 
a hill like a watermelon hill and*plant 
about five seeds two or three inches 
deep in the fall. In part for protection 
but mainly for shading the plants 
when they come up I place a barrel 
with both heads out over the hill and 
let it remain for a year or two. After 
that the barrel may be removed and 
then the plants will bear the sun. It 
must not be expected that the plants 
will come up until the harvest or later. 
The plants will not get more than 2 or 3 
inches high the first year, but the 
root will be proportionately much 
larger than the top. The second year 
the plants will grow 6 or 8 inches high 
and after that they will greatly increase 
in growth from year to year. It will 
take them six or eight years to come into 
bearing.” 
More recent experiments than those 
of Mr. Little indicate that if planted as 
soon as taken from the fruits the seeds 
lie dormant in the soil for one year and 
germinate the second spring. There 
appears to be little difficulty in trans- 
planting the young seedlings from the 
seed bed to the nursery row and getting 
plants 12 to 18 inches tall in two years, 
providing they are grown in rich garden 
earth. Transplanting has to be done 
in the spring before any growth starts. 
Finally, as the season of ripening is 
coming on, it will be of interest to 
quote Mr. Little on the value of the 
fruit. 
“The principal use of the papaw,’’ he 
writes, ‘is to eat from the hand but 
- there are other uses that it can be put to. 
It makes splendid custard pie. There 
is no finer dessert than papaw eaten 
with cream and sugar. It is used to 
make beer the same as the persimmon 
by putting the fruit in a jar, mashing it, 
and putting water on it and letting it 
stand until fermented. It also answers 
to make pudding just the same as per- 
simmon pudding is made. It is also 
said that brandy equal to peach brandy 
is made of papaws. Marmalade which 
is equal to that of pears or peaches may 
be made of papaw. The custard may 
be spread on a board and dried like 
