238 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



MORE ABOUT THE PAPAWS. 



'HE species of Papaw mentioned by 

 Mr. R. Cameron in the March issue 

 of The Canadian Horticulturist as 

 being' native to Southern Canada is an old 

 friend of my boyhood in Southern Ohio. 

 It grows there to great perfection, some 

 of the trees being fully a foot in diam- 

 eter, although six inches is a large one ; it 

 is usually a bush. I have gathered fruit 

 from the wild trees near my old Ohio home 

 and also in Kentucky, Indiana and as far 

 west as eastern Kansas that was more than 

 six inches long and about half as thick. The 

 aroma was sometimes so strong that I have 

 been led to stop and hitch my team by the 

 roadside and follow the scent of the ripe 

 fruit through the thick woods for a hundred 

 yards or more, and where I could not see the 

 Papaw bushes until I got very near them. 

 Many a rich feast have I had on such occa- 

 sions. This fruit is worthy of culture. 



But the Papaw mentioned as being found 

 in South Africa is a very different fruit, both 

 botanically and in point of flavor, size, shape, 

 etc. , of fruit. This is Carica papaya^ which 

 is an annual and is strictly tropical. It is 

 properly called Melon Papaw, because the 



fruit is about the size, shape and color of an 

 average yellow muskmelon or cantaloupe. 

 These large fruits are borne at the axils of 

 the leaves, which are also very large and 

 something like those of the castor bean plant. 

 The stalk is straight and has no branches. 



When cut open the fruit shows a flesh 

 about an inch thick, and there are numer- 

 ous small round seeds fastened to it. The 

 flesh is yellow, very juicy and about as soft 

 as that of a very ripe cantaloupe. The flavor 

 is somewhat sweetish but rather insipid, and 

 I always thought a little salt or sugar or both 

 together added character to it. It is not so 

 rich and agreeable, to my taste, as the true 

 Papaw of America. 



So far as the eff"ect of the juice of the 

 Melon Papaw in tendering beefsteaks is con- 

 cerned I have never tried it, but this is said 

 to be true. It may also be anti-dyspeptic, 

 as Mr. Allan, of Africa, says, but anyone who 

 would undertake to "grate" a ripe Melon 

 Papaw would have a sloppy mess. More- 

 over, this fruit cannot be grown outside of 

 tropical regions. 



H. E. VanDeman. 



Parksley, Va., March 20th, 1900. 



ARRANGEMENT OF HOME GROUNDS. 



Sir, — In looking over the last number of 

 the Canadian Horticulturist (I am a constant 

 reader of all the numbers) my attention was 

 held closely to the first item in the " Ques- 

 tion Drawer," entitled — "Arrangement of 

 Home Grounds." Replying to the letter of 

 inquiry, Mr. W. H. Manning says : "It is 

 usually unwise to locate a house on the 

 summit of a ridge for it makes the building 

 unduly intrusive, etc." And further on he 

 continues : " It is generally better to locate 



at the side or at the base of a slope, reserv- 

 ing views from a higher level for occasional 

 enjoyment or for enjoyment from upper 

 windows." Looking back to " Subscriber's" 

 letter, he says: "The view from position 

 marked for house is grand, especially to the 

 north." Let me ask a question : is sub- 

 scriber more interested in presenting a pic- 

 ture for his neighbor to look at and down 

 upon, or in being in a position where he can 

 command a grand view at all times, and can 



