1042 



them, on everything in the tropics, and you are rarely 

 disappointed, though it i-s surprising how little harm 

 many of them do down here. The trouble is, thev might 

 not be so harmless in another climate, and in any 

 event, we don't want to try them to find out. That 

 red-fleshed papaya was a surprise to me. I am general- 

 ly skeptical about red-fleshed fruits, the term 'red 1 

 is so commonly used for brown that you can't trust it, 

 but I am willing to say that the papaya I sent in has 

 a very decided reddish tint, and the flesh is deep 

 reddish salmon in color, quite distinct from the color 

 of the varieties we are now growing in Florida. It is 

 striking and attractive, but the quality of the fruit 

 may not be equal to some of the best we alreadv have. 

 You know the papayas vary greatly in sweetness. Proba- 

 bly you noted my photographs of the anay growing in 

 the forest at Mazatenango. Your idea of getting 

 photos of the aguacate in the wild is a good one, and 

 if I can find wild trees in the Alta Verapaz, -where 

 people here seem to think they exist, I will try for 

 some photographs. I hope the anar/will turn out to be 

 a new species. I am on the track of another species 

 of Persea which grows down about Zacapa, and I saw in 

 Amatitlan a single young tree which seems to be a 

 Persea but is apparently not an avocado. I am going 

 to get budwood of it." 



