Vegetables with Edible Fruits 219 



inserted. This should be tied firmly and in a week to 

 ten days a union will have been made. The bud may 

 be shielded against sun and rain until the union is made. 



Papayas are benefited by irrigation during the dry 

 season. About half the trees will bear staminate or 

 barren flowers only, and nearly all such trees (which may 

 be recognized by the long thin sprays of tubular flowers), 

 should be cut out as soon as noted. The fruiting plants 

 are distinguished by bearing their flowers mostly in clusters 

 of three. One or two staminate trees to the plantation 

 will insure sufficient pollination of the flowers on the pistil- 

 late trees. The papaya very seldom branches at all. 

 It may bear sixty or more large fruits each year. When 

 grown for the ripe fruit, the long-fruited or the cantaloupe- 

 shaped varieties are much better than the common oval 

 form. The first fruits usually appear in less than a year, 

 and the tree will continue bearing for several years. 

 The papaya will only endure a very light frost. Hence it is 

 adapted only to countries where freezing weather rarely 

 occurs, though it can be grown farther north if protected 

 during the winter. The potent digestive properties of its 

 ripe fruit render its best varieties important members of 

 tropical or subtropical gardens. The digestible ferment 

 (papain) is destroyed by heating to the boiling point, 

 and hence would not be present in cooked fruit. 



A space 8 by 8 feet is usually sufficient for a thrifty 

 plant. The older ones usually become less productive; 

 it is therefore advisable to start with fresh plants every 

 three or four years. The small seedlings transplant with 

 more or less difficulty, but after the stem has become 

 woody and about an inch in diameter, no difficulty is 



