THE PAPAYA AND ITS RELATIVES 239 



of control which have been suggested are the destruction of 

 wild plants and infested fruits, and the production of varieties 

 having very thick flesh, so that the ovipositor will not reach to 

 the seed-cavity (the young larvae are unable to live in the 

 flesh). A fungous disease known as papaya leaf -spot (Pucci- 

 niopsis caricae Earle) frequently attacks the foliage in the win- 

 ter season, forming small black masses on the under-surfaces 

 of the leaves. It is not very destructive and is easily con- 

 trolled by spraying with bordeaux mixture. 



In Hawaii a red mite (Tetranychus sp.) sometimes occurs in 

 scattered colonies on the lower surfaces of the leaves and on 

 the fruits. The larvae of a moth (Cryptoblades aliena Swezey) 

 feeds under a web on the floral stems and beneath the flower- 

 clusters. Neither of these pests is said to be serious. The 

 Mediterranean fruit-fly (Ceratitis capitata Wied.) attacks the 

 fruit; its presence in Hawaii has made necessary a quaran- 

 tine order prohibiting the shipment of papayas from that 

 territory to the mainland of the United States. Two scale 

 insects, Aspidiotus destructor Sign, and Pseudoparlatoria 

 ostriata Ckll., are reported on the plant in Africa and Cuba 

 respectively. 



Seedling races. 



With the introduction of grafting as a means of propagating 

 choice papayas in Florida, one named variety, the Simmonds, 

 was established, but the stock has degenerated and it is no 

 longer grown. Grafted plants of the third and fourth gene- 

 ration from the original seedling developed to a height of 3 or 

 4 feet only, produced a few small fruits, and were always 

 yellowish and sickly in appearance. 



There are marked differences in the size, shape, and quality 

 of the fruits produced by different seedlings, and the papayas 

 of certain regions in the tropics are uniformly superior to those 

 of other regions. In Bahia, Brazil, there are two distinct 



