21 



This quality is due to the pepsin it contains, a fact which has 

 recently attracted the attention of the medical profession. 

 The following extract from a pharmaceutical publication ex- 

 plains the property of the papaw. 



' ' Pepsin derived from this fruit is the foundation of most 

 medicines for curing digestive derangements. It is easily pre- 

 pared, the unripe fruit being daily scarred or lined a quarter 

 of an inch deep with a sharp knife, and the juice caught and 

 dried on sheets of glass, when it becomes a marketable com- 

 modity." 



Another paper says — 



" The juice (of the papaw) is pressed out of the fruit, clarifi- 

 ed by filtration through a twill bag, and the ferment precipita- 

 ted by alcohol. It is then dried. ' ' 



The tree is of quick growth, and needs practically no cultiva- 

 tion. It is common in waste places, seeming to prefer poor 

 soil. It is of very rapid growth, and from its peculiar appear- 

 ance at once attracts attention. Lefroy says the leaves possess 

 curative effects applied externally is cases of rheumatism. 

 Flowers March to November. 



Passiflora Minima (wild passion flower.) A climbing vine, 

 with wiry stem. I/eaves one to two inches, glossy, oval, some 

 entire, some three-lobed, the leaf-stalk having two small stalk- 

 ed glands above the middle Flowers greenish-yellow in pairs, 

 axillary, followed by a purplish insipid berry, one and a half 

 inch long. Common along old walls and waysides. Perennial. 

 April to September. 



Passiflora Libiata. Ait (wild passionflower.) Probably a 

 sub-species (minima) much like the preceding, with the excep- 

 tion of glands at the top of the stalk. Commonest around 

 Paynter Vale. Summer. 



Passiflora Coerulea. Linn, (wild passion flower. ) Similar 

 to the two preceding, except that the leaves are five-lobed, 

 glands more distant from the leaf, appears to flower more 

 rarely. Summer. 



