90 COMMERCIAL BOTANY. 



introduction of the Indian drug into European practice is 

 chiefly due to experiments made in Calcutta by Dr. 

 O'Shaughnessy in 1838-39. 



Carica papaya. — The Papaw tree has always had a 

 peculiar interest attached to it in consequence of the state- 

 ments of travellers that it possessed the extraordinary pro- 

 perty of rendering tough flesh tender by merely hanging the 

 freshly-killed meat amongst the foliage of the tree. In the 

 " Natural History of Jamaica " Bi'owne says that meat is 

 quickly made tender by washing it with water mixed with 

 Papaw juice ; and if left in the water for ten minutes, the 

 meat will fall to pieces or divide into shreds during the 

 process of cooking. Nothing like real attention was given 

 to this important property till about 1878, since which time 

 it has received considerable notice at the hands of chemists 

 and the medical profession, not only in this country, but in 

 Europe generally, in the treatment of dyspepsia, diphtheria, 

 etc. The native country of the plant is supposed to be the 

 warm part of the American continent, but it is now widely 

 scattered in tropical countries in both hemispheres. The 

 fresh fruits are generally cooked and eateu as a gi-een vege- 

 table in the countries where the plant giows. 



Cinnaniodendron corticosum. — Under the names of Red 

 Canella, Mountain Cinnamon, or False "Winter's Bark 

 the bai-k of this tree has been long known for its stimulant, 

 tonic, aromatic, and antiscorbutic properties. It is a small 

 tree, 10 to 15 feet high, but sometimes growing to a height 

 of 90 feet. It is confined to Jamaica ; and though the bark 

 has been well known for so long, the pLmt remained un- 

 described till about 27 years ago. Plants have been in cul- 

 tivation in the Royal Gardens, Kew, and in the Gardens of 

 the Royal Botanical Society, Regent's Park, for some years, 

 and flowered for the first time at Regent's Park in 1871:. 



Cola acuminata. — This tree, which grows to a height 

 of about 40 feet, is a native of the west coast of Africa, 



