686 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The native uses are many : the bark for ropes ; fruit is edible, very 

 nutritious, and a great aid to the digestion. The ripe, yellow fruit is 

 eaten like melons. Together with some acid fruit, it is made into pies, or 

 stewed ; while the green fruit, which has a strongly marked acrid 

 principle, is pickled. Just before ripening, the fruit is peeled and boiled 

 as a vegetable. 



As a medicine, the seeds are reputed as anthelmintic, are used in a 

 drink for fevers, while syrups, wine, and elixirs made from the ripe fruit 

 are expectorant, sedative, and tonic. 



A paste made with Papaw milk is applied to ulcers with great 

 healing effect, such as those produced by the chiga in the feet of negroes. 



The green leaves, or slices of the green fruit are rubbed over soiled 

 clothes, as it dissolves stains, and is consequently called 1 Melon bleach.' 



The beautiful skin of the inhabitants of the Antilles is said to be due 

 to the use of the Papaw fruit as a cosmetic, a slice being rubbed over the 

 body. 



It is now used in America as a cure for dyspepsia, as dyspepsia is 

 unknown in its tropical heme. 



The meat in the West Indies is tough and tasteless ; beef, mutton, 

 pork, or fowl have the same flavour, and are exceedingly tough. The 

 Papaw rubbed over the meat renders it soft, and changes a piece of 

 apparent leather into a tender, juicy steak. It is put into the pot with 

 meat, enters into cereals, soups, stews, &c, and they are made more 

 edible and digestible. 



The author discusses the botanical names and characteristics of the 

 varieties, as well as the cultivation and growth.— G. H. 



Parana-Paraguay River Reg-ion, The Woody Plants of the. 



By Dr. R. Endlich (Not. Konig. Bot. Berlin, Bd. IV., pp. 1-61 ; July 10, 

 1903). — An account of collections made in 1896-98, with notes on dis- 

 tribution, uses, times of flowering, &c, with abundant references to other 

 workers, and an interesting section on the economical uses of Palms. The 

 paper ought to be of service to travellers. — H. M. W. 



Paris quadrifolia L„ its Variability in the District of St. Gall. 



By P. Vogler (Flora, vol. xcii., 1903, pp. 483-489).— This is a statistical 

 investigation, and it is unfortunate that the results have not been plotted 

 on curves, as over 1,200 examples were carefully examined. The conclu- 

 sions are : The variability in number of the organs increases acropetalously. 

 The number in each verticil is usually equal to, or less than, the pre- 

 ceding one. The individuals whose outermost verticil differs most widely 

 from the norm show a corresponding lack of constancy in the other 

 whorls. The variations appear largely due to nutrition, and not of 

 racial significance. — M. II. 



Peach and Nectarine Culture. By T. Cocmber (Gard, Mag. 

 No. 2603, p. 020 ; 19/9/03).— The culture of these fruits under glass is 

 described by one who is a well-known cultivator. He discusses the com- 

 parative advantages of large and small houses, arrangement of trellises, 

 borders, and all details necessary for success.— IF. G. 



