Nov. 2, 1903.] THE TROPICAL 
On his promotion to Colgrain he thrpw his whole 
energy into reclaiming and improving the neglected 
estate, with what success we have already seen. 
Referring to this he writes from Kitoolmocla : — 
" It was my work on Colgrain that brought me my 
present appointment. I do not wish to say more on 
this subject as self praise is not commendable.' 
Mortimer continued to flourish, and as before 
indicated, ultimately became a partner in two of 
the estates. As a sample of the letters he continued 
to write home to the ' Auld House ', I may quote the 
following dated Kitoolmoola, 15th November, 
1863:— 
' ' My dear B— , 
I have again the pleasure to drop you a note to 
inform you all that I am still in the land of the 
living and place of hope. Thanks to a kind and 
beneficent Providence who is with us in all our out- 
goings and incomings. My earnest prayer is that 
this may find you all equally well. 
Last mail brought me no letters from home. I'm 
afraid you are all too much taken up with the world 
or too lazy. I do not mean to say that I am faultless, 
far from it, at the same time there are many of you 
against one. Since I last wrote I have had Graeme 
Elphinstone here, a very fine young fellow, the best 
of all the Logie family I ever met. Old John Mc 
L was with him. I'd not seen John for some 
years, and what a change ! Imagine him coming to 
dinner in full dress with no fewer than three gold 
rings on his fingers ! Elphinstone told me his 
father and mother had been calling upon you. I 
hope my dear mother was not put out by such 
unusual visitors. Poor body ! I do hope she is still 
in the good providence of God enjoying her usual 
health, and that all of you strive as much as in you 
lies, to make her in every sense of the word comfort- 
ahle, and although, far distant myself, my substance 
is none the less at her service, as I have intimated 
to you over and over again, and trust, therefore, 
that you will carry out my wishes to the very I Iter. 
I hope we shall have the pleasure, please Providence, 
to meet in a few months. Meantime, we are busy 
gathering our crops, which are rather light, but 
plenty to cover aU expenses and somefhim/ over. 
My own Watties close by are bearing heavily , and 
will clear over £1,000 each, and did the same last 
year, not bad farming from estates of 150 acres each. 
Sir John and Mr. Tottenham are evidently in a 
stew at my leaving. I have recommended three of 
their estates being sold- No more at present. 
Yours, &c., &c., A. C. MORTIMER. 
It now only remains to make — as the ministers 
would say, the ' Application.' It will be noted that, 
in this case, character was of more importance than 
mere ability or scholarship. .Some may be inclined 
to think that had A. C. Mortimer been generous 
to himself during the early years of his planting 
career, his life might have been prolonged. This, 
however, is rather an exploded idea. " Man wants 
but little here below." Sir J. Lubbock (now Lord 
Avebury) says: — "The more moderate the living, 
the better the health, and chance of longevity ; 
long meals make short lives. It is easy to eat too 
much, there is no fear of eating too little." Many 
may comment upon the infatuations of "staying 
the year too long, ' ' and it seems probable enough 
that our friend sacrificed himself from a mistaken 
sense of duty, but altogether he has left an exem- 
plary record. 
Some men seem to succeed who do not deserve 
it, others deserve it who do not ; but A. C. Mortimer 
)joth deserved it, and did succeed, 
AGRICULTURIST. .301 
THE PAPAIN INDUSTRY. 
CULTURE OF THE PAPAW TKEE. 
A fruit which attracts a pas4iug notice from time 
to tira« ill the Presa lu thia couutry aud ftt Home 
ia the pap lya or papavv [Carica iiapaya), aud it la a 
matter of surpiise ihat a plaut tor wuicti BO many 
a.ivantages are claimed baa received so little atteution. 
Here aud there iu Madras ^ood specimena are to be 
fouud, so that no doubts as regards its aucceaoful 
grcwih need be enteitaiued, aud that it has not 
hitherto been {<rown by the acre poinis either to its 
many good points being impeifeoUy realised, or to 
the proverbial antipathy of agiiculturista in this 
country to start aaj thing new, or, possibly, to the 
doubt about a ready market being available for the 
produce. The fruit when ripe ie too well known to 
require much notice here. It ia more or less es- 
teemed, probably according to the quality of the 
fruit whicn has been obtained, for the p.tpaw is like 
the mango in this respect, that its fruit varies greatly 
iu flavour and deleolability. When unripe, the fruit 
can be boiled and eaten as a vegetable, included in 
the com^vrehensive cuiry, or made in.o pickle. The 
ju ce has an emollient tffect ou the akin and may be 
Used aa a cosmetic ; it is said, moreover, to be effica- 
cious as a vermifuge, and the p. ant itself is said to be 
a firat-rate mosquitoluge. 
MEDICINAL PHOPEKTIES. 
Valuable, however, aa these properties of the papaw 
may be, they wuuld scarcely afford reasons for growing 
it by the acre, and it is therefore to the remarkable 
chemical and medicinal qualities of tbe plant that 
we would draw particular attention. There abounds 
in the tree a juice — white, milky and viscid — which ia 
remarkable as cuntaiuing fibime, a principle found 
oiherwiae only lu the animal kingdom, ana has also 
the extraordiuary property of hastening the decay of 
muscular fibre exposed to it.t iufluence. It has an 
energetic action upou uitrogenuus substances and will 
ouruie milk auU is more efficacious than pepsin in 
disaolving albumen. Iu its peptouisiug powers, in- 
deed, it IS accounted superior to ordinary animal pepsin, 
haviU(< tbe peculiar advantage o£ requiring neitner the 
aid of acid nor an alkali to convert tbe contents of 
the stomach into pep. one. Tnese wonderful dig'estiva 
properties are well known to the natives of this 
country, who may be seen suspending meat under the 
branches oi the tree or canyiog Home the freohly- 
purchased jijint or fowl wrapped up in a papaya leaf. 
An equally useful hut less known device is to dip 
tougn meat into water containing a few drops of the 
juice, lor meat so treated will become in a few minatea 
quito tender. 
The active principle of the juice of the papaya 
which has these wonderful properties, and which the 
celebrated chemiat Vauquelme compared to blood de- 
prived of its colouring matter, is separated and sold 
under tne name papain, tne price ot which, when dried, 
varies uetweu It^. aud 165. per lb. At Alontserrat, 
where a remunerative industry in this product has 
existed for some years, the peasants collect ttie juice 
in calabashes into which a small quantity of Wdiec 
is first placed, 
XO OBTAIN THE PAPAIS. 
The juice is obtained by lightly scoring the rind 
of tne fruit with a kuife or some other sn ap in- 
strument. As tne juice falls into the water it thickens 
to the consistency ot ice cream, and in this state is 
sold to the manufacturer at the rate of Jd. to Id. an 
ounce. From a small plot upon which 120 trees 
were planted out experimentally in May, iy02, over 
10 los. of juioe were collected by ihe end of December, 
or seven mouths afterwards, aad this iu spite of 25 
per cent, of the trees being males, and therefore 
uon-fruitiug. Expert coolies, ic ia said, can extract 
4 07.. ot juice per hour. In Ueylon, also, papain ia 
collected by natives and is purchased cheaply by 
local firms, ^Yho export it aa papain or papaya-juicei 
