20 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
A Neglected Native Fruit— The Papaw. 
(Asimina triloba.) 
Those familiar with the vegetation of the 
"West, are acquainted with the Papaw, which 
grows from Michigan southward, being especi- 
ally abundant in Tennessee, and other south- 
western States. It forms a shrub or small tree, 
from 10 to 20 feet high, and is so fond of rich 
soils, that an abundant growth of Papaw is con- 
sidered to indicate great fertility in the land. 
The shape o'f the leaves is shown in the engrav- 
ing ; when full grown they are from 6 to 9 inch- 
es long, and as they attain a glossy surface 
when old, the tree is quite ornamental in its fo- 
liage. The flowers appear in May, along with 
the leaves ; the engraving gives them of the 
natural size and represents the leaves of their 
size at the time of flowering. There are two 
rows of brownish, veined petals, which increase 
in size after the flower opens. The fruit, 
which ripens in September, grows single, or in 
clusters of two or three. It is three to five 
inches long, oval in shape, and filled with a 
pulp containing several seeds, which resemble 
those of a watermelon in form, though much 
larger. To save room, the fruit is shown in the 
engraving of about half the natural size. AVhen 
the fruit is fully ripened, the pulp is of the con- 
sistence of custard, and to the writer's taste, deli- 
cious. It perhaps reminds one somewhat of the 
banana, though many prefer it to that fruit. 
When we see to what perfection other fruits 
have been brought through cultivation, this 
native fruit would seem to be worthy the atten- 
tion of experimenters. There is no doubt that 
there is, as in the case of other wild fruits, a great 
difference among those growing naturally, and 
seeds from the best of these might be taken as 
a starting point from which to attempt to im- 
prove the Papaw by culture and selection. 
The tree belongs to the 
family Anonacea, which 
includes the Custard-ap- 
ple, and the Cherimoya, 
two of the most esteem- 
ed fruits of the tropics. 
A Wonderful Plant. 
AYithin a few years 
one of the most singular 
vegetable productions 
has been discovered in 
the Damara country 
in Africa. The plant, 
grows -to be a century 
old, and its trunk attains 
a circumference of 14 
feet, yet it never pro- 
duces more than two 
leaves, and these, singu- 
larly enough, are the 
first or seed leaves of 
the plant. Imagine the 
two seed leaves of a 
squash to keep on grow- 
ing and spreading over 
the soil until they reach 
a length of six feet each, 
and some idea can be 
formed of this vegetable 
wonder. These two 
leaves, which are " split 
into innumerable thongs 
that lie curling upon 
the surface of the soil," 
are all the foliage that the plant ever pro- 
duces. The plant inhabits dry regions, where 
rain rarely or never falls, and has no need of a 
large surface of foliage. Flower-stems spring 
from the large trunk, and produce cones about 
the size of those of the spruce fir. The name of 
this strange plant is Welwitschia mirabalis, and it 
belongs to the family of Gnelacea, of which we 
have no representative found native in our 
climate ; it is allied to the pine family, however. 
Root-Grafting. 
In answer to several requests, we give a few 
hints upon this method of propagating, re- 
marking that what seems to be a difficult 
operation when described, is. very simple in its 
execution. Root-grafting means — not grafting 
into the roots, but taking up trees by the roots, 
and grafting them in-doors, during cold weath- 
er, which is of especial value in many cases. 
The essential points to be observed are noted 
below, and a little practice will enable any 
man or boy who can whittle, to become 
expert. It is well to make a few prelimi- 
nary trials upon worthless twigs; this will 
soon give one the proper knack at cutting, and 
all the rest is very easy. The stocks used for 
root-grafting are one-year-old seedlings ; these, 
if they have made a good growth, will have a 
diameter of one-fourth to three-eighths of an 
inch. The stocks are taken up in Autumn and 
buried under a shed, or in a cool cellar, so that 
they will neither dry up nor be frozen. A 
sufficient quantity of cions are cut, carefully 
marked, and preserved in the same manner. 
The stocks and cions being on hand, the only 
additional materials required are a sharp knife 
and some waxed cloth. The best material for 
cloth is worn calico or muslin, no matter how 
thin and tender: this is torn into strips about 
three inches wide, and made up into rolls or 
balls as large as one's fist,. or larger. In mak- 
ing up the rolls, it is necessary to keep the 
strips flat, without any folds. These rolls are 
to be put into melted grafting-wax and soaked 
until they are thoroughly penetrated by it; 
they are then laid out on a piece of board to 
drain and cool, when they are ready for use. 
Grafting- wax is made by melting together over 
a slow fire, 2 lbs. Resin, 14 lbs. Beeswax, and % 
lbs. Tallow, or in this proportion. The stocks 
are prepared by washing them and cutting off 
the long tap-root. The graft is inserted at the 
" collar," or that portion of the stem where it 
joins the root. Make a cut sloping upward 
(like the mouthpiece of a whistle) from an inch 
to an inch and a half long; then in the centre of 
the slope, cut a tongue as shown at (7, Fig. 1. 
A cion about the same size as the stock, and 3 
or 4 inches long, is cut in the same manner, ex- 
cept that the slope is downward : this, E, Fig. 2, 
has also a tongue cut in it. The two are now 
fitted together as in Fig. 3, pressing them to- 
gether so that the inner bark of the stock and 
cion will exactly join, at least on one side. The 
union being satisfactorily made, the two are to 
be bound together. A portion of the waxed 
cloth is unrolled from the ball, and a piece 
large enough to cover the junction and go two 
or three times around the stem, is torn off and 
applied, by wrapping it around closely so as to 
exclude air and moisture. The grafted stocks 
METHOD OF ROOT-GRAFTING. 
are placed in boxes, with sand or sandy soil 
among their roots, and kept in a cool cellar 
or other place, neither too dry nor too cold. 
Of course each separate variety should be 
properly labelled, and to avoid the chance of 
mistakes, it is well to work upon only one sort 
