Am'ju°iy?i9oiarm"}  Story  of  the  Pap  aw.  337 
fruit  it  seems  to  permeate  to  .  all  parts  of  the  fleshy  portion  of  the 
fruit  (somewhat  changed  in  character).  The  supply  of  milk  in  a 
vigorous  tree-  is  very  abundant.  After  making  several  prolonged 
incisions  in  a  single  fruit,  I  estimated  that  an  entire  tree  must  con- 
tain several  hundred  ounces,  but  no  such  amount  can  be  obtained 
by  any  practical  method. 
The  dried  milk  of  the  papaw  is  an  article  of  commerce,  and  its 
character  is  dependent  upon  the  method  of  preparation.  The  main 
source  is  the  crude  method  of  the  natives.    The*  usual  proceeding 
Selling  papaw  fruit  in  the  market. 
is  to  make  an  incision  just  through  the  rind  of  the  green  fruit ;  the 
milk  flows  freely  for  a  short  time  ;  this  is  caught  in  a  dish,  coagu- 
lation follows  closely,  and  the  milk  oozes  slowly  through  the  incision 
for  twenty-four  hours  or  more.  If  numerous  incisions  are  made  in 
the  fruit,  it  will,  at  the  end  of  this  time,  become  y2  an  inch  thick. 
The  milk  is  most  abundant  after  heavy  rainfalls,  from  the  first  fruits 
of  the  tree,  and  naturally  so  from  vigorous  plants. 
The  latex,  when  allowed  to  dry  on  the  fruit,  becomes  discolored 
