THE ECONOMIC HOUSE 47 
our papaw belongs. The tree bears fragrant yellow flowers from which 
the ylangylang perfume of commerce is made. The manufacture of 
this perfume is an important industry in the Philippines. It takes 
about 150 to 200 pounds of flowers to yield a pound of oil. The flowers 
are also used in making “‘macassar oil"’—a hair oil that was so popular 
a few decades ago that it became necessary to protect the backs of 
chairs and sofas with antimacassars. This tree furnishes the flowers 
with which the Samoan Islanders bedeck themselves. 
Carica papaya, or SOUTH AMERICAN PAPAW, OF MELON TREE, iS a 
native of tropical America that belongs to the Passifloraceae, the 
family to which belongs our native passion flower, with its fruit known 
as Maypops. The melon-tree is a rapid-growing unbranched tree, 
rarely more than 20 feet in height. It is cultivated throughout the 
tropics, where it is regarded as one of the most important of all food 
sources. Its foliage is handsome enough to justify the fact that it is 
often grown as an ornamental—William Bartram, botanical explorer, 
wrote of it, in 1790: “This admirable tree is certainly the most beauti- 
ful of any vegetable production I know of.” The fruit, which is melon- 
shaped, may weight as much as 15 pounds, and one tree produces 
from 20 to 50 fruits. The fruit is in season most of the year in the 
tropics, and stands shipment well—it is now shipped from Hawaii to 
our Pacific coast and marketed there. The pulp of the fruit looks and 
tastes like the most delicious muskmelon. It assists in the digestion 
of other foods, and so may be eaten in great quantity. The juice of 
the fruit furnishes the papain used in medicine and in making chew- 
ing-gum. This is the papaw exploited in certain patent medicines. 
Green fruits are cooked as vegetables. Negroes use the leaves as a 
substitute for soap in washing clothes. The leaves are also much 
used for making tough meat tender—tough meat wrapped in bruised 
carica leaves for a short time is said to become very tender. 
Carissa bispinosa (C. arduiana) is an evergreen shrub that belongs to 
the Apocynaceae, or Dogbane family. Its fruits are eaten by natives of 
the tropics. 
Carissa grandiflora, or Nata Pum, of the same genus, is a native of 
southern Africa, where it is highly prized as a hedge plant. Its red 
fruits, the size of plums, resemble cranberries in flavor, so that it is 
said to be difficult to distinguish between the flavor of sauce made 
from them and cranberry sauce. The shrub has been introduced 
into California and Florida. 
Casimiroa edulis, or WHITE SAPOTE, is a native of Mexico that belongs 
to the Rutaceae, the family to which our prickly ash belongs. The 
tree is a large one, valued for its fruit, which is about the size of an 
orange and of a peach-like flavor. The fruit is said to have value as 
an aid in inducing sleep. The leaves are used medicinally. 
Cassia. This is the genus of the Leguminosae to which our local 
wild senna and partridge pea belong. There are many species of 
cassia in existence, some yielding pods that are of value in medicine, 
in tanning, or in perfume making. The Economic House contains 
specimens representing 7 species, of which the most interesting are: 
