PAPAW

or Paw-paw. As the result of an erroneous impre ion that they are related, there are two entirely different fruits known under the name of ‘‘papaw.’’ One is the wild fruit of a small tree of the middle United States; the other is a product of the American tropics. The North-American papaw is shaped somewhat like a banana, but is thicker and generally of a dark brown. It runs from two to six inches in length, achieving in very big specimens a weight of a pound or more. At its best, its mildly rich and aromatic, yellowish pulp pleases nearly every palate, especially when chilled or frozen, but the fruit varies greatly and in-many specimens the stones seem exce ive in size and the characteristic flavor is so pronounced as to be objectionable to most novices—it has been described as too nearly resembling an over-ripe muskmelon. There is similar difference in opinion concerning the flavor of the common fruits after cooking. The tropical papaw, or ‘‘papaya,’’—which has spread from this continent to win popularity in all tropical countries—is the fruit of a huge herbaceous plant—of palm style with a height of twenty to thirty feet—and varies from round to roughly cylindrical, and from the size of a ‘‘basket’’ muskmelon or smaller up to very large—twenty or more inches in Jength and a weight in exce of twenty pounds—with a smooth skin, ' yellowish to deep orange, and flesh one to two inches in thickne of the same tint, enclosing a large cavity, to the walls of which adhere a number of gelatinously coated seeds. The flesh resembles that of a muskmelon—sweet and agreeable in the best types, but in le er grades somewhat over musky to the novice. It is very commonly eaten as a breakfast fruit in about the same way as a muskmelon—cut in halves or sections lengthways, and served with sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper, etc.; and in salads, and as a de ert fruit—in the last-named case frequently sliced with cream. It is also made into puddings, pies, jams, and pickles. The green fruit is occasionally boiled and served as a squash-like vegetable. Both the fruit of the tropical papaw and the plant itself contain an enzyme known as ‘‘papain,’’ which has much the same digestive effect as pepsin, and also ‘‘fibrine,’’ a principle rarely found outside the animal kingdom which has been described as ‘‘blood without color.’’ The natives rub green papaw juice over meat to make it tender, and achieve the same purpose with a fowl by wrapping it in the leaves overnight.