Spirit of the times. [volume] (Ironton, Ohio) 1853-1858, 1853-10-25

The West Indian Pawpaw.Tree.


Our readers will recognize, in The sub
joined description, difieren, kind OF pa
paw,ree from the ore which grows so nu.
,nerou,ly in the western forests cf,hc l.
LI,ei S,a.ts;
Tie papaw',rce Shoes Up 10 the height
OF ,wonly feet, hollow. s'raish, stem,
20 soh that coinnon knife might cut it
down. 1t is naked I'll within Two feet
Of tho top, where it bears round head,
not Of branches. bu, Of leaves Of on i'm.
mcnse size, deeply Gu, in many iiresu.
las lobes having very len; foot stalks.
A, tic nxlcs offices s,0w The ftti,, form.
ia7 \ rig'n,ic cluster at the TOP o! The
,rcs. This f-ai, is o5!on-. sons'iines a
foo, in lea:,h. anl FIVE inches in diane
tor. When ripe, i: is Of a boou'if'l or
ancc yellow, the insilc being Of ssme
hue. Il resembles melon cut open,
with prolusion little black seeds in the
hollow centre, each seed bcing c!osca in
thin transparent ueaibfo1cc ofIIle size
Of q pepper corn. Tic ripe fruit is al
mos, mawkislAy~kwce,, but being full OF
cool Juice is very refreshing ia sc fn
climate. Before it is fully ripe, il makes
avery agreeable vegetable for he dinner
table, being pared, boilgl, ana mashed
IKE ,urnip.. which it then somewhat re-
semblcs in taste. In its green state. i,
also forms an important in5rel lent IN the
beautiful Yves, Indian pickles. Slices
Of /, with the green skit carve in fan.
,as,ica; figures, aro carefully orronged'
with red bonnie. peppers, chil!lss. ana
white mountain cabbag:, so as 10 show
10 the bes, advantage through the siles
OF the squire pcsle.bo;iles. Its some
times, sso, preserved in su.ar; and sent
20 Bri,sin as a trea, 20 West Indians,
hui. no, generally admired in that form,
being quite deficient in acid.
Every par, Of the papaw'trcc abounls
with milky soap, which it gives out
freely when cut. ltposscsses the strange
qusll,y OF making mea, tendef--vefy val
usble in a country where the hea, OF the
climate ob.igea all animal food 10 be
cooked and consumed within ih'riy hours
OF its being slsughlcrei. II the negro
cook is doubtful ohon, the age and ten
derncss ofhe poultry, she hangs it. af
ter killing and plucking, half On hour
in the papaw.'ree, or wraps her hcei'
steaks in It's leaves a sror, time bcl9fe
cooking.
II a pig. in fat'enin-, gets too many
rawpaws, or it he tied to the root Of
The tree, he pork becomes so tender and
soft ,hs, i, falls of the spi, in roasting.
This quality is so we'll known that jock.
cys when DESTROYS Of bringing down the
flesh Of a racer rapidly. for some reason
only known to the initiated, give him
daily wine glass OF the juice fort week
when be looks as lean and emaciaiea as
could be wished. From this useful
property Of the papaw.,ree, i. is planted
near every dwelling. 1t springs from
the see)l, requires no cultivation or care
anl produces ftui, in less ihaa twelve
months. It's rapidly Of growth i: such,
that the writer of these notes saw one,
chance. sown, cigh; feet high, and load
ell with fruit, within the space OF eleven
months, growing on what hal been the
Threshold al a dwelling house. whici
was thrown down by the fearful hurri
cane the lllh Of August, 1881. Close
BY the spot where the master ofthc house
with two helpless children in his orms,
had been overwhelmed by the falling Of
the wall. and sending its roots to seek
nouri,hncnt among the broken bricks
Of the foundation, i, Haunted galy lis
yellow blossoms and fast ripening fruit.
The Thoughts Of Editorial Life.
dts hardly in any h2di.s power.
To keen ct ,iynes ir IN beng souy"