Sharp County record., 1879-04-24
A Remarkable Tree.

| The Maryland Academy of Sciences
held its usual semi-monthly meeting at
its rooms on Mulberry Street last Mon
day evening, Professor p. K. Uhler,
President, in the chair. DR.. j. G. Nor
riS read very interesting paper, writ
ten by Mr.. Otto Lugger, of the Acade,
my, on that curiosity of the tropics, the
melon tree (carica papaya), which is a
native of South America, and was seen
and examined by Mr.. Lugger during his
late tour through British Guiana. This
tree is of very quick growth, as in six
months it will grow high enough to fur
nish the broad shade of an umbrella to
man six feet high. In the fourth year
a height of twenty feet has been attain
ed; when after a short maturity the
tree dies. The leaf resembles that of
the "ricinus" plant or wonder tree, be-
ing seven-fngered in shape. From its
rapid growth, shade-giving and quick
decay some have drawn close simile
between this tree and the melon tree of
the Prophet Jonas. As grows higher,
the lower leaves drop of, only their
scales remaining; thus making the
trunk resemble the skin of q snake.
When it reaches the height of man
the tree produces at all seasons amid
its flowers both green and ripe fruit,
which then becomes yellow, and seems
to belong to the cucumber family.
The fruit surrounds the base of the
tree crown, as do the nuts of q cocoa
palm. Each fruit attains weight of
some 10 pounds, is melon shaped, and
marked rs melons are, with longitudinal
cOlOred stripes. The tree being pithy, is
unable to bear the weight of a man, and q
boy has to climb to gather the fruit.
The unripe fruit is sliced and picked,
the ripe eaten with sugar or salt and
pepper. The seeds are egg-shaped,
strongly favored and used as q spice.
This tree is eagerly sought and planted
in all suitable climates from South Amer
lea to Mexico and the West India
Islands, and its culture has spread over
Egypt and other portions of Africa. 1t
grows without any particular care in
the neighborhood of dwellings, and pro-
duces ripe fruit before it is year old.
Its leaves furnish an excellent substitute
for soap, and thus proves a great bless
ing to the natives of tropical climates,
who so much need its use. They have
another use-that of rendering tender
and eatable tough and stringy meat of
any kind which is wrapped in them for
short time. This Mr.. Lugger himself
verified by experiment whilst in British
Guiana.
DR.. Wittmack,of Berlin, as well as
Nessrs. Holder and Roy, were led to in
vestigate this matter and report to the
same effect, and the additional fact, that
the milky juice OF the melon tree con-
tains ferment similar in its effects to
the "pepsin" in the stomach of some
animals, which acts in 80 marked a de-
gree upon substances containing nitro
gen, and, like "pepsin," will change
milk into " bonny- -clabber," or as the
Scotch photographer would write it,
"baugh-naugh-claugh baugh." There
is related species of melon tree (the
carica digitata), which grows in Pana-
ma, and which is very offensive on ac-
count of its unpleasant odor, but this
objection does not apply to the melon
tree above described, and of which
there is small one, six feet high, in the
conservatory at Patterson Park.-Bal-
tinl0re american.