Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-03-04

The first commercial shipment Of
"iie canteloupe that grows on a
tree ever 10 be made in this part Of
the United States, and so far ~ is
known the first ever 10 be made :
is expected 10 20 out OF the Lower
Rio Grande Valley during the pres
ent year. IL was announced here.
The fruit In question Is the papa
va. a sub-tropical fruit resembling
the eanteloupe in appearance.
The shipment will be made from
the experimental nursery Of III. G..
Stilwell ST., pioneer Valley nursery
man, Of the highway near Browns
Vile.
And the shipment will be made
possible through the fact that he
has, by crossing different breeds,
secured a papaya which has a hard
she'll : lone ss hard as a canteloupe-
and which has already been success
fully shipped TO Washington, ID. G..
Healthy Fruit
The development OF a paraya that
can be shipped to other parwi of the
country may NEAR the extensive de-
velopment Of papaya growing in the
Lower Rio Grande Valley, according
to Mr.. Stilwell, as the fruit is in
great demand for its flavor, and
for its medical value, as il contains
a large amount OF pepsin, and Is
very healthful.
Physicians, and L. S. entomolo-
gists in the Valley in various lines
Of work have pointed out the value
Of the fruit both as a medicine and
as a food.
So. in all probably the papaya, a
fruit which ncver fails to eject a
gasp Of surprise from newcomers
here. may enter the commercial
field. All varieties of the fruit
which have heretofore been known
In this section have been too soft 10
ship. The average papays, whether
Cuban or Mexican. softens as il be-
gins to ripen, Until il will yield 10
the ligntest touch when ripe. IL it
is pulled before ~ripening, it will not
develope a good flavor, and also il
usually will not wen ship then, as
the fruit is very soft when green.
Natural Fruit Tender
Several years az oMr. Stilwell
shipped some of the fruit TO Hous-
ton. He picked papayas that were
just beginning 70 ripen, and packed
them carefully. He was informed
that the fruit reached there In bad
condition, most Of il having become
nothing but a shapeless mass, al
though there was enough Of one left
10 furnish an indication of the taste,
was highly praised.
Fruit that will not ship to Houston
can hardly be SHIPPED p~rofitably.
n~urseryman decided, SO he continued
experimenting.
The result is shown in n letter
Roland Mckee, acting senior agri-
explorer. in charge of the
Of Plant Industry Of the
United States Department Of Agri-
TIE letter, written from
Washington, d. C., follows:
"Mr. p G.. Russell. Of this office,
was recently at your place in South
Texas, and sent us in a fruit Of pa
Fsya that you had grown. This we
find q very good quality Of fruit,
and one that | believe worth while.
Seem Harder
According to Mr.. Russell's state
this variety is presumed TO
have a harder rind or shell than the
ordinary papaya, but the specimen
received here was little If any diff
ferent from other papayas in this re-
spect- The size of the fruit, how
ever, is such as to make IL convent
cnt for serving halved, and il il has
any other superior qualities, such as
hardness, IL is worth peTpetuating.
Papayas in general come true TO
seed for the most part, but i'm all
these there Is more or less varia-
In order to perpetuate the
exact type, il will be necessary to
resort to grating
This has been done 20 some ex-
in South Florida. but has not
been entirely satisfactory. Papayas
for the most part are grown entire
ly from seedlings,
The fact that the fruit reached
Washington in good condition is
taken by Mr.. Stilwell as indication
that IL can be shipped to any point
in the country. He had previously
shipped one OF the ordinary papsyas
20 Houston. picking il just as 1t turn
ed yellow. II failed TO arrive in good
condition. The one shipped 10 Wash
had been pulled from the
one week before IL was shipped.
Is Cross
The new papaya is a cross between
the Cuban and Mexican papaya. IL
has the peculiar Characteristic, rs
explained by the nurseryman, that
IS practically as hard as a gourd
until il is thoroughly ripe. II does
not begin 70 soften until two weeks
IL turns entirely yellow, which
makes it possible 20 pick the fruit
IL ripens. and ship il to any
point IN the country within the two
weeks period before il begins to
Mr.. Stilwell has already resorted
budding, and grating in propa-
eating the pnpayas which have been
tested, and also has several thousand
seedlings from the trees which
first showed these characteristics.
he is working toward a papaya
which will have more resistance to
the cold, but said that he could not
promise anything along this line, al
though a harder tree, and harder
fruit should p1ove better guard n
the cold.
Crop Growing Now
ne pointed out that papayas freeze