Pepper.] 40 [March 6, 



severe in the very districts of the Campagna of all others where it was 

 expected that the disease would have been stamped out, so to speak, by 

 the general planting of eucalypti, especially when, as was the case in many 

 of these places, vigorous cultivation of the soil was added to their expected 

 action." 



If now we turn to Australian reports, we remark, as 

 Australian re- recognized years ago by Prof. Liversidge, of the 



ports prove a _^ . . 1^., ,.,..,.,- 



limited antimias- University of Sidney, that : " Malaria is far from rare 

 matic action in the vast forests of eucalypti of Australia." Al- 

 against powerful though without doubt these trees have always a bene- 

 causes of ma- g^jg^j action, this is not sufficient, as previously stated, 

 to overcome the powerful causes of unheallhiness that 

 are at work in many places. Referring to this point, Tomasi Crudeli* 

 justly remarks that : "If all malarial soils had the same chemical compo- 

 sition and were similar topographically (and we may add if they had the 

 same climate), then, perhaps, these trees could be expected to improve the 

 unhealthy soils, so as greatly to attenuate or even to eradicate the disease, 

 if at the same time all the diverse modes of improvement which have suc- 

 ceeded in rendering some of them healthy were applied ; at least, we could 

 only be justified under such circumstances in expecting a good result. 

 Unfortunately, malaria is bred in very dissimilar soils, and we even recog- 

 nize its presence on the granitic plateau of Castille. So that systems of 

 soil improvement applicable to some malarial regions are useless in others. 

 Until now we have proceeded empirically wherever we have introduced 

 eucalypti, and such will be the case until a long series of scientific obser- 

 vations and researches, combined with practical experiments, shall have 

 furnished exact information as to each distinct variety of soil which pro- 

 duces malarial poison." 



If such be really the fact, let us trust that the dawn is breaking, and 

 that each ray of light thrown on the subject even by such short papers as 

 this (be the ray never so weak) may, when collected into a beam, aid us 

 in seeing where the truth lies. 



Objections have been and are still urged against 



Ob.jections to e^^caiyptj, "vVe will only refer to them here, adding a 

 eucalypti as l>e- •' ^ •' 



ing ugly, as being word or two of refutation. This first objection is that 



d e fi c i e n t in they are ugly. This, however, is only relative, and 



shade, as twist- does not extend to all species, some being quite orna- 



ing their fibre to j^gQ^^l. The second is that their leaves hang vertically 



T'lic iciLj cIpS not _ ^ 



growing with and gi^e incomplete protection against sun or rain. 

 other trees and But such protection is preferable to none, surely. An- 

 as not being re- other is their strong tendency to twist to the left.f 

 muuera i\e. which greatly interferes with their being sawed into 



* Tomasi (Yudeli, " La malaria do Rome et I'ancicn drainage des collines Komaines." 

 Lecrosnier, 18M. 



tTliis levogyration, wliich constitutes the main objection to eucalypti, after the consid- 

 eration that thi'V are unromunerative, has never, as far as I^hdwu, been exphiined satis- 

 factorily. It is. 'however, niueh less manifested, as liere noted, in close and extensive 

 plantations, and there is a marked difference amons tlie sjieeies as to twisting. But why 

 is this twisting ever to the left, without regard to the direction of the wind? 



