MYRTACEA. 555 
Other plants of the order are astringent, and a few secrete a 
saccharine matter. The fruits of some having a sweetish acidu- 
lous taste are edible. Many are valuable timber trees. 
Eucalyptus.—E. resinifera, the Iron Bark-tree, a native of Australia 
and Van Diemen’s Land, yields an astringent, very resinous substance, 
called Australian or Botany Bay Kino. E. rostrata, FE. cormybosa, and 
other species, also yield an astringent substance resembling i In appearance 
and properties the official kino. It is known as Red Gum or Eucalyptus 
Gum. It is soluble in water, but the so-called Australian Kino is but little 
soluble in that liquid. The leaves of KE. mannifera, E. viminalis, and 
probably other species natives of Australia, spontaneously exude a saccharine 
substance resembling manna, which is therefore commonly termed Austra- 
lian Manna. As this exudes ,it hardens, and drops from the leaves on to 
the ground in pieces, which are sometimes as large as an almond. The 
products of the HLwculypti being frequently of a gummy nature, they are 
called Gum-trees in Australia,—E. Globulus.—Various preparations of the 
leaves and bark of this tree have been lately introduced, and recommended 
as valuable remedies in intermittent fevers, and so many medical prac- 
titioners have borne testimony to their value in such cases, that, allowing 
for exaggeration, their use must be, to some extent at least, beneficial ; but 
their antiperiodic properties are very inferior to those of the cinchona barks, 
none of the alkaloids of which, as proved by Broughton, they contain. The 
leaves and bark have also been recommended as useful in many other ways. 
Thus the leaves of this species, as well as those of LE. amygdalinus, and 
others, vield by distillation a volatile oil, those of EF. amygdatinus yielding 
more oil than any other species. Oil of ‘Eucalyptus is ofticial in the British 
Pharmacopeeia ; it is a powerful antiseptic, and likewise rubefacient. It is 
also used in perfumery, &c. The timber of EF. Globulus, and many other 
species, is very valuable owing to its solidity, hardness, durability, &e., and 
also from the great length of the planks that may be obtained from it. The 
bark of it, and other species, is also useful for tanning and dyeing ; and 
the ashes of the wood are also remarkable for the large proportion of potash 
they contain. But important as are the products obtainable from EL, Globu- 
lus, it has been brought more especially into notice on account of the 
influence that plantations of this very rapid-growing tree exert in improving 
miasmatic climates by destroying the paludal miasm which causes fever in 
malarious districts, and by draining the ground, from which circumstance 
it has been called the fever- destroyi ing tree. The bark of certain species 
separates in fibrous layers, which has occasioned them to be called Stringy- 
bark trees or String y-bark Gum-trees. These trees are sometimes of a 
prodigious height—350 feet or sometimes even 450 feet, and 100 feet in 
circumference. the trunks being destitute of branches to a height of from 
100 to 200 feet.— L. coccifera appears to be the mcst hardy species s for growth 
in this country. It grows well in Earl Annesley’s garden, County Down, 
Ireland. The bark of EF. obliqua and several other species is said by Baron 
Mueller to be useful for making good packing and printing paper. Good 
writing paper may also be made from the bark of LE. obliqua. 
Eugenia.— Eugenia caryophyllata ( Caryophyllus aromaticus) is the Clove- 
tree.—The dried tlower-buds constitute the cloves of commerce, which are so 
well known as a spice, and in medicine, for their aromatic, stimulant, and 
carminative properties. These properties are essentially due to the presence 
of a volatile oil. Both Cloves and the Volatile Oil of Cloves are official in 
the British Pharmacopeeia, The dried unripe fruits are called mother cloves ; 
they are used in China and other countries as a spice, and are occasionally 
imported into this country ; but they are very interior to the official cloves. 
The dried flower-stalks are also sometimes used as a spice instead of Cloves. 
They are commonly known as Clove Stalks, and by the French as Griffes 
