EUCALYPTUS. 253 



Squire* remarks that an oil frequently comes on the market as 

 that of E. amygdalina, which contains no phellandrene and which 

 twists a ray of polarised light to the right instead of to the left. 

 Other obseryers, on examining samples of oil of E. amygdalina 

 receiyed direct from Australia haye found the content of 

 phellandrene to be yery small and the optical power feebly dextro- 

 rotatory. 



Eespecting the samples of Australian distilled oils arriying in 

 Europe, Messrs. Schimmel express the opinion^ that " the yarious 

 kinds of eucalyptus leayes are no longer carefully kept separate 

 during distillation, and that, therefore, the designation of the oil 

 does not always entirely correspond with its origin." On such a 

 supposition, it is not surprising that the physical properties of 

 different parcels of oil labelled with the same name, should, on 

 examination, give yery different results, the recorded data of such 

 being yery misleading. 



E. rostrata, Schlechtendal, or " Ked gum," possesses yery 

 similar qualities to E. glohulus, and in some respects superior ones. 

 It is a tall, handsome tree found on the banks of riyers and in yery 

 moist localities, where it sometimes attains gigantic proportions. 

 It is found in nearly all parts of Australia, but does not occur in 

 Tasmania. In mountainous districts it is rare, and its presence on 

 arid plains is a certain indication of small water-courses haying at 

 some preyious period existed there. It furnishes a yery hard 

 wood of a beautiful red colour, much esteemed by cabinet makers, 

 who especially make use of the excrescences of the trunk and 

 roots, the wood of which is yery elegantly yeined. 



As a wood capable of resisting the action of water or of a damp 

 atmosphere, it is unrivalled. It possesses the same anti-malarial 

 properties as a " land drainer " as the E. globulus, possibly to even 

 a greater degree, and will thrive in many localities where 

 E. glohidus will not, as has been proved in Cochin-China. This 

 tree has been introduced into Algeria (where it resists the heat 

 better than E. glo'bidus),^ and the essential oil of its leaves 



* Chemist and Dru^jgist, Sept., 1890. 



t Bericht, Oct., 1890. 



X It is estimated that at the end of 1888 there Avere 3,000,000 eucalypts of 

 various species planted in Algeria, and sufficiently grown to l»e in bearing 

 condition. 



