EUCALYPTUS 



20SS 



EUCHRE 



and its conquest in 1470 by the Turks, in whose 

 possession it remained until the Greek revolu- 

 tion. In 1830 it was made a department of 

 the new Greek kingdom. It was an ancient 

 intellectual center, and for a long time was 

 the home of Aristotle. 



EUCALYPTUS, ukalip'tus, a tree of great 

 commercial and ornamental value. It is a 

 native of Australia and other warm climates, 

 but as it grows rapidly and can be put to many 

 uses, one variety, the blue gum, has been culti- 



THE EUCALYPTUS 



Branch, with leaves, flower and fruit. The pic- 

 ture at the right shows the usual appearance of 

 the tree. 



vated in California, Arizona and Florida. Four 

 to six years after planting it can be cut for 

 fuel; after twenty to thirty years it is fit for 

 saw timber. It has been found that eucalyptus 

 will thrive well where the temperature does 

 not fall below 22 F. for long periods. The 

 trees are remarkable for their gigantic size, 

 some reaching the height of 450 or 500 feet, 

 or nearly the height of the Washington Monu- 

 ment. The leaves are long, narrow, leathery 

 and unsymmetrical, so placed on the stem as 

 to present an edge towards the sun as protec- 

 tion against the heat. The flowers are white, 

 bell-shaped and filled with nectar. 



Uses. Eucalyptus trees absorb a great deal 

 of moisture and have been found valuable for 

 planting in malarial districts; they therefore 

 prevent to some extent the development of 

 mosquitoes. As lumber for shipbuilding, rail- 

 road ties, paving blocks and for telegraph poles 

 and piers, the eucalyptus is unexcelled. Due 

 to the large amount of astringent resin in 

 eucalyptus wood, it resists attacks of shipworm 

 and other borers, and so is especially adapted 

 for use under water. In California it has 

 brought as high as $100 to $125 per thousand 



feet. As fuel it brings from $3 to $5 a cord 

 on the stump. The bark of some species fur- 

 nishes tannin; that of the "stringy bark euca- 

 lyptus" produces fibers for cordage, paper and 

 building-thatch. 



Eucalyptus leaves are valued for the oil they 

 contain, which has a camphorlike odor and is 

 used as an antiseptic and a stimulant, for dress- 

 ing wounds and for diseases of the lungs and 

 throat. At the University of Melbourne, Aus- 

 tralia, Dr. Richard Bull discovered that euca- 

 lyptus oil is a positive destroyer of the germ 

 of cerebrospinal meningitis, a disease long 

 thought incurable (see MENINGITIS). M.S. 



Consult Arizona Experiment Station Bulletin 

 60; California Experiment Station Bulletin H>6 ; 

 United States Department of Agriculture Bulle- 

 tins 35 and 87. The former may be secured by 

 addressing the Stations in the states named ; the 

 latter may be secured from the Forest Service 

 Bureau of the Department of Agriculture, Wash- 

 ington. 



EUCHRE, u'kcr, a card game probably of 

 German origin, played by two or more per- 

 sons, with a pack of ordinary playing cards, 

 with or without the joker. All cards between 

 the aces and sevens are taken out, and some- 

 times the sevens and eights are also discarded. 

 The players cut for deal, and the one deals 

 who draws the lowest card. If four are playing 

 the two opposite players become partners. The 

 dealer gives five cards to each player, at first 

 three and then two. He turns up the top 

 card of those remaining as trump card. If 

 a jack turns up it counts one to the dealer. 



The knave of the suit turned up is called 

 the right bower, and becomes the highest in the 

 pack except the joker. The next highest card 

 is the other knave of the same color, called 

 the left bower. Other cards count in the usual 

 order, aces being higher than kings. The player 

 next the dealer has the option of ordering the 

 dealer to discard one card and take up the 

 trump card or of passing. If he orders up he 

 must take three tricks or be euchred and give 

 two points to his opponents. If all pass, the 

 dealer either accepts the trump or turns it 

 down; in the latter case the next player has 

 the option of declaring trumps from some other 

 suit in his hand. If a player has a strong hand 

 he may play alone, without any assistance from 

 his partner, who discards his hand. If the 

 lone player scores all five tricks (a march), 

 he counts four; for three tricks he counts two; 

 if he wins less than three he is euchred. If 

 the maker of the trump does not choose to play 

 alone the count is two for five tricks taken, 





