USES OF EUCALYPTS. 41 



be a more popular one but for the fact that so much of the oil for sale 

 on the market is of such an uncertain nature. The safest way is to 

 purchase none in bulk, but buy it in bottles put up by a reliable per- 

 son or firm. It costs more in this form, but is far safer to use as a 

 remedy. 



The leaves of the Blue Gum and of a few other species, on account 

 of the oil the}^ contain, are employed as household remedies in local- 

 ities where the trees grow. Among- the natives of Australia they are 

 said to be in common use for dressing wounds and for other pur])oses. 

 In California, teas and poultices are made from the Blue Gum leaves 

 for treating colds, wounds, and ulcers. The leaves are also steamed 

 for the treatment of colds, catarrh, croup, bronchitis, and other affec- 

 tions of the respiratory system. Some go so far as to use regularly 

 tea made from the leaves of Blue Gum, and, as they assert, with bene- 

 ficial results. 



AS A SOURCE OF HONEY. 



The Eucalypts generally bloom so f reelv and so early in their devel- 

 opment that as a group they are an important source of nectar for bees. 

 The fact that some species can be found in bloom any day of the year, 

 often during droughts when other blossoms are scarce, in many cases 

 in great profusion, makes them especially valuable as a constant source 

 of bee food. Mr. Kinney, who has made extended observations on 

 the blooming of the Eucah^pts. writes in his "Eucalyptus:" 



Taking the sixty species and marked varieties of this genus in southern Cahfornia, 

 I have never seen a day that flowers could not be found on some of them. * * * 

 When we consider the free production of nectar by the Eucalyptus at seasons when 

 there is little or no other resource for bees, and also the claimed medicinal value of 

 honey from Eucalyptus flowers for relieving irritation from the mucous membrane, 

 and as a nerve sedative, the presumption is strongly in its favor. Bee men will 

 doubtless tind it to their interest to study the species, and plant iu waste jjlaces such 

 sorts as will furnish the best kinds of nectar during the most difficult season for the 

 l)ees. * * * I. believe that by some study of this subject species of Eucalyptus 

 with plenty of nectar could be so selected as to give a constant crop of flowers or 

 flowers at such times as these are absent in other plants. 



Naudin, in his "Description and Use of Eucalyptus," s'dja of their 

 value as a source of honey: 



Another use of the Eucalyptus * * * is supplying the bees with abundant pro- 

 visions for food by their flowers, from which they withdraw a perfumed honey, 

 endowed perhaps with peculiar hygienic properties. 



Whether or not the Eucalypts give a peculiar medicinal qualit}' to 

 the hone}' ma}' be a question, but it is certain that the}' are a valuable 

 pasture for the bees. 



Since Mr. Kinney wrote the above, beekeepers have become more 

 interested in the Eucalypts as a source of nectar. William Shutt, 

 foreman of the Santa Monica Forestry Station, informs the writer that 



