83 



Possibly the Government could take steps through the Surveyor- 

 General to prevent the forests from being ruthlessly destroyed. 



The export of ginger is on the whole on the increase as seen from the 

 following table, but if this is accompanied by the gradual destruction of 

 woods and forests it is not a subject for congratulation. 



Yr. 



Cwt. 



Yalue. 



1887 



9,927 



£17,789 



1888 



10.222 



19,463 



1889 



8,952 



18,615 



1890 (J yr. 



4,948 



11,133 



1891 



10,885 



24,493 



1892 



16,272 



40,681 



1893 



13,632 



27,264 



1894 



14,932 



44,796 



W, Fawcett. 



THE INFLUENCE OF EUCALYPTUS PL ANT A- 

 TIONS ON MALARIAL DISTRICTS. 



From " Paltjdism" by Prof. Dr. A. Laverax. 



Paludism has disappeared almost completely from a great number of 

 localities formerly very unhealthy. Examples of this happy transfor- 

 mation abound, not onty in Europe, but also in countries where endemic 

 paludism is very severe — for example, in Algeria. 



Among the most efficacious measures of salubrity may be quoted the 

 drying of the morass, drainage, and cultivation of the soil. 



The drying the soil by draining it, by mechanical methods, or by 

 cultivation obviously modifies the media in which the parasites of palu- 

 dism are developed, and the soil is rendered less susceptible to the mul- 

 tiplication of these agencies. 



The drying of a marsh ought only to be made with method and with 

 great precautions, above all in a hot country, the season in which the palus- 

 tral epidemic does not prevail, or exists only with least intensity, should 

 be chosen and care should be taken not to uncover a great surface of the 

 marsh during the hot season, the marsh is, indeed, much more dangerous 

 when it begins to dry than when it is covered with water. The example 

 of Lancisi, causing the ditches of Fort Saint Ange to be filled to assuage 

 the ravages of paludism is well known, in Holland the same means have 

 been employed more than once with success. 



During the drying of the marsh the workmen should not pass the 

 night in its midst, and they should be submitted to the preventative 

 treatment with quinine during the fever season. 



Regular cultivation at all times makes the soil healthy, but certain 

 trees and shrubs are particularly good for this purpose. 



The plantations of eucalyptus which have been made during the last 

 twenty years in a great number of palustral countries have already ren- 

 dered great service, notably in Corsica, in Algeria, and in Italy. 



From 1861, Ram el has considered eucalyptus to be capable of com- 

 bating paludism, the credit belongs to him of having imported the 

 Eucalyptus Globulus into our country. 



Toreili has mentioned the following fact, which is a good example of 

 the great influence exercised by plantations of eucalyptus : — Near Rome 



