June 1, 1901.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 
813 
paper-making. It doe3 not gi'Ow to the great height 
of some species, but covers large tracts of ground, the 
roots running horizonally over the surface. 
From the E. mannifera exudes in the dry season a 
saccharine, mucous substance, resembling manna 
in character and appearance. E gunnii furnishes a 
copious supply of cool refreshing, slightly aperient 
liquid, which ferments and acquires the properties of 
bser. The giant eucalyptus is sought for its beauti- 
fully veined wood, and is called mahogany of Australia. 
The E. resinifera has pendant branches resemblin? a 
willow. The bark is veiy thick, tind is taken off in 
sheets for the covering of the houses of the natives, 
and it yields also a kind of gum kino, sold in the 
rnedicine bazzars of India for its use in diarrhoea. 
From the last two mentioned an abundant juice flows 
of a red colour, containing much gum and tannin, 
and a single tree will often yield 60 gallons. All the 
above are valuable, but none to such an extent as the 
E. globulus. It has strong roots and smooth bark, 
and the bluish leaves give it the name of blue gum 
tree. Every part of it exhales a powerful, bala'^mio 
odour, and the leaves and seeds when crushed smell 
like tobacco. Bees are strongly attracted to this tree, 
and nests yielding abundant honey are often found 
in it. The wood is very hard and heavy, and greatly 
used for building and naval purposes. It is of a 
fine red colour, and very durable, and insects do not 
attack it. It is especially sought for in the construc- 
tion of railways. 
Many species of eucalyptus have the properties of 
cinchona in their leaves and bark, but none equal to 
the E. globulus, which has them more abuodantly 
than the Brazilian tree. Van Vauquelin obtained 
from it an essential oil containing eucalyptal cam- 
phor closely resembling the resin of cinchona. This 
extract yielded a substance capable of neutralising 
the strongest acids, and forming crystalline salts. 
The sulphate crystallises in star-shaped crystals, like 
sulphate of quinine or cinchona. The narrow leaves 
of the tree are principally used, dried and powdered, 
and strong tinctures are made from them. The bark 
also produces favourable results. So efficacious are 
preparations from this tree in marshand other feves 
that it is known as the " fever tree." The medicine 
has a warm, aromatic, bitter taste, and is invaluable 
in exciting the flow of saliva. It lowers arterial ten- 
sion, and is useful in hysteria, cerebral anosmia etc. 
When the leaves are smoked, they relieve asthma, 
bronchitis and whooping cough, and have also been 
employed instead of lint for wounds. "When properly 
administered, it will cure malarial fevers, where qui- 
nine utterly fails to do more than temporarily arrest 
them. The preparations from the eucalyptus have a 
great advantage over those of quinine. When excess 
sive or constant dose of the latter are taken, they 
will often establish some local disease. In some 
malarial districts quinine pills are taken, with every 
meal for weeks together ; the alimentary canal be- 
comes disordered in consequence, nausea and consti- 
pation ensue, and a febrile state is set up, with excite- 
ment of the whole vascular system. The cerebral 
and spinal organs become deranged, throbbing 
headaches and giddiness often occur, sight and hearing 
are weakened, and the spleen sensibly affected. In 
fact, unless administered by a skilful physician, qui- 
nine is a dangerous drug, and Mr. Pike has known 
many fatal cases from its mis-use. 
Now, the efiects of eucalyptus are almost the re- 
verse of those of quin ne ; it produces none of the 
ringing of the ears and troubles caused by quinine, 
and prevents all stomach complications. If fresh 
powder could be procured, it would be of incalculable 
benefit tn the victims of malaria. 
Up to 1870, one of the most fever-stricken countries 
of the world was the Jdaremma, the Eoman Cam- 
pagna, where the neglect of ages had allowed stag- 
nant marshes to form in what was once a well- 
populated healthy district, till it could only be in- 
habited during a small part of the year. At that 
time large plautationa of the eucalyptus were made, 
and the Trappists have now a large eatablishme 
there where they live all the year round, fever being 
almost eradicated. They use the wood for their 
buildings, and say it is the best and strongest they 
c in procure. In Nice, Mentone, Corsica, the South of 
France, Egypt, fc'ierra Leone, Natal. Tahiti etc., 
where they have been extensively planted, fevers 
are fast disappearing. Over a million trees have 
been planted in Algeria, and their sanitary influence 
has been most marked. Wherever they have been 
planted in compact masses, there intermittent fevers 
are greatly diminished. They have been very largely 
cultivated in some districts of India, and the inspector 
of forests writes that, irrespective of their salubrity, 
the wood is very valuable, and at ten years old a tree 
is worth .£20. In Calfornia the eucalyptus has been 
planted with the object of lessening droughts along 
the line of the Central Pacific railway. 
All these places were mors or less deadily from the 
miasma engendered by festering marshes and other 
ciuses. Now life is not only bearable, but enj oyable, 
from a very simple source — the taking adva ntage of 
one of nature's own cures. By planting these trees 
in numbers their roots have drained the soil, and the 
leaves give out the balsamic odours so healthful to 
breathe. 
The peculiar region of these trf^es is the temperate 
part of Australia and Van Diemen's Land. They 
thrive in a mean temperature of 59°, to 72", but will 
grow in ia^ to 50'"'. O; course, this prevents them 
becoming hardy denizens of northern ojimates. They 
will, however, suit admirably in the Southern States, 
especially in sandy soils near the sea. They grow 
easil/ from seed, and are of very rapid growth, and 
if the various kinds are planted out unsparingly, 
they may become large factors in the new industries 
that would spring from their cultivation, and vast 
waste marsh lands would be utilised as well as ren- 
dered salubrious for occupation. 
Though our northern climate forbids this culture 
out of doors there are plenty of ways and means by 
which the eucalyptus can be made available. The 
pecular conditions of temperature, etc., of hot-and 
green-houses render all who work in them very liable 
to malaria. To florists it would be an easy matter to 
grow a plant in every house, which could be checked 
back to keep it within bounds, and the sanitary 
state of their premises would soon change. It would 
be well to grow the seeds of the E. ylohulus largely 
for distribution. Every railway depot, hotel, or any 
other building where many people congregate could 
use this plant advantageously. Especially is it advi- 
sable, as persons are constantly coming and going 
who are filled with malarial and other germs from 
various infected localities. The powerful germ- 
destroying odonr of the plant would kill any flo.iting 
in the atmosphere and help the sufferers too. — Imperial 
Institute Journal. 
THE CAMPHOR INDUSTRY. 
Considerable interest has been shown during the 
last few years in the production of camphor and 
camphor-oil, partly owing to the iucreased demand 
for these products in the arts, and partly as the 
result of the restricted output of the substauces, 
whichjwaa the immediate consequence of the cession of 
Formosa, vi^ith its'extensive camphor forests, to Japan. 
Although cw.mphor i-i still produced in China and 
Japan, and the cultivation of the camphor tree has 
been commenced ia Florida, yet practically the 
world's supply of this commodity is derived from 
Formosa. In this island the distillation of camphor 
has been carried on from the earliest times by the 
natives, but in the 18th century the Chinese Govern- 
ment establisheiT a monopoly, any infringement of 
which was visited upon the offenders with savage 
penalties. In 1720, over 200 people were executed 
in the island for such offences, and so badly were 
the aborigines treated that they rebelled, and finally 
the right of production was declared free, the Govera- 
