147 
It seems strange that the American Consul at Rome, should 
take an altogether different view of the subject. In his Consular 
Report for 1894, he says : “ In Italy, although the newspapers had 
persuaded everyone that the farm of the Tres Fontane, near Rome, 
had become healthful by means of the Eucalypti, it proved a disagree- 
able surprise to learn of a sudden outbreak of malaria in 1882 that 
caused much sickness among the farm hands, while the rest of the 
Campagna remained .perfectly healthy .... Dr. Montechiare, a 
practising physician of Rome, who for many years was physician to 
the penal colony at Tres Fontane, tells me that his experience 
justifies him in declaring that no beneficial results against malaria 
has been derived from the planting of the Eucalypts.” 
Mr. A. J. McClatchie, M.A., in a Bulletin published by the 
Bureau of Forestry of the United States Department of Agriculture 
gives a few reasons why such a property has been attributed to the 
Eucalypts and though it does not decide the question one way or the 
other it may be worth while to repeat them here. “ It is probable that 
a great part of the change in the sanitary condition of those places, 
said to have been benefited by Eucalypts, has been due to other 
causes, such as the making of drainage ditches, etc., and this will 
partially account for the conflicting opinions on the subject. When, 
however, the nature and habit of the trees are considered, it is entire- 
ly reasonable to believe that, to a certain extent, they beneficially 
affect the atmosphere in the region of their growth. The grounds for 
this belief are : First, their great capacity for absorbing moisture from 
the soil, and thus reducing the quantity of stagnant water in the 
ground at their roots ; second, their corresponding power of giving 
off fresh from their foliage, the water thus t^ken up by their roots; 
third, exhalation from their leaves and other parts, of volatile oils, 
which affect the climate not only directly but by changing the oxygen 
of the atmosphere to ozone; fourth, the purification of germ-infested 
matter by the foliage dropped upon the ground or in pools of 
standing water. From the combined action of these four characteris- 
tics it seems reasonable to believe that the trees would be beneficial 
to many climates.” 
Mr. Ridley did not believe for an instant that, in so far as the 
Straits and Federated Malay States were concerned, the Eucalypts 
would influence climatic conditions in any way whatever. We may 
take it, however, that, unless the Eucalypts thrive exceedingly well 
and are planted in the form of large forests, no benefits can possibly 
be derived therefrom. It is not to be expected that a few Eucalyptus 
trees planted in a swamp, would change the whole climatic condi- 
tions of that swamp just as a few nodules on a leguminous plant 
cannot be expected to have the effect of enriching a large area in 
nitrogen, to any appreciable extent. 
Eucalypts in the Botanic Gardens. 
The earliest record of the introduction of Eucalypts to the 
Botanic Gardens, Singapore was on January 4th, 1876, or practically 
