54 GARFIELD PARK CONSERVATORY 
jellies, preserves, and the like. The large seeds give an agreeable 
flavor to tarts. The fruit is often sold in northern markets. The 
largest loquat tree in this collection is kept outside during the summer 
and in the Bay House during the winter. 
Erythroxylon Coca, a native of New Grenada and Bolivia, belongs to 
the Erythroxylaceae, a family with no local representatives. Cocaine 
is derived from the leaves of this plant. Between 30 and 40 million 
pounds of leaves are harvested in South America alone each year. 
It is grown on a commercial scale in Java and Ceylon, as well as in 
South America. The leaves are gathered when fully grown, dried in 
the sun, and then either kept for home consumption or else shipped to 
markets where the cocaine is extracted from them. The natives 
chew the leaves with a bit of unslaked lime. The effect is highly 
stimulating, and enables the natives to perform feats of great en- 
durance with little food. The leaves are mixed with the forage of mules 
when long trips are to be undertaken. The Indians are supposed to 
have been familiar with the anaesthetic properties of coca leaves dur- 
ing the earliest times, and it is supposed that patients chewed the 
leaves before undergoing trepanning and other surgical operations. 
The cocaine extracted from the leaves is held to be second only to 
opium and its derivatives as a maker of drug addicts. 
Eucalyptus. The Eucalyptus or gum trees are natives of Australia 
and the Malayan region, and belong to the Myrtaceae, a family with 
no local representatives. The trees reach immense size—one giant 
tree in Australia being the world’s tallest tree. The eucalyptus is 
grown for ornament as well as for its economic value. Oils used in 
perfumery and in medicine are produced from its leaves. Many 
species yield a valuable gum. The wood is hard and durable and is 
replacing oak and hickory for many purposes. It takes a good polish 
and furniture made from the species known as blue-gum cannot be 
told from mahogany by its appearance, provided it is well stained. 
Eucalyptus has become a most popular tree in California and our 
southwestern states. Eucalyptus leaves have the ability to transpire 
tremendous quantities of moisture, hence the trees are much used to 
reclaim swampy land when there is no other means of drainage. They 
have rendered permanently habitable the formerly miasmatic Pontine 
Marshes near Rome, and wide miasmatic tracts in Algeria, India, and 
other sections of the world. This collection includes specimens rep- 
resenting 11 species. 
Eugenia. The eugenias belong to the Myrtaceae, the family to which 
the eucalyptus belongs. The best known member of the genus is: 
Eugenia caryophyllata, whose unopened flower buds, when dried, 
form the cloves of commerce. This collection includes six species, of 
which the following are perhaps the most interesting: 
Eugenia jambolana (Syzygium jambolana), or JAMBOLAN PLUM, a 
native of the East Indies. It bears an edible fruit about the size of a 
plum. Its wood is hard and durable. Its bark is used in tanning. 
Eugenia Jambos, or RosE Apple, is a related species from the East 
Indies, known for its beauty of flower, fruit, and foliage. The fruit, 
