Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 7.djvu/361

Rh foliage. "Fever-tree" is the name given at Valencia, Spain, to the eucalyptus-trees planted there in 1860. The title is due to the fever-dispelling properties which the Eucalyptus possesses. In point of fact, those regions where this beautiful tree is indigenous, and where it grows into forests, enjoy a very healthy climate. But, further, we have evidence that the planting of the Eucalyptus in marshy localities counteracts paludal fever. This has been shown by experience at the Cape, in the provinces of Cadiz, Seville, Cordova, Valencia, and Barcelona; in Corsica, and in Algeria. At Pardock, distant a few miles from the city of Algiers, there was a farm on the banks of the Hamyse which was noted for its fevers, so that people died there "like flies," so deadly was the atmosphere. In the spring of the year 1867, 1,300 eucalyptus-trees were planted there, and even in July of the same year—the month in which the fever is wont to be most virulent—there was not a single case of disease, although the trees were then only nine feet in height; and the place has been free from fever ever since. In the vicinity of Constantine, the farm Ben Machydlin was in the like bad repute; all around it were swamps that never were dry, not even in the hottest summers. Still, in five years this great morass was completely dried by the planting of 14,000 eucalyptus-trees, and the health of the inhabitants has ever since been excellent. So Gue, near Constantine, once a place infested by fever, is now salubrious and free from fever, having been surrounded with a plantation of Eucalypti. The Abbe Felix Charmetan states that, at Maison Carree, near Harrasch, the eucalyptus-plantations have rendered the use of quinine unnecessary. Finally, the same is said in regard to Cuba and Mexico. In the department of Var, Southern France, there is a railway-station situate in a very insalubrious locality. The place has become perfectly healthy since forty eucalyptus-trees were planted there.

These facts justify the hope that the Eucalyptus will yet free the Roman Campagna of its fever, and Garibaldi, who is now agitating the question of restoring to cultivation that wilderness, would perhaps do well to visit the Trappists of Tre Fontane, and acquaint them with his intentions.

The Eucalyptus has, in sundry instances, proved to be advantageous as a remedy for periodic fevers, and it furthermore possesses disinfecting as well as antiseptic properties. Distillation of the leaves and other parts of the tree produces an essential oil, the physiological effects of which upon both the sick and the well have been carefully studied by Dr. Gimbert.

The hardiness of the Eucalyptus globulus is still in dispute. It is asserted that the tree cannot endure the severity of our northern winters, and that it can hardly thrive save in a climate like that of its native habitat—Australia and Tasmania. In support of this view we