Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1873-12-18
Good News for Fever and Ague Re-
gIOns-The Eucalyptus Tree, Il Tree
that Destroys Mainria.
from the London Telegraph

from the London telegraph
At the last meeting Of the French Academy
of Science very Interesting paper was read by
NJ. Gimbcrt.
its subject WAS thu alleged febrifugal proper
ties of the Australian tree, eucalyptus obuus,
which is said TO have the curious and valuable
power OF destroying the malarious element in
any atmosphere where 1t groWs Ihe species IN
question is one of that family indigenous to New
I:Stuth Wales, which the colonists call gum trees
They shoe; up very quickly. and to an enor-
nous height, some of them reaching l5O feet
with Il girth of frcm twenty to forty. The
sparse and strangely twisted foliage srows in Il
min crown ut tho top OF the pillsr-ike stem, but
the characteristic ot the whole genus is the rapid
h.b.t OF increase seen equally in Tho iron
,,ark," the blue gum" ar this particular spe
question absorbs an inDe. SO deal OF water from
the earth, and ut the same time emils an aromat-
ic odur, which has perhaps something to do with
the bene cial influence attributed to it. Where
tits Tricky planted in marshy tracts the su6sul
Is said 10 be drained in little while Us though
told, wherever The eucalyptus fl urishes. lthas
been tried for this purpose at the Cape and with
III two or three years has completely changed
the C imatic condition of the unhealthy parts OF
that colony. Somewhat later its plan ;ation WAS
undertaken on large scale in various parts OF
Algeria. At Il farm twenty miles from Alglers,
situated on the banks Of river, and noted for
its extremely pc.tent al air, alb VI IL, 600 euca
lypr were planted: In the same ytar, at the
time when the fe9e r season used to set in, not 4
sing case occurred, yet the trees were not more
than nine feet high. Since then complete I'M
| munity from fever has been maintained. In the
neighb1rhood Of Constantine, it is also Stated,
was another noted fever spot, covered with
II arsh- water both IN winter and summer. In
five years the whole ground Was dried up, By
II, 900 of these trees, and farmers and children
enjoy excellent health Through "ut Cut marsh
diseases are fast disappearing from all the I'M
healthy districts where this tree has been intro
duced A station house, again, at one end of a
railway viaduct in the De artment of the Var
WAS so pestlential that the officials could not be
kept there longer than year; forty of the trees
were planted, and it is now as healthy as any
other place on the line. Such are some Of the
facts brought forward by NJ. Gimbcrt. If they
are vol established it would be most desirable
to try whether the eucalyptus would thrive on
the west coast OF Africa and other malarieus dis
trcts Of the warmer attitudes. 1t is affirmed that
the sunfoWer poses Il similar capacity t" dry
up the subsoll and neutraliZe miasma Nor
should botansts neglect these suggestion. There
are more wonders yet in the vegetable world
than are dreamed of in their philosophy. How
passing strange for example, is that property of
the papaw tree to turn meat tender! a joint OF
mutton stepped in solution Of its juice becomes
instantly succulsnt, and the flesh Of animals fed
upon its leaves ''ulelts in the mouth upon
cooking.