San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-09-13
THE FEVER TREE.
Some Interesting Facts About Its wondsrfn'
Properties.
Correspondence Chicago Tribune.

| Il
Now that the dread scourge yellow
fever has again made its appearance
in our country and bids fair to be-
come an epidemic, / would like to call
attention to the eucalyptus, or, as 1t
is best know, "The fever tree" For
one l may say l believe strangely in
its virtues and its power to dry up
miasmas and drive away fever. In
proof of its usefulness l would ask
those interested to read the following
evidences and history of the eucalyp-
tus:
Among his other great enterprises
Garibaldi, the great italian hero, en-
gagged in planting the eucalyptus, or
blue-gum tree, about Rome to prevent
the malarial fever with which the inha-
bitants of that city were afflicted.
AS this tree is little known in our
country some accounts OF it may not
be uninteresting. =.
According to the best authorities it
is an Australian production, and was
first discovered by the French scien-
fist, La Nillardiadiere, who visited
Van Dieman's Land in 1892. 1t was
brought into the South of France
about the beginning of the present
century, and noble specimens of it are
now growing in the public gardens of
Nice, Cannes, Hyeres, and Alglers.
Its medicinal qualities did not, how
ever, become known until about thir-
ty years ago. The Spaniards first dis
covered that it was a preventive OF
fever, and the colonists of Tasmania
used it's leaves for a number Of pur-
poses. 1t was not until 1860 that it's
full power became known, and as a
hygienic measure it was introduced
into the Spanish realm as an antisep-
tic. The people of Valencia were
suffering from malaria fever, eucalyp-
tus trees were planted about the city,
and a marked improvement in the
healthfulness of the locality followed.
So popular did it become that the
trees bad to be guarded, the inhabit-
ants stealing the leaves every oppor-
tunity they had to make adecoction to
drink. The Spaniards named the
eucalyptus the fever tree, and soon
after it was introduced into Algeria.
1t next travelled to the Cape of Good
Hope, Corsica, Sicily, South America
and California.
Garibaldi's attempt to introduce it
into Rome was not entirely new; many
years ago a few dozen specimens were
planted about the walls, and although
nearly all the trees lived but few of
them are vigorous. After trial of
many years in Southern France it has
Jailed to become hardy, OF suck up
and destroy the poisonous vapors of
the swamps in which it was planted.
The Trappist monks of the IRE
Fontane set out large plantations OF
eucalyptus trees and have tended
them with the utmost care. This
may be fairly looked up as a decisive
experiment. The place known as
Ire Fontane lies some miles south of
Rome, and is the seat of a magnlti-
cent monastery. Its climate, once
healthy in consequence of the destruc-
ton of all the timber in the vicinity,
has become so deadly that notwith-
standing its splendid buildings, rich
mosaics, marbles, it's frescoes, the
place is wholly deserted during the
summer months. To live there in
July, June and August is said to be
almost certain death.
WHAT 1T HAS DONE.
The record of the eucalyptus tree
as an antiseptic and disinfectant is
excellent. The districts in which it
is indigenous are healthy, and those
into which it has been introduced
and thriven have become healthy. A
few miles from Algiers is a farm
which was once noted for its deadly
rivers. Life on it in the summer
months was almost impossible. In
the year 1867 the owners planted
300 Eucalyptus trees,and they grew
nine feet in thirteen months and not
a single case of fever appeared; nor
has there been any fever there since.
Nov, if the Eucalyptus Will make the
siclilv climate of the Fontane healthy,
it can safely be relied on as en- anti
septic and disinfectant, and l advise
those curious in such matters to watch
the success of the Trappist monks in
its cultivation.
Near Constantine, Algeria, there
were vast swamps, never dry even in
the hottest months, and prospective
of violent periodic fevers. About