Robert Bentley

“ Seed for this purpose could be readily obtained from Australia; indeed the exportation of Eucalyptus seeds is already carried on to a large extent from this country. At present but little seed could probably be obtained from trees acclimatized in other parts of the world, although in a few years it will become very plentiful, as the tree begins to yield seed plentifully when about seven years old. ”

“ What properties the plant possesses would appear, therefore, so far as known at present, to be due essentially to the presence of eucalyptol, already noticed as the principal constituent of Eucalyptus oil.
From the testimony of numerous medical practitioners in various parts of the world where the plant has been introduced, and from its popular reputation in fevers in Australia and other countries, we can scarcely doubt that it does possess anti-periodic properties, although these are far less important than those of Cinchona-bark. ”

“ The discovery of the influence of Eucalyptus trees in destroying or improving the pestilential nature of the climate of marshy districts would appear, according to M. Naudin ('Revue Horticole,' 1861, p. 205) , to be due to Sir W. Macarthur, of Camden, Sydney, Australia, who, for this purpose, offered, about the year 1860, to forward seeds of the plant for distribution among the colonists of Algeria and other marshy districts of the world. ”

“ A tree of such beauty and utility, independently of its other important properties and uses to be presently noticed, has naturally excited much interest; and various attempts have been made to introduce it in different parts of the globe thought to be suitable for its growth and development. ”

“ Growth and Acclimatization.—This tree is so rapid in its growth "that any man in twenty years' time could find himself, if he chose, surrounded by a forest of his own planting." It has been further stated recently that in a grove planted only sixteen years, the trees averaged 72 feet in height and 6 feet in girth. M. Raveret-Wattel says that a Eucalyptus tree of "ten years old ordinarily presents the development of a well-grown oak of a century ”

“ The soil most adapted to the raising of these plants is a mixture, of equal parts, of vegetable mould, ordinary soil, rotten manure, and sand. When they are about 3 feet high they are best planted in the ground. ”

“ The gas thus obtained is stated to produce a very brilliant flame; and as much as 10,000 cubic feet have been obtained from one ton of leaves. But the expense of collecting these leaves in a country where labour is so costly appears to have proved a barrier to its employment except under exceptional circumstances.
We have now, in conclusion, to allude very briefly to the medicinal properties of the Eucalyptus globulus. As already noticed, the febrifugal properties of the bark and leaves of this plant have been testified to by many practitioners—as M. Pepin, Dr. ”

“ When they begin to grow fast, drive in three stakes across each other near the bottom of the stem, in the form of a triangle, placing some hay round the stem, and a piece of wire to secure the stakes round the tree ”