BLUE-GUM A NATURAL DISINFECTANT.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1544, 19 August 1886, Page 3

BLUE-GUM A NATURAL DISINFECTANT.

Perhaps of all vegetable products introduced into the Pharmacopeia of late years, few can bo»s|i p,f the increasing and {;ho well-deserved popularity of the well-known blue-gum or eucalyptus globulus. Before proceeding it may be interesting to state the origin of the word “ eucalyptus.” It no doubt arises fron tfte well: (parked ponnecjiioh qf the ca!ys with i£s lid or calypt™»’ ! which is forced off by the pistils and stamens whilst blooming. Kerdinand TVliiller, the botanist, in dealing with the tremendous size attained by this genus, speaks of having found trees of the species of the E. amygdalina lyin? on the ground measuring 4SO feet, rivalling, if not surpassing, the latitude of the mightf Wellihgtonia (sequoia) gigantea.

The general climatic influence of trees is well known, but it is owing to the presence of an oil, which is largely distilled from both of the species already mentioned, together with the great avidity they have for water when growing, that the anti-malarial influence of these trees is due. The oil is a powerful anti-septic, and has an ozonising influence on the atmosphere while it oxidises. As an outcome of the researches which made the above facts common property, we hear of large tracts of country in the campngna round the City of Rome being planted with the “Eucalyptus araygdalina ” or “ white-gum.” The result of this experiment is already marked by the decrease of malarial fevers, ague, etc., etc., hitherto so common in the district.

Naturally, owing to its affinity for moisture, this valuable tree endangers the wellbeing of trees in its immediate neighborhood, which, coupled with the great spreading tendency of its roots, make it rather a “ b6te-noir ” of gardeners, but the advantages should weigh down the objection, and no low-lying p*fc perty should be without its clump of blue-gums. Admiatered in various forms as a medicine, the advantages, more partlculary (be eucalypti globulus, are manifold. The powdered leaf has been administered on the Continent of Europe with success in cases of bronchitis and ague, as well as malarial fevers. In the form of cigarettes, the leaf is useful in cases of oordiac or aneurisina! asthma. A steam from an infusion of the leaves has a marked effect on throat diseases ; in fact, it is invaluable, and as a spray the British Medical Journal recommends it in preference to carbolic acid. The oil itself is a powerful disinfectant, being more than three tmes as strong aa carbolic acid in preventing the development of bacteria and not so poisonous. The above remarks should prove interesting to those who are not already conversant with the numerous virtues of this well-known tree. —Hastings Star.