Tree is Foe of Mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes had better give Pennsylvania a wide berth in the future, if Professor Henry G. Walters’ eucalyptus trees begin to flourish. Recently the professor planted 500 seeds of this tree, which is a native of Australia, at his plant-research institute at Langhorne, Bucks County, Pa. He says they keep away mosquitoes and miasma.
Professor Walters is not certain that he can induce the trees to stand the Pennsylvania climate, but he’s going to try. Unless they are treated chemically, they succumb usually to a temperature below twenty-seven degrees. When they grow properly they attain a height of 375 to 480 feet.
They have other values in addition to being mosquito exterminators. The oil has a fragrant perfume. From the eucalyptus rostrata, or red gum, Professor Walters says, a delicious beverage is obtained by steeping the blossoms in water.
The tree species planted at Langhorne recently are the amygdalina, or peppermint gum; the rostrata, or red gum, and globulus, or Tasmanian blue gum.