THE CAMPHOR-TREE OF SUMATRA. 35 
them of their leaves and bark, and cut away the outer wood to the 
marrow or heart, in which.are the apertures or fissures; they cut that 
wood into small pieces, and therein the camphor is found, beautifully 
brilliant. They have a method of scraping it from the wood with 
small instruments; and after purifying the scraped-off camphor (cam- 
phora abrasa) they seldom obtain more than from two to three pounds. 
Of that, one-twentieth is generally paid as a tribute; the rest remains 
in their possession. 
“ Camphor-oil, the peculiar juice of the tree, exudes from its fissures 
and cavities, and is carefully collected.’ The oil is so fine, that a paper 
penetrated by it and held near a flame, catches fire immediately and 
burns till all the oil is consumed.— Océ. 2, 1680.”* 
We must not omit to mention that ValentynT has given a £o 
of the leaves of a Camphor-tree of Baros, which agrees very well with 
the objects before us, so that we do not doubt that Arent Sylvius, from 
whose accounts this chapter is written by Valentyn, really knew the 
tree, and in what respects it differs from that of Japan. 
I would recommend further the notices given of this tree by 
Breynef Grimm,$ Rumphius,| Charles Miller,** Adolph Eschels- 
kroon, T] Radermacher,$i Houttuyn,§§ Geertner,]] Colebrooke,*** 
Roxburgh,t tt and William Jack.tii 
I wil here repeat the diagnostic description given of this tree 
* VALENTINI, India Literata, seu dissertationes epistolicæ de plantis, &e., p. A88, 
Francof. 1716, fol. 
+ Mica. Bern, VALENTINI Hist. Simpl. Reformata, lib. ii. sect. iv. p. 250. 
i Prodr. fasc. PL rar., 1680. 
§ Obs. de Arb. Camphoræ, in Miscell. Cur. sive Ephem. Nat. Curios. 1683, 
p. 371. tab. c. f. 33. 
|| Herb. Amb. Auct. cap. Ixxxii. p. 67. 1755. 
** Extracts from several Letters from Mr. Charles Miller, giving some account — ae 
of the interior parts of Sumatra.—Phil. Trans. vol. lxviii. p. 161, 170. 1778. * 
Tt Beschr. van Sumatra, insonderheid van desselfs Koophandel. Door Ad. Eschels- : 
kroon, p. 01-3. 1783. | 
fate Verhand, van het Bataviaasch Genootschap, vol.iii. p. 27. 1785. vii. Batavia * 
"e Verh. 2 Holl. Maatsch. van Wetensch., pl. viii. 1784. 
IH Suppl. Carpol. vol. iii. 49. 
*** Asiatic Researches, vol. xii. p. 537. 1818. 
ttt Flor. Ind. vol. ii. p. 6017. 1832. 
iii Hooker's Companion, vol. i. p.253. 1835. 
