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A SUSCEPTIBLE TREE. 



In planting out care should be taken to see the holes are large 

 and deep, and the soil well loosened at the bottom, and surface 

 soil should be used for filling them up. From the present growth 

 on various estates it is evident that the tree is very susceptible to 

 its surroundings, as it is rare to see 3 or 4 trees planted together 

 of uniform appearance. This may, of course, be due to differences 

 in the vigour of the seedlings, but it is more probably owing to 

 physical variations of the soil in which it is planted. The differ- 

 ence in growth and vigour is sometimes so great that a small area 

 of the primings obtained from the same aged trees have varied 

 from over 1 00 lbs. to about 8 lbs. per tree, the latter amount being 

 quite unprofitable. The importance of a careful selection of soil 

 and situation is, therefore, most apparent. As regards the latter, 

 the trees will not stand exposure to rough winds, so that more or 

 less protection during the S.W. monsoon is essential for luxuriant 

 growth. Probably 8 by 8 feet would be the best distance for plant- 

 ing, and the trees are to be kept in the form of bushes, and this 

 distance would give about 680 bushes per acre. 



They can be planted amongst tea with little risk of harming 

 the latter in the factory, as an experiment has shown that a high 

 proportion of camphor leaf, mixed with the tea leaf, was not de- 

 tected in the finished article, the quantity added being far more 

 than could possibly occur accidentally. 



In poor tea-soil the growth is very slow, and much better results 

 will be obtained by planting in virgin soil ; the amount of such 

 soil available is, however, limited, which from one point of view 

 may be considered a decided advantage, as the supply of cam- 

 phor can easily be overdone, unless new uses for it are discovered. 



As stated before, camphor has been tried at all elevations, and 

 on all kinds of soil with very variable results. Although the finest 

 tree was grown at Veyangoda, it was generally at high elevations 

 (above 4,000 feet) that the best results were obtained. At Pera- 

 deniya, 1,600 feet, the growth was only medium, and the trees 

 never had a very healthy or vigorous appearance, while the per- 

 centage of camphor was also somewhat lower. These trees have 

 recently been cut down, and are to be manured experimentally to 

 determine the effect on the growth and camphor contents. 



Some patna soils, notably those in Nuwara Eliya, have suited 

 the tree admirably, but on others, poorer in organic matter, the 

 growth is wretched even after five years and could only result in 

 loss if planted on a large scale. 



Under suitable conditions of soil, climate and exposure the 

 growth should be sufficiently good to yield one or two primings 

 in the third year, the best method being to clip the bushes all 

 over evenly with ordinary shears, taking shoots of 6 inches to 10 

 inches in length. These should be collected without loss of leaf, 

 tied in bundles and taken directly to the still. 



DISTILLATION. 



The still required for the purpose is of the simplest description, 



