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present circular is issued to lay before the planting public the 

 chief facts connected with this industry, and to describe the 

 methods of cultivation and preparation which have been found 

 best suited to Ceylon in the experiments so far tried with this tree. 



The total export of camphor to Europe and America is perhaps 

 about 60,000 piculs annually, or 8,000,000 lb. The market value 

 of crude camphor in Europe is at present about 155 shillings per 

 cwt., or about is. 4id. per lb. Camphor was formerly used 

 chiefly as a drug and for the prevention of insect ravages in 

 clothing, &c., but of late years, in addition to these uses, it has 

 been largely employed in the manufacture of smokeless 

 powders and of celluloid. The tree also produces an oil — cam- 

 phor oil, — obtained with the camphor in the preparation of the 

 latter, and which is used in the manufacture of soaps and for 

 other purposes. 



Botany. 



Common, Formosa, Chinese, or Japanese camphor is the product 

 of Cinnamomum Camplwra, Nees, a tree occurring native along the 

 eastern side of Asia, from Cochin-China to Shanghai, and in the 

 islands from Hainan to South Japan ; its limits of latitudinal 

 range are from 10° to 34° N., but it is cultivated in Japan to 

 36° N. In the southern parts of its range it occurs chiefly in the 

 hills. 



Two other forms of camphor are frequently met with, though 

 rarely exported to Europe. Barus, Bhimsaini, Borneo or Malay 

 camphor is the product of Dryobalaiwps Ciimphora, Colebr., a large 

 tree of the family Dipterocarpaces, occurring in the Islands of 

 Sumatra, Borneo, &c. This camphor is slightly heavier than 

 common camphor, and is highly prized by the natives of India 

 and China, who purchase the entire very small produce at fancy 

 prices, from 100 to 200 shillings per pound. A third form, Ngai, or 

 Blumea camphor, is prepared in S.E. China from Bliimea balsami- 

 fera, one of the family Compositae. In Ceylon the natives prepare 

 a small quantity of camphor from the roots of cinnamon, Ciniia- 

 momum zeylanicum, a plant nearly related to the true camphor. 

 In the remainder of this paper only the common camphor, 

 Cinnamomum Camphora, will be deal with. 



In its native country the plant grows into a tree about 1 00 feet 

 high with a trunk 2 to 3 feet in diameter. It is evergreen, with 

 moderate sized laurel-like leaves, which when crushed smell 

 strongly of camphor. It may be well to mention in this con- 

 nection that the tree is very handsome when young and forms one 

 of the best ornamental trees for roadsides, parks compounds, 

 &c., in Ceylon. 



The native habitat of the species is not widely extended, but it 

 has been successfully cultivated in Ceylon, India, Australia, 

 Florida, California, and elsewhere. It was introduced into Ceylon 

 by the Royal Botanic Gardens in 1852. In 1895 plants were 

 largely distributed fi-om Hakgala to many planters and others. 

 These were the result of seeds obtained in the autumn of 1893 

 from Japan. Mr. Nock, Superintendent of Hakgala, has collected 



