Canadian Forestry Journal, January, 1920 



17 



CAMPHOR-FARMING 



There is no reason why America should not 

 ultimately grow its own camphor, and consid- 

 erable progress has already been made toward 

 this end. The earliest camphor farm is now 

 36 years old, and the largest, including some 

 12,000 acres. Botli of these are in Florida. 

 The wasteful Chinese process of destroying the 

 whole tree to reclaim its gum is not now follow- 

 ed. Only leaves and small twigs are harvested, 

 and a camphor-farm is treated, not like a tim- 

 ber-forest, but like an orchard. We quote be- 

 low from an article in the Du Pont Magazine. 

 Says the writer: 



"With the approach of winter housewives be- 

 gin to arrange, on the cupboard-shelf, various 

 home remedies that are us useful when the 

 youngsters exhibit the first evidence of colds. 

 You may depend on it that a 'camphor' bottle 

 will stand in the front rank. There is nothing 

 of apparent interest in the crystal-clear liquid 

 except its medicinal properties, yet in its manu- 

 facture there are several interesting facts that 

 the average housekeeper knows little about. The 

 youngsters know only that it is good for colds 

 and that, when compounded with sugar on a 

 teaspoon, the dose contains far too little sugar 

 in proportion to the camphor, even if only a 

 drop from the bottle is added. 



"A great deal of the camphor used in the 

 United States is imported from Japan and the 

 island of Formosa. However, the camphor in- 

 dustry in China is an important one, in which 

 both family and governmental interests are in- 

 volved. Families are principally interested in 

 the joint ownership of trees. It is not uncom- 

 mon for a family that numbers as many as two 

 thousand people, considering both direct and 

 collateral relations, to hold an equity ownership 

 in a single camphor-tree. 



"Before such a tree can be sold, however, a 

 license must be obtained from the central gov- 

 ernment authorities, and also from the local of- 

 ficials. After permission to sell a tree is secured 

 the sale takes place, and the proceeds, which 

 average $225 for a tree, are divided among the 

 owners with regard to their several equities. 



"Unfortunately, in China the practice of 

 manufacturing camphor results in the destruc- 



tion of the tree. First the tree is felled and the 

 trunk chopped into small pieces or chips of con- 

 venient size for the retorts. When the retort is 

 filled, water is added, and a fire is built to carry 

 on the simple distillation process. The camphor 

 volatilizes under the action of the steam, passes 

 througli a condenser, usually a bamboo-pipe, 

 and terminates in a wooden tub of cool water, 

 where it is collected as camphor and camphor- 

 oils. It is a primitive process in China and a 

 wasteful one, for although the upper branches 

 and leaves do not contain as much camphor as 

 the larger members of the tree, the Chinese lose 

 some of the product when leaves and branches 

 are used for fuel." 



Notwithstanding the primitive means em- 

 ployed and the loss of part of the product, the 

 average yield of a tree, we are told, is about 

 one-half ton of camphor — enough to provide 

 spirits for every household in a large city. To 

 quote further: 



"Some camphor is being produced in this 

 country, and it is believed that eventually Am- 

 erican production in Florida will suffice to take 

 care of domestic needs. Thirty-six years ago 

 the United States Department of Agriculture 

 purchased a tract of 3,000 acres near Palatka, 

 Florida, and planted camphor trees in long 

 hedge-rows. This camphor farm is to-day a 

 splendidly developed area. Hedge-cuttings are 

 gathered once or twice a year and distilled in 

 accordance with modern chemical practise. By 

 this method the life of the hedges is preserved 

 and the product can be obtained annually for 

 many years. Considering that the life of the 

 camphor-tree in China is about five hundred 

 years, there is little fear that the industry in 

 America will be short-lived, for the trees thrive 

 as well in certain favored sections of Florida 

 as they do in China or other sections of the 

 East. 



'In 1913, the Arlington Company, now one 

 of the Du Pont American Industries, purchased 

 a tract of approximately 12.000 acres at Waller. 

 Florida, as the starting-point in developing a 

 large camphor-farm. This is probably the larg- 

 est acreage devoted to camphor-growing in 

 America." 



