198 LAURACE.E 



product of the globe, or 5,200,000 pounds. Japan grows 1,560,000 

 pounds. The rest comes from China, Java, Sumatra, and Florida. 

 It should be mentioned that the camphor of Malaysia is not extracted 

 from Cinnamomum camphora, but from Dryobalanops aromatica. 

 The United States alone uses 2,000,000 pounds of camphor yearly. 

 The trunk, root, and branches are cut into chips and exposed to vapors 

 of boiling water. The camphor volatilizes and condenses in small 

 granules on the straw with which the head of the still is lined. It is 

 freed from the volatile oil by draining or expressing, and is purified 

 by resubliming with lime from a vessel into which the steam is allowed 

 to escape through a small aperture. The camphor condenses in a 

 compact cake, with a circular hole in the center corresponding to 

 the aperture. Camphor has had to compete with rivals which are 

 cheaper. In the manufacture of celluloid, the substitution of naph- 

 thalin for camphor has produced a considerable effect in controlling 

 the high price resulting from the Japanese monopoly of the industry. 



DESCRIPTION OF DRUG. Refined camphor comes in white, translu- 

 cent masses, tough and somewhat flexible, breaking with a shining, 

 crystalline fracture; reduced to a powder only by the addition of a few 

 drops of alcohol, ether, chloroform, glycerin, volatile or fixed oils, or 

 other volatile liquids for which it has an affinity, by triturating with 

 an equal weight of sugar, by precipitating the alcoholic solution with 

 water, or by sublimation. It is very volatile, even at ordinary tem- 

 peratures, giving out a characteristic penetrating odor. Taste 

 pungent, aromatic, leaving a cooling sensation in the mouth. Lighter 

 than water, small pieces taking up a circulatory motion therein, which 

 ceases upon the addition of a drop of oil. Very inflammable, burn- 

 ing with a dense smoke, and leaving no residue. When triturated 

 with about molecular proportions of thymol, phenol, or chloral hy- 

 drate, it liquefies. It melts at i75C. (347F.) and boils at 2O4C. 

 (399-2F.). 



Borneo or Sumatra camphor is an allied camphor. By oxidation it 

 yields ordinary camphor. Borneol Valerates have been introduced as 

 useful in various neuroses. See "New and Non-official Remedies." 



CONSTITUENTS. Camphor has the composition CioHi 6 O, and is consid- 

 ered as a ketone yielded indirectly by the oxidation of borneol, a 

 secondary alcohol having the composition CioHisO. By treatment 

 with various reagents camphor yields a number of interesting com- 

 pounds, as cymol, camphoric acid, etc. With iodine and bromine 

 it forms compounds, one, the monobromated camphor (CgHi 5 BrCO), 

 being used as a nerve sedative in doses of 3 gr. (0.2 Gm.) ; it is made by 

 heating equal portions of bromine and camphor at i72F.; one-half 

 the bromine goes off as hydrobromic acid. One H of the camphor 

 molecule, is replaced by Br in the reaction. Camphoric acid, 



