210 TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



phor in the United States it has already been shown that this 

 is a promising crop, particularly for Florida. Seedling cam- 

 phor trees were brought to Florida about 1870 and large plant- 

 ings have been made from the seed produced by these orig- 

 inal trees and from subsequent importations of seed. The 

 camphor industry is growing rapidly in Florida, and it ap- 

 pears that the area devoted to camphor will soon exceed 8,000 

 acres. The center of camphor production in Florida is Sat- 

 suma, where it was reported that the Du Pont Powder Com- 

 pany purchased camphor plantations in January, 1916, for the 

 sum of $6,500,000. Camphor is also grown, although less ex- 

 tensively, in the states of Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, and Cali- 

 fornia. 



Camphor is a volatile oil and is extracted by steaming the 

 wood and leaves which have previously been ground to a fine 

 powder. A higher percentage of camphor is obtained from 

 leaves and young shoots than from old wood. On this ac- 

 count clippings from young camphor seedlings are made in 

 Florida for use in extracting camphor. It has been found that 

 the camphor trees can be kept trimmed back to a convenient 

 height for working. The camphor tree was long used in the 

 South for hedges, and these hedges are now becoming of con- 

 siderable value as sources of camphor. If the trees are planted 

 in rows 15 feet apart and 6 feet apart in the row, it has been 

 found that within 6 years from seed the trees will form a solid 

 hedge, which can be trimmed at intervals to secure material 

 for the extraction of camphor. Clippings can be cut from 

 trees at the age of 3 or 4 years, and thereafter at least 3 or 4 

 times a year. The twigs yield i to i l /2 per cent, of camphor 

 by weight, and it has been found that the yield of camphor per 

 acre ranges from 120 to 200 pounds. 



In obtaining camphor from the leaves and twigs or wood, 

 steam distillation is carried on for about 3 hours. During 

 this time the camphor is condensed on the walls of the distilla- 

 tion apparatus as a result of cooling from the surrounding 



