563 



V 



than the '" Nsui Mu '' {Machilus Nanmu, Hemsl.) which together 

 with the camphor tree supplies wood for the best furniture 

 (Hosie, Rep. Prov. of Szechuen, No. 5, 1904, p. 54). The weight 

 is given at 39 lb. per cubic ft. (Gamble, Man. Ind. Timb. p. 564), 

 A specimen in the Kew Museum (" Kusonoki " from Japan, 

 St. Louis Exhib. 1904) has sp. gr. 0-519 = 32 lb. per cubic ft, 

 — this wood at the time of the St. Louis Exhibition w^as valued 

 in Tokio at 55 dollars per 100 cubic ft. ; — and specimens of the 

 wood collected in Formosa (W. R. Price 1914) show (1) "True 

 Camphor," sp. gr. 0-5317 = 33 lb. per cubic ft, and (2) '' Shu " 

 from a tree yielding oil only, sp. gr. 0-6746 = 42 lb. per cubic ft. 

 The fruits are eaten by chickens and birds and in Japan and 



kind 

 ornamental 



America 



Propagation may be effected by seed or cuttings, raised in 

 Nurseries and planted out at distances of from 10-15 ft.— or 

 where it is proposed to distil loppings, planting as hedges is 

 suggested — in good sandy loam or fairly rich well drained soil. 

 Seeds (usually the berries are sovra) germinate slowly ; they may 

 take from 2-6 months (Eaton, Malaya) or 3-5 months (Hood & 

 True, Florida) and the percentage (about 10 per cent.) of germi- 

 nation is uncertain, so that fresh seed is important. Recent 



removed 



ermination 



Kew Bull 



cam 



it varies 



very considerably even in Formosa, where it is reported that 

 trees '' in the north give as high as 100 parts of camphor to 

 75 parts of oil, while in the extreme south the quantity of oil 

 obtained to the same quantity of camphor is as high as 400 



Ann 



communication 



Director, dated Formosa, July 24th, 1912, states in reference 



to trees there that 



a 



same 



tree will produce more camphor and less oil in the \^dnter." 



JMr. Boodle has examined the Formosan woods of '* True " and 

 ** Shu " camphor {see above) in the Laboratory at Kew and 

 suggests that *' the anatomical differences noted in the two 

 specimens might perhaps be dependent entirely on conditions 

 of growth ; but in order to gain any opinion on the subject, it 

 would be necessary to examine many specimens, and to obtain 

 information as to the habitats, &c. of the trees from which 

 they were cut." Other hypotheses have been put forward to 

 account for this difference — more particularly in reference to 

 cultivated trees in various parts of the world. A parallel case 

 is that of " Chicle " {Achras Sapofa, p. 401) and in Kke manner 

 specimens and information are being collected by the Director 

 in order to decide if possible, whether the variation is due to 

 botanical differences or to conditions of soil and climate. Apart, 

 however, from the uncertainty of camphor production it is 



