— 25 — 



likely that from this quarter there will be any inducement for an advance 

 of camphor oil, which most frequently serves as a substitute for turpen- 

 tine oil. In spite of this reduction, however, the demand for the various 

 grades of light and heavy camphor oil has continued to be extremely 

 brisk at unchanged prices, which clearly proves that these oils have every- 

 where become indispensable; that, as compared with the numerous other 

 turpentine oil substitutes, their employment offers certain advantages; and 

 finally that in certain cases camphor oil is to be preferred even to tur- 

 pentine oil. 



According to a report from the British Consul atTamsui 1 ) which has 

 just been published, the energetic action by the Japanese Government 

 against the savages in the interior of Formosa has had the result of opening 

 up in the north of the island an extensive forest district, rich in cam- 

 phor trees. Several important native tribes were overthrown at the end 

 of 1910 or have voluntarily surrendered, so that in the course of the 

 present year a new and important region has been made available for 

 Japanese civilization. The quality of the camphor trees is said to vary 

 considerably in the different districts. The camphor oils which are pre- 

 pared from the trees in the north are decidedly richer in camphor than 

 those prepared from the trees in the south, — hence the opening-up of 

 the northern forests is of special importance. The Japanese Government 

 continues to support the planting of new camphor trees by placing trees 

 from the Government schools of Forestry at the disposal of the planters. 

 The distillation of camphor oil from the leaves is still in the experimental 

 stage. As in previous years, the entire production of camphor oil in 

 Formosa was sent to Japan in 1910 to be worked up for camphor. 



According to the same source, the exports of camphor from Formosa 

 in the year 1910 were as follows: — 



United States . . . 2942800 lbs. 



Germany 1808000 



France 908667 



United Kingdom . . 542 400 



India 249333 



Japan . . . . . . 35072 



Total: 6486272 lbs. (Value £ 404 112.) 



It is further reported that last year the Japanese camphor refiners had 

 to pay 5 yen 80 sen (= 1l/lO l /2 d.) per 100 kin (133 lbs.) more for their 

 crude camphor than was paid by their competitors in Europe and America, 

 and that in consequence they started an energetic movement for the pur- 

 pose of inducing their Government to sell crude camphor within the 

 Japanese Empire at the same price as abroad. It was pointed out that 

 the cost-price of camphor was of great importance in view of the fact 



j ) Diplomatic and Consular Reports, August 1911, No. 4769. 



