— i8 — 



camphor forests, the cost of labour and the cost of living, etc., so 

 as to allow of fair profits being obtained even in districts where very 

 small quantities are produced. This result had previously not been 

 obtained and it is therefore expected that even abandoned camphor 

 districts will now once more be worked upon and that the total 

 camphor production will be increased and the trees be handled 

 more carefully. Furthermore, as a natural consequence of the increase 

 in the purchasing price, the Monopoly Bureau will, alter the selling 

 price at which it hands over the camphor to Messrs. Samuel, 

 Samuel & Co., the selling agents, and from the 10 th inst. the price will 

 be increased, so that the price at which Messrs. Samuel, Samuel & Co. 

 sell abroad will also necessarily become higher, but it is not expected 

 that an increase in Samuel, Samuel & Co.'s selling price will have very 

 much effect on the market. The reason for this is that hitherto the 

 selling agents have sold what they have bought from the Bureau within 

 fixed limits, taking a certain percentage as commission, and that whereas 

 the World's demand for camphor is nine or ten million pounds, the 

 supply from Japan and Formosa is only 6 or 7 million pounds, so 

 that as soon as the camphor leaves the selling agents' hands, it jumps 

 up in price, and the difference between the market and Messrs. Samuel, 

 Samuel's selling price is very great. Anyway the increase in the 

 Government's buying and selling prices will probably result in large 

 profits for the camphor industry." 



With regard to the camphor producing districts of other countries, 

 it is to be regretted that for the present no relief of the existing 

 scarcity can be expected from that side. A report from the U. S. 

 Consul in Amoy says that the camphor monopoly granted in 1903 

 to a Japanese Company for the Chinese province Fokien has been 

 cancelled by the Government, after payment of a not inconsiderable 

 indemnity, but that the Japanese even under the new conditions still 

 control the production, and, as our own informants tell us, pay any 

 price in order to secure every consignment. 



The camphor production in Ceylon is unfortunately still in a 

 very bad way, and although much attention has now for several 

 years been given to this new cultivation, it has not yet been possible 

 to produce actually more than about 1000 kilos. If it is taken into 

 consideration that more than 900 acres are planted with camphor- 

 trees, the result must be called unsatisfactory. The principal difficulty 

 lies in the lack of experience of the planters in the distillation, and 

 it is believed that the Japanese and Chinese make use of special 

 technical artifices to secure a paying yield. It is said that the planta- 

 tions will be extended further and it is hoped that the energy of 

 Mr. Kelway Bamber, the Government chemist at Peradeniya, will 

 succeed in overcoming the existing difficulties, and showing the planters 



