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Italy, the more so as it does not make a large demand on the soil. 

 According to experiments made, the leaves of the tree are said to 

 yield on the average about I °/ camphor, whilst the wood, which 

 moreover lends itself exceptionally well for the manufacture of furni- 

 ture, contains about o, I % camphor of inferior quality. 



We have on several occasions, when discussing the camphor in- 

 dustry in our Reports, also referred in a more or less detailed manner 

 to the cultivation of the camphor- tree 1 ) , and for this reason we 

 wish to call attention to a most interesting article which deals with 

 the observations made by C. Crevost 2 ) with regard to the cultivation 

 of the camphor- tree in Indo- China. In Tonquin, Kwang -Tcheou- 

 Wan, and especially in Annam the cultivation of the camphor-tree 

 justifies the most sanguine expectations. Various samples distilled by 

 Aufray, the Director of the Tonquin laboratory, gave the following 

 results as compared with Japan camphor (camphor oil -|- camphor): 



Japan Tonquin Kwang Tcheou-Wan 



Ordinary branches . . . 3>7o% 3.9°% 3.25% 



Lower portion of trunk . 4,23% 2,70% 3.55% 



Roots 4,46% 4>6o% 3,55% 



Contrary to the camphor-trees in Japan and in Kwang Tcheou- 

 Wan, those in Tonquin always give a larger yield from the branches 

 and roots than from the trunk. The yield mentioned in the table 

 is, however, exceptionally very small, as the sample was taken from 

 a hollow tree of very medium quality. The information given by 

 Crevost dates already from the spring of 1904, and it may there- 

 fore be assumed that the experiments have since been extended. 

 The solution of this question is too important to be neglected, and we 

 hope to be able to return to the subject in our next Report. 



From the Imperial Biologico-Agricultural Experimental Station Amani 

 in German East Africa, we recently received a camphor oil which had 

 been obtained in a yield of not quite 1 % by distillation of the leaves 

 and branches of camphor- trees, respectively 2 1 / 4: and i 1 /^ years old. 

 The oil sent to us was a filtrate of the original oil which separated 

 off camphor spontaneously, and had the following properties: 

 d^o 0,9236; «j) -j-39 20'; soluble in 0,25 vol. 90 per cent, and in 

 10 vol. 80 per cent, alcohol. The colour was golden yellow, and the 

 -odour differed considerably from that of ordinary camphor oil. When 

 cooled, the oil congealed into a solid mass. By means of 4% soda 

 liquor, traces of a phenol were obtained which had an odour like 



J ) Reports October 1901, 13; October 1904, 15; April 1906, it. 

 2 ) Journal d' Agriculture tropicale 6 (1906), 105. 



