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Japan, for every tree felled five new trees should be planted, but this 

 regulation, which promises results only after 40 to 50 years, cannot 

 arrest the destruction of the older trees. Further, the American 

 consul Arnold 1 ) at Tam-sui states that this regulation only exists 

 on paper, and that in practice nothing has as yet been done. Recently 

 the Viceroy has imposed a tax of 1 tael (about 3 s. 2 d.) per picul 

 camphor produced, and of 4 mace (about 1 s. 2 d.) per 100 lbs. camphor 

 oil; the return thereof, about 8300 to n 450 dollars, is intended 

 for purposes of reafforestation. The British report points to the 

 remarkable fact that a large number of trees does not supply camphor, 

 and recommends the foundation of a horticultural establishment 

 to cultivate layers rich in camphor in a systematic manner. The 

 consul proposes to send blossoms of the trees free from, and of such 

 containing, camphor to Kew for examination. The prices of camphor 

 kept mostly between 127 and 166 dollars per picul, but they fluctu- 

 ated within very wide limits owing to the competition among the 

 Chinese traders. 



A Japanese report 2 ) on the same subject estimates the camphor 

 production in South China in 1906 at 4 million kin (== 2400 tons). 

 Although this quantity appears to us to be taken rather high, there 

 can be no doubt, after all that has been said above, which is also 

 confirmed by a communication of the German Handelsarchiv (March 

 1907), that the export of camphor has increased considerably after 

 the revocation of the monopoly granted to the Japanese for the province 

 of Fo-kien. This article shares the fear of the above-mentioned con- 

 sular report, that the trees will disappear in the course of time, at 

 least in those districts which are accessible to the trade, and it quotes 

 the following export figures: for 1904, 2219 piculs (2635 cwt.) and 

 for 1905, 5363 picuis (6369 cwt.). These figures do not agree with 

 the export figures (142 1 and 4805 cwt.) for Foochow which the British 

 consul had mentioned previously and now, and they may possibly refer 

 to the export from the entire province Fo-kien. 



Further reports have been received with regard to the countries 

 which have recently commenced producing camphor, but whose yields 

 up to the present are of no consequence in point of quantity. 



It is well known that the cultivation of camphor in Ceylon at 

 first encountered difficulties, as it was found impossible to obtain 

 germinating seed. For this reason, other methods of cultivation 

 were tried, which are referred to in detail in a work 3 ) by the Govern- 

 ment botanist Nock. They are: propagation by means of layerings, 



2 ) Ibidem. 



2 ) Oriental Druggist 1 (1907), No. 16. 



8 ) Chemist and Druggist 71 (1907), 319. 



