344 



AGRICULTURAL BULLETIN 



OF THE 



STRAITS 



AND 



FEDERATED MALAY STATES. 



No. 8.] AUGUST, 1909. [Vol. VIII 



CAMPHOR. 



Preliminary Notes on the Preparation of Camphor 

 in the F. M. S. 



In view of the forthcoming Agricultural Show at 

 Penang in August, the following notes on investigations 

 which are now being carried on in the preparation of 

 Camphor from the common Formosan or Japanese Cam- 

 phor tree together with notes on the cultivation and growth 

 of the plant in the Malay Peninsula have been published, 

 since it is hoped that an exhibit of this product among 

 others prepared by the Agricultural Department of the F. 

 M. S. will be on view at the Show and may be of interest to 

 planters. 



Considerable attention has been attracted to this pro- 

 duct during recent years owing to the Japanese monopoly ; 

 indeed to such an extent that the synthetic product has 

 already been placed on the market at home and in Europe 

 to compete with the natural product and this has been due 

 to the prevailing high prices of the natural Camphor owing 

 to the monopoly by Japan. The synthetic product however 

 has been (for the time at any rate) short lived, as owing to 

 a fall in the price of the natural product it was soon unable 

 to compete successfully with natural camphor. Tt must, 

 however, still be borne in mind that cheaper sources of raw 

 material may eventually be found from which to prepare 

 the synthetic compound, than oil of turpentine, which is 



