345 



the present raw material, and which on account of its great 

 demand for other purposes is very costly. This monopoly 

 by the Japanese Government has had another effect, for 

 it has directed the attention of planters and tropical agri- 

 culturalists in the various colonies of the Empire and in 

 other countries e.g. Ceylon, Hawaii, Southern India, and 

 California to the cultivation of the plant, and considerable 

 interest has been taken in it recently in the Malay 

 Peninsula. 



The value of the camphor industry to the Japanese is 

 thoroughly recognised by their Government and the whole- 

 sale destruction of camphor trees in Formosa and other 

 places is now being compensated for by a vigorous planting 

 scheme. It is interesting to note that between 1900 and 

 1906 some 3,000,000 trees were planted and arrangements 

 have been made for the planting of some 750,000 in each 

 successive year. 



It will thus be seen that the Japanese are fully alive to 

 their interests in this matter and the tropical planter must 

 not look too much for that shortage of supply, due to the 

 destruction and non-renewal of the trees, which many 

 thought would come sooner or later. 



Supply. 



The World's consumption of camphor in 1907 was 

 estimated at 10,600,000 pounds, (figures for 1908 are not 

 available) about 70 per cent of which was used in the manu- 

 facture of celluloid, 15 per cent in the preparation of dis- 

 infectants; 13 per cent in medicinal and pharmaceutical 

 preparations, and the remaining 2 per cent in the manu- 

 facture of explosives. 



To this amount Formosa contributed 5,388,918 lbs., 

 the remainder came from other Japanese Islands and from 

 China. 



The camphor industry is one that can of course never 

 be put on the same footing as rubber in Malaya, but con- 

 sidering the free growth of camphor trees in this country 

 it would form a very suitable subsidary industry especially 

 as a very fair return may be expected in the third year. 



It would probably scarcely pay to plant less than 50 

 acres, while larger areas up to a reasonable limit would 

 pay better. 



Botany and Habitat. 



The common Japanese or Formosa camphor Cinna- 

 momum C amphora, Nees, also known as Camphor a offici- 



