178 



of the genus. The small white or greenish- white flowers are borne in 

 axillary racemes from February to April on shoots of the previous 

 season, and are followed in October by berry-like, one-seeded fruits 

 about three-eights of an inch in diameter. The fruiting pedicels ter- 

 minate in a saucer-shaped disk, persisting after the mature fruit has 

 fallen. 



" Native Range. 



" The camphor tree is native in the coast countries of Eastern Asia 

 from Cochin China nearly to the mouth of the Yang-tse-kiang, and on 

 the adjacent islands from the southern part of the Japanese Empire, in- 

 cluding Formosa and the Loocho Islands, to Hainan, off the coast of 

 Cochin China. Its range also extends into the interior of China as far 

 as the province of Hupeh, about 500 miles from the coast on the Yang- 

 tse-kiang in latitude 30 ° north. This area, extending from 10 ° to 

 34 ° north latitude and from 105 ° to 130 ° east longitude, is all em- 

 braced in the eastern monsoon region, which is remarkable for abundant 

 rains in summer. 



" The camphor trees growing wild in the native range are usually 

 most abundant on hillsides and in mountain valleys where there is good 

 atmospheric as well as soil drainage. The temperature in the greater 

 part of this region, which is partly within the tropics and partly sub- 

 tropical, rarely falls below freezing. The tree is an evergreen, chang- 

 ing its leaves generally in April, and therefore the winter temperature 

 is a factor of more importance than would be the cass with a decidu- 

 ous tree. 



u Range under Cultivation. 



" Notwithstanding the comparatively narrow limits of its natural 

 environment, the camphor tree grows well in cultivation under widely 

 different conditions. It has become abundantly naturalized in Mada- 

 gascar. It flourishes at Buenos Ayres. It thrives in Egypt, in the 

 Canary Islands, in south-eastern France and in the San Joaquin Valley 

 in California where the summers are hot and dry. Large trees, at least 

 two hundred years old, are o rowing in the temple courts at Tokyo, 

 where they are subject to a winter of seventy to eighty nights of frost, 

 with an occasional minimum temperature as low as 12 ° to 16° F. 

 The most northern localities in the United States, where the camphor 

 tree has been grown successfully out of doors, are Charleston and 

 Sumraerville in South Carolina, Augusta, Ga., and Oakland, Cal. 



" At Charleston, Sommerville, and Augusta the trees have with" 

 stood a minimum temperature of 15 ° F., but they have been protected 

 by surrounding trees and buildings. At Mobile, Ala., the trees have 

 grown and fruited in protected situations, while in exposed places they 

 have been repeatedly destroyed by frosts. While the camphor tree will 

 grow on almost any soil that is not too wet, it does best on a well- 

 drained sandy or loamy soil, and it responds remarkably well to the 

 application of fertilisers. Its growth is comparatively slow on sterile 

 soils, but under favourable conditions it sometimes grows very rapidly. 

 An instance is recorded of a camphor tree in Italy a foot in diameter 

 and 90 feet high, eight years from the seed. Under ordinary conditions, 



