182 



hand labour a machine similar to the * hog ' used for grinding up waste 

 slabs in sawmills may be used to reduce camphor limbs to the requisite 

 fineness for distillation. Better distilling apparatus can probably be 

 devised. Thermometers may be introduced to determine the heat in 

 the distilling tub, and the furnace may be so arranged as to permit 

 better control and greater economy in fuel. Camphor and camphor oil 

 are both slightly soluble in water, and the condensing chamber should 

 be improved so as to recover the product that is being constantly car- 

 ried off in the running stream which cools the chamber. 



u Outlook for Future Market. 



"The consumption of camphor in the United States, as measured 

 by the importations, has been decreasing during the past ten years, 

 while the price has been increasing. 



"The tariff act approved July 27, 1897, imposes a duty of 6 cents 

 por pound on refined camphor and leaves crude camphor on the free 

 list, as heretofore. 



u There has been an increase in importations of refined camphor 

 due to improved methods of refining and packing in Japan and to 

 changes in the tarifl, but this increase has been much more than conn, 

 ter- balanced by the decrease in importations of crude camphor. The 

 decrease may be attributed to the following causes : (1) the exhaustion 

 of the supply of the available camphor trees uear the shipping ports ; 

 (z) the governmental restrictions on the trade in camphor in Formosa ; 



(3) government taxes on the exportation of camphor from Formosa ; 



(4) hostilities and wanton destruction of camphor stills by the natives 

 in Formosa ; (5) disturbances in the camphor producing district of 

 China ; (6) the China-Japan war ; (7) attempts by speculators to corner 

 the market. 



" These causes have increased the price of camphor, and this in turn 

 has led to the introduction of substitutes. Menthol and other pepper- 

 mint derivatives or compounds, carbolic acid and its derivatives, naph- 

 thalin, formalin, and insect-powder are now used for various purposes 

 where camphor was formerly employed. Camphor has been manufac- 

 tured artificially, at a cost leaving a margin of profit at present prices. 

 It is therefore apparent that if the production of camphor from the trees 

 is to be carried on with profit in this country, and the industry increas- 

 ed to any considerable extent, the price of camphor must be reduced to 

 compete with the prices of substitutes now taking its place. 



" Camphor has been obtained from several other plants not at all 

 related to the ordinary camphor tree, but only two kinds, Borneo 

 camphor and Blumea camphor, are of any importance commercially. 



" Borneo camphor is obtained from the camphor tree of Borneo 

 and Sumatra, Dryobalanops aromatica. It is deposited in clefts 

 and hollows in the wood, and has simply to be taken out. This 

 camphor is comparatively rare, and the supply is consumed almost ex- 

 clusively in China, where it is valued at from thirty to ninety times as 

 much as ordinary camphor. 



" Blumea camphor is obtained by distillation from Blumea balsam- 

 ijera, a shrub growing in Burma and the Malay Peninsula. This is 



