and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society—January, 1912. 83 



observations began in 1870. The nearest ex- 

 perience was in 1874 which gave 51'60 and in 

 1872 which gave 51*70 inches. On the other side 

 we had such wet years as in 1877 and 1878 when 

 the returns were 107'9b and 139 - 70 inches re- 

 spectively ; 1883 with 103 61, 1888 with 101-06' 

 and 1889 with 108-65 inches, During the next 

 decade, the year 1891 got 119-03 and 1898 had 

 103 - 11 inches ; while in the present century there 

 has been only one year (1902) with a big record of 

 118 - 70inchos. Nine years below the average have 

 elapsed since, and one year before 1901 also was 

 below the normal in rainfall. There is every 

 reason, therefore, to anticipate that a " wet 

 cycle of years" is likely to commence in 1912. 

 Indeed, as is mentioned in our heading, even last 

 year has brought very welcome and liberal 

 pluvial deposits in the hill country. We learn 

 that in the case of some high properties where 

 careful registers have been kept by the same 

 managers for ten to fifteen years past, the fall 

 recorded by them for 1910 is the heaviest of any 

 during that period. It is along the Western and 

 North- Western sea- horde, that a wet year, or at 

 least, a lull average one, is- most required in the 

 island. But who dares t© prophesy respecting 

 the doings (or vagaries) of the " clerk of the 

 weather "? For instance, in 1898 when he gave 

 us a full total of 103 inches, there occurred, in 

 January-February, one of the longest periods 

 of complete drought (24 days in all without a 

 drop of rain) ever recorded ! Finally, we must 

 repeat the figures given to Sir Norman Lockyer — 

 when full of his "cycles 1 ' theory and visited 

 Ceylon — namely, the average for 11 years, 1870 

 to 1880 inclusive, was 80-99 inches; for 1881 to 

 1891 was 92-16 inches ; and for 1892 to 1902 in- 

 clusive, the average was 87'32 inches. Now for 9 

 years 1903 to 1911 inclusive we have had an 

 average of 65" 14 inches. We must, therefore, 

 by the Jaw of " cycles" and averages, have some 

 abnormal years, which will give our lowcountry, 

 at least, such rainfall as should put a new face on 

 the annual figures of the coming decead. 



THE CAMPHOR INDUSTRY. 



Sir Henry .Blake, advised the planters to 

 grow camphor, as his predecessor Sir West 

 Ridgeway had done beforehim. An even greater 

 authority, Sir William Thiselton Dyer, for many 

 years Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, 

 Kew, also offered the same recommendation. 

 A good many planters took the hint and plan- 

 ted up a few acres with camphor. The trees 

 grew excellently and appeared to have no ene- 

 mies among either insects or fungi, but the 

 extraction of the camphor was a problem. Dr. 

 Willis eventually knocked the bottom out of the 

 idea by asserting publicly what had not been 

 known before, that the secret of the extraction 

 of camphor was a Government monopoly of the 

 Japanese. Private firms in Formosa wishing to 

 engage in the cultivation of camphor trees are 

 supplied with young plants from the Govern- 

 ment nurseries and the seeds are boiled before 

 exported so that they are valueless. In India 

 and Ceylon, where the trees ace comparatively 

 young, the idea has always been to extract the 



camphor from the leaves and chips. This 

 method also has been tried with some success 

 in the United States, when an extensive ex- 

 periment with this cultivation was started under 

 the auspices of the Department of Agriculture 

 some years ago. The results so far obtained 

 are excellently summarised In a paper written 

 by Mr. S. C. Hood, Scientific Assistant, and 

 Mr. R. B. True, Physiologist in Charge, Office 

 of Drug-Plant, Poisonous-Plant, Physiological 

 Fermentation Investigation, Bureau of Plant 

 Industry, and recently published in that De- 

 partment's " Year book of Agriculture." 



The trees can be propagated by seed, cuttings 

 or root cuttings, but Messrs Hood and True 

 state that for commercial purposes the first 

 method was found preferable. This bears out 

 Indian and Ceylon experience, but the trouble 

 here has always been the difficulty to obtain good 

 seed. A lot of information is given as regards 

 the methods of planting the camphor and ferti- 

 lising it, etc., in America, but this is not of 

 much importance here, it is interesting, how- 

 ever, to learn that ttie best method of growing 

 the trees there is found to be in hedges kept 

 trimmed back to a height convenient for work- 

 ing. It was also ascertained that they respond 

 to trimming more readily than almost any 

 other tree or shrub. The trimming is done by 

 machnery, but the perfect clipping machine has 

 yet to be evolved. After cutting, the prunings 

 are taken to the distilling plant at once, since 

 if they are allowed to dry in the sun or remain 

 exposed to the dew and rain, there is some 

 loss of camphor. The next process is steam 

 distillation, the process being much the same 

 as carried out, though with more crude uten- 

 sils in Formosa. When steam is passed through 

 a suitable receptacle filled with the leaves, the 

 camphor is extracted in the form of a vapour 

 and passes off with the steam. If the camphor 

 containing steam is conducted into a condenser, 

 the steam is condensed to water and the cam- 

 phor is deposited as a solid or semi-solid mass 

 floating on the water or deposited on the inside 

 of the apparatus. The volatile oil remains as 

 a pale liquid floating on the water. Any of the 

 standard types of retort employed for other 

 volatile oils can be used for camphor, but metal 

 ones should be avoided, as they are attacked by 

 the camphor and a deposit of oxides and sulphi- 

 des of the metal is carried over with the camphor 

 injuring its appearance. It is, however, almost 

 impossible to avoid some of this impurity, since 

 metal must enter into the construction of some 

 part of the apparatus, and as all crude camD- 

 hors must be refined before using, this impurity 

 is later removed. 



A more difficult problem has been the finding 

 of a suitable condenser. It is out of the ques- 

 tion, Messrs. Hood and True point out, to use 

 wooden boxes or inverted syrup evaporators, as 

 in China and Formosa, and none of the types of 

 condensers used for oils can be employed, since 

 the condensed product is a solid and deposits on 

 the inside, completely filling it. The United 

 States Department of Agricultura hopas, how- 

 ever, soon to solve this problem and to be able 

 to recommend a condenser which will meet all, 

 the requirements, 



