Drugs and Medicinal Plants. 



312 



[April, 1912. 



In South Africa the profits on this 

 industry with the price of camphor put 

 at Is. 6d. per lb. would probably amount 

 to about £10 per acre after two or three 

 years, increasing as the trees matured. 



Care must be taken in securing the 

 seed, as the Japanese have a way of 

 " doctoring " it before it leaves the 

 country in order to prevent it germin- 

 ating ; a favourite dodge is to kiln-dry 

 it. The seed is about the size of a small 

 pea and should be white and oily inside, 

 and the embryo should also be white 

 and plainly visible. Seed that has been 

 "doctored" is usually discoloured or the 

 embroyo dark in colour. Being an oily 

 seed, the germinating power only re- 

 mains for about six months, so care 

 must be taken that the supply is fresh. 

 It ripens about November, and it should 

 therefore leave China not later than 

 the end of December, It should be 

 packed in slightly wet charcoal, as this 

 has been found to preserve it better 

 than any other substance. The Agri- 

 cultural Department of British East 

 Africa received some from Japan in 

 1909 in excellent condition packed in 

 this way. 



Propagation.— The seed should be put 

 in water and left to soak for twenty- 

 four hours. Those that sink are more 

 likely to germinate than those that float, 

 as the light seeds consist of little more 

 than shells. The best seeds should be 

 sown about, 1£ inches apart in a bed of 

 good soil well prepared by deep digging, 

 well drained and free from drips off 

 trees, the soil must be broken to a fine 

 tilth and have sand added if it is not 

 sufficiently porous. This is important, 

 as the seeds take from seven weeks to 

 three months to germinate, and they 

 would be liable to rot if the soil held too 

 much moisture. Sow £ to § of an inch 

 deep, keep the beds well watered, and 

 see that the soil is made firm but not 

 tight. 



In South Africa it would be advisable 

 to erect a slight shed (open all round) to 

 shade the seed-bed from the fierce sun- 

 shine. About 5,600 seeds go to the pound, 

 for which a space of about four square 



yards is necessary, and this should 

 average about 2;000 plants. 



Transplanting.— When the seedlings 

 are large enough to handle it is better 

 to transplant to 6 inches apart and leave 

 them until they are 12 inches to 24 inches 

 high, then they should be finally planted 

 out 4 feet by 8 feet apart in rows across 

 the direction of the prevailing winds. 



If let alone in two years the trees 

 should have attained a height of about 

 10 feet, but it is better to train them into 

 the form of hedges about 4 or 5 feet high, 

 and they can then be clipped four or five 

 times a year with ordinary hedge shears. 

 Only young stalks and leaves should 

 be cut. 



Yield.— Each bush should give about 

 14 lb. of leaves and stalks per annum. 

 There would be about 1,360 trees per 

 acre, or, say, 19,000 lb. of "flush." The 

 minimum yield of camphor should be 

 1 per cent., or, say, 190 lb, camphor per 

 acre valued at, say (only Is. 6d.) £14 5s. 



Distilling is a very simple business. 

 The natives of Formosa and Japan until 

 recently used a hollow tree trunk with a 

 wood fire burning underneath and water 

 dripping on it above ; but of late years 

 they rig up a wooden cask on a brick 

 stove, put the flush mixed with water 

 into it, light a fire underneath, and let 

 water drip on to the top. In the lid is 

 fixed some straw, and in that the cam- 

 phor crystallizes from the steam. 



Other methods for distillation are used, 

 and all give satisfactorylresults as long 

 as metallic substances, such as iron, are 

 avoided, as these are apt to contaminate 

 the camphor. 



Careful experiments have been recent- 

 ly carried out, and the following details 

 of one might be useful : — 



5 lb. of young flush was put into a 

 copper vessel with fifteen pints of water, 

 and a glass dome luted on which was 

 connected with a glass condenser. The 

 water was heated slowly from below and 

 a thermometer placed so as to register 

 the temperature two inches above the 

 water and flush. At 50° C. (122° P.) crys- 

 tals of camphor condensed on the glass 



