October, 1908.] 



319 



Saps and Exudations, 



camphor monopoly at present farmed 

 out to Messrs. Samuel, Samuel & Co. 

 This monopoly will expire by the end of 

 March next, and the idea is abroad that 

 the Governor-General of Formosa is 

 looking out for a powerful native combin- 

 ation to take it up, thus giving all the 

 profits to Japanese individuals. The 

 annual output of Formosan ca mphor is 

 estimated at 50,000 piculs, of which 40,000 

 are handled by Messrs. Samuel. Samuel 

 & Co., and 10,000 sold by the Japanese 

 Government amongst the camphor- refin- 

 ing concerns in Japan. 



"We are also reminded that the Chinese 

 originally owned the Formosan forests, 

 and their Government adopted harsh 

 measures to secure the monopoly. They 

 also state that the term "camphor" is 

 always understood to apply to the well- 

 known laurel, or Japan camphor, the 

 product of the Cinnamomum camphora, 

 an evergreen of the Lauracce family. 

 The camphor, however, referred to in 

 the earlier Chinese and Arabian writings 

 was probably another variety known at 

 the present time as Borneo camphor, or 

 " borneol," the product of the tree 

 Dryobanalops aromatica, small quan- 

 tities also being derived from the 

 tree Bhimea balsmaifera. " Borneol " is, 

 however, almost entirely consumed in 

 the East. 



Messrs. Schimmel & Co., quoting the 

 German Consul at Kobe, give the 

 Japanese Customs' statistics to show as 

 near as possible the total annual pro- 

 duction of Japau-cum-Formosa, which 

 are otherwise unobtainable, as the 

 Japanese Bureau of monopoly carefully 

 avoids publishing the details of its 

 statistics. According to Schimmel, the 

 exports were : — 



Formosa, {J f°^ Total. 



1904 ... 24,034 ... 31,408' = 55,442 piculs. 



1905 ... 22,430 ... 22.817 = 45 277 „ 



1906 ... 21,774 ... 26,565 - 48,339 „ 



The Chemist and Druggist reckons 

 that the world's demand fur camphor is 

 8,000,000 kin, or 16,600,000 lb. (the total 

 export of camphor and oil (?) from Japan 

 and Formosa in 1906 is placed at 5,544,000 

 kin, or nearly 70 per cent, of the world's 

 consumption, if this estimate is correct), 

 of which 70 per cent, is employed in 

 celluloid manufacture, 2 per cent, in gun- 

 cotton works, 15 per cent, for disinfect- 

 ing and deodorising purposes, and 13 

 per cent, for medicinal preparations. 

 According to German returns, that 

 country is the largest importer, receiv- 

 ing 1,013,400 kilos in 1905, valued at 

 4,560,000 marks (1 mark = Is. roughly) ; 

 and 890,200 kilos last year, valued 

 at 5,786,000 marks. As the total value 



of the Formosa-cum-Kobe exports in 

 1906 was placed at 5,850,000 yen, or 

 11,700,000 marks, it can be roughly 

 estimated that the German consumption 

 is equal to half greater than Japan's 

 output. 



On the other hand, the American 

 Consul in Formosa (Mr. J. H. Arnold) 

 speaks of the island as supplying 75 per 

 cent, of the world's requirements, the 

 remainder coming from Japan and 

 China. He estimates the Formosa out- 

 put for 1907 at 5,000,000 kin. 



Whatever the figures are, however, 

 the fact still remains that the world's 

 production of camphor is far and away 

 behind the world's requirements, and, 

 therefore, in these days of competition 

 it behoves planters to look seriously into 

 the matter and see whether it will not 

 pay them, even when the prices fall, to 

 take Up the cultivation of the drug on a 

 large or small scale, not for its immediate 

 return, but as a nest-egg for some future 

 date. 



Although, as we showed in our former 

 articles, it used to be estimated that 

 Japanese and Chinese could afford to 

 sell camphor at a figure far below the 

 price at which it could be produced else- 

 where, it is as well to note that experts 

 in all parts of the world are giving 

 their serious attention to its production. 

 On the Mediterranean coast, we hear 

 that the French are trying to acclimatise 

 the tree, which, it is said, grows well in 

 those parts, and produces leaves yielding 

 the drug in commercial quantities suffi- 

 cient to pay the cost of production and 

 extraction. Some of those interested in 

 this idea even claim that the camphor 

 may replace the olive, owing to its 

 giving a bigger profit. Elsewhere (Mr. 

 Ridley at the Straits Settlements) we are 

 told that it is said to do anywhere in 

 Italy except in the neighbourhood of the 

 Alps. The Ceylon Agricultural Society 

 urges its cultivation (see Tropical Agri- 

 culturist, July, 1907), saying that since 

 the Royal Botanic Gardens show a way 

 in which it can be multiplied locally, 

 planters are rendered less dependent on 

 the Japanese for seeds or cuttings. 



" Amongst neglected industries in this 

 State," writes the Queensland Agricul- 

 tural Journal for November, "may be 

 included camphor production- The 

 camphor laurel grows so well, not only 

 on the coast, but on the tableland, that 

 some think it would be a very paying 

 speculation to plant forests of this tree. 

 The arguments are, that the tree thrives 

 in most parts of Queensland, that it 

 requires no attention, that camphor is 

 exceedingly high in price, that large 



