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The Supplement to the Tropical Agriculturist 



pressure inside, by blocking tho passage of 

 steam. This could bo remedied by using a series 

 of perforated plates, a definite quantity of mate- 

 rial (wood or leaves) resting on each. 



A better plan and one which would simplify 

 discharging and charging would perhaps be 

 a metal cage which could be lifted bodily out of 

 the still by means of a crane or other mecha- 

 nical device and easily emptied by inversion and 

 replaced when discharged. This would also 

 allow steam to enter the material from all sides. 

 Yields. 



In the first experiment with this apparatus, a 

 whole tree, including roots, was received from 

 the Batu Tiga Experimental Plantations and 

 consisted of : — 



Leaves weighing 12| lb. equal 7'5 per cent. 



Twigs less than | inch diameter weighing ?0 lb. equal 

 18'2 per cent. 



Twigs and wood over J inch diameter 93 lb. equal 56'3 

 per cent. 

 Koors 29-5 lb. equal 18'0. 



Separate distillations were made of the leaves, 

 twigs under \ inch diameter, wood, and root with 

 the following results: — 



\%Vo of leaves yielded t oz. of camphor and oil equal 

 l'O per cent 



3 lb. of small twigs yielded 1'07 oz. of camphor == 0'22 

 per cent. 



93 lb. of large twigs and wood yielded 9 - 8 oz. of camphor 

 = 06 per cent. 



29i lb. of Koots yielded 5'7 oz. of camphor and oil = 1*2 

 per cent. 



The camphor in these experiments was of a 

 brownish colour, due to contamination with iron 

 oxide or rust from the condenser. Most of the 

 camphor scraped from the copper tubes of the 

 condenser was almost white, which leads to the 

 conclusion that a copper condenser would not 

 discolour the product. The discoloured camphor 

 can readily be rendered white by redistillation 

 through a glass condenser or by sublimation. 

 Period of Distillation. 



In the small preliminary experiments it was 

 found that all the camphor and oil distilled over 

 within three hours or rabher less, in fact the 

 greater portion of the camphor distilled over 

 within half an hour after steam commenced to 

 pass through the material. In the later experi- 

 ments the distillation was carried on for a 

 longer peiiod than three hours in order to ascer- 

 tain whether in the large plant, similar results 

 would beobtained. In each case the camphor 

 and oil from three hour distillations were col- 

 lected sepaiately. The results obtained are des- 

 cribed. 



Conclusions: — These experiments indicate 

 that it would probably not be advisable to carry 

 on the distillation for a longer period than three 

 hours in the case of camphor prunings. 

 Comparison with Ceylon Investigations, &c. 



The results compare favourably with the 

 investigations of Messrs Willis and Bamber on 

 the cultivation and preparation of camphor in 

 Ceylon (Vide Circular Series I, No. 4 Koyal 

 Botanic Gardens, Ceylon 1901). Hooper (Vide 

 Parmaceutical Journal (56) Vol. ii P. 21) also 

 obtained a yield of 1 per cent of oil from leaves 

 of plants grown in India. In one instance the 

 oil is stated to contain only 10-15 per cent of 

 camphor, while another specimen yielded 

 75 per cent of camphor. Schimrael & Co. in 



Gormany, one of tho largost manufacturers of 

 ossential oils, also obtained an oil from the 

 roots, which was stated to consist chiefly of 

 camphor. The amount of camphor isolated from 

 the oil will depeud on temperature, etc., more 

 camphor can be separated from the oil by 

 cooling, and also by redistilling the oil alone, 

 preferably under reduced pressure, or with 

 steam. The camphor is a much more valuable 

 commercial article than the oil, but the oil is 

 also used to a considerable extent now for the 

 preparation of safrol, as well as for solvent 

 purposes, in cheap porfumery, soaps, etc. 



Future Experiments. 



The experiments already initiated will be 

 carried on as time permits with further material 

 and with younger trees. The trees in the Ex- 

 perimental Plantation, Kuala Lumpur, are only 

 two years old, and experiments will be made 

 with these at intervals, to ascertain the yields 

 at different stages of the plant's growth. Ex- 

 periments are also being made to find the most 

 suitable planting distances and in addition the 

 most suitable form of cultivation, methods of 

 pruning and their effects are being investigated. 

 Analyses of the soils on which these trees are 

 being cultivated will also be made, and the 

 manurial value of the prunings estimated 

 before and after extraction. 



Borneo Camphor. 



Investigations are also being carried on with 

 Bryohalanops V amphora of the Natural Order 

 Dipteroca peae, commonly known as the Borneo 

 or Sumatra camphor tree, from which the valu- 

 able so-called Borneo Camphor is obtained. This 

 tree does not yield the true "camphor' known 

 in commerce but a closely related compound 

 known as Borneo!. The oil and "camphor'' has 

 not hitherto been an article of commerce athome 

 but is chiefly used by various Eastern nations 

 for ritualistic purposes and for embalming. .No 

 very detailed chemical examinationof the oil has 

 so far been carried out, owing to the scarcity of 

 the oil. The oil has been obtained previously 

 by distillation of the wood (age?) and by tap- 

 ping the trunks. The crystals of "camphor" 

 can often be seen in cavities in the wood. 

 According to Watt's " Commercial Products of 

 India,' 1908, this camphor is valued by the 

 Chinese at 40 to 80 times that of ordinary cam- 

 phor. An average tree (age ?) is said to yield 

 11 lb. the older trees being the most valuable, 

 while only some 10 per cent of the trees des- 

 troyed are really remunerative. Experiments 

 are being carried on at present with the prun- 

 ings fro ii trees nine years old cultivated in the 

 Experimental Plantation, Kuala Lumpur. —J. 

 W. Campbell, Supt., Exp. Plantation, F. M.S.; 

 B. J. Eaton, Government Chemist, F.M.8. 



COCONUT IN THE F. M. S. 



Mr. J. B. Garruthers Report. 



The "Consols of the East" have again had a 

 prosperous year. No serious outbreak of disease 

 occurred, and the crops from mature palms were 

 equal to the average of recent years. The rela 

 tively poor quality of the copra prepared in the 

 Native States is a question which is receiving 

 attention. The constant rainfall of Malaya makes 

 it often impossible to properly dry the copra 



