December, 1909.] 



501 



Drugs and Medicinal Products. 



be lifted from the soil with most of its 

 roots intact. Do not take hold of a seed- 

 ling by the growing bud, for by so doing 

 you will bruise it. 



Transplanting Seedlings to field. — Pack 

 the seedlings carefully in a shallow 

 basket provided with a handle, and keep 

 it covered so that the young plants are 

 protected from the air and sun. If the 

 field is close at hand do not lift too many 

 at the same time. A little loose damp 

 earth, sprinkled amongst the roots of 

 the plants and to slightly moisten and 

 cover the tops, enable the seedlings to 

 withstand the exposure entailed by a 

 longer journey. If this is done the plants 

 can be transported some considerable 

 distance, provided they have been pro- 

 perly packed. Good results may be 

 obtained, even if they are not set out 

 until the following day. This is, how- 

 ever, not to be recommended unless 

 absolutely necessary. 



CAMPHOR. 



Preliminary Notes on the Prepar- 

 ation op Camphor in the F. M. S. 



(From the Agricultural Bxdletin of the 

 Straits and b\ M. 8., Vol. VIII., No. 8, 

 August, 1909.) 



In view of the forthcoming Agricul- 

 tural Show at Penang in August, the 

 following notes on investigations which 

 are now being carried on in the prepar- 

 ation of Camphor from the common 

 Formosan or Japanese Camphor tree 

 together with notes on the cultivation 

 and growth of the plant in Malay Penin- 

 sula have been published, since it is 

 hoped that an exhibit of this product 

 among others prepared by the Agricul- 

 tural Department of the F. M. S. will 

 be on view at the Show and may be of 

 interest to planters. 



Considerable attention has been at- 

 tracted to this product during recent 

 years owing to the Japanese monopoly, 

 indeed, to such an extent that the 

 synthetic product has already been 

 placed on the market at home and in 

 Europe to compete with the natural 

 product, and this has been due to the 

 prevailing high prices of the natural 

 Camphor owing to the monopoly by 

 Japan. The synthetic product, however, 

 has been (for the time at any rate) short 

 lived, as owing to a fall in the price of 

 the natural product it was soon unable 

 to compete successfully with natural 

 camphor. It must, however, still be 

 borne in mind that cheaper sources of 

 raw material may eventually be found 

 from which to prepare the synthetic 



compound, than oil of turpentine, which 

 is the present raw material, and which 

 on account of its great demand for other 

 purposes is very costly. This monopoly 

 by the Japanese Government has had 

 another effect, for it has directed the 

 attention of planters and tropical agri- 

 culturists in the various colonies of the 

 Empire and in other countries, e.g, Cey- 

 lon, Hawaii, Southern India, and Cali- 

 fornia to the cultivation of the plant, 

 and considerable interest has been taken 

 in it recently in the Malay Peninsula. 



The value of the camphor industry to 

 the Japanese is thoroughly recognised 

 by their Government, and the wholesale 

 destruction of camphor trees in Formosa 

 and other places is now being compen- 

 sated for by a vigorous planting scheme. 

 It is interesting to note that between 

 1900 and 1906 some 3,000,000 trees were 

 planted and arrangements have been 

 made for the planting of some 750,000 in 

 each successive year. 



It will thus be seen that the Japanese 

 are fully alive to their interests in this 

 matter, and the tropical planter must not 

 look too much for that shortage of sup- 

 ply, due to the destruction and non- 

 renewal of the trees, which many 

 thought would come sooner or later. 



Supply. 



The World's consumption of camphor 

 in 1907 was estimated at 10,600,000 pounds, 

 (figures for 1908 are not available), about 

 70 per cent, of which was used in the 

 manufacture of celluliod, 15 per cent, in 

 the preparation of disinfectants ; 13 per 

 cent, in medicinal and pharmaceutical 

 preparations, and the remaining 2 per 

 cent, in the manufacture of explosives. 



To this amount Formosa contributed 

 5,388,918 lbs., the remainder came from 

 other Japanese Islands and from China. 



The camphor industry is one that can 

 of course never be put on the same foot- 

 ing as rubber in Malaya, but considering 

 the free growth of camphor trees in this 

 country, it would form a very suitable 

 subsidiary industry especially as a very 

 fair return may be expected in the third 

 year. 



It would probably scarcely pay to 

 plant less than 50 acres, while larger 

 areas up to a reasonable limit would pay 

 better. 



Botany and Habitat. 

 The common Japanese or Formosa 

 camphor Cinnamomum Camphora, Nees, 

 also known as Camphora officinalis or 

 Laurus Camphora, is an evergreen 

 tree belonging to the Natural Order 

 Laurineas. It is found along the Eastern 

 Coast of Asia from Cochin China to 



