April, 1909.] 



815 



together, seedsmen having already been 

 cautioned against selling large quantities 

 of camphor seed abroad, 



The decline in prices is said to be main- 

 ly due to the increased production of 

 Natural Camphor in China, and of Syn- 

 thetic Camphor iu Germany, also of 

 "Monol" and other substitutes. In the 

 South of China camphor trees are abun- 

 dant almost everywhere and the ex- 

 port is rapidly increasing. The Chinese 

 Camphor is not as pure as the Japanese, 

 owing to cruder methods of distillation. 



In Formosa the camphor production 

 was limited to the Western, Northern 

 and Southern parts of the Island, the 

 regions inhabited by the Aborigines 

 having scarcely been touched. 



Recently a Government expert dis- 

 covered a forest rich in camphor to the 

 South of Arisan, and a favourable deve- 

 lopment of the Formosan Camphor in- 

 dustry is anticipated from this fact. 



The Japanese have commenced the 

 cultivation of camphor in the Korean 

 Island, Quelpart, and intend introducing 

 there either the Borneo Camphor tree, or 

 the rapidly-growing composite Blumea 

 balsamifera. 



Successful experiments in the culti- 

 vation of camphor have recently been 

 made in parts of Upper Burma, close to 

 the China Province of Yunnan. The 

 Government of Assam have also made 

 successful cultivation experiments in 

 the plant of Watiiain. 



Numerous enquiries have now been 

 made to this Department for the best 

 methods of distillation of camphor from 

 the leaves, and it is evident that the 

 areas planted in India, Malay States, &c, 

 are now coming into bearing. 



A paper by Giglioli, " Le Cauifora 

 Italiana, Rome, 1998," has now appeared 

 in print, and is said to supply detailed in- 

 formation on the production and the price 

 fluctuation of Synthetic Camphor ; the 

 presence, production and commercial con- 

 ditions of the Natural product; botan- 

 ical, geographical and climatological 

 notes on the camphor tree ; production 

 and purification of camphor and the state 

 of the trade and prices of camphor oil. 



He recommends the cultivation in every 

 part of Italy except the interior, and the 

 cooler northern provinces ; and drought 

 and inclement winds must be avoided. 

 The average camphor content in fresh 

 leaves grown in Italy is given as from 

 1*2 to 1*8 per cent, and about 0"5 per cent, 

 of oil. The average yield obtained by 

 distilling by the Japanese method is 1 

 per cent, of pure camphor. 



Riviere, a French Scientist, in the 

 Journal d' Agriculture tropicale 8 (1908) 



129 is sceptical about the cultivation of 

 camphor and distilling the leaves, and 

 does not think it can compete with cam- 

 phor from the natural forests of old trees 

 or with the synthetic camphor now being 

 put on the market — a new factory for 

 which is being established in Finland 

 to develop a new process of Komppa. 



Cinnamon Oil, Ceylon.— The chemical 

 properties are given of Ceylon Cinnamon 

 oil as bright yellow, feeble acid re- 

 action : d ois 1024 to 1040 ad, slightly to 

 the left. Soluble iu every proportion of 

 90 per cent, alcohol : test for nitric acid ; 

 Aldehyde content 65 to 75 per cent, 

 (determined with Sodium bisulphate). 



Lemon Grass Oil. —The price of this 

 oil fell from 9d. per oz. in 1905-06 to 

 2d. in 1908, owing to large imports 

 from West Indies accumulating in Lon- 

 don ; but these are now to a great 

 extent cleared and such large supplies 

 are not liable to be repeated so quickly 

 in future. 



The oil content of the individual parts 

 of Andropogon citraitis have been 

 investigated by A. W. K. de Jong, who 

 found that the leaves contained most of 

 the oil, the largest quantity being iu the 

 latest formed leaf, decreasing as the 

 leaf ages. 



The citrate content of the oil becomes 

 slightly higher as the age of the leaf 

 increases, viz., from 77 to 79 per cent, 

 in the youngest to 83 per cent, in the 

 oldest leaves. The sheaths also contain 

 oil but less than the leaves themselves. 



The thick bulbous roots also contain 

 from 5 to 35 per ceut. of oil according 

 to the age and their distillation is sug- 

 gested, but the quality and citiate con- 

 tent is not given. 



De Jong concludes that the plants 

 should be cut when four or five leaves 

 only have formed. 



In Cochin-China distillation experi- 

 ments have been made which show that 

 the grass contains much more oil in the 

 dry than rainy season, and that the tip of 

 the leaf to one-third of its length i s more 

 aromatic than the remaining two-thirds. 



Dried leaves, losing 70 per cent, of 

 moisture, yielded 8 to 8'5 per cent, of 

 oil, whilst fresh leaves yielded in the 

 rainy season 2 per cent, and in the dry 

 5*5 per cent. 



Citron ella Oil— The present quotations 

 are given as lid. c.i.f., and the exports 

 from Ceylon up to the end of October, 

 1908, compared with the same 



}2g - ... 1,068,974 



• 1,039,774 

 1908 - - 1,069,439 



M. K. B, 



