298 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[Nov. 1, 190L 
CAMPHOR OIL. 
By Pbofessoii Hhimoyama, Ph.D. 
(Communicated hy Our Yokohama Correspondent.) 
There is scarcely any need to say that camphor 
is one of the chief export staples from the Japanese 
Empire, and according to statistics, during the 
first four months of this year 1,435,000 yen worth 
have been exported. The Formosan Government 
estimates the annual production in that island at 
50,000 piculs of camphor and 20,000 piculs of so-called 
original oil of camphor, the latter containing 50 per 
cent of camphor. At present two Japanese merchants 
in Kobe are engaged in redistilling camphor out 
of the original oil by arrangement with the 
Pormosan Government, In the course of redistilla- 
tion two grades of red and vphiie oils are yielded. 
White oil, moie popularly known as camphor oil, 
finds its way throughout the interior, and is very 
widely used by the Japanese for disinfection ; while 
red oil is exported to Europe and elsewhere to the 
extent of from 7,500 piculs at the best to 3,600 piculs 
at the least annually. This red oil of camplior is 
used in foreign countries for the manufacture of 
safrol, which is very widely used abroad in the soap 
Bad perfume industries ; and is also used a« a raw 
material for the manufacture of heliotropin, the 
price of which has been reduced from 500 yen per 
kilo, to something like 17 yen per kilo. 
About twenty years ago, when no one knew how 
to use this red oil economically, and distillers used 
to throw it away, Mr. K. Goto, a merchant in 
Kobe, made a trial shipment of it, in order to find 
a market, but without any success at ihe time. 
In 1883 Mr. Peltman, of Messrs. Sohimmel & Co., 
Leipzig, Germany, invented a process for making 
safrol out of it ; thus red camphor oil found its 
way to Europe. In the first instance prices were 
abnormally low, foreign buyers paying only 3 yen 
per picul for it. ■■since then, owing to increased 
demand, it has advanced to nearly six times the 
price ; present export quotations are from 17 to 18 
yen per picul. 
Out of a picul of this red oil 50 catties of eatro' 
are produced, so that there is no doubt that foreign 
buyers were, and are, making enormous profits, as 
the cost of production is trifling, and they get for 
safrol 60 yen to 70 yen per 50 catties. 
When I visited Formosa in February last year for 
botanical research, by instruction of the Imperial 
University, I was asked by Dr. S Goto, Chief of 
the Civil Aiiairs Bureau, to submit a report about 
the manufacture of safrol out of red oil of cam- 
phor. Consequently I began an investigation in 
April, 1900, and completed it by July. A detailed 
report was submitted to the Formosan Government 
in November, As a result, it was decided to make 
experiments on a large scale at a cost of 50,(l00 
yen, and the plant has been laid down in Kobe. 
The result is satisfactory so far, but when the plant 
is completed not less than 500 catties of safrol can 
be made daily. When safrol is manufactured out 
of red oil a blue-coloured oil is obtained, which 1 
estimate to amount to 1,000 " koku " in a year. 
After a long research and hard labours I found 
that it is a very powerful disiufectant. So I named 
it " Disinfector, " A sample of it was sent to the 
Government Laboratory, and I was informed that 
it has great power as a disinfectant, and is par- 
ticularly potent in destroying the plague bacillus. 
In my opinion, it is a stronger disinfectant than 
carbolic acid, and will be used widely in the in- 
terior. It is a custom of the Japanese peasants 
to use kerosino for killing worms and insects, which 
iometimes do seiious harm to the rice-harvest ; 
and I believe this " Disinfector " can be used in- • 
Bbead of kerosine at a far cheaper rate. The Colonial 
Government, it is said, is to make practical tests in 
their experimental agricultural stations. The result 
will, no doubt, be B&iinlwiiox}/ .—Chemist and Druggist. 
CRUSHING CASTOR SEED. 
The ' Dutch mill ' is n ithing more than two heavy 
iron uprights connected by two rods on which elide, by 
means of holes, thin sheet iron plates. One upright 
carries a screw thread into which a massive shaft, 
cut into screw form, woiks. This scrw is actuated 
by long levers fitting into socket holes in a boss 
at its outer extremity after the manner of a windlass. 
The castor Sf ed after beiug carefully shelled or divested 
of its black skin, and winnowed so that no black 
particles remain, is bruised and made up into little 
packets with thin muslin cloth. These are placed 
between the plates of the machine, one between e.ich 
division, to the number of 40 or 50. The screw is 
then tightened upon them, two men working the levers 
windlass fashion till the oil is expressed. There is a 
limit of course to the power of manual labour, and the 
process does not extract ihe whole oil, much of which 
remains in the resulting cake. The shelling and win- 
nowing process demands care, as upon the freedom 
from the black skin depends the purity of the oil ; 
besides which this skin is of a horny ind elastic 
nature and very resistant to pressure. This matters 
little under the enormous pressure of the hydraulic, 
but when manual labour is used the incompressibility 
of the skin would result in a loss of oil, by reason 
of the resistance offered to the action of the press. 
Although this process is called a cold process, it 
must be remarked that unless a moderate heat is 
applied to the plates of the machines to heat the 
seeds, the oil will not flow freely. Heat is applied 
in practice by shallow troughs of lighted charcoal 
placed one on each side beneath the row of plates, 
but not under the seed being crushed. The ' Dutch 
mill, ' owing to its simplicity, is cheap to construct 
and easily worked by unskilled labour —Indian 
Gaidenincj and Planting. 
ORANGE AND LEMON CURING AND 
PACKING. 
Br A. Despeis,sis. 
Late in the autumn the attention of the grower is 
turned from his deciduous to his evergreen trees, of 
these, those \hich are of greatest importance to him 
are the trees of the citrus family. 
As in the case of the deciduous trees which furnish 
the summer fruit crop, the choice of varieties to 
grow is made from a long list. In deciding what 
varieties to plant, several factors will influence the 
grower's choice, and, amougst others, the peculiarity 
of the local climate ; the requirements of the market 
to supply ; the character of the soil. 
No climate is too warm for trees of the citrus 
tribe, provided that the parching efiect of the torrid 
atmosphere is mitigated by a sufficiency of moisture 
in the ground. On the other hand, oranges, lemons 
and their like, cease to be prufitable if grown in 
cooler climate better suited to the cultivation of 
pippins or of berries. A few strong trees may be 
found to thrive excellently under the conditions 
which prevail in such localities when sufficiently nro- 
tected,but these are exceptions, from which* it 
would be unwise tojdraw general deductions. 
As regards the susceptibility of citrus trees to with- 
stand hard frost, pomaloes and mmdarins come first ; 
they are followed by oranges and kumquats, lemons 
come next, with limes and citrons list on the list. 
A description of each variety of these several 
species of citrus trees does not come within the 
scope of this chapter, and the information has 
already been given. 
To the average West Australian grower pomaloes 
kumquats, citrons and limes are of as great account. 
The first three are valuable for their peel, which 
is candied, whilst limes, and sometimes citrons 
are more largely cultivated for the sake of the 
acid juice of their fruit. As old trees only of 
these varieties are to "be found in West Australian 
groves, all information referring to the manufacture 
