March 1, 1902. J 
THE TROPICAL AaRICULTURIST. 
587 
CAMPHOR. 
The recent establishment by the Government of 
Japan of a monopoly of the production and sale of 
camphor in Formosa has attracted much attention to 
this product, and at the same time, by raising the 
market price, has rendered it by no means unlikely 
that this may prove to be a profitable cultivation in 
Ceylon. The present Circnlar is issued to lay before 
the planting public, the chief facts conne3ted with 
this industry, and to describe the methods of cultiva- 
tion and preparation which have been found best 
suited to Csylon in the experiments so far tried with 
this tree. 
The total export of camphor to Europe and America 
is perhaps about 60,000 piculs annually, or 8,000,000 lb. 
The market value of crude camphor in Europe is at 
present about 155 shillings per cwt., or about Is. Aid. 
per lb. Camphor was formerly used chiefly as a drug 
and for the prevention of insect ravages in clothing, 
(fee, but of late years, in addition to these Qses, it has 
been largely employed in the manufacture of smoke- 
less powders and of celluloid. The tree also produces 
an oil, — camphor oil, — obtained with the camphor 
in the preparation of the latter, and which ia used in 
the manufacture of soaps and for other purposes. 
BOTANY, 
Common, Formosa, Chinese, or Japanese camphor 
is the product of Cinnamommn Camp?iora, Nees, a tree 
occurring native along the eastern side of Asia from 
Coohin-China to Shanghai, and in the islands from 
Hainan to South Japan ; its limits of latitudinal 
range are from 10" to 34« N., but it is cultivated ia 
Japan to 36« N. In the southern parts of Its range it 
occurs chiefly in the hills, 
Two other forms of camphor are frequently met 
with, though rarely exported to Europe. Barns, 
Bhimsaini, Borneo, or Malaj camphor ia the product 
of Dryohalanops Camphora, Colebr,, a large tree of 
the family Dipterocarpacea9, occurring in the islands 
of Snniilra, Boraeo, &c. This camphor is slightly 
heavier than common camphor, and ia highly prized 
by the nativos of India and China, who purchase 
the entire very small produce at fancy prices, from 
100 to 200 shillings per pound. A third form, Ngai, 
or Blumea camphor, is prepared in S E. China 
from Blumra balsamifera, one of the family CompositsB 
In Ceylon the natives prepare a small quantity of 
camphor from the roots of cinnamon, Cinmmomum 
geijlanicum, a jjlant nearly related to the true 
camphor. In the remainder of this paper only the 
common camphor, Cianamomum Camphora, will be 
dealt with. 
In Its native country the plant grows into a tree 
about 100 feet high with a trunk 2 to 3 feet in 
diameter. It is evergreen, with moderate sized 
laurel-like leaves, which when crushed smell strongly 
of camphor. It may be well to mention in this con- 
nection that the tree is very handsome when young 
and forms one of the best ornamental trees for rond- 
sides, parks, compounds, &c., in Ceylon, 
The native habitat of the species is not widely 
extended, but it has been successfully cultivated in 
Ceylon, India, Australia, Florida, California, and 
elsewhere. It was introduced into Ceylon by tho 
Eoyal Botanic Gardens in 1852. In 1895 plants were 
largely distributed from Hakgala to many planters 
and others. These were the result of seeds obtained 
in the autumn of 1893 from Japan. Mr. Nock, 
Superintendent of Hakgala, has collected information 
about these trees^ some 950 in all, and reports as 
follows ; — 
" Duriag 1895 plants of camphor were distributed 
! from Hakgala to planters in various parts of the 
I Island at elevations ranging from 250 to 6,450 feet, 
i •with annual rainfalls varying from 64 inches on 104 
' days to 217 inches on 212 days. Replies aa to the 
' growth of the plants have been received from thirty 
ii lQcalities, jkucl Itbink it is pretty well proved that 
under certain conditions of soil and climate camphor 
will thrive at all elevations in Ceylon from about sea 
level to the highest mountains. 
" It appears to thrive best in a well-drained deep 
sandy loam in sheltered situations with a rainfall of 
90 inches and over, and dislikes poor or close, stiff 
nndrained soil. The growth is slow in sterile soil', 
but, under favourable conditions, in good soil is 
very rapid, the tree reaching a height of 18 to 20 feet 
in five years, with a spread of branches of 8 to H 
feet and a stem of 6 to 7 inches in diameter. This 
compares very favourably with the growth of the 
trees lu their native habitat, where a tree 30 feet 
high and 6 inches in diameter, a ten years old li 
considered good. The best five-year old tree (from 
planting) in Ceylon ia at Veyangoda, at an elevatioa 
of about 100 feet with a rainfall of about 100 inches 
on ISO days. It is_25 feet high and growing Inzuriantly, 
The next best are at Hakgala, where the largest is 20 
feet high, with a spread of 13 feet, and a stemdiameter 
of 7J inches at the ground. 
" The habit of the trees in Ceylon in good soil la 
bushy, with a tendency to throw up many stems. 
This is a point of importance, as it shows that the 
tree will coppice well and stand frequent cuttings or 
prunings, and possibly even plucking of the flush as 
with tea. In close, hard, nndrained or stiff clayey 
soil the growth is poor, and the habit stunted or 
dwarfed, and this is also the case in exposed wind> 
blov?n situations. 
" Of course it ia only in the experimental stage 
here yet, but judging from my experience of it for 
»ome years, it is my opinion that as a minor pro- 
duct it should be grown in the form of hedges, 
planted at distances of 6 to 9 feet apart and 3 to S 
feet apart in the rov7. The rows should run N.W. knd 
S.E., or across the directions of the prevailing winds, 
and the plants be allowed to grow 6 to 9 feet high. 
Planted in this way there would be ample room for 
eultivation, and each row would shelter the other 
from the N,E. and S.W, winds, besides forming a 
large surface for clipping. As the young shoots 
appear to yield the most camphor, the crop conld ba 
obtained by clipping the hedge with a pair of light 
shears, and the expense would be very slight. The 
trees might also be planted at 6 feet apart, and 
treated in the same way aa tea bushes, or they 
might be planted 12 feet apart, and trained as 
pyramids, or again planted 4 feet apart and alternate 
plants coppiced in alternate years.") 
PROPAGATION, CULTITATION, &C, 
Mr. Nock states : — 
" Camphor plants are best and easily propagated 
from seeds. The seeds do not keep well, and should 
ba sown as soon aa possible after ripening. They 
ripen iu Japan, which at present ia the only impor- 
tant source of seed, in October and November, and 
should be ordered some time in advance, so as to 
obtain them as soon as they are ripe. 1 find it a 
good plan to soak the seed in water for twenty-four 
to forty-eight hours before sowing, agitating the 
water occasionally. The best seeds, being heavier, 
will sink to the bottom, and these should be sowa 
thinly by themselves ; the lighter ones should be 
sown thickly, as only a small percentage will germi- 
nate. 
" The seeds should be sown in well-prepared beds 
of sandy loam and leaf mould ; they should be sown 
from I to I inch deep, making the bed firm, but not 
tight. The beds should be kept shaded and just moist 
Too much wet will cause the young seedlings to 
damp off, and if allowed to get too dry the germa 
will quickly dry up and die. 
" We have been most successful when the seed has 
been sown iu boxes (made of Hnch wood) 18 by 13 bf 
3i inches, filled with the kind of soil described above. 
The boxes are handy to lift about, and can be easily 
groteoted frpm li^avy raia and ^Jrpng sun. Sbedi 
