THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
[Aug.  I,  1895. 
104 
INDIAN  PATENTS. 
Calcutta,  the  6th  June,  lasto. 
Applications  in  respect  of  the  undermentioned  In- 
ventions have  been  filed,  duiirg  the  week  ending  1st 
June  1895,  unde  the  provisions  of  Act  V of  1888. 
Foj(  Flooiung  Staulks  and  Pokticoes. — 182  of  1895.— 
H.  Fornaro,  Engineer  and  Contractor,  residing  at  No. 
17,  Convent  Road,  Entally,  for  flooring  stables,  por- 
ticoes, passages  for  carriages  and  horses,  foot-paths, 
etc.,  etc.,  in  such  a substantial  way  as  lias  never  been 
done  before. 
Fob  Imi’Kovements  in  ihe  Constbuciion  and  Manu- 
FACTUBE  or  Shingles  fob  Roofs,  'Walls,  Flooding 
Hoards,  and  such  Similau  Puhfoses.— 185  of  1895. — 
Joseph  Heim  of  Singapore  and  Penang,  Merchant, 
residing  at  Penang,  in  the  Colony  of  the  Straits  Settle- 
ments, for  improvements  in  the  constiuction  and  manu- 
facture of  shingles  for  roofs,  walls,  flooring,  boards,  and 
such  similar  purposes. 
For  Impkovements  in  and  connected  with  Machi- 
ne by  FOB  PBODUCING  CoTTON  SEED  MEAT. — 667  of  1894 
— George  Henry  Cioker,  an  Inventor,  of  18,  Bellevue 
Road,  Seacombe,  in  the  County  of  Chester,  England, 
for  improvements  in  and  connected  with  machinery 
for  producing  cotton  seed  meal  from  cotton  seeds. 
(Filed  23rd,  May,  1895.) — Indian  Engineer. 
“ CAMPHOR”— A NEW  IT.ODI  CT  : 
WORTHY  OF  SPECIAL  ATTENTION  FROM 
CEYLON  PLANTERS. 
Thk  Acting  Director  of  our  Botfiiiical  Oanlens 
deserves  the  tlianks  of  tlie  planting  coninuinity 
for  being  on  tlie  alert  at  this  time,  to  Ining  lii.s 
available  supply  of  camjihor  plants  under  their  no- 
tice. For,  we  have  observed,  etjually  with  Mr.  Nock, 
that  the  market  reports  speak  of  an  anticipateel 
famine  of  the  raw  product  in  the  Camjdior  trade, 
and  the  camphor  tree  is  one  that  may  readily 
be  grown  in  many  jiarts  of  Ceylon.  This  i.s 
proved  by  the  siicce.ss  which  has  attended  the 
cultivation  both  at  Peradeniya  and  Hakgalla, 
ami  it  is  Mr.  Nock’s  belief  that  it  will  Hourisli 
— in  the  drier  districts  esjiecially — anywhere  be- 
tween '2,000  feet  and  the  frost -line.  These  con- 
ditions make  it  plain  that  there  must  be  a wide 
extent  of  land  suited  to  the  cultivation  of  the 
camphor  tree  and  we  cannot  help  thinking  that 
the  present  would  be  a favourable  time  for  some 
of  our  more  enterprising  jdanteio  to  commence  to 
rdve  it  a trail.  We  learn  that  a small,  youngs 
plantation  of  camphor  trees,  is  groAving  well  at 
Peradeniya  (Jrdens  and  the.  trees  are  in  perfect 
health  and  vigour  at  Hakgalla.  I 'va  ought  from 
all  accounts  to  be  a “ I'aradisc ’’  for  (be  cam- 
phor tree  I 
The  annual  export  of  this  jiroducL  from  Jajian 
averages  about  5,000,<.kJO  lb.  (five  million  iiounds) 
and  the  prices  quoted  in  the  I’honno.ccHtiral 
Jourunl,  dated  8th  June,  are  for  “ Crude”  Camphor 
from  loos  to  160s  per  picul  (luciil  — IJJ^  lb.  i and 
for  reiined  Camphor  the  quotation  is  Is  9.L1  jicr 
11).  ami  even  ui>  to  Is  JOAd.  Cain))hor  is  an  article 
of  daily  consumiitioii  ; for  it  is  “ imed  as  a meiliciiie 
in  diseases— from  the  most  fatal  form  of  Asiatic 
cholera  to  a mere  cohl  in  the  head.”  It  is  also 
used  in  the  manufacture  ol  explosives  and,  we 
believe,  enters  largely  into  the  composition  of  the 
.sinokele."s  gunpow<ler. 
Aiiartfrom  tliese])ossible  outlets  for  large <|uanti- 
ties  we  must  remember  that  tlie  jilant  is  an  ever- 
•'reen  ornamental  treeofthelaurel family,  and  yields 
valuable  woo«l  for  cabinets  (especially  for  entomolo- 
gists) ami  fancy  articles.  It  is  also  u.scti  in  ship- 
building, and  tlie  oil  it  ju-oduces  is  useful  for  illu- 
Vjluatihc'  and  yllier  puipo.:Ci>.  Tltcw  aj^aiu 
camphor  is  a long-lived  tree.  Some  trees  in  Japan 
are  said  to  be  upwards  of  300  years  old,  and  in  the 
r/tai  iiiaceutical  Journal  of  Sept.  30tli,  1893,  it  is 
stated  “ that  in  a village  in  Kochi  (Tosa)  there  i«  a 
group  of  thirteen  trees  about  100  years  old ; 
and  it  ha.s  been  estimated  that  these  are  capable 
of  yielding  some  40,000  lb.  of  Crude  Camphor, 
ami  are,  therefore,  worth  as  they  now  stand  (in 
1893)  4,000  silver  dollars!”  The  camphor  is  pre- 
pared from  the  wood  of  the  tree  by  iioiling  the 
chopped  branches  in  water,  Avhen,  after  .some 
time,  the  camphor  becomes  deposited,  and  is  puri- 
fied by  sublimation.  We  shall  give  a good  deal 
of  further  practical  information  on  the  subject 
in  our  Tropical  Affriculturisf. 
The  drawback  to  tlie  cultivation  of  camphor 
appears  to  be  that  the  trees  require  to  attain  a 
certain  age  before  its  branches,  &c.,  yield  the 
ding  in  any  considerable  quantity.  But  this  delay 
was  the  objection  in  Ceylon,  with  cinchona  at  first, 
ami  we  must  remember  how  our  planters  soon 
narrowed  down  the  limit  for  returns  in  the  case 
of  cinchona  to  a few  years ; but,  meantime,  Mr. 
Nock  would  do  a public  service  by  experimenting 
with  one  or  two  of  his  trees  and  reporting  the 
yield  according  to  age.  As,  besides  the 
branches,  camphor  is  found  in  every  jiart  of 
the  tree  from  the  root  to  the  leaves,  we  have 
no  doubt  that  if  the  tree  is  found  to  grow  well, 
a way  will  speedily  be  found  to  overcome  the 
difficulty  of  age  and  we  may  then  find  it 
become  one  of  our  more  important  minor  pro- 
ducts, with  a steadily  increasing  value  as  an 
aid  to  our  staples.  Let  a fair  and  full  trial  then 
be  given  to  camphor. 
♦- 
NOTES  FROM  MID-UVA. 
Juno  21st. 
As  yet  we  cannot  boast  of  a pucka  mousoon. 
After  a few  stormy  rainy  clays,  we  have  sultry 
weather  here ; today  the  vast  dome  overhead  is 
arched  and  high,  and  the  blue  heavens  are  flocked 
with  silvery  clouds.  Will  it  last  V If  so,  the  monsoon 
is  almost  a failure  here,  and  the  goiyas  will  suffer 
for  want  of  a sufficient  supply'  of  rain,  and  this 
means  to  the  native  cultivators,  privation  and 
poverty. 
The  Tea  Estates  look  well,  the  recent  high  winds, 
however,  have  checked  the  flush;  the  coolies  on  most 
estates  are  healthy,  but  where  streams  are  almost 
dry,  and  the  coolies  get  their  water  fioni  ixiols, 
fiiil  of  decaying  vegetable  matter,  there  are  bowel 
complaints;  baJ  water,  full  of  fcculeucies  is  the 
very  bane  of  cooly  life  on  some  estates  in  Ceylon, 
Ivargc  tanks  of  various  kinds  might  be  introduced, 
with  great  advantage  on  some  estates  ; and  the  water 
given  out  once  a day  to  the  labourers. 
There  are  many  Civil  Servavtb  in  Ceylon  in 
these  harsh  times,  who  have  retired  from  public  life, 
in  the  prime  of  their  intellectual  life  ; what  are 
they  intending  to  do  for  their  native  land  in  their 
declining  years,  I wonder,  now  that  they  have  leisure 
and  settled  incomes.  1 hear  one  old  veteran  hai 
a little  tea  estate  near  Galle  ; might  he  not  add  an  or- 
chard also;  how  little  grafting  of  fruit  trees  is  carried  out 
in  Ceylon,  conqiared  with  other  countries.  Might  not 
old  civilians  take  a liking  to  the  cultivation  and 
improvement  of  the  various  kinds  of  tropical  fruit 
trees  that  grow  in  our  fertile  isle  ; tne  mango 
needs  greatly  to  be  improved  by  grafting,  ite. 
Pensioned  civilians  in  India  have  paid  attention  for 
years  past  to  the  improvement  of  fruit  trees,  have 
introduced  new  varieties  and  spent  the  evening  of  their 
lives  in  the  cultivation  of  orchards  and  flower  gardens 
to  the  benefit  of  the  land  of  their  adoption.  Let  the 
Ceylon  retireil  civilians  take  a lesson  frcni  their 
leiiViied  brethren  of  India  and  who  have  retired  OU 
peusioD  iiom  public  lii'e, 
