Aug.  I,  1896.1 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST, 
107 
Will  this  movement  in  prices,  common  to  India 
and  Ceylon  alike,  be  turther  accentuated  in  the  future? 
It  will  depend  upon  the  amount  and  the  ejuality  of 
tlio  coining  crops  : should  they  fall  short  of  the 
world's  rei^uirement,  we  may  see  it  reversed  ; but  if 
ample,  producers  should  be  prepared  for  low  rates 
for  all  inferior  kinds. 
As  regards  the  homo  trade,  wo  anticipate  a grow- 
ing appreciation  for  the  fine  llavoured  varieties, 
whether  grown  in  Assam  or  on  the  hills  of  Darjee- 
ling and  Ceylon ; and  for  this  reason the  com- 
petition to  sell  “ cheap”  tea  seems  to  bo  wearing  it- 
self out;  the  public  has  had  enough  of  the  “ shilJing 
canister,”  and  the  vendors  find  they  do  no  good  by 
selling  it  ; consequently,  their  aim  is  now  to  make 
trade  by  selling  good  tea  at  a reasonable  price.  This 
will  probably  determine  the  course  of  the  market 
such  time  as  a short  supply,  or  a specially  fine  crop, 
lifts  the  value  of  the  lower  grades. 
Kespecting  the  prospect  of  receiving  more  fine  tea 
from  India,  a high  an'hority  in  Calcutta  writes  to 
us,  ‘‘  In  late  years  the  policy  ihrougiiout  Cachar 
and  Sylliet  has  been  to  plant  on  fiat  lauds  ; this 
means  quantity  not  quality.  The  larger  proportion 
of  extensions  in  recent  years  has  been  made  in 
these  districts  and  in  the  Dooars,  the  most  fertile 
land  and  prolific  jats  being  selected.  It  is,  then, 
apparent  that  the  proporlioit,  of  laud  calculated  to 
produce  fine  tea  diminishes  as  we  progress  ; and  we 
are  of  opinion  that  the  gardens  in  Assam  and 
Darjeeling  which  can  produce  fine  quality  are  in  a 
strong  and  possibly  improving  position.”  As  in  Dar- 
jeeling, so  too,  we  believe  in  the  districts  of  Ceylon 
which  give  the  finer  qualities,  the  laud  remaining 
available  for  plantations  is  limited  to  a small  area. 
There  remain  Travancore  and  the  new  territories 
being  opened  in  the  South  Wynaad  ; both  of  these 
districts  seem  capable  of  producing  fairly  good  crops 
at  a comparatively  low  cost,  but  they  have  not  yet 
proved  their  capacity  to  yield  tea  equal  to  the  finer 
grows  of  India  or  Ceylon. 
Wm.  Jas.  & Hy.  Thompson. 
CAMPHOR. 
Camphor  is  not  the  exclusive  product  of  any  one 
natural  order,  genus,  or  species ; but  what  is  more 
remarkable,  of  closely  allied  species  of  camphor- 
yielding  genera— one  species  possesses  the  secretion, 
while  no  trace  of  it  is  found  in  another.  Although 
several  kinds  of  camphor  are  articles  of  commerce, 
little,  if  apy,  reaches  this  country,  save  that  obtained 
from  t'innamomuui.  camphora  (Vampliom  ojlicinamm),  a 
memher  of  the  laurel  family,  and'  of  the  same  genus 
as  the  tree  whose  bark  furnishes  the  spice  called 
cinnamon.  Like  many  other  natural  products  of  which 
scientific  research  has  multiplied  the  applications, 
camphor  is  becoming  dearer  and  scarcer,  and  the 
quescion  has  arisen.  How  is  the  supply  to  be  main- 
tained equal  to  the  demand  ? The  bulk  of  the  cam- 
phor imported  into  Europe  comes  from  .lapan  and 
Pormosa,  and  comparatively  little  from  China.  This 
is  the  product  of  Cinnamomuiii  camphora,  and  Dr.  E. 
Grasmanu  has  published*  an  interesting  account  of 
this  tree,  both  from  a scientific  and  commercial 
standpoint,  lie  has  rather  overweighted  his  article 
with  second-hand  information  respecting  laurels  gene- 
rally and  those  of  .Japan  in  particular,  which,  as 
might  be  expected,  is  inaccurate  in  some  details.  JJis- 
regardiug  these,  we  find  much  that  is  interesting  con- 
cerning the  camphor-tree  itself,  which  is  one  of  the 
noblest  objects  in  the  forests  of  eastern  sub-trophical 
Asia.  It  attains  gigantic  dimensions,  surpassing  all 
other  trees  of  the  Japanese  forests,  at  least  in  girth 
of  trunk  it  not  in  total  height.  Dr.  Q-rasmaun  gives 
the  recorded  dimensions  of  various  notable  trees,  but 
what  is  more  to  the  point,  he  also  gives  measure- 
ments made  by  himself.  A tree  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  town  of  Miyazaki,  Oyodomura,  measured  in 
' “ Der  Kainpferbaiim.  Mittheihingen  dcr  deutschen 
Gesellschaft  fiir  Natur-  uud  Vblkerkuude  Oslasiens  in 
Tokio,”  vi.  pp.  277-315,  with  illustrations.  1335. 
1831,  was  11’80  metres  in  circumference  at  ]'30m 
from  the  ground,  or  4’18m.  in  diameter,  and  it  was 
35  m.  high.  There  is  an  illustration  of  this  giant 
reproduced  from  a photograph.  Concerning  the  dis- 
tiibution  of  the  camphor-tree  in  Japan,  the  author 
states  that  it  grows  naturally  in  Einshin  up  to  about 
34  deg.  lat.,  and  scattered  in  favourable  situations 
some  2 deg.  farther  north,  the  extreme  limit  being 
35  deg.  2T.  It  is  abundant  in  the  island  of  Eormosa, 
and  also  occurs  in  the  Tsusima  and  Luchu  groups. 
On  the  mainland  of  China,  according  to  Dr.  Gras- 
mann,  it  inhabits  the  coast  region  from  Cochin-China 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Yangtzekiang,  and  it  may  be 
added  that  it  is  now  known  to  extend  westwards  at 
least  as  far  as  Ichang  in  the  central  province  of 
Hupeh.  From  Dr.  A.  Henry’s  notes  accompanying 
his  specimens  in  the  Kew  Herbarium,  it  appears  that 
the  wood  is  in  great  request,  but  no  camphor  is 
extracted  ; uud  Consul  I’layfair  reported  the  same 
from  Eakhoi,  Kwangtung,  in  1883.  Indeed  the  cam- 
phor industry  wouhl  seem  to  be  at  present  very 
limited  in  China,  although  the  tree  is  common  and 
widely  spread.  'The  little  that  is  ex^iorted  is  mostly 
from  the  province  of  Fokien,  but  the  amount  is  in- 
creasing in  the  same  measure  as  the  production  is 
decreasing  in  Japr.n.  In  the  latter  country  something 
has  been  done  to  maim  1 in  the  supply,  but  Dr. 
Grasmann  holds  that  the  pnosent  rate  of  planting 
is  wholly  inadequate.  He  urges  the  importance  of 
increasing  the  plantation  to  the  greatest  piossible  extent, 
inasmuch  as  every  part  of  the  tree  is  useful,  from 
the  roots  to  the  young  shoots  and  leaves.  Even  the 
fruit  is  employed  in  the  preparation  of  tallow.  In 
Formosa  camphor  distilling  has  been  cariicd  011  in 
the  most  recklessly  extravagant  inanncr  imaginable. 
It  is  suggested  that  Japanese  rule  in  the  island  nuiy 
put  a stop  to  such  disastrous  waste. 
With  regard  to  the  increasing  price  of  camphor,  it 
has  been  stated  in  various  publications  that  this  is 
due  to  its  being  used  in  the  manufacture  of  smoke- 
less powder.  In  reply  to  inquiries  on  this  pioint,  Sir 
Frederick  Abel  wrote  to  the  Director  of  Kew  in 
November  last  as  follows: — 
“ Any  increase  of  demand,  involving  a rise  in  tho 
price  of  camphor,  is  not  duo  to  its  application  as 
a constituent  of  smokeless  powder.  That  material 
was  used  in  the  earliest  days  of  the  manufacture 
of  a successful  smokeless  powder  for  artillery  and 
small  arms  ; but  its  employment  was  soon  demons- 
trated to  be  attended  with  serious  piraciical  disadvan- 
tages, and  its  application  for  the  piurpi  se  can  there- 
fore not  be  said  to  have  been  other  than  experi- 
mental, and  of  no  great  importance,  even  at  that 
time,  as  affecting  the  market  value  of  camphor.  This 
substance  has,  however,  been  used  extensively  for 
many  years  past,  and  no  doubt  in  continually-in- 
creasing quantities,  for  the  conversion  of  collodion 
cotton  into  the  material  known  as  celluloid,  which  is 
applied  to  the  manufacture  of  imitation  ivory,  tortoise- 
shell, horn,  and  a great  variety  of  purposes.” 
As  Dr.  Grasmanu  observes,  tho  greatest  enemy  of 
the  camphor-tree  is  man,  and  in  Japan  large  trees 
are  eventually  killed  through  the  felonious  nocturnal 
grubbing  of  their  roots.  Homo  lords  arc  fond  of  the 
fruit  and  seed,  and  the  catcrpiilar  of  PapHin  rarprdoii 
feeds  on  the  leaves;  but,  L.vcept  to  young  plants, 
they  cause  comparatively  little  amnago.  Apart  fiom 
the  wanton  destruction  of  trees,  tho  probability  of 
the  supply  of  camphor  being  maintained  is  seriously 
dimiuislied  by  the  fact  that  the  tree  grows  but  slowly 
in  its  early  years.  At  the  same  time  it  colonises 
freely,  and  is  now  naturalised  in  several  countries, 
notably  in  Madagascar,  where,  according  to  Dr.  Meller, 
in  a note  accompanying  a specimen  in  the  Kew  Her- 
barium, it  was  abundant  as  long  ago  as  1852,  and 
much  used  for  building  purposes. 
Next  in  point  of  importance  in  producing  camphor 
is  Dnjohalanops  aroniatica,  a tree  belonging 
to  the  Dipterocarpeoe,  and  inhabiting  Romeo 
and  Sumatra.  The  formula  of  ordinary  camphor 
is  C|,)HjqO;  of  Borneo  camphor,  Cj^QHjgO;  and  the 
latter  can  be  artificially  prepared  from  the  former. 
Borneo  camphor  is  deposited  in  clefts  and  hollows 
of  the  wood,  and  has  simply  to  be  taken  out  ; but 
it  is  comparatively  rare,  and  cxcoodingly  dear  bring- 
