March t, 1898.J THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
631 
1,335 piculs, and in 1894 no less than 39,547 piculs 
were exported. Some falling-off resulted in conse- 
quence of the war and the Formosan rebellion in 
1896 but we observe that the Tainan export in 1896 
amounted to 8,007 cwt., or 641 cwt. above the 
average for 1891-94, so that improvement had set in : 
and we may fairly say that the same holds good for 
the northern territory, which produces a much larger 
proportion of camphor. The London importations of 
camphor in 1897 confirm this view, 1,050 packages 
(approximately 1,837 cwt.) more being received than 
in 1896, but there is still a good leeway to make up 
before we reach the figures obtaining before the war, 
as the following shows : — 
1894 1895 1896 1897 
Imports ... 11.081 19 711 6,473 7,523 packages 
Deliveries.. 11,663 7,923 10,814 8,017 „ 
These figures represent Japanese and Chinese cam- 
phor. It is obvious that the imports at the present 
time are less than the demand, and we have daring 
the past two years drawn upon the I'eserve stock 
held in London (fully a year’s supply). In view of 
these facts refiners’ reduction of price is an indica- 
tion of their confidence in the future of the article. 
The Tainan Consul supplies an excellent corollary 
to this in his statement of the cost of crude camphor 
in first-hands at Foinu.-sa. It will be seen that the 
lowest cost was §13 per picul, or about 33s 6d per 
c.wt., taking the dollar value at 2s 6d. The product 
doubled in value (§37 per picul) by the time it reached 
Hongkong, and the simultaneous price in London was 
87s 6d cwt. As the market stands now, we have 
again reached the minimum, and while an increase 
is to be expected during the year, we do not think, 
that the extravagant prices of the past few years can 
rule in the face of an improviug supply and the dis- 
aster which attended speculation in recent years. 
There is encouragement in all this, to cultivate 
and as we .said above, Ceylon planters might well 
give a trial : — 
Cultivation. — The plant should succeed in most 
parts of the island. It may be propagated from 
cuttings or raised from seed in a bed set apart for 
the purpose. When ready for planting out, plant in 
rows 8 feet apart, giving a space of 4 or 5 feet between 
each plant. 
Preparation. — In a letter to the Royal Gardens, 
Kew, Dr. A. Henry gives the f.Jlowiiig description, 
obtained from the Rev. E. F. Gilman, of the process 
employed by the Chinese in extracting the camphor 
from the plant in the Island of Hainan; — The j lant 
is in flow'er in July and August. During the fall and 
winter months the Chinese of the island, or the ab- 
original Lois in Chinese employ, collect the young 
leaves of the plant, which there grows to a height 
of 8 or 10 feet. They say they only take the last 
three joints of the branch. The leaves are allowed 
to remnin on ihe branch, and are wilted for a coupla 
of days. They are then placed in the retrot, which 
is a cask about 2 feet high, open at both ends, and of 
a diameter snitable to place it over a large Chinese 
frying-pan (say the diameter is 20 inches). The 
frying-pan is filled with water, and over the water 
is placed a coar<^e sieve of woven bamboo to 
separate the leovet from the water. The cask 
is cemented with clay to the edge of the pan, 
and after receiving its charge of 30 lb. or 40 lb. 
of the leaves, a i.nge brass basm is placed on the 
upper open end of the cask, and is filled with cold 
water which is frequently changed. Fire is placed 
under the frying pan, and the process of distillation 
is continued for about four hours. At the end of that 
time the brass pan is lifted ofi, and its lower suifi.ee 
is found to be coated with a layer of crystallisi d 
substance about sixteenth of an inth thick. This .a 
the aifen or crude camphor, and is sent lo Cantoi , 
and remanufacluied iuto ai-p'ien or refined oamphoi- 
Another writer gives Uie following as the piocei-s 
pf pieparation (1) A large pan or cauldron i- filled 
wilh water, and a un or can witliout a ltd is set 
upright in it. This ciu has a small aperture beneath, 
into which is fitted a metal tube. The pLnt is put 
into the tin, and a second iron pan put over the tin 
like a cap. This pan has an aperture through w 
issues the tube leading from the can. The water is 
made to boil, and the steam, having no other means 
of egress but the tube, passes through the can and 
out of the covering iron pan, steaming the plant on 
its way, and condensing as “ ai dew.” (2) In the 
second place, the “• aj dew ” is put into a tin or can 
which has no orifice in it, and, with that variation 
treated as before. The product is called ai fen (or 
“at flour” or “ powder ”)■; (3) The “ at powder ” ia 
treated aocorcluig to the first of the three processes 
and the essence thus distilled is the fragrant ai yu 
or “ ai oil.” 
Notwithstanding the comparatively narrow limits 
of its natural environment, the camphor tree grows 
well in cultivation under widely different eonditions. 
It has become abundantly naturalised in Madagascar! 
It flourishes at Buenos Ayres. It thrives in Egypt' 
in the Canary Islands, in South Eastern France and 
in the San Joaqum valley in California, where the 
summers are hot and dry. Large trees at least two 
hirndrecl years old are growing in the temple courts 
at Tokyo, where they are subject to a winter of seventv 
to eighty nights of frost, with an occasional mini- 
mum temperature as low as 12° to 16° F. The con- 
ditions for really successful cultivation appear to be 
a minimum winter temperature not below 20° F, 50 
inches or more of rain during the warm growing sea* 
son, and abundance of plant food rich in nitrogen. 
In the native forests in Formosa, Fukien, and Japan! 
camphor is distilled almost exciusivoly from the wood 
of trunks, roots, and larger branches. 
The work is performed by hand labour, and the 
methods employed seem rather crude. The camphor 
trees are felled and the trunk, laiger limbs and 
sometimes the roots, are cut into chips which are 
placed in a wooden tub about 40 inches high and 
2) inches in diameter at the base, tapering towards 
the top like an old-fashioned churn. The tub has a 
tight fitting cover which may be removed to put in 
the drips. A bamboo tube extends from near the 
top of the tub into the condenser. This consists of 
two wooden tubs of different sizes, the larger one right 
side up, kept about two-thirds full of water from a 
continuous stream which runs out of a hold in one 
side. The .smaller one is inserted with its edges below 
the water, forming an air-tight chamber. This air 
chamber is kept cool by the water falii;.g on the top 
and running down over the sides. The upper part 
of the air chamber is sometimes filled with clean 
rice straw, on which the camphor crystallises, while 
oil drips down and collects on the surface of the 
water. In some cases the camphor and oil allowed 
to collect together on the surface of the water and 
are afterwards separated by filteration through rice 
straw or by pressiire. About twelve hours are re 
quired for distilling a tubful by this method. Then 
the chips are removed and dried for use in the fur- 
nace, and a new charge is put in. At the same time 
the camphor and oil are removed from the condenser 
By this method 20 to 40 pounds of chips are required 
for one pound of crude camphor, ^ 
Remembering that some years ago, Mr. Nock of 
Hakgala advocated the planting of camphor we 
enquired as to what h.ad been done so far as he 
knew. Here is hi.s very satisfactory answer 
With leference to your question about camphor 
I may state tliat during the year 1895 ive sent 
out trom the garden 975 plants to 37 at pHcants 
The.se were planted in a great variety of eleva! 
tions and climates and I believe they are doino 
well in nearly every place. Some that werl 
planted near Galle lind grown in two years to 
a l.eight of 12 feet, otliers at Niiwara Eliya have 
grown to nearly that height, and some here at 
Jlakjola are now over 9 feet high. This growth 
IS very .sati.sfa tory. Tlie plants co|)pice well and 
as solid camphor can now be e.xtracted from the 
leaves, camphor is a plant, in my opinion well- 
worth planting as a minor product. It is also a 
very ornamental tree. Not having had an oppor- 
