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the present raw material, and which on account of its great 
demand for other purposes is very costly. This monopoly 
hv the Japanese Government has had another effect, for 
it has directed the attention of planters and tropical agri- 
culturalists in the various colonies of the Empire and in 
other countries e.g . Ceylon, Hawaii, Southern India, and 
California to the cultivation of the plant, and considerable 
interest has been taken in it recently in the Malay 
Peninsula. 
The value of the camphor industry to the Japanese is 
thoroughly recognised by their Government and the whole- 
sale destruction of camphor trees in Formosa and other 
places is now being compensated for by a vigorous planting 
scheme. It is interesting to note that between 1900 and 
1906 some 3,000,000 trees were planted and arrangements 
have been made for the planting of some 750,000 in each 
successive year. 
It will thus be seen that the Japanese are fully alive to 
their interests in this matter and the tropical planter must 
not look too much for that shortage of supply, due to the 
destruction and non-renewal of the trees, which many 
thought would come sooner or later. 
Supply. 
The World’s consumption of camphor in 1907 was 
estimated at 10,600,000 pounds, (figures for 1908 are not 
available) about 70 per cent of which was used in the manu- 
facture of celluloid, 15 per cent in the preparation of dis- 
infectants; 13 per cent in medicinal and pharmaceutical 
preparations, and the remaining 2 per cent in the manu- 
facture of explosives. 
To this amount Formosa contributed 5,388,918 lbs., 
the remainder came from other Japanese Islands and from 
China. 
The camphor industry is one that can of course never 
be put on the same footing as rubber in Malaya, but con- 
sidering the free growth of camphor trees in this country 
it would form a very suitable subsidary industry especially 
as a very fair return may be expected in the third year. _ 
It would probably scarcely pay to plant less than 50 
acres, while larger areas up to a reasonable limit would 
pay better. 
Botany and Habitat. 
The common Japanese or Formosa camphor Cinna- 
momim Camphora, Nees, also known as Camphora offici- 
