HISTORY OF THE DRUG CAMPHOR. 
373 
of rasps, to which the camphor adheres, mixed with particles of wood 
and other extraneous substances ; from these it is separated by washing 
it in strong soap, and by filtration through sieves. It is imported into 
the country in small spongy masses, of a dirty yellowish colour. The 
Venetians were formerly the only people who understood the art of 
preparing this crude drug, so as to render it fit for the European 
market; the Dutch afterwards acquired the process, which they care¬ 
fully kept secret; at present large quantities are refined by English 
druggists. The method employed is extremely simple : chalk or lime 
is the substance used in the preparation; the camphor then assumes 
the clear compact appearance which it presents to us. Great quanti¬ 
ties are exported from Borneo and Sumatra to China ; and as it is 
never reimported, and the quantity is too large to be consumed by use 
in that country, it is supposed to be required in the composition of the 
Chinese camphor, which bears a high price in Europe ; whereas, in the 
East, the Malayan camphor is most esteemed. The tree has no genuine 
name in any native language; the drug it yields being an object of 
commerce with strangers, and not in demand by the natives of the 
countries which produce it, is accordingly recognised by a foreign 
name. The word kapur is either from the Persian or from the Sanscrit 
kapura. The principal mart for the commodity is Barus, on the north¬ 
west coast of Sumatra; and hence that name is used by traders to 
discriminate between it and the produce of Japau. The latter drug is 
obtained by distillation, in the following manner :—The root and 
extremities of the branches, having been cut into thin chips, are placed 
in a net fastened to a wooden frame, and suspended in a kind of still, 
or iron pot, the bottom of which is just covered with water, and to 
which an earthen head, lined with rice straw, is fitted. Heat being 
applied, the steam of the boiling water penetrates the contents of the 
net, carrying the camphor into the top of the still, where it hangs like 
snow upon the straw, presenting a beautiful appearance. 
“■ Oil of camphor exudes spontaneously from the old trees in Borneo 
and Sumatra; it is also procured by incision, thus:—a slice is cut off 
from the trunk, sloping inwards, so as to leave a horizontal shelf: in 
this a sort of cup is hollowed out sufficiently large to contain a quart; 
a lighted reed being then held in the cavity for about ten minutes, the 
juices of the tree are attracted towards the hollow, which, in the space 
of a night, is completely filled with oil: the flow continues for three 
nights longer, after which a fresh application of heat is required, and a 
further supply, but less plentiful, is obtained. 
“ Besides the trees just mentioned, camphor may be obtained by 
distillation from the roots of almost all the Laurinece, and likewise 
