512 
Camphor  Tree. 
( Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
t     October,  1897. 
planting  at  any  time,  or  they  may  be  transplanted  in  nursery  rows 
early  in  April  when  one  year  old.  Plants  two  years  old  are  gene- 
rally regarded  as  best  for  final  planting.  At  this  age  they  vary  from 
20  to  40  inches  in  height. 
PLANTING  AND  CULTIVATION. 
When  set  out  for  ornamental  purposes,  the  camphor  tree  may  be 
expected  to  grow,  in  favorable  situations,  about  as  rapidly  as  a  Le 
Conte  pear,  and  to  require  about  as  much  room.  In  Japan,  where 
the  law  requires  that  a  new  tree  shall  be  set  out  for  every  one  cut, 
they  are  not  generally  set  in  straight  orchard  rows,  but  cultivation 
there  is  performed  almost  exclusively  by  hand  labor.  There  are  no 
records  showing  results  of  regular  orchard  planting,  hence  the  dis- 
tances at  which  trees  should  be  planted  must  be  determined  by  the 
size  and  form  of  the  trees  and  the  methods  of  cultivation,  and  of  pro- 
curing  the  gum.  They  may  be  set  closely  in  rows  about  IO  feet 
apart,  and  alternate  rows  cut  and  reset  every  five  years,  thus  pro- 
ducing bush-like  plants  of  ten  years'  growth.  They  may  be  planted 
in  checks  10  feet  square,  and  alternate  trees  cut  every  ten  or  twelve 
years,  or  they  may  be  planted  in  larger  checks,  and  all  of  the  trees 
be  cut  at  the  age  of  fifteen  or  twenty  years. 
There  are  not  sufficient  data  obtainable  upon  which  to  base 
definite  statements  as  to  the  best  methods  of  planting  or  the 
age  at  which  the  trees  may  be  cut  with  greatest  profit  for 
the  production  of  gum.  A  recent  English  consular  report  from 
Japan  states  that  "  although  hitherto  the  youngest  wood  from  which 
camphor  was  extracted  was  about  seventy  to  eighty  years  old,  it  is 
expected  that  under  the  present  scientific  management  the  trees  will 
give  equally  good  results  after  twenty-five  or  thirty  years."  Cam- 
phor of  good  quality  has  been  produced  in  Florida  from  the  leaves 
and  twigs  of  trees  less  than  twenty  years  old,  I  pound  of  crude 
gum  being  obtained  from  seventy-seven  pounds  of  leaves  and  twigs. 
The  trees  will  endure  severe  pruning  with  little  apparent  injury. 
One-third  of  the  leaves  and  young  shoots  may  be  removed  at  one 
time  without  materially  checking  the  growth  of  the  tree.  The 
largest  proportion  of  camphor  is  contained  in  the  older,  larger  roots; 
the  trunk,  limbs,  twigs  and  leaves  containing  successively  a  decreas- 
ing proportion.  When  the  camphor  tree  is  killed  nearly  to  the 
ground  by  frost  it  sends  up  vigorous  shoots  from  the  base.    It  may 
