Am.  Jour.  Pharm.j 
August,  1 918. 
Camphor  Situation. 
599 
ard  (N/100  or  N/500)  silver  sulphate  solution  to  the  ferric  thio- 
cyanate  until  the  color  is  discharged;  1  Cc.  N/100  Ag2S04=i  Cc. 
N/100  HCN.  In  default  of  halogen-free  reagents  one  can  make 
two  tests,  using  measured  double  quantities  of  all  reagents  in  the 
second.  Another  way  of  surmounting  the  difficulty  is  to  make  two 
tests  up  to  the  formation  of  the  ferric  thiocyanate,  then  to  titrate 
one  with  silver  solution  as  described,  and  finally  to  titrate  back  with 
N/100  or  N/500  ammonium  thiocyanate  solution  until  the  color 
matches  that  of  the  solution  which  has  not  been  titrated,  but  which 
has  been  diluted  with  distilled  water  to  preserve  equality  of  bulk 
between  the  two  solutions.  As  little  as  0.01  mgrm.  of  hydrogen 
cyanide  can  be  estimated  within  5  per  cent. 
Occasionally  difficulty  is  caused  by  the  separation  of  calcium 
sulphate  and  a  trace  of  carbonate  during  the  last  evaporation.  When 
this  happens,  it  is  best  to  filter  the  solution  through  a  plug  of  cotton 
before  evaporation  is  complete.  The  filtrate  and  washings  are  then 
evaporated  to  dryness,  and  no  further  trouble  is  experienced. 
CAMPHOR  SITUATION  IN  JAPAN.1 
Commercial  Attache' F.  R.  Rutter,  Tokyo. 
Interviews  with  manufacturers  of  celluloid  in  Tokyo  indicate 
that  the  supply  of  camphor  is  restricted.  Camphor  is  allotted  to 
these  manufacturers  in  the  proportion  of  their  purchases  some  years* 
ago.  One  of  the  largest  factories  in  the  country  is  compelled  to 
work  at  half  capacity  because  for  some  years  it  was  engaged  in 
manufacturing  munitions  for  Russia  and  consequently  has  a  small 
apportionment  of  camphor.  While  camphor  is  sold  by  the  monopoly 
at  120  yen  per  100  kin,  it  could  easily  bring  160  yen  per  100  kin  if 
sold  in  the  open  market. 
The  demand  for  camphor  in  Japan  as  well  as  in  the  United 
States  has  increased  enormously,  and  undoubtedly  the  government 
intends  to  encourage  the  exportation  of  refined  rather  than  crude 
camphor. 
1  From  Commerce  Reports,  June  10,  1918. 
