Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
August,  1920.  j 
Note  on  Opmm  Poisoning. 
591 
were  grown  therefrom,  from  which,  in  1901,  the  yield  of  sohd  cam- 
phor from  fresh  prunings  was  about  i  V2  per  cent.  "It  is  estimated," 
Prof.  Carmody  states,  "that  the  yield  of  prunings  (6  to  8  inches  long), 
would  amount  to  56,000  pounds  per  acre  per  annum,  and  that  with 
camphor  at  2s.  per  pound  the  net  profit  per  acre  per  annum  would 
amount  to  £74  ($360.00)."  In  1906  there  were  over  100  acres 
devoted  to  camphor  growing  in  Ceylon,  but  the  cultivation  was  not 
commercially  successful,  as  less  than  i  ton  of  crude  camphor  was 
harvested. 
At  the  present  time  experiments,  with  satisfactory  distillation 
tests,  are  being  carried  out  in  the  Federated  Malay  States,  but  in 
Mauritius  the  oil  yielded  is  not  the  camphor  of  commerce. 
In  1906,  Prof.  Carmody  states,  some  50  trees  in  Trinidad  were 
transplanted  to  a  better  soil,  with  the  result  that  "The  growth  has 
been  quite  satisfactory  and  a  normal  yield  of  solid  camphor  has 
been  obtained  on  distillation,"  and  in  Dominica  trees  "obtained 
from  Trinidad  in  191 1  have  made  satisfactory  growth  and  have 
yielded  solid  camphor." 
Requirements  of  Successful  Cultivation. — In  the  matter  of  suc- 
cessful cultivation,  he  advises  that  "seeds  or  seedlings  from  trees 
that  yield  no  solid  camphor  must  not  be  used.  Stiff  clay  soils  must 
be  avoided.  Not  more  than  300  trees  to  the  acre  should  be  grown 
in  good  average  soil,  or  not  less  than  12  feet  apart  in  hedgerows, 
and  a  sufficient  area  (from  100  to  500  acres  if  possible)  for  economical 
distillation.  When  the  trees  are  4  or  5  years  old  they  can  be  clipped, 
and  thereafter  three  or  four  times  a  year." 
Finally,  he  expresses  the  opinion  that  "the  successful  cultivation 
of  camphor  within  the  Empire  is  no  longer  doubtful,"  and  "the 
reported  depletion  of  native  forests  offers  great  inducements  for 
further  effc^rts,"  particularly  in  view  of  present  high  prices. 
NOTE  ON  OPIUM  POISONING.* 
By  H.  E.  Hankin,  M.A.,  D.Sc,  and  D.  Chatterji. 
During  the  last  three  years  stomachs,  with  their  contents,  of 
fifty-three  persons  have  been  examined  in  this  laboratory,  in  which 
the  history  of  symptoms  and  other  evidence  obtained  by  the  poUce 
indicated  that  opium  was  the  cause  of  death. 
*From  The  Analyst,  May,  1920. 
