THE  AMEEICAN 
JOURNAL  OF  PHAKM 
CAMPHOR— NATURAL  AND  SYNTHETIC  ^ 
By  Percy  A.  Houseman,  Ph.D., 
FEBRUARY,  1915 
Camphor  has  acquired  a  special  interest  within  the  last  ten  or 
twelve  years  on  account  of  its  synthesis  on  a  commercial  scale.  It 
represents  a  good  example  of  a  growing  tendency  to  replace  natural 
products  by  artificially-prepared  substances,  which  are  either  iden- 
tical in  properties  with  the  materials  occurring  in  nature,  or  can  be 
profitably  used  as  substitutes  for  them.  The  commercial  synthesis 
of  India  rubber  presents  a  similar  problem  which  has  yet  to  be 
solved. 
Natural  camphor  has  been  known  and  prized  for  many  hundred 
years.  The  camphor  tree  (Cinnamomum  C amphora)  belongs  to  the 
laurel  family,  and  is  indigenous  to  China,  Japan,  and  Formosa.  The 
substance  known  as  Borneo  camphor  is  closely  related  to  the  true 
camphor.  Its  chemical  name  is  borneol,  and  it  is  obtained  from 
Dryobalanops  aromatica,  which  grows  chiefly  in  Borneo  and  Sumatra. 
Borneo  camphor  commands  a  much  higher  price  than  Japanese 
camphor.  It  is  used  by  the  natives  for  ritualistic  and  medicinal 
purposes.  Camphor  is  also  obtained  from  an  evergreen  semishrub 
(Blumea  balsamifera)  which  is  found  in  Eastern  India  and  Burma, 
and  which  yields  the  so-called  "  Ngai  camphor."  Within  recent 
years,  many  attempts  have  been  made  to  cultivate  the  camphor  tree 
in  other  countries.1    These  experiments,  however,  are  somewhat 
*  See,  e.g.,  Board  of  Trade  Journal,  July,  1907,  "Camphor  Trees  in 
Federated  Malay  States."  B.  J.  Eaton.  Agric.  Bull.  Straits  Settlements  and 
Federated  Malay  States,  1909.  Colonial  Office  Report,  1907,  No.  527,  "  Cam- 
phor Trees  in  Ceylon."  Battandier,  /.  Pharm.  Chem.,  1907,  182,  "  Camphor 
Trees  in  Algeria."  Chemist  and  Druggist,  1907,  109,  "  Camphor  Trees  in  the 
United  States."  "  Camphor  Industry  in  Foreign  Countries,"  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Commerce  and  Labor,  1910. 
Natural  Camphor. 
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