ON NATURAL HISTORY. 
219 
the Malay doctors do not practice bleeding in any case, 
whatever. 
I have, however, found these Malays in possession of a plant 
which can be of use as an efficient remedy, and with which En- 
glish therapeutics is already made acquainted ; this is the me- 
nispermum verrucosum, employed by them as an anti-periodic. 
There is found in the Singapore market a substance of exceed- 
ing high price and which deserves to draw attention : this is 
the camphor known under the names of Malay camphor and 
capur-barus. It is exhibited under the form of white crystal- 
line bodies, composed of pieces none of which exceed the size 
of the thumb nail, and they present a rectangular form. Each 
piece seems formed like crystals of small similar particles, the 
one united to the other. It is certainly a natural product, being 
found in a concrete state in certain parts of the tree which pro- 
duces it, and is not made to undergo the least preparation. 
The proofs in support of this opinion are furnished by the evi- 
dence of the natives of Borneo and Sumatra, where it is collect- 
ed, and furthermore by certain characters of which I shall speak. 
The near transparency of this body, and its hardness compared 
to that of refined camphor, satisfy us that it is formed with ex- 
treme slowness ; its lamellar form and micaceous appearance 
prove, on another side, that it is not consolidated in the open 
air, but that its crystallization is effected within a very con- 
fined space. 
Some authors suppose that this camphor, which is produced 
by the dryabalanos camphora, or shorea robusta, runs from in- 
cisions made upon the branches and trunk of this tree. But 
this opinion is inadmissible when you take into consideration 
the extreme volatility of this substance, so that those who con- 
sider it to be under the bark of the tree or more likely to be 
found in its roots, are, in my view, most correct. Its excessive 
price,.notwithstanding, explains nothing. It is well known that 
a large quantity of camphor imported into Europe comes from 
China, and it is precisely for this latter country that all the 
Malay camphor collected in Borneo and Sumatra is bought, 
