40  Camphor:  Growth  and  Manufacture.  {Ami£ir:w£tm 
to  the  "  camphor  farm ;"  that  is  to  say,  about  one-tenth  thereof  to 
the  members  of  the  official  clique  and  nine-tenths  to  the  superior 
officials  of  Formosa. 
This  monstrous  condition  of  affairs  has  remained  unchanged 
up  to  date.  The  producers  are  afraid  to  deal  with  the  foreign 
merchants  lest  they  be  fined  and  imprisoned  for  some  technical 
violation  of  the  law.  The  merchants  are  fearful  of  making  contracts 
which  will  cause  litigation  and  loss  at  the  hands  of  the  internal 
revenue  and  the  customs.  The  trade  has,  therefore,  been  steadily 
falling  off,  and  as  the  smokeless  powders  of  Europe,  made  from 
camphor,  have  proved  to  be  failures,  and  are  being  replaced  by  explo- 
sives in  which  that  substance  is  not  employed,  the  demand  is  diminish- 
ing from  abroad,  so  that  there  is  every  prospect  of  an  utter  collapse 
of  the  camphor  trade  and  the  camphor  monopoly  of  Formosa. 
The  monopoly  is  singularly  devoid  of  intelligence.  The  Chinese 
never  dare  to  go  into  the  interior,  where  the  savages  live,  and  where 
the  finest  camphor  can  be  had  at  almost  no  expense. 
The  savages,  strange  to  say,  have  a  wild  love  for  Europeans  or 
white  people,  probably  because  of  their  hatred  for  their  Chinese 
enemies,  and  are  willing  to  supply  any  amount  of  camphor  on 
demand.  The  monopoly,  to  prevent  this  source  of  competition,  have 
had  a  law  passed  prohibiting  all  intercourse  or  commerce  with  the 
aborigines,  and  even  forbidding  the  tourist  to  enter  the  latter's 
territory.  There  is  at  present  some  prospect  of  a  speedy  change. 
The  old  Governor  has  just  been  removed  and  a  new  one  is  to  be 
appointed.  In  view  of  the  serious  troubles  in  China,  which  are  forc- 
ing the  Central  Government  into  more  intimate  if  not  more  amicable 
relations  with  the  foreign  powers,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the 
coming  appointee  will  inaugurate  a  wiser  and  better  policy  than 
that  which  has  prevailed  in  Formosa  during  the  past  five  years.  It 
such  an  event  occur  there  will  be  a  wonderful  development  in  the 
commerce  of  that  wonderful  island.  If  not,  it  will  sink  deeper  in 
the  ocean  of  bankruptcy  and  pauperism. 
Amoy,  October  4,  1 891. 
Aseptic  scrubbing'  brush.— Prof.  J.  B.  Roberts  recommends  the  Egyptian 
luffa  for  the  removal  of  accumulations  of  epithelium  and  bacteria  from  the  skin 
previous  to  operation.  A  piece  of  the  fibrous  tissue  is  used  and  may  then  be 
thrown  away  ;  for  hospital  use  such  pieces  may  be  kept  soaking  in  sublimate 
golution  until  used. — Med.  News,  Nov.  7,  1891,  p.  544. 
