Middletown transcript., 1870-09-03
THE CAMPHOR TREE OF sUMATRA

Among the most luxuriant and valuable
trees of the island of Sumatra, the first
place belongs to the Dryobalanops Cam
phora. The tree is straight, extraordina-
ry tall, and has a gigantic crown, which
overtops all the other woody giants
by one hundred feet or so. The stem is
sometimes twenty feet thick. According
to the natives there are three kinds of cam
phor tree, which they name mailangu-
an, +" marbin tungan" and " marbn tar
gan" from the outward color of the bark,
which is sometimes yellow, sometimes
black, and often red. The bark is rough
and grooved, and is ovcrgrown with moss.
The leaves are of dark green, oblong oval
in shape and pointed They are full of
camphor, and are besides hard and tough
The outward form of the fruit is very like
that of the acorn, but it has five round pc
tails. These are placed somewhat apart
from each other, and the whole form much
resembles a lily. The fruit is also i'm
pregnated with camphor, and is eaten by
the natives when it is we'll ripcned and
fresh.
The amazing hight Of the tree hinders
the regular gathering, but when the tree
yields its fruit, which takes place in March,
April and May, the population go out to
collect it, which they speedily effect, as,
if the fruit be allowed to remain four days
on the ground, it sends forth root of
about the length of finger, and becomes
unfit to be eaten Among other things,
this fruit, prepared with sugar, furnishes
a tasty comft or article of confectionery.
1t is said that it is very unhealthy to
remain near the camphor tree during the
towering season, because of the extraor-
dinary hot exhalations from it during that
period. The greater the age of the tree
the more camphor it contains. Usually
the order of the rajah, is given for num-
Der of men, say thirty, to gather camphor
in the bush belonging to territory which
he claims.
The men appointed then seek for place
where many trees grow together; there
they construct rude huts. The tree is cut
down just above the roots, after which it
is divided into small pieces, and these are
aftcrward split, upon which the camphor
which is found in hollows or crevices in
the body of the tree, and, above all, in
the knots and swellings of branches from
the trunk, becomes visible in the form of
granules or grains. The quantity of cam
phor yielded by single tree seldom a
mounts to more than half pound, and if
we take into account the great and long
continued labor requisite in gathering it,
we have the natural reply to the question
why it fetches so high price. At the
same time that the camphor is gathered
that is, during the cutting down of the
tree-the oil, which then drips from the
cuttings, is caught in considerable guam
tity. 1t is seldom brought to market, be-
cause probably the price and the trouble
of carriage are not sufficiently remunera-
tive.
Whenever the oil is offered for sale at
Baros the usual price is one guilder for an
ordinary quart wine- bottleful. The pro-
duction of Baros camphor lessons yearly,
and the profitable operation of former
times-say in the year 1853, when fully
1850 pounds were sent from Padang to
Batavia-will never return. Since time
out of mind the beautiful clumps and clus-
ters of camphor trees have been destroyed
in ruthless manner. Young and old have
been telled, and as no planting Or means
of renewal have taken place, but the
growth of the trees has been left to ma
ture, it is not improbable that this noble
species will ere long wholly disappear
from Sumatra.