St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1893-12-02

among the eampAor trees for the srse
ton Of still. the former proceeds 4
run mp shed or rough building. thu
4 size Of which depends upon the number
of stoves II il intended to contain. II
ten are to Be erected the building
would be twenty feet long BY twelve
or thirteen feet broad In the centes
OF the floor an oblong structure, aoml
four feet high. ten feet long and siz
feet broad, is built Of sun-dried mud
bricks. having five Areplaces or holes
at each side raised foot or 80 above
the hoor Of the room
The two ends of the structure ara
solid. and without AreplaceA The
latter are 50 hu lit that an earthenware
pot can easily Be inserted above the
fire in each hole. An earthenwars
cylinder connects the mouth Of each
pot with the surface Of each structure,
or still, IS it may moro conveniently be
called. Between the pot and the lower
end Of tho cylinder there il . round.
thin piece Of wood fitting both the
mouth of the pot and the lower end Of
the cylinder. and perforated 50 - to
allow the steam from the water In
the pot to pass into the cylinder
during distillation. The top Of each
cylinder is usually about . foot in di.
ameter, and Is level with the surface
of the still Such still would present
to the eye = mud structure. with ten
round holes on the top and ave fire.
nlaceS AZ earh ~ th> H~-r, 1onu>.< ssA>>
To complete it, however, ten largo
carthenware jars are required These
during the process of distillatiou are
placed, inverted, on the top Of the still
Immediately over the upper ends Of the
cylinders, 50 rs to form the condenserA
TO prevent the escape Of steam from
the condensers bands Of jute are fitted
firmly between their mouths and the
top of the still
Suppose, then, there Is . heap of
oamphorwood chips At hand from
which it is required to extract the cam
phor. The pots are flied with water
and the cylinders with chips; the jars
are in position on the top of the still.
and the tirewood is lighted under tho
pots. When the water boils the steam
passes up through the perforated wood
into the cylinders, heats and moistens
the chips and ascends to the con-
densers. carrying with it the camphor
fumes which the chips have given
forth. The steam then condenses ON
the inside df the jars, and when tho
latter are removed . layer of white
camphor crystals is found adhering TO
them. This is brushed OF by hand and
placed in baskets.
The chips are then withdrawn from
the cylinders fresh chips take their
place, water is added to the pots,
the condensers are again placed in
position, additional firewood is thrown
into the fireplaces and the work Of dis
tillation rebegins.
The camphor laurel attains an euor.
nous height and girth in Formosa
Thae is to be seen horizontal section
of stem which was At least six feet in
and which at one time formed
the entrance to the house Of Q savage
chief Tho doorway Is cut out of the
section. It is now . trophy belonging
to missionary and has to be accom-
modated ON the verauda Of his house
Much difficulty Is experienced by the
hillmen in telling these forest gianta.
and recourse is frequently had to firing |
30 rs to expedite their work. Quanti. |
ties Of valuable timber are thus con-
sumed, and as no trouble il taken - !
plant young trees the day will come
when such waste will be regretted |
The tree once felled, the branches are
removed and the trunks sawn up into |
planls. Branches and planks are then |
vet upon BY . namber of men, each |
armed with . small scoop-shaped adxe.
every stroke of which removes . chip
about an inch long. In time the giant |
Is reduced to heap of chips. which are
treated for their camphor rs described |
The extract remains . gr.yish-white
powder which, unlike the camphor
produced in japan. does not solidify
under pressure. A ready market Il
found for ForUnosan camphor, which u
IN important Ingredient in smokeless
powder.-N. Y. Tribune.