Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1897-10-14
WASHINGTON LETTER.
The Fumigation of Old Bills-Precau-
lions Against Contagion-Campho
Trees In This Country.
Especial correspondence

Especial correspondence
Speaking about the fumigation OF old
bills which arrive at the treasury de-
partment from the New Orleans sub
treasury, Assistant Treasurer Meline
said to me recently that this was abso-
lutely necessary for the protection Of
the clerks who handle this old currency.
"These clerks, said Major Meline,
care constantly exposed TO danger in
their handling and counting of old cur
rency. Sometimes the smell of these old
bills is nauseating. l don't remember,
however, case where any clerk has
ever been attacked by disease from
the handling of this money. This may
be due to the fact that every precaution
is taken. Whenever money has come
here from points infected by contagious
diseases it has always been fumigated.
The clerks frequently wash their hands
with disinfecting soaps and take other
precautions. l consider that they have
been remarkably fortunate.
Found Upon the Dead.
nave DCtn CdsCo tb bhO
of money sent in for redemption i'll a
terrible state. In several instances this
money has been taken from the bodies
of people found mysteriously murdered.
The bodies lay for weeks or months
without discovery until the clothing
which contained the money would be
alive with putrid matter Money thus
discovered is not handled by the author
tiles but rushed TO the treasury for re-
demption. 1t is sometimes i'll such con-
dition that the odor is almost unbeara-
BILE. This is only one of many instances
of similar nature. Dogs and goats
which swallow money are often killed,
dissected and the remnants Of the money
sent to the treasury for redemption.
The department of agriculture has
issued very readable pamphlet con-
corning the camphor tree and its Guilt
walton for profit i'll the United States.
The tree is broad leaved evergreen and
is related to the red bay and to the sas-
safras Of this country. In its native hab
itat, eastern Asia, Formosa and south
ern Japan, it attains a height Of from
go to 100 feet and has trunk 20 to 40
inches i'll diameter.
It's Range Under Cultivation.
Notwithstanding the comparatively
narrow limits of its natural environ
ment, the camphor tree grows well
in cultivation under widely differ
ent conditions. 1t has become album
dainty naturalized in Madagascar. 1t
f1ourishes at Buenos Ayres. 1t thrives
in Egypt, i'll the Canary islands, in
southeastern France and in the San
joaquin valley in California, where the
summers are hot and dry. Large trees,
at least 200 years old, are growing in
the temple courts at Tokyo, where they
are subject to "a winter of 20 to so
nights of frost, with an occasional mini
mum temperature as low as IL to Is
degrees f. The most northern localities
in the United States where the camphor
tree has been grown successfully out of
doors are Charleston and Summerville,
in South Carolina, Augusta, Ga. and
Oakland Cal.
At Charleston, Summerville and Au-
gusta the trees have withstood mini
mum temperature of 10 degrees F., but
they have been protected by surround
ing trees and buildings. At Mobile the
trees have grown and fruited in protect
ed situations, while in exposed places
they have been repeatedly destroyed by
frosts. While the camphor tree will
grow on almost any soil that is not too
wet, it does best on well drained,
sandy or loamy soil, and it responds re-
markably well to the application of fer
tilizers. Its growth is comparatively
slow on sterile soils, but under favorable
conditions it sometimes grows very
rapidly. An instance is recorded Of a
camphor tree in Italy foot in diameter
and 80 feet high, s years from the seed.
Under ordinary conditions, however,
such girth is not often attained in less
than 20 years, and such height is
rarely attained in a century. A tree
planted at New Orleans i'll 1883 is now
40 feet in height.
Uses Of the Tree and Its Products.
The principal commercial uses of the
camphor tree are for the production Of
camphor gum and camphor oil. Cam
phor gum is employed extensively in
medicine. 1t enters into the compost
ton of many kinds of liniments for ex-
ternal application. For liniment it is
used especially in combination with
olive oil 1t is taken internally for hys-
terra, nervousness, nervous headaches,
diarrhea and diseases affecting the ali
mentary canal. 1t is specific in cases Of
typhoid fever and cholera. Camphor
fumes have also been used with success
in cases of asthma.
In the native forests camphor is OBJ
tanned almost exclusively from the wood
of the trunks and the larger roots and
branches. These are first chopped into
small pieces and sometimes pounded or
bruised to facilitate distillation. The
work is performed by hand labor and
the processes in use seem rather crude.
In some parts of Formosa a layer only
about an inch thick is cut from the
larger roots and from part of the trunk,
the object being to obtain the best cam
phor bearing wood without killing the