Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-09-02
and South America for ornamental

rope and South America for ornamental
purposes.
The wood. with it's close grain, yellow
color. and susceptibility to polish, taking
kind of satin-like finish. Is exceedingly
valuable in cabinet work, especially for
making drawers. chests and cupboards
proof against insects. The leaves and
young branches, although they have but a
slight odor of camphor, are packed with
clothing Or scattered about unused rooms
to guard against insects.
The tree produces an abundance of berry
like fruits, which used in Japan and
China to make a kind of tallow The fruits
are greedily eaten by chickens and birds,
especially hooking birds, which often select
| camphor trees for nesting places.
Conditions Must he Favorable.
For most of the secondary purposes, the
camphor tree may well be cultivated wher-
ever it can be n ade to live; but for the
distillation of gum and oil with a COM
nercial view, and for the production of
wood for cabinet purposes. 1t must be
grown under the most favorable conditions.
| The minimum winter temperature should
not be below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, and
this minimum should be of rare occur
renee. The soil. preferably sandy and wen
drained should be irrigated unless there
are abundant rains Fifty inches of water
during the warm growing season Is de-
sirable. and much more may well be used
where the air is very dry.
Camphor trees may be grown either from
seed from cuttings. They are usually
grown from seed, as the trees fruit album
dainty and seedlings can be grown more
easily Than cuttings. The seeds are collect
ed at maturity in October and November.
and after drying are packed in sharp white
send or some similar material to keep then,
fresh until the time of planting in spring.
About he last of March they are SoWn in
drills in the seed bed.
Camphor of good quality has been pro-
duced in Florida from the leaves and twigs
of trees less than twenty years old, one
pound of crude gum being obtained from
seventyseven POUNDS of leaves and twigs.
From Trunks .rnd Branches.
In the native forests in Formosa, Fukien
and Japan camphor is distilled almost eX-
clusively from the wood of the trunks.
roots and larger branches. The work is
performed by hand labor, and the methods
employed seem rather crude Different
methods of distillation employed in
different districts, but those in use in the
province of ToSa, in Japan. appear to be
the most skillful. The camphor trees are
felled and the trunk, larger limbs and
sometimes the roots are cut into chips by
hand labor with a sharp concave ADJ
The fresh chips are placed in a wooden
tub about 40 inches high and 20 inches in
diameter at the base. tapering toward the
top like ar old-fashioned churn. The per-
forated bottom of the tub fits tightly over
masonry. The tub has a tght-fitting cover.
which may be removed to put in the chips.
1t is surrounded by a layer of earth about
inches thick to aid in retaining a uniform
temperature bamboo tube extends from
near the top Of the tub into the condenser
This consists of two wooden tubs of diff
ferent sizes, the larger right side UP,
Kept about two-thirds full of water from a
continuous stream which runs out of
hole in one side. The smaller one is in
verified with its edges below the water
forming an air-tight chamber. This air
chamber is kept cool by the water falling
on the top and running down over the
SIDES Tne upper part of the air chamber
IS sometimes filed with clean rice straw
on which the camphor crystallizes while
the oil drips down and collects on the sur
face of the water. In some cases the cam
phor gum and oil are allowed to collect to-
sether on the surface of the water and are
alterward separated by filtration through
rice straw or by pressure
About twelve hours ere required for dis
tiiilnS a tubful by this method Then the
chips are removed and dried for use in the
furnace, ana new charge is put in At
the same time the camphor and oil are re-
moved from the condenser. BY this method
t"e-ty 10 forty pounds of chips are re-
CURED Tor one pound of crude camphor
gum.
Consumption of Cumphor
The circular says that the consumption
OF camphor in this country, as measured
by the importations has been decreasing
during the past ten years, while the price
has been increasing. In 1887 there wera
imported to this country of crude camnhor
duty free, 2s72,1Si pounds valued at II
cents per pound. or S352, SCI. In 1883 there
were imported 2,7I9.719 pounds at II certs
per pound, valued at ssO4, AGO. In 1889 there
were imported 1874. 500 pounds at 10 cents
per pound, valued at SOB, A. In 1880
there were 2,OG1,3I pounds. at 10 cents ner
pound. valued at s421. 3S5.OOO. In 1891 there
i
pound. valued at si6s.U OPS In 1892 the price
mad dropped to % cents per pound and
there we're 1855. 1S7 pounds which brought
Il total amount of SAL, G54. In 1893 there
were 1.I23.425 pounds, at 26 cents per
pound. making a total of $446,54S. A year
later the price had dropped to % cents Der
pound, and there were ,323 $50 pounds
bringing S'H,.407. In 1895 the price mad
We're 1,59.I 13 pounds. bringing s2S495s In
1896 the price had advanced to 81 cents per
pound, and there were only 943 2O5 pounds
valued at SS2S, 451.
The Fluctuations.
For nine months to March 81, 1897, the
latest report cbtainable, the price had
dropped to "a cents per pound, and there
were only s55.24 pounds bringing s2O7.-
1911 In 1898 there were imported 211, 16i
pounds of refined camphor which is du-
table, valued at $50, 3S2 In 1896 there were
153.912 pounds imported. valued at $5S 7S5
Fer nine months ending March 81, 1897
there had been imported only l55 OPT
pounds, valued at S52S11.
The tariff act approved July % imposed
phor, and leaves crude camphor on the free
list. The decrease in importatjons has been
brought about by various causes with the
result that the market has been flooded
with cheap substitutes.
IINRER IN GREAT DE,aND