The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1897-11-25
WASHINGTON LETTER.
The Fumigation Of Old Bills-Precau-
tions Against Contagion-Camph
Trees In This Country.
Especial Correspondence.1

Especial Correspondence
Speaking about the fumigation of old
Bulls 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,
"are constantly exposed to danger in
their handling and counting of old cur
rency. Sometimes the smell of these old
bills is nauseating. don't remember,
however, a 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. 1 consider that they have
been remarkably fortunate.
Found Upon the Dead.
There have been cases at the treasury
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
-. fD,,
demption. 1t is sometimes in such con-
dition that the odor is almost unbeara-
BILE. This is only one of many instances
of a 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 it's Guilt
walton for profit in 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 it's native hab-
itat, eastern Asia, Formosa and south
ern Japan, it attains height of from
60 to 100 feet and has trunk 20 to 40
1ncneS IN diameter.
Its Range Under Cultivation.
Notwithstanding the comparatively
narrow limits of it's natural environ
ment, the camphor tree grows well
in cultivation under widely differ
ent conditions. 1t has become album
dainty naturalized in Madagascar. 1t
1ourishes at Buenos Ayres. 1t thrives
in Egypt, in 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 70 to 80
nights of frost, with an occasional mini
mum temperature as low as IL to 16
degrees +. 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 15 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 a 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 a foot in diameter
and 80 feet high, years from the seed.
Under ordinary conditions however,
such girth is not often attained in less
than 25 years, and such a height is
rarely attained in century. A tree
planted at New Orleans in 1883 is now
40 feet in height
Uses Of the Tree and It's 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. It 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 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
<roo Trooc tb11c troafod 0fton 6io