The Palatka news. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1905-1908, 1907-05-03
CAMPHOR TREES GROWN
IN FLORIDA.
Rubber Groves May Later
Enrich 9he State ano Bene-
fit The Nation.

ment of Agriculture has maintained
corps of scientists and an expert
ment station at Huntington, Fla, for
the purpose of learning il it were
possible to produce camphor in COM
mercial quantities in this country.
Groves of eamphor trees have been
set out, miniature converting plants
installed and small quantities of
camphor gum and oil distilled from
the leaves of the exotic plant. 1t
has now leaked out that one of the
purposes of these botanical investi-
cations was to prepare TOT possible
war with Japan.
The crux of the situation lies in
the fact that gum camphor is one of
the ingredients commonly used in
the manufacture of smokeless pow
der and other high explosives, and
gum camphOr is not produced any
where on earth except in the island
of Formosa, Japan
JAPAN'S GREAT ADVANTAGE.
In the event of international hos
tilities, it would be quite possible for
Japan to place an embargo on the
expectation of the monopolized prod
uct and place herself at distict ad-
vantage in the manufacture of the
chief commodity of war.
There are said to be substitutes for
gum camphor, but no nation would
willingly be deprived of it in the
manufacture of explosives.
A visit to the scene of these eXpe-
riments at the government station
by a newspaper representative has
elected the declaration by S. F.
Hood, the resident expert, that the
raising of camphor trees and the
production of camphor would in all
probability prove profitable indus
try in Florida.
The American Celluloid company
is so thoroughly convinced that the
industry can be established and the
monopoly wrenched from Japan that
it has purchased 5000 acres of land
surrounding the village Of Satsuma,
Fla, and planted the entire tract
with camphor seeds. The use of
canphor gum is said to be absolute
ly essential in the making of cellu-
loid, and the explosive character of
that material is largely derived from
the camphor contained in 1t.
In about four years the young
trees will be large enough to warrant
harvesting the first crop of camphor
this country or this hemisphere ever
saw. The company expects to more
IMAM pay lor Jile Iulu ouI Vi lIlO
first years profit.
TEMPTED FROM GOVERNMENT
SERVICE.
The man who conducted the eX-
perments for the government from
their inception and up to three
months ago, is W. R. Richtmann.
AS soon as he had demonstrated to
the government the probable
success of camphor culture in that
region, the American Celluloid COM
pany offered him a higher salary,
and he left the government service.
He is now in charge of the compa-
ny's camphor farm at Satsuma.
AS to the methods to be followed,
he said:
1--WE will utilize nothing but the
leaves of the trees in the production
of camphor gum. The Japanese, ac-
cording to their crude methods, use
the wood. We have found that 80
or 100 pounds CT leaves, thrown into
a tank and distilled, will produce
one pound of camphor gum, worth at
the present market about $l.25 II
pound. Floating on top of the gum
we find also a small quantity of cam
phor oil as byproduct
"The trees are planted in hedges
and the outer foliage trimmed off
annually. Harvesting the leaves
can begin when the trees are from
twelve to twenty feet high, which
altitude they reach in four or five
years, according to the quality of the
soil and the intensity of the cultiva-
tion. The trees are not injured by
the process and probably will con-
tinue to yield indefinitely.
MACHINERY CHEAPER THAN CoOLIE
LABOR.
'In our experiments we clipped
the leaves by hand, but a mower will
,, doubtless be devised which will be
much more economical. The ele-
ment of labor i'll the culture of the
trees and the distillation of the
product with our methods is so small
that / believe that we can make
: camphor gum at a less cost than the
Japs can with their coolie labor.
They take the wood and chop it
up into chips by hand and then distil
the chips, which is very slow and
, laborious process, and, besides, de-
stroys the forests on which they rely
for the gum"
Since Mr.. Richtmann abandoned
!, the service of the Department of
: Agriculture his former assistant, S.
? f. Hood, has had charge of the eX-
pertinent station. He showed one
grove of trees planted in 1897, and
another grove that had been set out
from slips a few years later. The
, older ones were fifteen or twenty
: feet high, with spreading branches
7 and dense foliage of pulpy, oval
t pointed, dark green leavess Like
= most tropical trees, they remain
n green through all seasons, shedding
/ their old leaves at the same time
It that they are putting forth new buds
= When asked about the purpose OF
}. the government in conducting these
experiments, Mr.. Hood replied:
JAPAN's MONOPOLY A MENACE.
well you may not know that
camphor gum is used in making
Il smokeless powder. Just how or il
# what way / cannot tell you, for the
q formulae for the making of explo
q sives are not familiar to me. But
l. you can appreciate the importanc,
v of having the camphor produced il
It our own country, especially sine
! Japan has risen to be military
power.
If II have heard that camphor il
h used by the japanese in the manu-
d facture.ef lyddite, but / don't know
whether it is true or not.
!. The fact that the camphor tire,
?, would grow in this country was dis
Il covered almost by accident. Som
l. traveller brought some seeds from
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