THE CAMPHOR-TREE.
The camphor-tree, a view of which is given in the cut below, grows naturally in the woods of Japan, and in many of the islands of the far distant Pacific ocean. The part which smells stronger of camphor than any other, is the root, which yields it in great quantities. The bark of the stalk has outwardly rather a rough appearance; the inner surface is smooth and mucous, and is very easily separated from the wood, which is dry in its nature, and white in its color. The leaves stand upon slender, delicate foot-stalks, having an entire undulating margin running out into a point; the upper surface of the leaf is of a lively, shining green, and the lower, herbaceous and silky. The flowers are produced on the tops of footstalks, which proceed from the arm-pits of the leaves, but not till the tree has attained considerable age and size. The flower-stalks are slender, branched at the top, and divided into very short pedicles, each supporting a single flower; these flowers are white, and consist of six petals, which are succeeded by a shining purple berry, of the size of a pea. This is composed of a soft, pulpy substance, of a purple color, having the taste of cloves and camphor, and of a kernel of the size of a pepper, which is covered with a black, shining skin, of an insipid taste.
The camphor is a solid concrete juice, extracted from the wood of the camphor-tree. Pure camphor is very white, clear, and unctuous to the touch: the taste is bitterish-aromatic, and accompanied with a sense of coolness: the smell is particularly fragrant, something like that of rosemary, but much stronger. It has been long esteemed for its medicinal qualities, and has been justly celebrated in fevers, malignant and epidemic distempers. In delirium, where opiates failed in procuring sleep, but rather increased and aggravated the symptoms, this medicine has been often found to procure it. Physicians attribute these effects to its sedative qualities. It is a powerful medicine, capable of doing great good or harm. It is said to be poisonous to animals, often putting them into a sleep from which they never waken.