"Andreas of Belluma in his Dictionary writes that the Arabs distill camphor water from the camphor tree. About this liquid I inquired much among doctors and merchants but could find no one who had seen it, whence I easily conjecture that he in describing it made a mistake.[1]
"Ruellin and Mathiolus following him and both after Serapion write that this camphor excelled all others in goodness which was called Riachina after a certain king Rihah (who first discovered the method of whitening it). But I cannot see how that since the Indian kings were very powerful, they should have any need to turn their attention to the showing off of their trade products."
Garcia then proceeds to discuss whether it is hot or cold. He imagined at first that it was hot, but finding that it was cooling when used for opthalmia and inflammation of the eyes, concludes that it is of a cold nature. Avicenna states that camphor makes people wakeful, but how can that be since Avicenna himself says it is of a cold nature, and cold things usually send one to sleep! But he concludes that by taking a little sleep may be produced. At the same time, however, if anyone smells it often enough and applies it to his nostrils it dries up the brain and keeps him awake. Such are the quaint ideas as to drugs of exactly three centuries ago.
Borneo camphor was evidently known long before that of the Chinese Camphor Laurel, and was always very highly prized and to this day if is too expensive for the European market. It is eagerly bought by the Chinese, Siamese, and Japanese for incense, embalming, and medicine.
According to the account given by the Jakuns the camphor occurs in cracks in the interior of the tree, which has to be split in pieces and the wood carefully scraped. The camphor thus obtained is washed free from fragments of wood and sap, and sold to the Chinese at Kwala Indau. The price varies according to quality from fifteen to forty dollars a katti.
Camphor oil is a different product, obtained by making a hole in the side of a tree and burning it in the same manner as is adopted for obtaining Minyak Kruing and other wood oils. It is also, in Borneo and Sumatra at least, found in hollows and splits in the wood.
- ↑ Doubtless he was alluding to Camphor oil.
