Camphora officinalis, the tree which produces camphor, was referred by Linnaeus to the genus "Laurus; " but it has subsequently been removed into a new genus of " Lauracas," on account of some botanical technicalities it does not seem necessary to enter into here.

Camphor is obtained from the wood of the tree by boiling the chopped branches in water, when the camphor becomes deposited, and is afterwards clarified. It is produced principally in the Island of Formosa. What is known in commerce as Borneo camphor, is the produce of a tree of a different family.

In the year 1882, a large quantity of seedlings of Camphora officinalis, were distributed in the Southern States, from the Botanic Gardens here, by the superintendent, Mr. W. R. Smith; one in particular to Mr. R. Maitre, nurseryman and florist, New Orleans, La. Mr. Maitre planted it out, and I saw the plant in the winter of 1884-5, and a very fine specimen it was; 7 to 8 feet high, pyramidal in shape, furnished from the bottom, and the glaucous green leaves very closely set. In 1886 the plant bloomed. The bloom is insignificant, being of a greenish white; but its greatest beauty had yet to come, when, towards fall, the very numerous bluish black berries attain their color.

The plant being located on Mr. Maitre's place near St. Charles Avenue, where the cars pass every three minutes, it did not long remain unnoticed, and naturally excited a good deal of curiosity and inquiry, until now 1 understand the demand for plants far exceeds the supply.

It has been asserted that camphor acts as a preventative in infectious diseases, and no place could this be put to the test so well as in the city of New Orleans. The authorities ought to secure the product for several years, and plant them in every available place in and around that neglected but delightful city. I am aware this statement has been disputed, but I also happen to know that camphor is used, suspended around the neck, as a preventative in contagious diseases, with the sanction of the best medical authority extant. It is also used to prevent the ravages of insects in clothes, and the wood is occasionally imported to make cabinets for entomologists.

Mr. Maitre informs me that from 10 inches high in 1882, his plant now stands 18 feet high, and 20 inches in circumference at the base, and is the most beautiful and graceful evergreen he knows of. It has stood on his place uninjured, with the thermometer down to 130, when Gardenias, Olea fragrans, Pittosporums, and even Magnolia grand-iflora, showed the effects of the frost. I think with others, that Mr. Maitre is entitled to great credit for having acclimatized so beautiful and useful a plant; and it is just possible, after all the plants that have been distributed, that this is the only one at present established outdoors in the United States. It ought to serve as a warning to people who receive plants from the same source, or otherwise, that they do not happen to know anything about, not to throw them carelessly aside, but give them at least a chance, and they may find out some day they have something beautiful or useful, and perhaps valuable, for their trouble.

Washington, D. C.