Camphor (Camphora officinalis, Steud.). Lauracea. Fig. 683.
A large evergreen tree, native in Asia, having a wide-spreading top, a thick, much-branched stem, alternate, entire, evergreen, leathery leaves, broadly lanceolate to ovate in form, axillary clusters of small, yellowish flowers which are followed by small, blackish berries, in size and appearance not very unlike the fruit of the native small black cherry (Prunus serotina). The tree is cultivated in Florida, along the Gulf strip and as far north along the Atlantic coast as South Carolina.
The tree yields the gum camphor of commerce, as well as camphor oil used in liniments and the like. These substances are present in varying quantity in all parts of the tree, being especially abundant in the dead heart-wood of old trees. They are also present in the leaves and other parts. Ex periments by the United States Department of Agriculture have shown that camphor gum of high quality can be distilled from the leaves by steam, and forth r experiments are now in progress in the hope of utilizing this source or method for camphor products.
Caraway (Carlon Carui, Linn.). Umbelliferir. (G. F. Klugh.) Caraway is usually a perennial herb, having an enlarged, fleshy root ; erect, slender, somewhat branching stem, reaching a height of two feet, hearing pinnately compound leaves, the segments of which are very narrow, almost filiform ; the small white flowers form a fiat-topped umbel ; the fruits, the so-called "caraway," are narrow, ribbed, pointed at the ends, and have the characteristic caraway flavor due to the volatile oils contained in them. It is a native of Europe but is widely introduced into the United States, occurring wild or in kitchen gardens. Attempts are being made to produce it commercially in the United States to supply the large demand now satisfied from abroad, chiefly from Holland and middle Russia.
It grows well on heavy soils, but a moderately light soil gives larger yields and is supposed to give a grade containing more oil. The seed should be sown about the first of April in three-foot drills, at the rate of about eight pounds per acre, or in sufficient quantity to give a stand of plants about three inches or less apart. After the plants come up the soil should be cultivated shallow and weeds killed regularly until late summer the first year and early spring of the second year. Weeds left in
the field at harvest time will contaminate the product when the seeds are harvested and reduce the value.
The seeds ripen about the middle of June the second year, and may be cut with a mower, threshed out and cleaned. The seeds should be light brown if cut just after the first seeds are ripe and before the stalks are dead. Cutting at this time makes a good salable product and avoids waste by shatter ing of the seeds. An acre should yield about 1,000 pounds of seed.
On distillation with steam the fruits yield a pleasant volatile oil with the odor and taste of caraway. According to the geographical source and conditions of soil and climate, caraway fruits yield 3 to 6 per cent of their weight in oil.
Catnip (,Vepeta Calaria, Linn.). Labiatw. Catmint. Fig. 634.
A perennial-rooted herb having a branching, erect or somewhat decumbent square-cornered stem, three to four feet high, bearing cordate or broadly ovate petiolate leaves with crenate mar gins, softly woolly surfaces and veins sharply marked on the pale under side; the small nearly white flowers are collected in terminal spikes, flowering late in the summer or early fall. It is a frequent garden plant, and has also escaped over a wide area.
Catnip is propagated by seeds or by root divi sion. It likes a moderately rich garden loam, but does well on a variety of soils. The seed should be sown about the first of March, or as early as possible in the spring, in drills three feet apart, at the rate of one to two pounds per acre. After the plants are four or five inches in height, they should be thinned out to stand about eighteen inches apart in the rows. Shallow cultivation to keep the soil loose and conserve soil moisture will incidentally kill the weeds and produce a healthy growth. The plant will flower the first year in August or Sep tember and in subsequent years in June. The flow ering tops are used. They should be picked free from large stems an d dried carefully in the shade to preserve their green color. The yield of tops per acre is about 2,000 pounds under good conditions.