The Balsam of Tolu-Tree.
Botanical name:
Arbor balsamifera Tolutana.
THIS is a kind of pine tree. It does not grow to any great height, but spreads into a great quantity of branches. The leaves are long and very slender, and of a deep green; the bark is of a reddish white, and the fruit is a small cone, brown and hard.
No part of the tree is used but the balsam only which comes from it. They wound the trunk in hot seasons, and this liquid resin flows out, which they put up into shells for exportation: it is thick, brown, and very fragrant. It is excellent in consumptions, and other disorders of the breast, and may be given in pills. The balsamic syrup of the apothecaries is made from it, and possesses a great deal of its virtues.
