146 BALSAM OF PERU. [1839. 



Balsam of Peru is an important product, chiefly valued for 

 the benzoic acid it contains, and also employed as a perfume. 

 It is extracted from the myroxylon peruiferum, sometimes 

 by incision, and sometimes by evaporating the decoction of 

 the bark and branches of the tree. The first kind is very 

 rare, and is exported in cocoa husks, from whence it is called 

 balsam en coque ; it is of a brown color, of the consistence of 

 thick turpentine, and has an agreeable smell, but an acrid and 

 bitter taste. The second kind is called the black balsam, and 

 is quite common. It is of a deep reddish brown color, and 

 is much more acrid and bitter, and has a stronger smell, than 

 the other sort. The balsam of Peru always commands a 

 high price, and is, therefore, frequently adulterated. 



A species of red thorn apple, (the datura sanguined) is 

 found in the Sierra, from which a powerful narcotic drink, 

 called tonga, is prepared by the Peruvian Indians. It pro- 

 duces a heavy stupor, during the continuance of which the 

 natives who make use of it fancy they can hold communica- 

 tion with the spirits of their forefathers, and obtain from them 

 a clew to the rich treasures said to be concealed in their 

 graves, or hudcas. From this superstitious belief, the thorn- 

 apple has obtained the name of hudca-cachu, or grave-plant, 

 among the Indians. 



In the Puna there are large patches of ground covered with 

 the ratanhia shrub [krameria triandria.) This is used by 

 the Indians for fuel, and for roofing their huts. It is also a 

 favorite remedy among them, for spitting blood and dysen- 

 tery. The extract was formerly prepared in Peru, and ex- 

 ported in large quantities to Europe, but latterly very little 

 has been shipped. 



Warmed by a tropical sun, and blessed with a genial cli- 

 mate, Peru exhibits a most magnificent flora during the 

 greater part of the year. Blossoms and flowers constantly 



bark depended upon the presence of the valuable alkaloid known in pharmacy 

 as quinine. It is said that the use of 90 000 ounces of the sulphate of quinine 

 produced in France in a single year, obviated the necessity of swalhwing at 

 least 10,000,000 ounces of the bark. 



