144 



CASE which time it has completely disappeared from commerce. 

 74. Liquid Storax is obtained from Liquidamha^^ orientalis, 

 Mill. (See No. 261.) 



No. 356. Gum Benjamin or Gum Benzoin, obtained 

 from Sty rax Benzoin^ Dry and. A moderate -sized tree, 

 found abundantly in Sumatra (where also it is cultivated), 

 Java, Borneo, and in the Malay Peninsula, where, probably, 

 it has been introduced. 



Benzoin of commerce is obtained both from Sumatra and 

 Siam. That from the latter country is procured from the 

 district east and north-east of Luang Prabang, in the 

 Shan States, but the plant furnishing it has not yet been 

 identified. 



Benzoin is collected in Sumatra by cutting deep 

 incisions into the bark when the trees are about six or 

 seven years old ; as the resin exudes it becomes hard, and 

 is scraped off with a knife. The best quality is that which 

 is obtained during the first three years, and for the next 

 seven or eight years the produce is browner in colour, and 

 less valuable. A quantity of Benzoin is scraped from the 

 wood of the tree after it is cut down ; this is of a still 

 darker colour, and is often mixed with pieces of bark and 

 other impurities. Sumatra Benzoin always comes into 

 commerce in lumps, and is of inferior quality to that from 

 Siam, which comes either in tears or in masses of 

 agglutinated tears. Benzoin is used as a stimulant and 

 expectorant in chronic bronchitis and other affections of 

 the lungs. It is one of the principal ingredients in 

 " Friars' Balsam." Its chief use, however, is for incense, 

 both in Europe and in the East. Various specimens of 

 Benzoin are exhibited from Sumatra, Siam, Penang, and 

 India. Of special interest is a sample which formed part 

 of a ton of Benzoin recovered by divers in Table Bay 

 about 20 years since. From the cases in which the gum 

 was packed and from the date, 1691, which they bore, 

 there is little doubt that it formed part of the cargo of 

 a Dutch East Indian Company's Merchantman, bound for 

 Europe, and wrecked in the Bay. Note also Benzoic acid 

 and oil from Benzoin. 



Olive Order {Oleaceae), A family characterised by 

 opposite leaves and flowers with two stamens, natives of 

 temperate latitudes ; represented by the Ash in Britain. 



