ELEMI 495 



Uses. Elemi has been employed in the form of ointment, as a 

 stimulant and antiseptic application. It is now seldom prescribed. 



Allied Drugs. East African Elemi, from Boswdlia Frereana, Bird- 

 wood (Somaliland) ; in stalactitic masses ; fragments pale amber 

 yellow. 



Brazilian Elemi, from Protium heptaphyllum, March (N.O. Bur- 

 seracece) ; small brown nodules, almost free from odour, mixed with 

 fragments of bark. 



Yucatan Elemi, from Amyris Plumerii, de Candolle (N.O. Bur- 

 seracece) ; yellow translucent pieces curved on one side, very 

 aromatic. 



All these varieties of elemi resemble Manila elemi in composition. 



BALSAM OF TOLU 

 (Balsamum Tolutanum) 



Source, &c. Balsam of Tolu is a balsam obtained by making 

 incisions in the trunk of Myroxylon Toluifera, Humboldt, Bonpland, 

 and Kunth (N.O. Leguminosce) . 



The tree is a native of Colombia, and occurs plentifully in the 

 forests near the river Magdalena and its tributary the Cauca. The 

 balsam, which receives its name of Tolu from a small town near 

 Cartagena, on the northern coast of Colombia, is collected by cutting 

 a V-shaped notch in the bark, and fixing below it a gourd into which 

 the balsam flows. Many such incisions at varying heights may be 

 made on the same tree, which, however, is much exhausted by the 

 tapping. The contents of these gourds are emptied into skin bags 

 and conveyed to the coast, where the balsam is transferred to tins 

 for exportation. It is shipped chiefly from Savanilla and Cartagena. 



Although the twigs of the tree contain schizogenous secretion 

 ducts, these are soon thrown off and no new ones are formed. The 

 bark of the trunk, from which the balsam is obtained, contains no 

 secretory tissue, and the balsam is probably secreted in ducts formed 

 in the new wood, a change induced by the incisions made in the tree 

 (compare the production of colophony). 



Description. Balsam of Tolu when freshly imported is a soft, 

 tenacious, yellowish brown, resinous mass, not soft enough to flow, 

 but taking the form of the vessel in which it is kept. By keeping, 

 it gradually hardens to a brownish, and, especially in cold weather, 

 brittle and easily powdered mass which, however, readily softens 

 when warmed. It has an agreeable, fragrant, though not powerful 

 odour, an acidulous balsamic taste, and adheres to the teeth when 

 chewed. A small piece warmed and pressed into a thin film between 

 two glass slides exhibits, when examined by the microscope, colourless 



