ELEMI TREE. 



561 



at tke top. The pinnffi are sessile, inversely 

 ovate, entire, and of a bright green colour. The 

 flowers are scattered upon the branches, and are 

 of a white colour; the calyx is permanent; the 

 corolla consists of four white petals; the fruit is 

 drupaceous, roundish, oval, opening by four 

 valves, and containing a smooth nut. 



According to Mr Bruce, this tree is a native 

 of Abyssinia, growing among the myrrh trees 

 behind Azab, all along the coast to the straits of 

 Babelmandeb. It is said to have been early 

 transplanted into the south of Arabia, and into 

 Judea, one thousand years before the queen of 

 Saba, who, according to Josephus, gave this 

 tree among other presents to king Solomon. 



Theophrastus, Dioscorides, Pliny, and even 

 the Arabian physicians, supposed this balsam to 

 be the produce of Judea only; and hence it 

 seems to have received the name of balsam of 

 Judaicnm, or balm of Gilead. 



There is another species nearly allied in char- 

 acter, the amyris opobalsamum, which produces 

 the balsam of Mecca. This species has pinnated 

 leaves, with sessile leaflets. It grows near 

 Bederhunin, a village between Mecca and Medina, 

 in a sandy, rocky soil, confined to a small tract 

 about a mile in length, and attains the height of 

 fifteen feet. 



The balsamic juice of those trees issues spon- 

 taneously from fissures in the bark; but it is 

 generally obtained by artificial incisions. The 

 balsam now imported into Europe is reported 

 to be principally .collected between Mecca and 

 Medina. "The bark," says Mr Bruce, "is cut by 

 an axe when the juice is in its strongest circu- 

 lation in July and August, and the beginning of 

 September. It is then received into a small 

 earthen bottle, and every day's produce gathered 

 and poured into a larger, which is kept closely 

 corked. The juice, when first received into the 

 bottle or vase, from the wound from which it 

 issues, is of a light yellow colour, apparently 

 turbid, in which there is a whitish cast, which, 

 I apprehend, are the globules of air that pervade 

 the whole of it in its first state of fermentation; 

 it then appears very light upon shaking. As it 

 settles and cools, it turns clear, and loses that 

 milkiness which it first had when flowing from 

 the tree into the bottle. It then has the colour 

 of honey, and appears more fixed and heavy, 

 than at first. After being kept for years, it 

 grows of a much deeper yellow, and of the colovir 

 of gold. I have some of it which I got from 

 the Cadi of Medina, in 1768, it is now still deeper 

 in colour, full as much so as the yellowest honey. 

 It is perfectly fluid, and has lost very little either 

 of its taste, smell, or weight. The smell at first 

 is violent, and strongly pungent, giving a sensa- 

 tion to the brain, like that of volatile salts when 

 rashly drawn up by an incautious person. This 

 lasts in proportion to its freshness; for being 



neglected, and the bottle uncorked, it quickly 

 loses this quality, as it probably will at last by 

 age, whatever care is taken of it." The balsam 

 which one tree yields is very small, and the col- 

 lection of it is tedious and troublesome; hence, 

 it is so very scarce, that the genuine balsam is 

 very rarely, if ever, exported in a commercial 

 way. The best balsam, according to Alpinus, is 

 at first turbid, and white, of a very strong pun- 

 gent smell, like that of turpentine, but much 

 sweeter, and more fragrant, and of a bitter, acrid, 

 astringent taste; on being kept for some time, it 

 becomes thin, limpid, light, of a greenish hue, 

 and then of a gold yellow, after which it grows 

 thick, like turpentine, and loses much of its 

 fragrance. Some compare the smell of this 

 balsam to that of citrons; others to that of a 

 mixture of rosemary and sage flowers. The 

 chief mark of its goodness is said to be founded 

 on this, that when dropped on water, it spreads 

 itself all over the surface, forming a thin pellicle, 

 tough enough to be taken up on the point of a 

 pin, and at the same time impregnating the 

 water with its smell and flavour. This last is 

 not, however, to be depended upon, as several 

 other resinous fluids and oil of juniper produce 

 the same appearances. 



Tliis article was highly valued even among 

 the earliest races of mankind. We read in the 

 scriptures, that balm and myrrh were carried by 

 the Ishmaelites to Egypt, and this formed one 

 of the earliest ai-ticles of trade among the Eastern 

 nations. By them it was esteemed not only for 

 its perfume, but for its supposed medicinal vir- 

 tues, which latter were estimated very highly. 

 The sacred prophet exclaims, "Is there no balm 

 in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why 

 then is not the health of the daughter of my 

 people recovered?" Even in the present day, 

 its medicinal virtues are highly extolled in the 

 East; and it is in so much request, that the gen- 

 uine balm is to be procured with great difiiculty. 



In Turkey, it is not only in high esteem as a 

 medicine, but also as an odoriferous ingredient, 

 and a cosmetic for the skin. Lady Mary Wortley 

 Montague, mentions that she tried its effects as 

 a cosmetic, and found that it was of so stimulat- 

 ing a nature, that the day after using it her face 

 became red and swollen, which affection contin- 

 ued for three days. 



In modern European practice it is, however, 

 very lightly esteemed, being placed upon a level 

 with the other turpentine balsams. 



Elemi Teee (amyris elemi). This tree 

 is of the same family as the above, but is a 

 native of Carolina and South America. In dry 

 weather, and especially at full moon, incisions 

 are made in the bark, from which a resinous 

 juice flows, and is left to harden in the sun. It 

 comes to this country in long, roundish cakes, 

 generally wrapped up in flag leaves. The best 

 4 B 



