TURPENTINE TREE. 



663 



from 4j. Gd. to 6s. Gd. for the same quan- 

 tity. 



A small quantity of inferior mastic is brought 

 from Egypt. 



Mastic, like all other resins, is soluble in alco- 

 hol and oil of tm-pentine, and is scarcely acted 

 upon by water; it becomes by mastication soft 

 and tough, like India-rubber. A small part of 

 it does not dissolve in a spirituous menstruum, 

 and this portion much resembles caoutchouc in 

 its properties. 



Turpentine Teee (pistacia terehinihus).* 

 This is another species of the same genxis as the 

 foregoing; but it attains a much larger height, 

 with numerous spreading branches. The leaves 

 are pinnated, oval, and lanceolate; the flowers 

 are essentially the same as the other species. It 

 is a native of Barbary and the south of Europe, 

 and has been cultivated in Britain for about a 

 century; and if planted against a wall, bears our 

 winters veiy well. The Cyprus or Chian tur- 

 pentine is procured by wounding the bark of the 

 trunk of this tree in several places during the 

 month of July, leaving a space of about three 

 inches between each wound; from these the tur- 

 pentine issues, and is received upon stones which 

 are placed at the bottom of the tree for this pur- 

 pose, and upon which it becomes so much con- 

 densed by the coldness of the night, as to admit 

 of being scraped off with a knife in the morning, 

 which is always to be done before the sun rises. 

 After this, in order to free it of all extraneous 

 mixture, it is again liquified by the sun's heat, 

 and passed through a strainer when it is fit for 

 use. The best Chian turpentine is generally about 

 the consistence of thick honey, very tenacious, 

 clear, and almost transparent; of a white colour, 

 inclining to yellow, and a fragrant smell; moder- 

 ately warm to the taste, but free from acrimony 

 and bitterness. The quantity of this turpen- 

 tine produced from each tree, is very inconsider- 

 able, not more than two pounds being procured 

 from six large trees of sixty years of age. In 

 consequence of Its scarcity, it is not unfrequently 

 adulterated with other turpentines. 



Resin and essential oil of turpentine are, how- 

 ever, procured abundantly from the pine tribe; 

 and these trees afford the turpentine of com- 

 merce, and that also used in medicine. 



Oil of turpentine is a powerful stimulant, both 

 taken internally, and used externally on the 

 skin. It is employed as a purgative, diuretic, 

 anthelmintic, and antispasmodic; and externally 

 for the cure of rheumatism, and local pains and 

 swellings. 



Balsam of Tolu (Toluifera halsarmm). Na- 

 tural family lomentacece; decandria, monogynia, 

 of Linnsus. The tree which yields the balsam 



* This tree was shortly alluded to under anotlicr 

 head, p. 388. 



of Tolu is a native of South America, and grows 

 to a considerable height. It sends off numerous 



Enlsam of Tolu. 



large branches, and is covered with a rough, 

 thick, grayish bark. The leaves are ovate, entire, 

 pointed, alternate, of a light green colour, and 

 stand upon short footstalks. Tlie flowers are 

 numerous in lateral racemes ; the calyx bell- 

 shaped ; the corolla five-petalled, and whitish ; 

 the fruit a round berry. It grows in Tolu, a 

 province of Spanish America, and the balsam is 

 exported in little gourd shells. This is obtained 

 by making incisions in the bark of the tree ; as 

 the gum flows out it is collected in spoons of 

 black wax, and then deposited in vessels, where 

 it hardens. This substance is of a reddish yellow 

 colour, somewhat transparent, and of a thick 

 consistence. Its smell is fragrant, resembling 

 that of lemons ; its taste is warm and sweetish, 

 and on being chewed, it adheres to the teeth. 

 Thrown into the fire it immediately liquifies, 

 takes flame, and disperses its agreeable odour. 

 It does not dissolve in water, yet if boiled 

 in it for two or three hours in a covered 

 vessel, the water receives its odoriferous smell. 

 With the assistance of mucilage it unites with 

 water, so as to form a milky solution. It dis- 

 solves entirely in spirit of wine, and easily mixes 

 with distilled oils, but less easily with those of 

 the expressed kind. Distilled without any addi- 

 tion, it produces not only an empyreumatic oil, 

 of a pale dark colour, but sometimes also a small 

 portion of acidulous flakes, resembling flowers 

 of benzoin. 



In modem practice, this balsam is not employed 

 for any decided virtues it may possess, but is 

 chiefly used to impart a flavour, and a slight 

 stimulating quality to pectoral medicines. It is 

 used in tincture, as a syrup for these pui-poses. 



CoPAiVA Tree (copaifera officinalis). Natural 

 family hgiiminosa; ; decandria, monogynia, of 



