258 ECONOMIC BOTANY. 



Bean family (Leguminos(B). "When the Spaniards took 

 possession of the island they cut down the trees to obtain 

 the resin. Had this method not been prohibited by law, 

 in a short time the species would Lave been exterminated. 

 The mode practiced now, is as follows : At the end of the 

 rainy season, the trees are hammered on three or four sides 

 until the bark is loosened from the tree at those points. 

 After a few days the bark is burned, by means of resin 

 torches, until it is charred. It then falls oiF, or is removed, 

 and the yellow, odorous, liquid resin is absorbed by pieces 

 of cloth. When these become saturated, they are boiled in 

 earthen vessels to obtain the resin. A tree may be thus 

 treated two or three times in a season. By this method 

 the black Peru Balsam is obtained. The White Balsam is 

 said to be obtained by pressing the fruit. Balsam of Peru 

 has a pleasant odor like that of Benzoin or Vanilla. Its 

 taste is first mild, then sharp and biting. It is heavier 

 than water (specific gravity 1.14-1.15). It has a variable 

 and complex chemical composition. It finds use in the 

 manufacture of sealing-wax, and in perfumery. It is used 

 for flavoring lozenges and tinctures, and substituted for 

 vanilla in the poorer kinds of chocolate. 



228. A small tree of the northwestern part of South 

 America, and belonging to the family Leguminos(B, namely, 

 Myroxylon toluiferum, produces the Balsam of Tolu. 

 Holes are bored into the trees from which the resin flo^vs. 

 It softens in the hand, and can be kneaded like wax. Its 

 color is a reddish-brown ; but when pulverized, pale yellow. 

 The odor is pleasant, reminding of vanilla; it has an 

 aromatic taste. When examined under the microscope it 

 is found to be a homogeneous mass, with crystals of ciuna- 

 mic acid embedded in it, also some remains of vegetable 



