NAT. ORDER. LOMENTACEiE. 
raont de Bomare says, in his Dictionary of Natural History, that 
if an extract be made from the bark, by boiling it in water, it re- 
mains liquid, and of a blackish color, and is known under the appel- 
lation of black Peruvian balsam. 
Sensible and Chemical Properties. Genuine Peruvian balsam 
is of a deep reddish brown color, very viscid, and of the consis- 
tency of honey, when first taken from the comb : it has a warm, 
aromatic, and slightly bitter taste, and, when swallowed, leaves a 
somewhat acrid sensation in the throat : its odor is very fragrant. 
Distilled with water, it yields a small quantity of reddish limped 
oil ; and benzoic acid sublimes in the neck of the retort : the re- 
mainder is resin. When boiled with water, the liquid becomes 
acidulated, reddens vegetable blues, and deposites on cooling 
crystals of benzoic acid. It dissolves completely in ether, and 
also in alcohol ; but the latter requires to be in considerable quan- 
tities. The alkalies and their carbonates, form with it thick 
masses, which, on the addition of sulphuric acid, lets fall a resinous 
matter, and benzoic acid crystallizes. Treated with the nitric 
and muriatic acids, the presence of prussic acid is detected, ben- 
zoic acid sublimes, and the residual matter is artificial tannin. Mr. 
Hatchett found that when this is heated with sulphuric acid, arti- 
ficial tannin is also formed ; and the charcoal remaining amounts 
to no less than 0'64 of the original weight of the balsam. At 
555° the balsam begins to boil when exposed to some heat in a 
water-bath, and some gas is discharged. At 594° the oil, mixed 
with a little water, comes over quite fast. Lichtenberg kept four 
ounces of balsam at the temperature of 617° for two hours, and 
obtained two ounces of a yellowish oil, and a crystallized mass of 
benzoic acid ; which, together with the water, weighed six drachms 
and a half. The gas obtained amounted to fifty-eight ounce mea- 
sures, thirty-eight being carbonic acid : the rest burnt like oleifiant 
gas. From the analysis of Stoltze, 1000 parts of balsam consist 
of 24 of brown, nearly insoluble resin, 207 of soluble resin, 690 
