ON SONSONATE OR ST. SALVADOR BLACK BALSAM. 
137 
nate. It grows on the Balsam Coast, (between 13° and 14° N- 
lat., and 89° and 90° W. long.,) in the State of Salvador, where 
the black and white balsam are exclusively obtained from it. Her- 
nandez mentions Panuco as one the places where it grows ; and 
Clavigero* states that it " is common in the provinces of Panuco 
and Chiapan." 
Various medicinal products are obtained from this tree. :t By 
making an incision in the trunk of it, a liquor exudes called the 
black balsam, an admirable remedy for effecting the speedy cure of 
wounds of every description : from the flowers the spirit of balsam 
is made : the seeds or nut produce the oil of balsam, an excellent 
anodyne ; and the capsules yield the white balsam. From these 
simple kinds the tincture or essence of balsam is extracted ; it is 
generally termed balsamito, and was a discovery of Don Jose 
Eustaquio de Leon, director of the mint in Guatemala who 
published a description of the many virtues of this peculiar medi- 
cine."! 
The only medicinal products of the tree with which I am ac- 
quainted are black balsam, (commonly called balsam of Peru,) 
white balsam and balsamito. 
1. The Sonsonate or St. Salvador Black Balsam. 
This is the Balsam of Peru, {Balsamum Peruvianum, Ph. Lond.) 
of commerce. At Sonsonate it is termed Black Balsam (Balsamo 
negro.) It is sometimes denominated the Black or liquid Balsam 
of Peru. 
Sonsonate or St. Salvador, black balsam of commerce (balsam 
Peru of the shops) is exclusively the produce of the Balsam Coast, 
which extends from the Acajutla to the Port Libertad, on the Pacific 
side of Central America. 
It is obtained by the native Indians, who make incisions into 
the bark of the trees, burn the outside slightly, and insert woollen 
or cotton rags into the aperture to absorb the juice which exudes. 
When these are saturated they are removed and others introduced 
*Storio Antica Del Messico, tomo i., p. 63. 1780. (Also the English 
translation by Cullen, vol i. p. 32. 1788.) 
■fA Statistical and Commercial History of t he Kingdom of Guatemala in 
Spanish America. By Don Domingo Juarros. Translated by J, Baily, 
Lieut. R. M. Loud. 1823, p. 201. 
12* 
