Obs. According to Bruce, and others, the best balm of Gilead is a spontaneous exudation from the tree; a second quality is obtained by cutting the bark with an axe, and receiving the juice which exudes in a small earthen bottle. A large branch is said to produce not more than 3 or 4 drops a day; and even the most resinous trees seldom yield more than 60 drops daily. Hence its scarcity and costliness. Both varieties are held in such high estimation by the Turks and Egyptians, that none of them are exported as an article of commerce. That which is sent to England is obtained by boiling the leaves and young twigs of the balsam tree in water, and is rejected by the Orientals as worthless. Most of that sold in the shops of England is entirely spurious (see below).
The cosmetics recently so much advertised as ‘balm of Mecca’ do not contain even a trace of this article; nor do we believe that there is a single drop of the genuine balm to be purchased in London.
The following formulæ are current in the trade for Fac′′titious Balm of Mecca:—
1. Gum-benzoin (bright, coarsely powdered), 4 oz.; liquid styrax (finest), 3 oz.; balsam of tolu, 2 oz.; Canadian balsam, 11⁄2 pint; are mixed together in a flask, and exposed (closed) to the heat of a water bath, with frequent agitation, until the liquid is saturated; when cold, the clear portion is decanted, and a sufficient quantity of the oils of lemon, cassia, rosemary, nutmeg, and vanilla, added to give it a strong aromatic odour.
2. From gum-benzoin and balsam of Peru, of each 1 oz.; vanilla and nutmeg, of each (cut small) 1 dr.; Canadian balsam, 1⁄2 pint; digested as before, and some essential oils added to the decanted liquid.
Balsam of Nut′meg. Syn. Bal′samum myris′ticæ, B. nucis′tæ. L. Prep. (Ph. Bor. 1847.) Expressed oil of nutmeg (—? mace), 3 oz.; olive oil, 1 oz.; yellow wax, 1⁄2 oz.; melt them together by a gentle heat, pour the mixture into paper moulds, and, when cold, cut the mass up into cakes.
Balsam of Peru’ (rōō′). Syn. Peru′vian balsam; Bal′samum Peruvia′num (Ph. L., E., and D.), L.; Baume du Pérou, B. Peruvien, Fr.; Peruvianischer balsam, Ger. A balsam obtained from Myroxylon Pereiræ (Myrospermum of Sonsonate). It exudes from the trunk of the tree after it has been scorched
and removed. From Salvador, in Central America. B. P.
Prop., &c. A chocolate-coloured or a reddish-brown liquid, of the consistence of treacle, possessing a bitterish, rather pungent taste, and an agreeable aromatic odour somewhat similar to that of a mixture of vanilla and benzoin. It is reputed stimulant, tonic, and expectorant, and has long been a popular remedy in chronic asthma, catarrh, and other pulmonary affections, debility, &c. It is now, however, principally used as an ingredient in pomades, hair-oils, lip-salves, and other cosmetics, in which it is only inferior to ‘balm of Mecca,’ and in compound perfumery. It is also used to scent lozenges, pastils, and chocolate and liqueurs; for these last, chiefly as a substitute for ‘vanilla’ when it is scarce and dear.—Dose, 10 or 12 to 30 gr. (even 1 dr. is sometimes given), either on sugar, or made into a bolus with liquorice powder, or into an emulsion with honey, mucilage, or yolk of egg.
Pur., Tests, &c.—1. The sp. gr. should not be lower than 1·15; nor higher than 1·16:—2. Ether dissolves it readily and completely:—3. Soluble in 5 parts of rectified spirit:—4. It should undergo no diminution in volume when agitated with water:—5. 100 gr., by its benzoic or cinnamic acid, should saturate not less than 71⁄2 gr. of pure crystallised carbonate of soda:—6. Sulphuric acid converts it into resin, artificial tannin, or charcoal, according to the quantity employed; if, on adding water, a brittle resin is not formed, some fixed oil (probably castor oil) is present:—7. Treated with nitric acid, some hydrocyanic acid is formed, benzoic acid sublimes, and the residual matter is artificial tannin:—8. The alkalies and their carbonates form with it a thickish semi-crystalline mass, which, on being treated with sulphuric acid, deposits a peculiar resinous matter, with crystals of benzoic and cinnamic acid:—9. If a few drops are distilled, and, when iodine is added to the distillate, an explosion results, it has been adulterated with ‘copaiba’:—10. The genuine balsam contains about 61⁄2% of benzoic (cinnamic) acid:—11. (Hager). If two or three cubic centimètres of balsam of Peru be shaken with five or six cubic centimètres of petroleum spirit, the mixture separates upon being allowed to stand into a black-brown layer, and a limpid and colourless or slightly yellowish layer, and is easily decanted. If the balsam be adulterated, this latter layer is turbid and coloured, while the viscous residue which separates is more fluid, which renders decantation more difficult. Sometimes the brown residue is pulverulent.