Canada balsam

“ In the presence of fat or volatile oils, copaiba balsam, gurjun balsam, or Canada balsam, it remains, however, more or less thickly fluid or more or less soft-smeary. If the balsam be pure, the cold mixture, after washing with water, should yield a hardish or soft-friable mass, which, when kneaded with the fingers, should not prove smeary or sticky.
Fat oils are also very readily recognized by the use of warm petroleum-ether. The extract is evaporated, saponified with potash lye, extracted with alcohol, evaporated and decomposed with hydrochloric acid. ”

“ The bark is gray, and you will find little gummy blisters on the tree-trunk. From these the healing Canada balsam is [21] obtained. The short cones, often not over two inches in length, the longest seldom more than four inches, stand erect on top of the small branches, and when young are of a purplish color.
From Maine to Minnesota the balsam-fir grows in damp woods and mountain bogs, and you will find it southward along the Alleghany Mountains from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. ”

“ In the presence of alcohol, yellow crystals of iodoform, which are readily recognized under the microscope by their form, collect on the bottom of the fluid. Adulteration with a volatile oil is recognized in the distillate by odor and taste.
Fat oil, Canada balsam, copaiba balsam, gurjun balsam, and volatile oil may be recognized by the following tests: If pure Peru balsam in a porcelain saucer is thoroughly mixed with an equal volume of pure concentrated sulphuric acid, the mixture thereby becomes heated, vapors of a pungent odor being emitted, and if then set aside to cool, it congeals. ”

“ The resins are produced from the oils by oxidation. A balsam is thus intermediate between a volatile oil and a resin. It is soluble in alcohol and ether, and capable of yielding benzoic acid. The balsams are either liquid or more or less solid; as, for example, the balm of Gilead, and the balsams of copaiba, Peru, and Tolu. Benzoin, dragon's-blood, and storax are not true balsams, though sometimes called so. The balsams are used in perfumery, medicine, and the arts. See Copaiba, &c.—Balsam of Gilead or of Mecca, balm of Gilead (q.v.) .—Canada balsam. See Canada balsam. ”

“ The silver fir flourishes in a deep loamy soil, and will grow even 397 upon stiff clay, when well drained—a situation in which few conifers will succeed. On such lands, where otherwise desirable, it may sometimes be planted with profit. The cones do not ripen till the second year.
The silver fir of Canada (A. balsamea) , a small tree resembling the last species in foliage, furnishes the “Canada balsam”; it abounds in Quebec and the adjacent provinces.
Numerous other firs are common in gardens and shrubberies, and some furnish valuable products in their native countries ”

“ The slices may now be stained by placing them in a watch-glass with water and a few drops of the logwood or picrocarmine staining-mixtures sold by opticians, and afterwards either examined in glycerin, or, after soaking some hours in absolute alcohol, may be transferred to clove-oil, and afterwards to a slide, and covered with a drop of dammar varnish or Canada balsam dissolved in chloroform. The sections moistened with glycerin may also be mounted in Farrant's solution or glycerin jelly, under a cover-glass for permanent preservation. ”

“ Those balsams which conform to this definition make up a distinct class, allied to each other by their composition, properties and uses. Those found in commerce are the balsam of Peru, balsam of Tolu, liquid storax and liquidambar. Balsam of Peru is the produce of a lofty leguminous tree, Myroxylon Pereirae, growing within a limited area in San Salvador, Central America and introduced into Ceylon. It is a thick, viscid oleo-resin of a deep brown or black colour and a fragrant balsamic odour. It is used in perfumery. ”

“ To convince the Canadians also, who are as incredulous on some points as they are credulous on others, that it was really maple sugar which they saw thus refined, he has contrived to leave large lumps, exhibiting the sugar in its different stages towards refinement, the lower part of the lumps being left hard, similar to the common cakes, the middle part granulated, and the upper part refined. ”

“ It is the cleanest, prettiest tree among our forests, and the most sought for as a shade-tree, but, being a slow grower, is many times crowded out by trees of swifter growth. It is the tree of Canada in a word, and added to its qualities, as before spoken of, it produces a succulent sap, whose flavor is peculiar to the maple and to the maple alone. Scientists, who imitate nature with their compounds, have utterly failed in producing, by all their mixtures and compounds, a flavor of the genuine maple. Honey can be counterfeited, but maple sugar never. ”

“ In the great wilderness were to be had, a few comforts and luxuries. Sugar is not only a luxury, but is really a necessary article of food. The properties of the sap of the maple was understood by the Indians, and the French soon availed themselves of the means of making sugar. To the present day, the French Canadians make it in considerable quantities. At first, the settlers of Upper Canada did not generally engage in making it; but, after a time a larger number did. The maple, the monarch of the Canadian forest, whose leaf is the emblem of our country, was a kind benefactor. ”

“ Peruvian Balsam. Qualities. Form, a viscid liquid of a reddish brown colour. Odour, fragrant and aromatic. Taste, hot and bitter. Chemical Composition. Resin, volatile oil, and benzoic acid; it is therefore a true balsam: this term was formerly applied to every vegetable resin having a strong scent and the fluidity of treacle, and which was supposed to possess many medicinal virtues; it is now restricted to those resins which contain the benzoic acid in their composition, of which there are only three, viz. the Balsams of Peru, Tolu, and Benzoin. ”

“ Its color varies from honey-yellow to reddish-brown; the taste is at first sweet, then sharp, it softens under the heat of the hand, and when warmed or sprinkled in powder form on glowing coals it diffuses a very pleasant odor recalling that of Peru balsam or vanilla. It shares with storax and Peru balsam the valuable property of fixing volatile odors and is often employed for this purpose, but is also frequently used alone in fumigating powders, tooth powders, etc. Adulteration of Tolu balsam with Venice turpentine or colophony is not rarely met with.
Tonka Beans. ”

“ In front of the city of Miser, which the Christians call Cair, there is a garden where balsam grows; it grows there only, and in India. The king-sultan enjoys a large income from this balsam. The Infidels often adulterate it, and merchants and druggists also mix it, and this they do that they may make more profit. (23) Genuine balsam is pure and clear, and has a pleasant taste, and is yellow; but when it is thick and red, it is not genuine. Take a drop of balsam in the hand, and expose it to the sun; if it is good, you cannot keep it long in the sun, because you feel the great heat. ”

“ The simple balsam was made by boiling one pound of flowers of sulphur with four times its weight of olive oil until the sulphur was dissolved and a thick dark balsamic substance was obtained. This was the formula of the P.L. 1746. But linseed oil and walnut oil were often prescribed in preference to olive oil, and oil of anise, oil of amber, oil of juniper, white wine, Barbadoes tar, turpentine, myrrh, aloes, and saffron; one or more of these substances were combined with the balsam in other receipts. ”

“ We come now to a trade far more important than all the rest together, one which absorbed the enterprise of the colony, drained the life-sap from other branches of commerce, and, even more than a vicious system of government, kept them in a state of chronic debility,—the hardy, adventurous, lawless, fascinating fur trade. In the eighteenth century, Canada exported a moderate quantity of timber, wheat, the herb called ginseng, and a few other commodities; but from first to last she lived chiefly on beaver-skins. ”

“ The Canadians export to Britain and to different British establishments, wheat and other grain, biscuit, beef, pork, butter, salmon, oil, timber, hemp, and various other articles. In many parts of both Canadas the soil is well adapted for the production of grain. Tobacco also thrives well in it; and culinary vegetables arrive at great perfection. The forests produce beech-trees, oaks, elms, ash, pine, sycamore, chesnut, and walnut; and a species of maple-tree, from the juice of which sugar is made, abounds throughout the country. ”

“ Nurse Frazer brought Lady Mary some sweetmeats, flavoured with an extract of the spicy winter-green, from the confectioner's shop; the Canadians being very fond of the flavour of this plant. The Indians chew the leaves, and eat the ripe mealy berries, which have something of the taste of the bay-laurel leaves. The Indian men smoke the leaves as tobacco. ”

“ There is something indescribably beautiful in the appearance of Canadian woods at this season of the year, especially when the light of the rising or setting sun falls upon them. Almost every imaginable shade of green, brown, red and yellow, may be found in the foliage of our forest trees, shrubs, and creeping vines, as the autumn advances and it may truly be said that every backwood's home in Canada is surrounded by more gorgeous colourings and richer beauties than the finest mansions of the nobility of England. ”

“ For the purpose of distillation the wood is rasped as finely as possible. The oil obtained from the East Indian wood is the better and more valuable. It has a dark yellow to brown color and a pleasant intense, rose-like odor, while the West Indian oil is pale yellow and of a less agreeable odor. Both oils are very thickly-fluid. The quality and value of sandal-wood oil are best judged by the odor, an adulteration with cedar oil being readily detected thereby. ”

“ Drunkenness was at this time the most destructive vice in the colony. One writer declares that most of the Canadians drink so much brandy in the morning, that they are unfit for work all day. ** Another says that a canoe-man when he is tired will lift a keg of brandy to his lips and drink the raw liquor from the bung-hole, after which, having spoiled his appetite, he goes to bed supperless ”

“ We have succeeded in extracting it directly from the pods. This White Balsam, which is distinctly mentioned in the letter of Palacio in 1576 (see p. 206) , is a scarce and valuable article, never prepared for the market. A large jar of it was sent to Pereira in 1850; [811] Guzman [812] and Wyss state that it is known in the country as “Balsamito,” or “Balsamo catolico or Virgin Balsam.” [Pg 211]
A fragrant balsamic resin is collected, though in but very small quantity, from Myroxylon peruiferum Linn. f., a noble tree of New Granada, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. ”

“ But it touches the body continually with freshness, and it seems to be charged with a subtle and unexhausted energy. It is colourless, faintly stinging, hard and grey, like the rocks around, full of vitality, and sweet. It has the tint and sensation of a pale dawn before the sun is up. Such is the wild of Canada. ”

“ It softens at about 86° F., and melts between 140° and 149° F. Viewed under the microscope, it appears rich in crystals of separated ciannamic and benzoic acids. Its specific gravity varies between 1 and 2. Both varieties of Tolu balsam have an aromatic, slightly pungent and sourish taste, resembling somewhat that of Peru balsam. They are readily soluble in ordinary spirit of wine, alcohol, acetone, chloroform, and potash lye, but insoluble in petroleum-ether and bisulphide of carbon. ”

“ It is very popular, its action upon the skin and nerves being refreshing and stimulating.
Eau de vie de Lavande double ambrée.—Alcohol of the best quality 5.18 quarts, best quality of lavender oil 3.52 ozs., French rose geranium oil 0.7, oils of cassia, bergamot, lemon, and French petit grain each 0.88, Peru balsam 5.29, orris-root tincture 2.11 quarts, ambergris tincture 5.29 ozs., musk tincture 0.28, storax tincture 8.81, tolu-balsam tincture 5.29, benzoin tincture 10.58. No water should be added. ”

“ The Quebec group in the East promises to be equally valuable. The bases of metallic and ochreous pigments, every description of marble and slate, minerals, and substances useful in chemistry, in arts, in agriculture, in architecture, are scattered throughout the land, from Lake Superior to Gaspé. ”

“ When well grown, it is of comparatively large size, and measures thirteen or fourteen inches in diameter, and about ten inches in depth. Color fine, deep orange-yellow; skin or shell rather thick and hard; flesh yellow, fine-grained, sweet, and well flavored. Hardy, and very productive.
Compared with the common field variety, the Canada is much more flattened in its form, more regularly and deeply ribbed, of a deeper and richer color; and the flesh is generally much sweeter, and less coarse and stringy in its texture. It seems adapted to every description of soil; thrives well in all climates ”

“ To either of the above add of balsam of Peru, 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 oz.; and, after solution, either strain the mixture through muslin, or allow it to settle, and decant the clear portion from the dregs.
Use, &c. A popular preventive of chapping and chilblains. A little is well rubbed into the skin, previously washed clean and wiped dry. Some persons add colour and scent; but they are generally sold without either. The only suitable colours are amber, pink, or yellow. The best perfumes are allspice, ambergris, cassia, cloves, mush, nutmeg, rondoletia, vanilla, and violets. ”