_Peru balsam_ (_Balsamum Peruvianum_) is the produce of the Balsam Coast, San Salvador, Central America, where Sansonate forms the central point of the industry. In the mountain forests, back of the coast, grows the balsam tree (_Myroxylon Pereiræ, Klotzch_; _Toluiferæ Pereiræ, Baillon_), natural order, _Papilionaceæ_. The gaining of balsam commences when the tree is five years old, the collecting time beginning in the dry season in the first days of November. The trunks of the trees are belabored with hammers on four places (according to other statements, on twenty to thirty), so that the bark is detached in strips. After a few days the bark thus loosened is burnt off by means of torches, whereupon a balsamic fluid oozes from the young wood, which is absorbed by pieces of cloth or rags, placed upon the denuded places. When the rags are thoroughly saturated with balsam, they are squeezed out and then thrown into an earthen pot filled with boiling water, whereby the balsam is detached and collects on the bottom of the vessel. By this process the _Balsamo de trapó_ is obtained. By boiling the bark, which falls off, a small quantity of a poorer quality of balsam, called _tacuasonte_, is obtained, which, it would seem, is frequently added to the better quality. Crude Peruvian balsam is a gray-green to dirty-yellow fluid, of the consistency of syrup. The process of purification in use on the Balsamic Coast is as follows: The crude balsam is brought into large iron vessels, holding from 1300 to 1500 lbs. each, and allowed to clarify by quietly standing from 8 to 14 days, the heavy impurities settling on the bottom, while the light dirt, together with the water, appears as foam on the surface. After 8 to 14 days the balsam is drawn off through a cock, located about 4¾ inches above the bottom of the vessel, into a tinned iron boiler, and boiled over an open fire at a moderate heat for 2 to 3 hours. The foam which forms is skinned off, and boiling continued until no more foam appears. The collection of balsam continues until the first rain falls in April or May, when the work ceases. A vigorous tree, well treated, yields balsam for 30 years in succession, and if then allowed to rest 5 or 6 years can be used several years longer. The annual yield of balsam from 100 trees is said to be about 550 lbs. From the very odoriferous flowers of the balsam tree or, according to others, by expressing the fruits, a _white_ Peruvian balsam is obtained, which is, however, seldom found in commerce. It is of the consistency of honey, pale-yellow, smells of vanilla and melilot, and has an aromatic bitter taste. On standing for some time it deposits crystals of myroxocarpin.