_This tree is of considerable height; and has somewhat oval leaves, each on a short foot-stalk. The flowers are numerous, and in lateral branches; and the fruit is a round berry._ The name of this balsam has been obtained from its being chiefly procured from the province of Tolu, on the north coast of South America, near the isthmus of Panama. Incisions are made in the bark of the trees, at a particular season of the year, and a resinous fluid of yellowish white colour oozes out. This is collected in small gourd shells. At first it is about the consistence of treacle, but it thickens by being kept; and by age it becomes hard and brittle. Its smell is peculiarly grateful, somewhat resembling that of lemons; and its taste is warm and sweetish. On being chewed, it adheres to the teeth. This balsam is used in medicine both in the form of a tincture, and a syrup; and, in its medicinal virtues, it agrees with most other balsams. The syrup of Tolu is used in several medicines; and is also made into lozenges, which may be procured of almost any chemist, and which are considered serviceable in appeasing the irritation occasioned by severe coughing. 140. _BENZOIN or GUM BENJAMIN, is a concrete or solid and fragrant balsamic substance, the produce of a tree_ (Styrax benzoe) _which grows chiefly in the island of Sumatra._ _This tree has oblong leaves which taper to a pointy and are smooth on the upper surface, and downy beneath. The flowers are in loose bunches; they usually hang all on the same side; and are generally closed, which gives them the appearance of buds._ In some of the northern parts of Sumatra, particularly near the sea coast, there are several extensive plantations of Benzoin trees. The seeds or nuts are sown in the rice fields, and they afterwards require no other attention than that the surrounding shrubs should be cleared away from about the young plants. When the trees have attained the age of six or seven years, incisions are made into the bark; and from these the balsam exudes, in the form of a thick, whitish, resinous juice. By exposure to the air, this juice soon hardens; it is then pared from the bark with a knife or chisel. For the first three years the trees yield the purest resins: this is of a white colour inclining to yellow, is soft and fragrant. Afterwards, for the next seven or eight years, an inferior sort is yielded; this is of reddish yellow colour, degenerating to brown. At length the trees, unable to bear a repetition of the process, are cut down, and split into pieces. From these is procured by scraping, a still worse sort of benzoin, which is dark-coloured, hard, and mixed, more or less, with parings of the wood and other impurities.