BALRAMPUR

balrampur, a town of british india near the river rapti, 28 m. from gonda, in the gonda district of the united provinces. pop. (1901) 16,723. it gives its name to one of the largest _talukdari_ estates in the province. the raja, sir drigbijai singh k.c.s.i., was conspicuously loyal during the mutiny, and was rewarded with accessions of territory and hereditary privileges. his death in 1882 gave rise to prolonged litigation and the estate was thrown into chancery. the income is estimated at l120,000, paying a revenue of l46,000. numerous schools and hospitals are supported. balrampur contains a large palace, a handsome modern temple and an anglo-vernacular school. balsam (from gr. [greek: balsamon], through lat. _balsamum_, contracted by popular use to o. fr. _basme_, mod. fr. _bame_; eng. balm), a term properly limited to such resins or oleo-resins as contain benzoic acid or cinnamic acid or both. 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. though contained in the pharmacopeias it has no special medicinal virtues. _balsam of tolu_ is produced from _myroxylon toluiferum_. it is of a brown colour, thicker than peru balsam, and attains a considerable degree of solidity on keeping. it also is a product of equatorial america, but is found over a much wider area than is the balsam of peru. it is used in perfumery and as a constituent in cough syrups and lozenges. _liquid storax_ or _styrax preparatus_, is a balsam yielded by _liquidambar orientalis_, a native of asia minor. it is a soft resinous substance, with a pleasing balsamic odour, especially after it [v.03 p.0285] has been kept for some time. it is used in medicine as an external application in some parasitic skin diseases, and internally as an expectorant. an analogous substance is derived from _liquidambar altingia_ in java. _liquidambar balsam_ is derived from _liquidambar styraciflua_, a tree found in the united states and mexico. it contains cinnamic acid, but not benzoic acid. of so-called balsams, entirely destitute of cinnamic and benzoic constituents, the following are found in commerce:--_mecca balsam_ or _balm of gilead_, from _commiphora opobalsamum_, a tree growing in arabia and abyssinia, is supposed to be the balm of scripture and the [greek: balsamon] of theophrastus. when fresh it is a viscid fluid, with a penetrating odour, but it solidifies with age. it was regarded with the utmost esteem among the nations of antiquity and to the present day it is peculiarly prized among the people of the east. for _balsam of copaiba_ see copaiba. under the name of _wood oil_, or _gurjun balsam_, an oleo-resin is procured in india and the eastern archipelago from several species of _dipterocarpus_, chiefly _d. turbinatus_, which has the odour and properties of copaiba and has been used for the same purposes. wood oil is also used as a varnish in india and forms an effective protection against the attacks of white ants. _canada balsam_ or _canada turpentine_ is the oleo-resin yielded by _abies balsamea_, a tree that grows in canada and the northern parts of the united states. it is a very transparent substance, somewhat fluid when first run, but thickening considerably with age, possessed of a delicate yellow colour and a mild terebinthous odour. it contains 24% of essential oil, 60% of resin soluble in alcohol, and 16% of resin soluble only in ether. its chief uses are for mounting preparations for the microscope and as a cement for glass in optical work. the garden balsam is an annual plant, _impatiens balsamina_, and the balsam apple is the fruit of _momordica balsamina_, nat. order cucurbitaceae.