This section is from "The Domestic Encyclopaedia Vol4", by A. F. M. Willich. Amazon: The Domestic Encyclopaedia.
Tolu, or Balsam of Tolu, all esteemed drug which is obtained from the Toluifera balsamum-, L. a native of South-America, whence it is imported in small gourd-shells.
This balsam is of a transparent, reddish-brown or yellow colour; of a thick, tenacious consistence; and acquires such a degree of brittleness by age, that it may be easily reduced to powder. It possesses a very fragrant odour, slightly resembling that of lemons ; and has a warm, sweetish taste. - The virtues of this drug correspond with those of the Peruvian Balsam ; but it is much milder than the latter, and therefore more frequently employed in affections of the lungs and chest, especially when combined with a decoction of white poppies, and the syrup either of marsh-mallows or pale roses.
 
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