Gary West, age 11, of Rothwell, New Brunswick, for his question:

Where does balsam come from?

Balsam is a gummy liquid made by certain plants. A true balsam will contain either benzoic acid, einnamie acid or both of these chemicals. It has a sweet, fresh tangy smell which endures a long time. For this reason it is used in the manufacture of perfume. Balsam is also used in certain throat lozenges, ointments for skin infections and other medicines.

Most commercial balsam comes from trees that grow in South and Central America. The Peru balsam is a tall tree of the bean family. Java, Asia Minor and India have balsam trees of their own. In the United States balsam can be taken from the Balm of Gilead Tree.

Balsam is a gummy resin and much of it is used to make lacquers, glues and pastor. The gum used to mount microscope plates is usually made from balsam resin.