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Canada balsam

DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

Entry from the DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

This entry may contain outdated or offensive information, terms, and examples.

the clear resin of the balsam fir, much used as a cement in optical work, formerly used widely as a balm on cuts and minor wounds, and once popular as a chewing gum.

See: balsam (fir)(def. 3),balsam gum,Canadian balsam

Quotations

1811

Exportes . . . 6 Casks Canada Balsam. . . .

1893

Another useful thing one comes across in walking over the portages is the Canada balsam, which exudes from a species of spruce. . . .

1919

[It is] famous for the blisters on its trunk yielding Canada balsam. . . .

a slender evergreen, Abies balsamea, found in Canada from northeastern Alberta eastward, the source of Canada balsam (def. 1).

See: balsam (fir)(def. 1),Canadian balsam(def. 2)

Quotations

1894

. . . balsam poplar, Canada balsam, paper birch. . . .

1923

[He was] coating the entire surface [of a canoe] with . . . Canada-balsam pitch.