Gurjun Balsam

Gurjun Balsam, or WOOD-OIL, a balsamic liquid obtained from one of the Dipteraceæ (q.v.), which grows plentifully in the Andaman Islands. It resembles in characters and medicinal properties Copaiba Balsam (q.v.), and has at various times been sold as such. It has been used as a substitute for copaiba, chiefly in the Indian hospitals, but its chief use in the East is as a varnish for boats, and for preventing the attacks of ants on timber. At the request of Mr Manley Hopkins, the Hawaiian consul, the English government procured from the government of India in 1888 a large quantity of gurjun-oil, for checking or alleviating leprosy in Hawaii. It was used for this purpose by the late Father Damien (q.v.) amongst the lepers of Molokai.