AQUATIC VKODITCTS IN AKTS AND INDUSTRIES. 2-ill 



Captiiiii C'oltin, a lii-itisli whaliui;- niastor, staled Ix^foro a coiniuittee 

 ol" \ho House of Commons in 17'.M thai — 



H(> had lately brought lioiiu^ 'M2 ounces, troy, of this valnahle substance. He 

 had taken this from the anns of a female sperm whale captiired off the coast of 

 Giiinoa. and which he stated was very bony and sickly. At tlu^ time he brought 

 this quantity to England the ambergris was selling for 258. an ounce, but he 

 stated that he sold his for lO.s-. 6rf. per ounce to a broker, who exported it to Tur- 

 key, Germany, and France, among the natives of which it appears to have been 

 long celebrated for its aphrodisiacal properties." 



The schooner Watchman, of Nantucket, is credited with bringing 

 liome from the Bahama Islands, in 1858, the largest mass ever found, 

 weighing nearly 600 pounds. This was on the market for many 

 months, as the owners were unwilling to divide it and dealers were 

 adverse to taking the whole lot, but finally it was sold for 110,500. 



The bark Sea Fox, of New Bedford, in 1866, secured a 30-barrel 

 sperm whale off the eastern coast of Arabia. A long-handled cutting 

 spado was thrust into the region of the anus and a piece of ambergris 

 fell out. Some of the men proceeded to cut open the large intestine, 

 which w^as about 10 feet long and 34 inches in diameter, and for the 

 entire length it was literally filled and closely packed with ambergris. 

 They cleand out the stomach and found two large pieces weighing, 

 respectively, 40 and 41 pounds. The ambergris in the large intestine, 

 to all appearance, was originally composed of globular pieces, which, 

 owing to pressure from all sides, were compressed into irregular shapes. 

 Tlie two large pieces found in the stomach were of a different shape 

 from those found in the intestine. Thej^ measured about 36 inches in 

 circumference, were flat on both sides, about 8 inches in thickness, 

 and of a superior quality. The entire mass weighed 150 pounds and 

 was sold to the Arabs of Zanzibar for 110,000 in gold. 



During the year 1878 the bark Minnesota, in the same locality, found 

 18 pounds of ambergris in a whale, which was sold in Zanzibar to the 

 agents of the Sultan for 1150 per pound. 



The bark Adeline Gibbs in 1878 brought in the most valuable lot of 

 ambergris obtained bj^ an American vessel up to that time. It was 

 taken from a 50-barrel bull sperm whale south of St. Helena, weighed 

 132f pounds, and was sold for $23,231. This piece was the only one 

 that a fleet of 1 2 vessels had taken in -45 years. About the same time 

 the Bartholomew Oosnold secured 125 pounds in the vicinity of New 

 Holland, which sold for about $20,000, and the Lettitia brought in 100 

 pounds, worth 117,500. 



In 1882, the bark Falcon, in latitude 16" 55' S. and longitude 11° 00' 

 W., secured a 28-bai-rel male sperm whale, which was apparently in 

 healthy condition and without unusual ai)i)earance. A spade was 

 accidently thrust into the abdomen, revealing the presence of amber- 

 gris in the viscera. A large i)iece of an ovate form, weighing about 



f< Beale on the Sperm Whale, p. 183. 



