AQUATIC PRODUCTS IN ARTS AN J) INDUSTRIES. 251 



piece was a smaller one, almost spherical in shapes and a])out the size of a very 

 large orange. It was rather darker in color and not of (paite so fine a flavor, but 

 was as easily detached from the surrounding layers as the other. Neither of these 

 pieces contained any of the beaks which were so common in the outer layers, 

 and it is almost needless to say that they realized by far the highest price which 

 was obtained for any portion of the mass. The layers nearest to the core were of 

 much finer flavor than the outer and darker. One of them was quite 4 inches in 

 thickness, and the ambergris of which it consisted was of a silvery-gray color, 

 different from the whitish gray of the core, and was of lower specific gravity. 

 The layer outside this again was striated in places with the darker exterior, and 

 the beaks began to show, though not to the same extent as in the black, shelly, 

 exterior layers. 



It is a matter of some regret to us that we did not secure a photograph of this 

 extraordinary lump, but the fact weighed heavily upon us that if the real truth 

 about it leaked out the depression of the market woiild be so great that we should 

 not be able to do justice to our clients, and, consequently, as few people as possible 

 were let into the secret. It is true that reports about it were rife for a month or 

 two, but as nothing authentic could be ascertained they gradually died out, and 

 we have oiirselves been repeatedly assured that the thing was a myth altogether, 

 one gentleman going so far as to tell one of our partners, about three months 

 afterwards, that he held three-fourths of the total quantity of ambergris in 

 London, not knowing that we were controlling about 1+ hundredweight. 



Probably the finest lot of ambergris received in America was taken 

 in 1894 by the schooner Adelia Chase from a 50-barrel whale near 

 Cape de Verde Islands. It weighed 109f pounds and sold for about 

 $26,000, the best parts fetching 1350 per pound. No large finds have 

 been reported since 1894. In 1899 50 pounds of poor quality was 

 secured by the bark Charles W. Morgan off the coast of Japan. In 

 1900 the Morning Star secured 7 pounds, and in 1901 the same ship 

 brought in 20 pounds of medium quality. 



Ambergris has been used for centuries in the sacerdotal rites of the 

 church, and, in connection with fragrant gums, it was formerly burnt 

 in tlie apartments of royalty. It was formerly used in cookery, espe- 

 cially in the East, being added to flavor certain dishes. This custom 

 spread through Avestern Europe to a limited extent. Macaulay refers 

 to rumors in connection with the death of Charles II of England that 

 "something had been put into his broth, something added to his 

 favorite dish of egg and ambergris." The principal use of amber- 

 gris, however, was as a medicine and as a perfume, es]3ecially in Asia 

 and Africa. Until recently it held a place in i^harmac}' , being regarded 

 as a cardiac and antisj)asraodic, somewhat analogous to musk, and was 

 recommended in tj^phoid fevers and various nervous diseases. 



The principal and almost the only use of ambergris at present is in 

 the preparation of fine j)erfuraes, furnishing an important ingredient 

 in the production .of choice bouquet of "extracts." It also acts as a 

 "fixer" and serves to impart homogeneity and permanency to the 

 different ingredients employed. For perfumers' use it is generally 

 made into an essence or tincture by dissolving 4 ounces in a gallon of 

 alcohol. This is facilitated by first crushing and mixing it with sand. 



