A.\lI5ERfiliT^ 



93 



stjiiid are often seen ll():ilin_i> on llie sc:i. whicli wlialers consider 

 indicate good whale-gronnd." * 



Ai)ropos to this snl)J(>et is llie rolloAvino- •• Note on tlie Origin, 

 of Ambergris, " pnl)lisiied by Mi". II. Crosse in Jour. Conchyl. 

 (3 ser., iii, 204, 1S(;3): 



All the world is accinaiiiLed with anil)ei-gris, so frecpiently used 

 as a perfume, either singly or in combination with other sub- 

 stances ; bnt the singular (conditions under Avliicli it is produced 

 are by no means so well known. It is ])roduced l)y the cetaceans 

 called cachelots, and is simply a result of digestion, a sort of 

 intestinal calculus, a coprolite. This has been confirnied by 

 numerous observers, including both scientific men and whalers. 

 It is formed into balls of various sizes in the digestive canal and 

 appears w^ith the excrement. It is probably caused by an un- 

 healthy state of the animal, as the quantity differs in different 

 individuals from a few to a hundred kilogrammes, according to 

 whalers, and some animals have none. It is encountered in 

 many parts of the world, floating on the surf^ice of the water, 

 than which it is much lighter. And now for the connection of 

 this substance with our sul)ject. The Cetaceans consume large 

 quantities of cephalopods as food, and many of these latter when 

 living exhale a strong odor of musk ; among these may be espe- 

 cially mentioned Eledone moschatiis, and the gigantic Loligo 

 Bovyeri. Now amidst the ambergris are found portions of the 

 corneous mandil»les of cephalopods. which the digestion of the 

 whale has not been able to destroy. The ambergris is then, 

 witiiout the least doubt, the result of the intemperate eating of 

 cephalopods. Some of our readers who appreciate the delicate 

 perfume of ambergris, will scarcely tliauk us for revealing to 

 them in What a singulai' lnl)oratoi-y it is really prei)ared ; but we 

 cannot change the reality of things — and such persons can. if it 

 seem good to them, employ for tlu' future perfumes of less pro- 

 saic origin. 



Cuttle-fish are used so extensively for bait at Xewfoundland. 

 that half of all the cod taken is fished with them. The cuttle 

 occurs "in vast alnmdance, but at different times on different 

 coasts; for example, at St. Pierre in July. on the southern coasts 



* Am: Naturalist, vii, 90, 1873. 



