2 ODOROGRAPHIA. 
size and shape according to the age of the animal and the time of 
year at which it is procured; the shape may be described as 
conical, oval, or pear-shaped. There is an orifice through the 
skin into which, by a slight pressure, the little finger will pass, but 
it has no connexion whatever with the body. It is probable that 
musk is at times discharged through this orifice, as the pod is often 
found not half full, and sometimes even nearly empty. The hairs 
are brownish yellow, or greyish, or whitish, bristle-like and stiff, 
arranged in a concentric manner around the orifice of the pod. 
The quality of the musk secreted in the pod varies considerably, 
the older the animal the more valuable the musk. Musk is only 
found in adult males, although the pouch destined to contain it is 
well-formed at birth. For the first two years of the animal’s life 
the pod only contains a soft milky substance with a disagreeable 
smell. When it first becomes musk there is not much more than 
an eighth of an ounce, and as the animal grows it increases in 
quantity. In some individuals as much as two ounces are found. 
An ounce may be considered the average from a full-grown 
animal, but as many of the deer are killed young, the pods in the 
market should contain on an average half an ounce. Though not 
so strong, the musk of young animals has a much pleasanter smell 
than that of old ones. The secretion is known to have a much 
stronger odour in animals that inhabit Thibet and China than in 
those which are found farther north in Siberia. 
Musk is also secreted by the Moschus Altaicus, another Musk 
Deer, inhabiting the mountainous Kirgesian and Sangorian steppes 
of the Altai on the river Irtysch. 
The principal depots of musk produced in Thibet and Annam, 
as far as Tonquin, are Ta-tsien-fu, in about 30° N. lat., west of 
the province of Sze-tchuen, Silung-chow in Kwang-si, and Wuting- 
chowin Yun-nan. The greater portion is carried to Chang-hai by 
river, where the pods are opened, emptied, and the contents, after _ 
being carefully adulterated, are replaced in the pods and sewn up. 
A description of the native method of drying the pod was given 
some years ago by Mr. Peake to the Pharmaceutical Society ; some 
extracts from that paper are here given:—“ The pod is cut from 
the deer with a portion of the outer skin, then pressed and dried 
on a hot stone to prevent putrefaction ; but by this heating process 
much of the odour is driven off, consequently its value to the 
perfumer greatly diminished.” It is further added :—“ It would. 
