THE ODOUR OF MUSK. 15 
exist, and there is no hope of its revival. New Zealand still 
possesses fisheries of some importance, and will probably continue 
to supply our market with much of its ambergris for many years 
to come. Meanwhile, spermaceti whales are getting scarcer year 
by year, and the time may come when the scarcity of ambergris 
will be chronic instead of spasmodic. It is to be hoped that before 
that date science will have taught us how to supplant nature in 
the production of ambergris ; but at present there are no indica- 
tions whatever of an efficient synthetic substitute ” *, 
When taken from the whale it is not so hard as it afterwards 
becomes on exposure to the air. Its sp. gr. ranges from 0°780 to 
0:926. If good, it adheres like wax to the edge of a knife with 
which it is scraped, retains the impression of the teeth or nails, 
and emits a fat odoriferous liquid on being penetrated with a hot 
needle. On rubbing it with the nail it becomes smooth like soap, 
but is not so tenacious, and more easily broken than soap. Its 
colour varies, being white, ash-coloured, yellow, brownish black, 
or the colour of ochre. It is sometimes variegated or mottled, 
grey with black or with yellow spots or streaks. It is inflammable. 
Its smell is peculiar, and not easily to be counterfeited. At 
62°-2 C. it melts, and at 100° C. it is volatilized in the form of a 
white vapour ; on a red-hot coal it burns, and is entirely dissipated. 
Water has no action on it; acids, except nitric acid, act feebly on 
it; alkalies combine with it and form soap; ether and the volatile 
oils dissolve it, also ammonia when assisted by heat; alcohol 
dissolves a portion of it. The principal constituent of ambergris is 
ambrein. Succinic and benzoic acids are said to be sometimes 
found among the products of its destructive distillation. Its 
inorganic constituents are carbonate and phosphate of calcium, 
with traces of ferric oxide and alkaline chlorides. The principal 
market for ambergris is London, and its high price leads to many 
adulterations ; these consist of various mixtures of benzoin, lab- 
danum, meal, etc., scented with musk. The greasy appearance 
and smell which heated ambergris exhibits afford good criteria, 
joined to its solubility in hot ether and alcohol. 
By digesting ambergris in hot alcohol, sp. gr. 0°827, the peculiar 
substance called ambrein is obtained. ‘The alcohol on cooling 
deposits the ambrein in very bulky and irregular white crystals, 
* Chemist & Druggist, 17 Oct. 1891. 
