AMBERGRIS—IDYLL 383 
One quick test is to dissolve a little piece in a small quantity of hot wood 
alcohol (methyl alcohol), then allow it to cool. True ambergris will crystallize 
as the alcohol cools. 
A glance eliminates the great majority of materials sent to our lab- 
oratory. One of the most recent samples was a small bottle of what 
at first appeared to be a watery liquid. On closer look a small, very 
dead jellyfish could be seen. More commonly the samples consist of 
materials a good deal closer to the actual form of ambergris. Candle 
wax and pieces of rubber are common; carnauba wax (a yellowish 
product of South American palms, used in polishes) is frequently 
encountered. 
So the usual phrase in our letters of reply to hopeful people, like the 
lady mentioned in the opening paragraph, is “We are sorry to tell you 
that your material is not ambergris.” 
Still, this strange, amorphous substance does exist, and who knows— 
someday you may beat the odds and actually find a piece of that 
marvelous product of whale’s bowels and send it on the first leg of its 
journey to a fashionable lady’s perfume! 
Reprints of the various articles in this Report may be obtained, 
as long as the supply lasts, on request addressed to the Editorial 
and Publications Division, Smithsonian Institution, Washington 
25, D.C. 
536608—60—_26 
