156 



SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF MAMMALIA. 



gascar, Africa, and also South America. Its consistence 

 resembles that of common wax ; it is fatty, inflammable, 

 and when heated emits a fragrant but powerful musky ' 

 odour. In general it is mixed up with the beaks of cuttle- 

 fish, the bones of fishes, and other foreign matters. For 

 a long time the nature of this substance was utterly 

 unknown. It has been regarded by some as a sort of 

 bitumen, or as a kind of gum, and by others as a composi- 

 tion of wax and honey. It is now known to be produced, 

 as a concretion, in the intestines of the cachalot, and is 



101. — Spermaceti Whale. 



often found in sickly or diseased animals ; indeed, Dr. 

 Schwediawer asserts that the existence of these indi- 

 gestible concretions often occasions abdominal abscesses, 

 after the bursting of which the ambergris is found float- 

 ing on the surface of the sea. Formerly this substance 

 was in high estimation as a medicine ; at present it is 

 only used as a perfume, but is seldom to be obtained 

 unadulterated. As in most of the Cetacea, the skull of 

 the cachalot is destitute of symmetry, having a turn as it 



