250 RKJ'UKT OF CUMMIS8I0NER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



60 pounds, and sevt^i-nl smaller pieces, lrref>nlarly shaped, -were found 

 in the intestinal eanal. Some of the ambei-fi^ris was brownish black 

 on the outside and some of a grayish yellow cast; the exterior coating 

 was filled with the mandibles of squid. The gross weight was 136 

 pounds, and it sold for $14,000. 



Doubtless the most valuable lot ever secured was a mass weighing 

 IG- pounds J] ounces, obtained in 1891, known as the "Bank" lot, 

 which sold in London for about £10,000. Tlie following communica- 

 tion from the brokers who effected the sale of this remai-kable find 

 furnishes an excellent description of the lump and of the state of the 

 ambergris market: 



About the end of Aiigust. 1891. a gentleman called to consult us as to the best 

 means of disposing of some ambergris which had lieen consigned to his firm. We 

 suggested that if it were brought to us we could examine it and report upon its 

 value, but when we were informed that the case which contained it weighed close 

 on 224 pounds and was too large to go inside a cab oiar first feeling was one of 

 incredulity as to the consignment being ambergris at all. It was finally decided 

 that the case should remain in the strong room of the bank in which it liad been 

 deposited for safe custody and that we should go there to inspect it. This we did. 

 and were shown a box measuring about 2 feet 4 inches in each direction and wliich 

 we were told had with its contents been insured for £10,000. 



In the presence of the merchant who had consulted us and the bank officials the 

 lid of the case was opened, with the immediate result that everyone beat a hasty 

 retreat from its vicinity, for the horrible smell which issiied from the box was 

 overpowering. When the odor had lost somewhat of its intensity, we began to 

 take out the packing and found that the case ( which was tin-lined ) contained one 

 hiige mass of a blackish substance, measuring 6 feet 4 inches in circumference, 

 nearly spherical, and which was undoiiVjtedly ambergris. On being turned out of 

 the case it was found to be saturated with moisture, as were the packings of paper 

 and old gunny which had been put around it to prevent it from chafing to pieces 

 during the voyage; and it was the liberation of the gases generated by the salt 

 water and the animal matter which had caused the stench alluded to. By proper 

 treatment this smell was eventually completely got rid of, and the ambergris 

 obtained in marketable ctnidition. The mass was next weighed and the certificate 

 signed by the interested parties, the exact weight being at that time 3.00:? ounces. 

 or 103 pounds 11 ounces. This is probably the largest piece of ambergris which 

 has ever been seen by anyone living, and approaches nearly in weight to the lunii) 

 of 182 pounds piirchased by the Dutch East India Company two lumdred years ago. 



The next thing to do was to split the lump, so as to see what the interior was 

 like. This was accomplished with the aid of long chisels and crowbars. We then 

 saw that the substance consisted of layers or lamina^ rolled around a central core, 

 the laminte varjnng a good deal in texture, color, and flavor. Speaking gener- 

 ally, the outer layers were thin, friable, and shelly; dark, almost l)lack in 

 color, and mixed to a considerable extent v/ith the beaks of the ciittle-fish. on 

 which the whale feeds. As the layers approached the center they were denser, 

 grayer in color, thicker, and of better flavor, until the core itself was reached. 

 This core really consisted of two pieces, one the shape of a rifle bullet, but with a 

 deepi.sh depression like the " kickup " of a wine bottle in the ba.se. It was from 

 10 to 11 inches high, with a diameter of about 6 inches at the bottom, tapering 

 upward to about 2 inches at the top, which was slightly flattened. It was detached 

 from the siirrounding layers -uith the greatest ease, and stood alone, a pur<>, solid 

 lump of the finest gray ambergris, weighing Kii ounces. Beside this magnificent 



