XII PEROCIDY OF THE CACHALOT 365 
One of the reasons for the pursuit of the Sperm Whale is 
the desire to obtain that extremely valuable product ambergris. 
This substance has long been known; but its true nature was 
for centuries in dispute. In Dr. Johnson’s Dictionary (so 
recently as the edition of 1818!) ambergris is provided with 
alternative definitions ; it is either the excrement of birds washed 
off rocks, or honeycombs that have fallen into the sea ! 
An old writer asserted of ambergris that 1t was “not the scum 
or excrement of the whale, but issues out of the root of a tree, 
which tree, howsoever it stands on the land, alwaies shoots forth 
its roots towards the sea, seaking the warmth of it, thereby to 
deliver the fattest gum that coms out of it, which tree other- 
wise by its copious fatness might be burnt and destroyed.” 
These “explanations” were caused by the fact that ambergris is 
sometimes found floating in the sea. Ambergris is, of course, a 
product of the intestinal canal of the Sperm Whale; it seems to 
be of the nature of cholesterin, and its place of origin was con- 
clusively proved by finding the beaks of cuttle-fish imbedded in 
it. When first extracted from the alimentary canal it is of 
greasy feel and consistency; later it hardens, and acquires its 
characteristic sweet earthy odour. Ambergris is used mainly as 
a vehicle for scents, and is a costly substance. A piece weighing 
130 lbs. was valued at £500. Though now entirely used in 
connexion with perfumery, it was held by the ancients to be of 
great value as a specific in certain diseases. 
The Sperm Whale is chiefly a tropical animal. Examples 
that have been cast up on our shores are strayed individuals. It 
often goes about in herds, which seem to be composed of females. 
Its food is chiefly cuttle-fishes, and it is said to have a pre- 
dilection for those colossal cuttle-fishes whose existence has 
until recently been doubted. Mr. Bullen has sketched a conflict 
between these two giants of the deep. On the other hand it is 
said that its large throat, more than big enough to swallow a man 
(the Whale is credited with being that which swallowed Jonah), 
does not usually admit fishes larger than Bonitos and Albacores. 
The ferocity of the Cachalot has been denied and affirmed. 
It certainly has great strength, for it can throw itself com- 
pletely out of the water. Captain Scammon thinks that ships 
which are mysteriously lost at sea, with no obviously assignable 
cause, are sometimes the victims of the furious rushes of a bull 
