nature's vinaigrette 23 



' Notably also, among these is the musk antelope, which 

 sends forth such a powerful odour of musk that even at the 

 distance of one hundred yards he has been known to over- 

 come his enemy.' 



Is musk never made from plants ? 



' Musk, with the exception of the musk plant, is entirely 

 an animal perfume, and is contained in a bag situated near 

 the perineum, which, by muscular contraction or expansion, 

 the animal can control at will. Experienced hunters know 

 that when shooting, even at longest rifle range, a musk 

 antelope or a mountain goat, if the wind be blowing toward 

 them from the animal they must immediately drop and 

 bury their faces in the ground, or the last effort of the 

 expiring animal will carry to them a suffocating odour quite 

 unbearable.' 



What accounts for the very perceptible odour of musk in 

 some churches in Europe ? 



'In Constantinople the Mohammedan Mosque of Sofia 

 is pervaded always by a strong smell of musk. In order to 

 supply this perfume, which was freely mixed with the mortar 

 and cement which bound together the stones, thousands 

 upon thousands of the musk antelopes were slaughtered. 

 Thus, while one stone is left upon another of this ancient 

 and interesting building, the odour of musk must remain 

 to refresh or to annoy its visitors, according as the sense is 

 affected. 



'Then musk has medicinal qualities, for, taken internally 

 after being dissolved in water, the substance of this little 

 bag is said to be an excellent specific for pulmonary 

 diseases. It is, too, a well-known fact that the negroes of 

 the South value highly — and are not deterred by the 

 necessarily close and nauseous proximity to obtain it — 



