WHALES AND WHALING 



The spermaceti from the head of the cachalot is freed 

 from the phocenine or rank oil which it contains by treat- 

 ing it with chloride of lime, oak-bark, and sulphuric acid ; 

 is clarified, and henceforth known as sperm oil, a crystalline 

 solid fat from which wax candles are made. 



One more word about the other valuable whale-product 

 ambergris, which is simply incompletely digested food 

 taken from the intestines, generally in hard lumps, four 

 or five from each cachalot. It is of the consistency of 

 beeswax, so much so that it adheres to the knife when it 

 is scraped and a moderate heat suffices to make it soft and 

 oily. Its peculiarly sweet scent is increased by heat or 

 friction. Immense quantities are imported into Southern 

 Europe for che manufacture of perfumery, and among 

 the Easterns it is still used as a flavouring in cooking. 



249 



