MUSK 709 



The powder of Myalbris is dark brown, and contains numerous, 

 slender, sharp-pointed, blackish hairs, from 0.200 to 0.600 mm. in 

 length and about 0.003 mm. in width at the base. 



American Blistering Beetles. A number of species of Cantharis, 

 especially the potato fly (Cantharis vittata), indigenous to the 

 United States, have pronounced vesicating properties. They are 

 smaller than C. vesicatoria and the elytra are black, having a mediun 

 and marginal stripe of yellow. 



Literature. Snyder, Amer. Jour. Pharm., 1908, p. 545. 



MOSCHUS. Musk. The dried secretion from a special follicle 

 of Moschus moschiferus (Fam. Moschiese). The musk deer inhabits 

 the mountainous regions of the northern provinces of China, Thibet 

 and Siberia, extending to the elevated tablelands of the Balkan 

 Sea. The musk sac is found only in the buck deer and is located on 

 the abdomen between the umbilicus and the preputial follicle. The 

 animals are hunted in the spring and early summer and killed, the 

 musk sac removed as quickly as possible and carefully dried, the sacs 

 of animals about 6 years old being preferred. They are placed in 

 small, rectangular cases (Catties) lined with tin foil, shipped to 

 Shanghai and thence exported to Europe. 



Description. The musk sac is nearly ovoid and from 4 to 7 cm. 

 in length, the upper surface being smooth, the lower convex and cov- 

 ered with grayish-brown hairs, which are concentrically arranged 

 around a small orifice. The secretion in the fresh state is of an unc- 

 tuous consistence, which dries in the form of irregular granules from 

 1 to 2 mm. in diameter, of a light brown or brownish-black color, 

 being shiny and somewhat oily, having a peculiar penetrating and 

 persistent odor, and an aromatic, bitterish taste. 



Upon the addition of a few grains of musk to 2 c.c. of chloro- 

 form in a watch crystal the grains float on the surface. Upon 

 stirring, with a glass rod, the solution remains nearly colorless, and 

 as it evaporates there separates, around the particles, a small quan- 

 tity of a whitish oil or fatty substance. 



The amount of musk soluble in water varies from 50 to 75 per 

 cent. The aqueous solution should be of a dark-brown color, having 

 a strong aromatic odor and a slightly acid reaction. The undis- 

 solved portion consists of irregular fragments containing a finely 

 granular substance; in addition there are numerous rod-like bacteria 

 held in suspension, and occasionally the haphse of a fungus. 



The amount of musk soluble in alcohol should not be less than 

 10 per cent, the solution being of a light yellowish-brown color and 

 should become slightly turbid upon the addition of water. 



