Jancary, 1902.] 



KNOWLEDGE 



Johnson's Dictionary (ISIS) it is described as being 

 either floating honeycomb or guano. 



Buflon, however, was fully convinced of its cetacean 

 origin ; and in the translation of his work already 

 cited wo find the following passage in connection with 

 the sperm-whale : — 



" As to the ambergrise which is sometimes found in 

 this whale, it was long considered as a substance found 

 floating on the surface of the sea; but time, that 

 reveals the secrets of the mercenary, has discovered that 

 it chiefly belongs to this animal. ... It is fovuid 

 in a bag of three or four feet long, in round lumps, 

 from one to twenty pounds in weight, floating in a 

 fluid rather thinner than oil, and of a vellowish colour. 

 There ai-e never seen more than four at a time in one 

 of these bags; and that which weighed twenty pounds, 

 and which was the largest ever seen, was found single. 

 Tlicse balls of ambergrise are not found in all fishes 

 of this kind, but chiefly in the oldest and strongest." 



While there is much of truth in this account, there 

 is a certain amount of en-or. As a matter of fact, amber- 

 gris is usually found floating at sea, or more generally 

 cast up by the waves on the shore. The fact that 

 it contains the horny beaks of squids and cuttles be>- 

 longing to species that form the food of the gigantic 

 sperm-whale, or cachalot (by far the largest of the 

 cetaceans furnished with teeth), is alone sufiicient to 

 indicate that it is a product of that monster. And from 

 time to time it is actually found in the alinicntai-y 

 canal of that whale. It appears, indeed, to be a biliary 

 concretion, closely analogous in its nature to bezoar 

 stones, and due to the existence of disease in the indi- 

 viduals in which it occurs. In place, therefore, of 

 being found only in old and strong specimens, it is 

 generally at least met with rather in those in poor con- 

 dition or which have died a natural death. The bags 

 containing ambergris mentioned in Buflon's account 

 would appear to be jjortions of the whale's intestines 

 which have been cut out and tied up with their contents. 



When first taken from the sperm-whale's interior amber- 

 gris is a soft greasy substance, exhaling an exceedingly 

 disagreeable odour ; and it is only after exposure to 

 the air that it hardens and acquires its characteristic 

 aroma, which is described as being sweet and earthy. 

 As its name implies, ambergris is of a grey colour. 



The largest piece of ambergiis known to Buffon, as 

 above stated, weighed twenty pounds, but masses largely 

 exceeding this have since been recorded. A piece 

 weighing one hundred and thirty pounds, the value 

 of which was fully five hundred pounds, is, for instance, 

 definitely known, while according to Messrs. Van 

 Beneden and Gervais a mass weighing no less than nine 

 hundred and eighty-two pounds is stated to have been at 

 one time in the possession of the Dutch East India 

 Company. According to infonnation kindly supplied by 

 Messrs. Piesse and Lubin, the average amount of ambei-- 

 gris imported yearly into this country may be put down 

 roughly at one thousand pounds. In a recent trade 

 circulai- the value of " fine grey " is given as one hundred 

 and twenty-five shillings per ounce, and of " fine black " 

 seventy shillings. 



Formerly ambergris found a place in the pharmar 

 copoeia, but its sole use at the present day is in per- 

 fumery, mainly as a base for other scents of a more 

 delicate nature. 



The third substance on our list — musk — is the product 

 of the male musk-deer, or ka.stura {Moschus mos- 

 rhi ferns), of the Himalaya and Central Asia, a horn- 

 less ruminant of about the size of a small goat. In 



many respects, such as the possession of a gall-bladder 

 to the liver, this animal approximates to the hollow- 

 homed ruminants, although it is genei-ally regarded as 

 an aben-ant member of the deer family. In addition 

 to a rough coat of very coarse and almost pith-liko 

 hair common to both sexes, the musk-deer is specially 

 characterised by the presence of a pair of long scimetar- 

 like tusks in the upper jaw of the male, as well as by a 

 peculiar pouch situated in the groin of the same sex 

 yielding the perfume from which it derives its name. 



Although by some writers the name Mosc/ius has been 

 derived from fjiosy^o;, the Greek for a calf, it really 

 appears to have a totally different origin. For instance, 

 in the dictionary from which one quotation has been 

 already made in an earlier part of the present article, 

 we find the following item : — 



"Musk, «. [h., muscus ; Vkvs., maxhk : At., niuslr ; Hind., mtisfilc, 

 mi'.vi; late Gr., moschos, tlic !-aiiie as oschos, a bag.] A strong- 

 scented substanee obtaiuetl from a cyst ov bag near tbe navel of an 

 animal that inhabits the mountains of Central Asia ; also, the animal 

 itself, vt. To perfume with mu.'<k." 



From this it appeai-s that the word musk originally 

 means the bag in which the natural substance is con- 

 tained. The origin of the name kastui-a (the first a 

 pronouncd as the « in musk) is less easy to ascertain, 

 but it appeal's evidently connected with castoreum, the 

 aromatic product of the beaver. 



The musk bag, or " pod, ' is cut out from the animal 

 after death, and when full contains about an ounce 

 of musk. At the time when the rupee was worth two 

 shillings or over, the value of a musk-pod in the Indian 

 bazaars was about one pound sterling. The amount 

 of musk in a pod varies according to season, and the age 

 of the animal ; apparently the pods are full only during 

 the pairing-season. When properly taken, the odour 

 of musk is so strong as to cause headache in those by 

 whom it is inhaled. And so enduring is the scent that 

 a piece of musk may be preserved in a room for years, 

 and at the end of that period will be almost as 

 odoriferous as at first. 



Messrs. Piesse and Lubin estimate the annual import 

 of musk into England roughly at ten thousand ounces. 

 Several descriptions and qualities are recognised in the 

 trade, as may bo seen from the accompanying extract 

 from a recent commercial circular, where the whole- 

 sale prices are quoted : — 



peroz., 75/- to 80/. 



32, 6 to 50/- 



90/- 



110- 



65- 



Assam ,, ... ... „ 60/- 



Cabardine „ ... ... „ 45/- 



Xepal ,. „ 40,-" 



In addition to being employed lai'gely in perfumery, 

 musk is also used in the confectionery trade. 



Of less importance than either of the preceding in 

 the perfumery trade is cantor, or cafitoreum, the secretion 

 of the beaver, of which, according to information kindly 

 furnished by the well known firm of perfumers above 

 mentioned, about one thousand pounds ai-e annually 

 imported into England, at a value of about twenty 

 shillings per pound. Although the use of this scent 

 in perfumei-y is limited, it is very largely employed in 

 the preparation of Russia leather, to which it com- 

 municates the well-known odour. 



From accounts dating as far back as the year 500 B.C., 

 it appears that beavers were originally hunted for 

 the ssike of their castoreum alone, the felting properties 

 of their fur not being discovered till centuries later. 



" Tonquin Pile I. 



., in. 



pure 

 eoml . 



