THE MUSK. 



M/ii/f(l/(.s ninscliufiis. 



HE homely name o£ this very homely 

 plant needs no explanation, but 

 there appears to be a paltry ques- 

 tion to be asked and answered in 

 lespect of the peculiar and, to a 

 majority of noses, delicious odour 

 it emits. This musky, or " Mus- 

 covy," essence is variously produced 

 among plants by this mimulus, by 

 the musk stork's-bill [Erodivm mos- 

 f lull II f), by the musk orchis {Her- 

 iimiinvi vioiiorcliis), and by the 

 musk thistle {Cardiius nutans). 

 And, again, it is produced among-st 

 if M WKr 'luin^^ls by a rat, a deer, an ox, and 



2)eihaps l)y some other creatures. 

 The c[uestion will occur. Is it in 

 each case the same substance ? Can the chemist detect 

 any difference in the constitution of the musk from the 

 plant and the musk from the animal ? Or is our iden- 

 tification a delusion, and does the nose lead us astray in 

 making things that are different appear to be the same? 

 Whether the fragrant essence has ever been ol:)tained from 

 the plant in a separated form we do not know ; but we 



