<.w.| 



ORIENTAL COMMENCE. 



various kinds, fish-counters, &c. irom the mother-o'pearl shells, iu a tar supe- 

 rior maimer to thai of artists in Europe. Three sorts of beads arc 

 brought from China ; one perfectly round, the second not quite round, 

 and the other cut ; they are tied up in bunches ; each bunch ought to con- 

 tain 100 strings, and each string 100 beads, but they are generally somewhat 

 deficient in number. They should be chosen of an equal size, and of a 

 beautiful pearly appearance. The fish-counters are cut of various shapes, 

 round, oval, and oblong, and are put up to sale iu sets, each containing 

 140 pieces. They are sometimes brought as an article of trade, but the 

 demand is very limited. 



Musk, (Afas/tk, Hind, and Pers.) — This very strong scented substance 

 is found under the belly of an animal called by some a goat, by others a 

 deer, and is brought from China in round thin bladders, generally about 

 the size of a walnut, covered with short brown hairs well filled, and without 

 any appearance of having been opened. The name of the animal in Thibet, 

 from whence the musk is chiefly obtained, is Kustoora. The musk itself is 

 a dry, light, friable substance, of a dark colour, with a purple tinge : its 

 taste is somewhat bitter, and its smell too strong to be agreeable in any 

 quantity. It is met with in grains, which feel unctuous, smooth, and soft, 

 and are easily crumbled between the fingers. This drug should be chosen 

 of a very strong scent, in the dry and sound natural bags of the animal, 

 not iu the factitious ones made of skins sewed together, which may be dis- 

 tinguished by die closeness and length of the hair on the latter kind of bags, 

 these factitious ones having more and longer hair than the genuine, and 

 that generally of a paler colour. A small quantity of musk macerated for 

 a few days in rectified spirits of wine, imparts a deep colour, and a strong 

 impregnation to the spirit. This tincture of itself discovers but little smell ; 

 but on dilution it manifests the full fragrance of the musk ; a drop or two 

 communicating to a quart of wine or watery liquors a rich musky scent. 

 The quantity of liquor which may dius be flavoured by a certain known 

 proportion of musk, appears to be the best criterion of the genuineness and 

 goodness of this commodity. 



Few drugs arc more liable to sophistication than musk. It is adul- 

 terated on the spot with the animal's blood, which acquires so strong a scent 

 after drying among the musk, that it may pass alone on the unsuspicious 

 for real musk. This fraud may be discovered by the largeness of the lumps 

 or clots, as the blood dries to a harder and firmer substance than the genuine 

 musk. It is sometimes mixed with a dark coloured friable earth ; tins 

 appears to the touch of a more crumbly texture, and harder as well as 

 heavier than genuine musk; but this deception is best discovered by burning 



