ON  SOME  SPECIMENS  OF  DUGONG  OIL. 
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air,  but  with  the  first  (which  is  of  a  brown  color)  there  is  a  small 
quantity  of  dark  colored  oil  on  the  surface.  The  others  are 
white  and  perfectly  solid.  Considering  the  supposed  source  of 
the  oil,  it  would  be  imagined  that  the  dugong  oil  would  present 
the  same  appearances,  have  the  same  smell  and  behave  in  the 
same  way  with  chemical  tests  as  the  oils  obtained  from  other 
cetaceans.  Such,  however,  is  not  the  case  with  the  specimens  I 
have  examined,  except,  and  then  but  partially,  with  the  first. 
Of  the  smell  of  the  first  it  is  impossible  to  speak,  for  it  has  be- 
come so  rancid  that  the  natural  smell  of  the  fresh  oil  must  be 
entirely  gone.  The  other  two,  when  cold,  have  a  faint  odor  of 
tallow,  which  is  greatly  heightened  when  the  oil  is  made  hot. 
Strong  sulphuric  acid  dropt  on  the  first  produces  a  deep  brown 
color — on  the  other  two,  only  a  pale  yellow  color.  Chlorine 
gas  passed  through  the  first  deepened  the  original  brown  color, 
but  the  other  two  were  unaffected  by  it.  Now,  remembering  the 
action  of  these  reagents  on  the  oil  from  other  cetaceans,  I  am  in- 
clined to  think  that  neither  of  these  three  samples  is  genuine. 
I  speak  with  diffidence  in  the  absence  of  a  well  authenticated 
specimen  to  use  as  a  standard  of  comparison  ;  but  I  believe  that 
two  out  of  three  are  entirely  factitious  (mixtures  probably  of  a 
vegetable  oil  with  some  solid  animal  fat),  and  that  the  other  is 
largely  adulterated.  I  am  confirmed  in  this  opinion  by  the  fol- 
lowing statement  made  by  Dr.  Hobbs  in  the  Melbourne  Argus  : — 
"  During  a  given  period,  when  there  was  being  sold  in  Sydney 
50  gallons  weekly,  and  in  Melbourne  100  gallons  weekly,  there 
was  little  more  than  100  gallons  got  from  the  Bay." 
Under  these  circumstances,  I  would  recommend  an  importer 
to  receive  with  caution  any  consignment  of  the  so-called  dugong 
oil.  It  does  not  seem  to  possess  any  decided  advantage  over 
cod-liver  oil,  and  its  principal  recommendation  in  Australia  is 
that  it  is  a  colonial  production.  The  very  high  price  will  pre- 
vent the  export  of  much  to  England ;  and  in  a  few  years  the 
supply  will  most  likely  cease.  Several  years  ago  a  Frenchman 
wrote :  "  Tout  annonce  que  dans  quelques  annees  le  dugong 
aura  entierement  disparu  de  dessus  le  globe and  it  is  likely 
that  the  prophecy  will  be  speedily  accomplished  as  far  as 
Australia  is  concerned. —  Ohem.  News,  London,  Jan.  28,  1860. 
