74 
VARIETIES. 
solving  the  organic  bases  and  their  salts,  it  will  replace  them  in 
the  preparation  of  narcotic  oils,  and  particularly  the  Baume 
Tranquille,  which  I  have  made  with  much  success  with  oleic 
acid. 
baxiz  tit  b\ 
On  Perfumery.    By  Septimus  Piesse. 
Continued  from  page  564. 
PERFUMES  OF  ANIMAL  ORIGIN. 
In  the  previous  articles  we  have  only  spoken  of  the  odors  of  plants  ;  we 
now  enter  upon  those  materials  used  in  perfumery  of  an  animal  origin. 
The  first  under  our  notice  is — 
Ambergris. — This  substance  is  found  in  the  sea,  floating  near  the  islands 
of  Sumatra,  Molucca  and  Madagascar  ;  also  on  the  coasts  of  America, 
Brazil,  China,  Japan  and  the  Coromandel.  The  western  coast  of  Ireland 
is  often  found  to  yield  large  pieces  of  this  substance.  The  shores  of  the 
counties  of  Sligo,  Mayo,  Kerry,  and  the  isles  of  Arran,  are  the  principal 
places  where  it  has  been  found.  In  the  "  Philosophical  Transactions  "  there 
is  an  account  of  a  lump  found  on  the  beach  of  the  first-mentioned  county, 
in  the  year  1691,  which  weighed  52  oz.,  and  was  bought  on  the  spot  for  20?., 
but  which  afterwards  was  sold  in  London  for  more  than  100Z.  (Philos. 
Trans.,  No.  227,  p.  509.)  We  are  quite  within  limit  in  stating  that  many 
volumes  of  matter  concerning  the  origin  of  ambergris  have  been  written, 
but  the  question  respecting  it  is  still  at  issue.  It  is  found  in  the  stomachs 
of  the  most  voracious  fishes,  these  animals  swallowing,  at  particular  times, 
everything  they  happen  to  meet  with.  It  has  been  particularly  found  in  the 
intestines  of  the  spermaceti  whale,  and  most  commonly  in  sickly  fish, 
whence  it  is  supposed  to  be  the  cause  or  effect  of  the  disease. 
Some  authors,  and  among  them  Robert  Boyle,  considers  it  to  be  of  vege- 
table production,  and  analogous  to  amber;  hence  its  name  amber^m, 
(grey)  grey  amber.  It  is  not,  however,  within  the  province  of  these  articles 
to  enter  into  any  dissertation  of  the  various  theories  about  its  production, 
which,  were  it  of  any  importance,  could  probably  be  satisfactorily  explained 
if  our  modern  appliances  were  brought  to  bear  upon  the  subject.  The 
field  is  open  to  any  scientific  enthusiast;  all  recent  authors  mentioning  it, 
merely  quoting  the  facts  known  more  than  a  century  ago. 
A  modern  compiler,  speaking  of  ambergris,  says,  "  It  smells  like  dried, 
cow-dung/'  Never  having .  smelled  the  latter  substance,  we  cannot  say 
whether  Mr.  Redwood's  simile  be  correct,  but  we  certainly  consider  that 
