Ambergris.

Otago Witness, Issue 1622, 23 December 1882, Page 30

Ambergris.

A good deal of inquiry having been made during the past day or two as to the nature and value of ambergris, we extract the following from the last edition of-the " Encyclopedia Britannica" : —

Ambergris (ambra grisea, ambre r/ris, or grey amber) is a solid fatty inflammable substance of a dull grey or blackish colour, the shades being variegated like marble, possessing a peculiar sweet earthy pdtiur. It is now known to be a morbid secretion found in the intestines of the spermaceti whale (Phystter macrocephalusj, and is found floating upon the sea, on the seacoast, or in the sand near the sea-coast. It is met with in the Atlantic Ocean, on the coasts of Brazil and Madagascar, also on the coasts of Africa, of the East Indies, China, Japan, and Molucca Islands ; but most of the ambergris which is brought to England comes from the Bahama Islands, Providence, &c. It is sometimes found in the abdomen of whales, always in lumps, in various shapes and sizes from Aoz to 1001b or more. A piece which the Dutch East India Company bought from an Indian Poteutate weighed 1891b. An American fisherman from Antigua found inside a whale, about 52 leagues south-east from the Windward Islands, a piece of ambergris which weighed about 1301b, and sold for £500 sterling. . . .It was found by Dr Swediaur that ambergris very frequently contained the horny mandibles or, beaks of the squid, on which the sperm whales are known to feed. It was further observed that the whales in which ambergris was found were either dead or much wasted, and evidently in a sickly condition. From this it was inferred that ambergris was in some way connected with a morbid condition of the sperm whale. Ambergris, when taken from the intestinal canal of the whale, is of a deep grey colour, soft consistence, and a disagreeable smell. On exposure to the air it gradually hardens, becomes pale, and develops its peculiar sweet, earthy odour. . . . The use of ambergris in Europe is now entirely confined to perfumery, though it formerly occupied no inconsiderable place in medicine. As a material of perfumery, its price varies from 15s to 25s per ounce ; and in minute quantities its alcoholic solution is much used for giving a floral fragrance to bouquets, washes, and other preparations of the perfumer. It occupies a very important place in the perfumery of the East, and there it is also used in pharmacy, and as a flavouring material in cookery. The high price it commands makes it peculiarly liable to adulteration, but- its genuineness is easily tested by its solubility in hot alcohol, its fragrant odour, and its uniform fatty consistence on being penetrated by a hot wire.

[The value of the article no doubt fluctuates. It is stated that a Dunedin firm obtained £5 an ounce a short time ago for a small parcel which they sent Home.]