Ambergris.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 4914, 24 January 1889, Page 3

Ambergris.

An Auckland reporter got it into his head that the big gooseberry paragraph was played out, and four-logged chickens proving rare, he hunted about for something else to work up a “par” about, and made a lucky hit, in ambergris. Ho extracted from Chambers’ Encyclopedia,and interviewed perfumers and chemists and analyists, and got together two columns of information about it. Ho evidently started with the assumption that there is a considerable quantity of ambergris lying on, and floating off the New Zealand coast, worth ever so much an ounce,and that hunting for it would be as profitable as gum-digging. The information he obtained does not appear to have lessened his faith in the idea, though if was not a “ bee” of his own bonnet it would have done so, It appears that from first to last a considerable quantity of ambergris has been picked up on the New Zealand coasts and sent Homo. Ono deposit found on the on the West Coast of the middle island realised £B3O at Home. One of the perfumers, who has bought the stuff for export,sold fully £IO,OOO had been obtained for ambergris picked up in Now Zealand. Another said ho sends away £SO or £6O worth a year, and he reckoned the whole find at about £l2O worth a year. Whalers, he stated, picked up good parcels somelimes. “ A short time ago a whaler found some £50,000 or £60,000 worth floating off the north end of New Zealand, and flooded the Home market for a time,” Mr Pond, the analyst, stated he sent away some time back a parcel (hat realised £3OO. He did not think it was worth looking for, Ono might find a little, or much, but the chances were all against it. “ There’s nothing in it." Nevertheless it may prove worth knowing, by people living on the coast who frequent the beach at all, what ambergris is like, as it is worth from nothing to £3 per ounce according to quality. One might come across a bit on some sea shore ramble. It is, says “ Chambers ” “ a fatly substance of an ash grey colour, with yellow or reddish stria), like those of marble, which is found in lumps of from half an ounce in weight to lOOlbs and upwards, flouting on the sea or cast upon tho seashore, Ono of the Auckland perfumers, Mf Mason, says: “ Some of it is like a fatty substance, some of it would bo like black, soft pilch. Amborgis is very light and floats on the water except where it has been embedded in the sand for a time, and then it becomes quite heavy. Black amborgis is not worth anything like tho price that can bo obtained for grey ambergis. Tho black is found in greater quantities than the grey.” Mr Mason produced a piece of ambergris which ho had referred to as haying been found floating off the North Capo. It was anything but an attractive looking substance, something like a small water worn lump of coal, It was about as light as pumice stone, and as for size, it could bo easily hidden in the hands. This was represented as worth about £l. Mr Mason cut it up into several pieces and pronounced it to bo ambergris, fairly good. Where cut it looked something like quartz or a dirty colored cool, and the smell resembled that of dry cow-clung. Other pieces Mr Mason said, had more tho appearance of soft pitch, Mr Pond says there is always a market for it, but the main thing is, “first catch your whale.”