Concerning Ambergris.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLII, Issue 20, 19 May 1909, Page 35

Concerning Ambergris.

Hi.st year the British barque Antiope sailed from Newcastle, Australia, to San Francisco. On the voyage, in latitude 20 degrees south, a great quantity of grease was seen floating on the surface of the ocean. A calm prevailed at the time, and the sailors drew up many bucketfuls. With this grease they anointed the masts, their sea boots and oilskins. They regarded their find as ordinary grease, and wasted it as such. As a matter of fact, the grease was ambergris, and the waste was of material worth something like £5OOO. Such astounding ignorance on the part of a whole shipful has no parallel. For instance, it was only a few years ago that the Fanny Lewis, a schooner, while on its way to Portland. Maine, came near “something white, floating on the water,” as the lookout reported. This proved to be a compact mass of ambergris, the value of which was about £ 5000. There is some popular confusion of ambergris with amber: in fact, however, there is no relation between them. But for a long time the nature of ambergris was hidden in mystery. In ancient days it was commonly believed that it flowed up from the bottom of the sea. Sindbad the Sailor tells of a spring of ambergris that he found; but it was in a crude state. The fish swallowed it, and then disgorged it in congealed form, and in this condition it floated on the surface of the sea. This story harmonises perfectly with the old Arabian belief. The Hindus a thousand years ago described ambergris as a material generated by whales. In the Middle Ages, and even as late as the seventeenth century, ambergris was supposed to possess magic powers, and it was highly esteemed as a principal ingredient of love philtres. Ambergris is an animal product, an emanation from the sperm whale. It is usually found floating on the surface of the sea along the coasts of tropical countries. The word itself means grey amber, though from the nature of the substance the final syllable has been often corrupted into “grease.” The scientific theory as to its production is that it is the result of some disease in the sperm whale, analogous to gallstones. Sometimes it is found in the intestines; but ordinarily it has been expelled by the animal. It floats in mass, and is of a speckled grey appearance. The best quality is soft and waxy, but not uniform in colour—a streaked appearance is preferred. It is inflammable, opaque, very light, coarse to the touch. The bulk of that on the market is found along the coasts of the Bahama

Islands; but the Moluccas furnish a considerable quantity. It is found also in other parts of the Indian Ocean, and a little is gathered at times on the South American coast. The essential characteristic of ambergris i> the penetrating ami peculiar odour. Art has never been able to contrive an imitation of it, thought the scarcity ami the value of the product have stimulated invention to its lx»st efforts. It is so powerful ami so diffusive in its perfume that the most minute quantity, when mingled with any other strong scent, is still perceptible. Its chief component is a fatty matter, called ambrein. which is got by boiling ambergris in alcohol. There is about 85 per cent, of this substance in the best amliergris. ami it is this that gives the value of the product as a perfume. It is not claimed for amlx'rgris that not only has it its own odour, but that it also possesses the quality of exalting the flavour and perfume of other substances with which it is brought in contact. The odour is similar to that of musk*, but it is much more penetrating ami enduring. These qualities give ambergris a value that is shown in the prices paid for the limited quant it ies found and offered for sale. At a recent auction in London, the prices ran: For the fair flavoured. £6 an ounce; for the ordinary black and speckled, an average of £2 16s an ounce; for inferior quality, £1 12s an ounce. “Fine” ambergris, which is almost unattainable, is rated at something like £lO an ounce.