West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1885-05-15
AMBERGRIS,
A Valuable and Costly Adjunct to the
Perfumers' Art.

Valuable and Costly Adjunct to the
Perfumers' Art.
"Ambergris is valuable and costly
adjunct of the perfumers' art 1t is be-
ieved TO be caused by disease of the
liver in the spermaceti whale, in the in
testines of which it is chiefly found, al,
though it is cast up by the sea in
Oriental climes, and is gathered along
the shores of Coromandel, Madagascar
and Japan. 1t is an aromatic, gray
substance, and as much as $50 pounds
of it have been taken from one whale.
A lump of ambergris of that size is
worth to the whaler about SO 900.
There is no duty on ambergris in this
country. 1t is worth rs much as SIS
an ounce in New York. Ii is of meal
culablc benefit to the perfumer, as it
gives homoogenity to the fragrance of
combined extracts and oils in n re-
markable manner, and strongly de-
velops the delicate and evanoscent odors
OF volatile oils. Ambergris, when gen
uine, for it is easily countcrfeited, Is
full of small black spots when cut H.
is used 10 improve the flavor Of wines.
'Colognes and toilet waters of all
MINUS AhNb Dttn 81 successfully nTC-
pared in this country during the past
rev years that large export trade in
them has gradually developed. AS
cologne is simply refined, odorless oil
cohOl, pcrfumed with some essential al
Of flowers, there is no reason why it
should not be made as well here as
elsewhere. All first-class toilet waters.
with the exception Of bay rum. are
I HING a
corn spirits, which have re-
ceived a medicinal quality by the
introduction Of balsamic or tonic prom
critics. Genuine bay rum is always inn
ported. Nine-tcnths Of the stuff used
as bay rum in New York, as well as
other cities, is not bay rum ut all. but a
mixture Of the essential oil of bay with
common rum or alcohol There are
few barber shops where the genuine ar
. ticle is in use Genuine BAY rum Is
made only in the West Indies. n is the
disiillatiOn Of the green leaves and her
ries Of the baybcrry tree mixed with ab-
BOlutely pure rum. S. CrOix bcinv used
IN the very best quality There is only
one true bavberry, bat there are many
varieties Of it I'm the West Indies. and
80 closely do they resemble the Driyne1o-
~ '.' ''f W 'iN' NANf ilti Eithi ttIe is
necessary i'm gathering the leaves. for
the presence Of a small quantity Of the
leaves Of any other variety l. sufficient
~ spoil the entire product Of a still
Ripe berries are mixed jon The still with
the leaves. The best bay spirit is dis
TILED by steam in copper pipes. but the
ordinary commercial spirit, such az bay
rum is made from here, is distilled over
an open fire. The genuine stcam-dis-
titled bay spirit is not only many times
stronger than the other. but he refresh
tng aroma that charactcrilos 10 is ten
times as lasting. Tho West Indians find
the true bay rum go necessary b their
comfort among the numerous discOm-
forts attending life boo the climate Of
thcir country that they use about all
hat IS made. and hence its scarcity in
his and other countries. IN w. Sim.
-'Derailed by n Sun Kink" Is the
picturesque heading which an enterpris-
Ing Newspaper uses for an account Of
cars being thrown on the track bv the
expansion Of the rails from tho sun 3
heat