, 1888-01-17
THE SUPPLY OF MUSK.
Perfumes that the Jersey Marshes Fur.
nIsh for Lndics' Hnndkerchiofs.

~ IcIOIlcI WIS III u tTuB blOIc lIc
other evening. The store is kept by a
friend of his. a lady came in and
bought an ounce of musk extract. After
she had gone out the reporter said TO his
friend, the druggist:
Il dare say that the race of fragile,
but aromatic, little deer from which
musk is obtained must be nearly extinct
by this time, is it not?"
mot the fragile and aromatic littlo
deer that furnishes the musk | SELL" re-
piled the druggist. THAT fragile and
aromatic little deer isn't any nearer ex-
tinction now than he was when he first
began TO dive and burrow, and that was
away aCk in the pristine years"
"Whyl' exclaimed the reporter. 1.-THE
animal that supplies the musk of COM
merce lives among the palm clad hills of
Central Asia, where picturesque native
hunters follow its tiny track, risking
their lives and undergoing great toll and
h~ardships TO secure the almost infinitesi-
ma sac which envelopes the precious
perfume, and by painful journeys of
miles and miles they bear it to the marts
of trade, where it is sold for many times
its weight in gold. Everybody knows
that"
YES, said the druggist, 1--WE heard
of that. But the way l find it now is
different. The animal that supplies the
musk of commerce around these parts
lives largely in those luxurinnt realms of
bog and malaria known rs the Jersey
marshes, where the following of its track
is attended with no risk TO life, no toll,
no hardship. 1 never knew it to be at
tended with much but a jug of rum and
n long handled spear. Tho hunters are
picturesque, though. An old fur cap, q
large chew of tobacco oozing over an I'M
protesting red chin whisker, md n pair
of gum boots filled with the legs of hick-
DRY overalls, and q long, lank Jerseyman.
ThFt ought to pass for picturesque,
hadn't i'll But none of these hunters
ever said anything to mo about an infin-
itesimal sac, enveloping precious per-
fume, nor ever complained about having
to journey many painful miles and miles
to reach the marts of trade; nor have l
any recollection of their demanding many
times its weight in gold for the precious
perfume. Not any hunters that l ever
dealt with didn't. They just jumped
aboard n fcrryboat, landed on this side
and hoofed it up here, and, chucking on
the counter what he had to sell, said:
Thar ye be, Kernel! Didn't have
much luck yist'd'y, an only slashed the
pods out o. ten. They're bang up uns,
though. OFT to be wuth ten cents a pair,
Kernel. "
do you mean to say"- the reporter
began, but the druggist interrupted him.
Yes" said he; 81 mean to say that
the picturesque hunters who risk their
lives on the trail of the musk deer in the
Central Asian mountains can do better
by packing their grips and coming over
here and chasing the willy muskrat on
the jersey marshes. They might have
to. c more clothes, but they'd get
more musk and find n market right
under their nose. Yes, my son. The
eiiete orient Is no place for the musk
hunter nowadays. The robust occident
beckons him and he Rad better come.
He needn't fetch his spear with him.
They nrc plenty here at fifty cents per
spear"
But somebody sells the genuine ori-
entail musk yet, certainly" insisted the
reporter.
YES; oh, yes" said the druggist.
''Thero's n good deal of it sold yet; but
it's all nonsense. What's the usei A
drop Of Jersey musk will reach just as
far and last just as long as a drop of the
most ~aristocratic article that ever came
from Asia, A lady carrying n drop of
the imported musk to church with her
will not make the congregation n bit
siCker than if she had i%nsinuatcd n drop
of the home made stuff into her gar
monts. Neither will the high collared
youth who sits down next to you ut the
theatre, oXhnling "reminiscences of an
AsiatiC musk deer hunt, arouse in you
any stronger desire TO sweep upon him as
an army with banners and dust the floor
with him, than will the same young man
if he simply recalls TO you the hole where
tho muskrat disappeared. Then what's
the use2 There amt any. No one can
tell the difference and l keep the home
article. It's as good as the best and can
be sold for less. Mind you, l say can be
sold for less. Some of the finest and
most delicate colognes l sell today nre
mado from the aromatic secretion of tho
muskrat Of the Jersey marshes. l men
ton myself, but il | should place 100
New York druggists in a bunch and
let you chuck a stone at the bunch you
couldn't hit n man in it who isn't on Just
ms intimate relations with the Jersey
muskrat as / am"
"Then," said tho reporter, ''the Jersey
men who hunt the muskrat must make a
nice thing of it."
"As far as it goes, yes" replied the
druggist. 'But as ten or n dozen musk
rat pods will make enough extract to last
n year in any drug store with n fair trade
in perfumes, there might be more money
in it than there is for the hunter. But
then you see the musk pod isn't all there
is to the muskrat. He is an animal of
great resources, the muskrat is. For in
stanc he furnishes the material for
many thousands of sealskin caps, muffs,
gloves and trimmings. So you can
readily see that neither the musk deer,
the seal, nor the rabbit need go off and
be extinct so long as the great American
muskrat lives, breathes and has his
being."-New York Evening Sun.
The Feet in Cold Weather.