Ambergris, a perfume, generally used in its alcoholic solution. It is a morbid secretion of the liver of the spermaceti whale, and is principally found floating upon the seas of warm climates intermixed with remains of the food of whales; it is also met with in the intestines of the whale. When of good quality it is of a bright gray color, streaked with black and yellow, so soft that it may be flattened in the fingers, and exhaling an agreeable odor if rubbed or heated. Its fracture presents a fine rain, its cut surface a waxy appearance. It is somewhat lighter than water, fuses at 140° to 150° F., and at a higher temperature gives out a white smoke, which condenses into a crystalline fatty matter. It contains about 85 per cent, of a peculiar fatty, fragrant substance called ambreine, which is extracted by boiling in alcohol, and separating the crystals that form in the cooled solution. - Persons engaged in whale fishing look for ambergris in the intestines of the spermaceti whale, and are most successful in finding it in those that appear torpid, sick, and lean; whence it would seem that the substance is a product of disease. It is in the lower part only of the intestinal canal, mixed with the faeces, that the substance is found.

The lumps of it are from 3 inches to a foot in diameter, and from 1 lb. to 20 or 30 lbs. in weight. The largest piece known was bought by the Dutch East India company of the king of Tidore; it weighed 182 lbs. A piece weighing 130 lbs. was found inside of a whale near the Windward Islands, and was sold for £500 sterling. Genuine ambergris emits a fragrant smell when a hot needle is thrust into it. It also melts like fat to a uniform consistence. The counterfeit does. not present these peculiarities.