alkaline lyes, is still found upon the material after passing through
the lavatory ordeal.

Powdered ambergris is used in the manufacture of cassolettes--little
ivory or bone boxes perforated--which are made to contain a paste of
strong-smelling substances, to carry in the pocket or reticule; also in
the making of peau d'Espagne, or Spanish skin, used for perfuming
writing paper and envelopes, and which will be described hereafter.

[Illustration: Civet Cat.]

CIVET.--This substance is secreted by the _Viverra civetta_, or
civet cat. It is formed in a large double glandular receptacle between
the anus and the pudendum of the creature. Like many other substances of
Oriental origin, it was first brought to this country by the Dutch.

When the civet cats are kept in a state of confinement, which at one
time was common in Amsterdam, they are placed in strong cages, so
constructed as to prevent the animal from turning round and biting the
person employed in collecting the secreted substance. This operation is
said to be performed twice a week, and is done by scraping out the civet
with a small spoon: about a drachm at a time is thus obtained. A good
deal of the civet now brought to European markets is from Calicut,
capital of the province of Malabar, and from Bassora on the Euphrates.

In its pure state, civet has, to nearly all persons, a most disgusting
odor; but when diluted to an infinitesimal portion, its perfume is
agreeable. It is difficult to ascertain the reason why the same
substance, modified only by the quantity of matter presented to the
nose, should produce an opposite effect on the olfactory nerve; but such