An old writer asserted of ambergris that it was "not the scum or excrement of the whale, but issues out of the root of a tree, which tree, howsoever it stands on the land, alwaies shoots forth its roots towards the sea, seaking the warmth of it, thereby to deliver the fattest gum that coms out of it, which tree otherwise by its copious fatness might be burnt and destroyed." These "explanations" were caused by the fact that ambergris is sometimes found floating in the sea. Ambergris is, of course, a product of the intestinal canal of the Sperm Whale; it seems to be of the nature of cholesterin, and its place of origin was conclusively proved by finding the beaks of cuttle-fish imbedded in it. When first extracted from the alimentary canal it is of greasy feel and consistency; later it hardens, and acquires its characteristic sweet earthy odour. Ambergris is used mainly as a vehicle for scents, and is a costly substance. A piece weighing 130 lbs. was valued at L500. Though now entirely used in connexion with perfumery, it was held by the ancients to be of great value as a specific in certain diseases. The Sperm Whale is chiefly a tropical animal. Examples that have been cast up on our shores are strayed individuals. It often goes about in herds, which seem to be composed of females. Its food is chiefly cuttle-fishes, and it is said to have a predilection for those colossal cuttle-fishes whose existence has until recently been doubted. Mr. Bullen has sketched a conflict between these two giants of the deep. On the other hand it is said that its large throat, more than big enough to swallow a man (the Whale is credited with being that which swallowed Jonah), does not usually admit fishes larger than Bonitos and Albacores. The ferocity of the Cachalot has been denied and affirmed. It certainly has great strength, for it can throw itself completely out of the water. Captain Scammon thinks that ships which are mysteriously lost at sea, with no obviously assignable cause, are sometimes the victims of the furious rushes of a bull {366} Sperm Whale. Marco Polo took much the same view, but suggested that the Whale did not deliberately attack the ship, but was deceived by the foam following in its wake into thinking "there is something to eat afloat, and makes a rush forward, whereby it shall often stave in some part of the ship."[249]