The Morris County Chronicle

SOURCES OF PERFUMES.

Most women who indulge freely in the use of cheap perfumes do not know of what they are compounded. The principle ingredient of low-priced perfumes is musk, animal musk, which is obtained from several creatures. The muskrat is probably the best known of these, and a few decades ago the wives and sweethearts of men who set traps around ditches and ponds in the country side carried proudly the bags of musk obtained from this source. As an article of commerce the musk supplied by several varieties of civet cats is probably the best known today. The odor is strong and sweet. The strength is the particular noticeable feature and is the reason why it is the foundation of the perfumes. In the small mammal house of the zoological gardens are two sizes of civets, and anyone with an investigating turn of mind may stand near the cages and catch the musky odor. The musk is used in the cheap perfumes, as only a little is needed to give a most lasting odor to an ounce of perfumery, but the musk itself is not cheap, and it is one of the duties of the attendant of the mammal house to collect it. It is then sold through regular channels and is one of the sources of revenue to the zoo, although a small one.