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MUSK WORTH WEIGHT IN GOLD Musk is one product of world commerce in which China enjoys a monopoly not a large one to be sure since the annual output is at best less than a half million dollars but the product itself is worth many times its weight in silver and for that matter gold as well in these days of high ex ¬ change changeMusk Musk is a secretion of the male musk deer Three kinds of musk are distinguished in com ¬ merce the most important and valuable being the Chinese or Tongkiu musk imported principally from Shanghai It is put up in small tinlined silkcovered caddies each containing from two to three dozen pods Tliese are generally adulterated with dried blood fragments of leather leaden pellets etc so that often little more than the smell of the original tenant of the pod remains The Chinese pods vary in value according to quality and genuineness Some musk collected from the western llimalya is exported from India It is much less prized than genuine Tougkiu musk The third variety known as Kabardine or Siberian musk is exported from Central Asia by way of Russia It is in large pods said to be yielded by a distinct species of deer and is inferior in point of odor New York World
