But in rarer
and choicer products of nature the chemist has proved his ability to
compete and even to excel.
What have been from the dawn of history to the rise of synthetic
chemistry the most costly products of nature? What could tempt a
merchant to brave the perils of a caravan journey over the deserts of
Asia beset with Arab robbers? What induced the Portuguese and Spanish
mariners to risk their frail barks on perilous waters of the Cape of
Good Hope or the Horn? The chief prizes were perfumes, spices, drugs and
gems. And why these rather than what now constitutes the bulk of oversea
and overland commerce? Because they were precious, portable and
imperishable. If the merchant got back safe after a year or two with a
little flask of otto of roses, a package of camphor and a few pearls
concealed in his garments his fortune was made. If a single ship of the
argosy sent out from Lisbon came back with a load of sandalwood, indigo
or nutmeg it was regarded as a successful venture. You know from reading
the Bible, or if not that, from your reading of Arabian Nights, that a
few grains of frankincense or a few drops of perfumed oil were regarded
as gifts worthy the acceptance of a king or a god.
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