The Placer herald., 1858-12-18
History and Manufacture of Amber.

iHtoieoI 81 ptcuIldf as tnlS. ODScufe IN ltS
origin, found in loose pieces in alluvial de-
posts, or scattered along the coast after Sc
we're storms had swept the bottom Of the sea,
1t was regarded by the ancient Greeks and
Romans with superstition and mystery
And now, when its obscuritv and mystery
have departed before the light of science, it
must still be regarded with peculiar interest
for It's singular history and qualities. Amber
Is now generally understood to be tCssilized
vegetable gum. The trees from which it
exuded stood in forests Of past ages, and are
now found forming strata of bituminous
wood beneath beds of sand and clav. The
wood is more or less impregnated with the
amber; and this is also met with depending
from the trunks in the form of staactites,
and again in rounded pieces mixed with
pyrites and coarse sand under the layer of
trees Such a bed is worked as a mine for
the amber near the coast of Prussia The
fossil stratum is from forty to fifty feet thick,
and is followed in the depth of one hundred
feet below the surface. In other countries
it is found in beds of brown coal and of
Ignite; and it is probable that the pieces of
it picked up on the seashores have been
washed out from the extension Of these re-
positories beneath the waters of the sea.
On the Prussian coast of the Baltic, be-
tween koningsberg and Memel, amber is
more abundant than at any other known
locality. From this source the great de-
mand for this material in the Mahommedan
countries is principally supplied. Its colec-
ton affords revenue to the crown Of Prus-
sa, to which it appertains, of $4,000 Or
900 per annum. 1t is washed ashore in
CO. siderable quantities near the village of
Sturnmen. Not only is it found in the sands
on the shore, but also in the interior more or
less deep beneath the surface of the earth.
1t was at first accidentally discovered in
this locality when ploughing the soil, and
his gave rise 1859 to the institution of pro-
per amber digginos. At present the chief
digginos in the north of Prussia are near
Neu kuhren, Brusterport, Lapohden, and
Rauschen These are worked 10y an open
excavation into the mountain near its base
in which the amber bearing bed is laid bare
sometimes presenting a thickness of two
and a half feet. Exhausted in one place, Il
new excavation exposes it in another The
fishno AND picking of amber from the sea
furnishes employment to great number Of
people. This is generally undertaken after
storm, when the swell Of the waves is mo-
derate. Tie workmen wade into the sea.
and catch in nets the sea weed which is borne
IN by the waves. This is spread on the shore,
where the women and children collect from
it pieces of amber of various sizes. which is de-
livered by them to the superintendent This
mode of procuring amber is always less labor
ions and often more productive than digging.
La winter, when the sea by the shore is
covered with ice, the ice-crust is broken
through, and the sea-weed aud amber picked
up through the opeoing. An attempt has
been made, by means Of diving machine.
to obtain amber further from the land, but
it proved unsuccessful. The fishers frequent
y 90 out in small boats, when the supply
near the shore fails and in this way large
quantity of amber is found, though it is less
valuable than that gained by digging Am
ber is used almost wholly for small orna-
ments, as necklaces, and especially for the
mouth pieces of pipes. a varnish is also
prepared from it, as welt as an oil used in
medicine, and succinic acid, a useful reagent
in the chemical Investigations, so called from
succinum, the Latin word for amber. The
largest pieces of amber known are one of
eleven, one of thirteen, and one of eighteen
pounds weight. The last is in the royal
cabinet at Berlin. 1t was found in Lithuana
twelve miles back from the Baltic, little
beneath the surface of the ground. The
value of the specimens is not at all proper
tiona e to their size. A piece of pound
weight might sell for fifty dollars, while one
OF thirteen pounds weight would readily
bring five thousand dollars Amber is of
yellow brownish, or whitish brown color
transparent or translucent, and resembles
resin. 1t is nearly as hard as cacareous SPAR
and is susceptible of fine polish When
rubbed, it becomes negatively electrical.
Pieces of amber are often met with con
tanning the remains OF insects, that have be-
come entangled in the substance, when it
was of thinner consistency. Their legs and
wings are sometimes seen detached from the
bodies, as if the insects had struggled hard
to disentangle themselves from the sticky
mass. These insects resemble more those
of tropical climates, than such as are NOW
known to exist in the regions where amber
is found. Leaves of fern plants and occa-
sionally some mineral substances, are also
lHeI WIFI Ill aHpeT. LII preparing lhls arIl-
Gle for the market it was at one time Gus
tomary to bake the Opaque pieces Of amber
in sand, at gentle heat, for several hours,
in order to make it transparent, or to digest,
in hot rape-seed OIL with the same view.
When amber is to be worked into trinkets,
it is first split on leaden plate at a lathe,
and then smoothed into shape on Swedish
milestone. 1t is polished on the lathe with
chalk and water, or vegetable oil, and finish
ed by friction with flannel. In these pro-
cesses the amber is apt to become highly
electrical very hot and even to fv into frar-