Los Angeles daily herald. [volume] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1873-1876, 1874-02-20
gos Snseles ysrala.



Amber is fossil resin believed to be
the product of an antediluvian species
of pines known as oonifera. It's found
in alluvial soils or ON the sea-shore,.
where it is cast up by the action OF
the waves. In the latter case 1t is
usually clinging to sea-weed, and gen.
orally rises from the bottom after a
severe storm. It Is q hard, semi-pel-
lucid, or opaque substance, tasteless
and without smell, except when crusht
ed or heated, when it emits q fragrant
odor, hich Is highly priced by mos
people, and especially by the Orien-
tails.
A very large proportion of the am
Der of commerce is obtained from
Prussia, and is found on the shores of
the Baltic Sea, being tished for in the
surf or dug out of the hillocks OF sand
which line the coast. This substance
is also found on the shore of the Adria-
tic, at Cape Sable, in Maryland, and
to some extent in England and other
countries. According to tradition the
Baltic is the site of an ancient.f forest
of immense extent, and the gum which
exuded from the trees became hard
and was thus preserved from destruc-
ton. Leaves, and even flies and in
sects are frequently found imbedded
in the mass, and specimens of this
kind bring a high price. In some To-
calities amber is found in NESTS" but
1t is more commonly obtained in iso-
lated pieces. In the sand-hillocks reg
ular beds are worked, enclosed in
soil OF blue clay, which is to be met
with at an average depth of one hun
dred feet, and a thickness of twenty
five to thirty feet. In some instances
amber is obtained by divers or by
dredging along the sea-coast. 1t va
ries greatly in color, but is usually of
yellowish tinge.
The ancients had a very pretty con-
ceit regarding this substance, and
fable says that it is .''the petrified tears
of the Heliades, Sisters of Phaeton,
who fell from his fathers car when
struck by the thunder-bolt of Jupiter"
These graceful virgins were turned
into poplar trees after his untimely
death, which they Increasingly mourn
ed until thus changed both in form
and condition.
kAkQOcl 10 uStu III OlC lu6AuA0CtuXC
of beads, crosses, drinking-cups, cigar
holders, rings, handles for canes, chess
men, and many other useful as well as
fancy articles. 1t is an article Of con-
siderable export from Prussia; and,
until within the last twenty-five years
Turkish, Greek and Armenian traders
came to Prussia to buy the raw or
manufactured articles; but of late the
business has been in great share mono
polized by Danzig and Paris. The
statistics show that in 1858 over 120, 900
pounds Of the raw and manufactured
article were shipped to China, India
and Japan, and about an equal guam
tity sent to Poland, Turkey, Russia
and Egypt. The beads and neck
ornaments sent to Turkey and Egypt
were used by the slave-traders in their
nefarious traffic. A peculiar large and
fiat kind of beads are exported for
neck-ornamentst to Burmah to decorate
the native idols. Mouth-pieces for
pipes are also sent in large quantities
to the East, as the Koran forbids the
faithful followers Of Mahomed to touch
with their lips any part of dead
animal, such as horn, tortoise shell.
etc. BY distillation amber yields an
empyreumatic oil, and succinic acid.
It Is also the basis of an excellent
varnish which is mostly made from
the coarser varieties. The refuse is
sold for medicinal and other purposes,
and is sometimes used as fumigator
in ladies' boudoirs.
The price of this substance depends
on its size, color and transparency.
The most transparent is usually the
most valuable; then follows the trans
lucent, and lastly, the opaque. Of the
last variety, the milky IS preferable in
the West, and the light yellow in the
East. The best amber is relatively
very costly, and this has caused specu-
latorS to engage in the manufacture of
an imitation that finds q ready sale in
various parts of the world.
This artificial amber was first made
by Professor Goeppert, chemist of
Breslau, who subjected pine resin and
pine boughs to a warm bath of $50 to
$50 degrees Fahrenheit, for about
twelve weeks, and thus obtained an
imitation without the smell of turpen-
tine, but with an acquired and fragrant
odor; but unlike the genuine amber,
it could be dissolved by subjecting it
to the action of alcohol. Further ex-
perfments were made with the resin
of venice turpentine and the boughs
of the larch tree, which were subject
ed to like heat for one year, and the
latter article more nearly resembled
the genuine and was not dissolved by
alcohol. 1t is thought that continued
scientific experiment will yet produce
an article more perfectly representing
the qualities of genuine amber.
Pieces ofamber usually vary in size
from the dimensions of a pea up to
twenty ounces; but occasionally it is
found in large masses weighing from
ten to eighteen pounds. The latter,
however, is said to be the largest ever
known, and is preserved in it's raw
state in the Royal Cabinet of curiosi-
ties at Berlin. 1t was obtained about
twelve miles from the shore of the
Baltic, only little below the surface
of the ground. 1t is valued at ten
thousand dollars. Pieces of one pound
weight range from sixty to seventy
dollars, and a piece of thirteen pounds
would be worth about five thousand
dollars. The value of the article in
creases greatly with its size.
Formerly the Prussian Government
exercised great rigor in the punish
ment of all persons who entered upon
the business of gathering or selling
amber without permit from the
proper authorities. An Individual
purloining amber from the sea shore
was liable to be punished with death.
AT present one or more joint stock
companies enjoy the exclusive privil-
eye OF dealing in this commodity, and
pay large sums for the Royal monopo-
ly.-[N. Y. M. Journal.
Tho 10 IL