The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1876-09-28
AMBER,


for personal adornment, amber is Of the
| highest antiquity. 1t is mentioned 10y
| Homer, and is found introduced in the
most ancient specimens of Etruscan Jew
| eiry. In the collection Of choice Etru-
scan workmanship, having pendants i'll
: the form of scarabei of alternate sar-
(! donyx and amber. The Greeks termed
| amber electron, from Eiector, one Of the
names Of the sun god. Among the Ro-
mans also this substance was greatly
/ priced. Pliny tells Us that small fig
ure carved in amber had been known to
| sell at a higher price than q living slave
/ IN vigorous health. In the time of Nero
one OF the equestrian order was sent to
! Germany by Julianus, The manager of
/ the giadiatoral exhibitions, in order to
/ procure a supply of this gem. He sue
/ ceedea SO well and brought back such
vast quantities that the very nets that
protected the bodium against the wild
beast, the litters upon which the slain
! giadiators were carried away and all the
| other articals used wero studded with
amber. Sir Thomas Browne also,
ii his urn Burial, mentions among
the contents Of a Roman urn in the pos
! session Of Cardinal Farnese, not only
jewels, bat an ape in agate and a grass
hopper and an elephant carved in am
ber
Great uncertainty prevailed among the
ancients as to tue nature OF amber, and
many were the legends to which this un-
certainty gave rise. after Phaeton had
been struck by lightning, his sisters, we
are told, changed to poplars which every
| day shed their tears upon the banks of
the Eridanus, and TO these tears was
given the name electron. Nicias saws
that it is a liquid produced by the rays
Of the sun; that these rays, at the no
N ent OF the suns setting, striking with
the greatest force upon the surface OF the
soil, leave upon it sn unctuous sweat.
which Is carried off by the tides of the
ocean, and thrown upon the shores of
Germany. according to another author
there is rlyer fbeyond India" the
bank OF which are frequented by birds
called meleager, who allow their tears to
dropln to the stream, where upon they are
transformed to amber. 1 similar belief
that amber was produced by the tears of
birds-prevailed among the Oricntals.
This is alluded to by Moore in "Lalla
Rookh."
Around thee snail glisten the loveliest amber
That ever the sorrowing sea birds have wept
1t was gradually, however, made mani
fest that amber was neither more nor
less than vegetable product-a kind
OF gum; hence it acquired the name sue
cinum, by which it is now known in
natural history. It was found that by
boiling in turpentine it could be render
ed plastic and pieces were discovered in
which insects, leaves of plants and other
foreign matter had become embedded.
proving that the amber must at one time
have been III liquid or semi LIQUID
state.
Wherever beds of Ignite occur amber
is found; SO that it is very generally diff
fused over the world. But the shores of
the Baltic, between Mem ell and Konigs-
berg, is the only district that supplies it
i'll quantities. As much as 4, 900 pounds
weight of amber yea rly is said to be the
average product of that country. It is
mostly found on the seashore, but in
Prussia there are also mines
In Shakespeare s time amber would
seem to have been fashi enable as an or
nament. as he more than once alludes 20
it. When Petruchio promises 10 take
Katherine on visit to her father, he
mentions Gambler bracelets" among the
bravery" with which she is to be adorn-
ed. Among the artists Of the RENAISSANCE
period it was chiefly used i'll the form
alton Of jewel caskets and such ike eie-
giant objects. It is still much valued in
the east; but the chief market at present
IS China, where it is crushed into pow
der and burnt as incense. Mouth pie
ces for cigars, beads ard other orna-
ments in this material are, however, ex-
ten lively manufactured in the workshops
Of Dantzic, Hamburg, and elsewhere.
The electric properties of amber early
attracted attention; it was also believed
to be highly medicinal, and was said to
have the power Of detecting the presence
OF poison; sfor then az appearance like
the rainbow flies to and fro in the vessel
attended by the cracking of flame, and
gives warning by this double Indication"
1t is still supposed to possess certain vir-
tues. The wearing Of an amber neck
lace, it is said, will keep off attacks OF
erysipelas, and il is also a preventative
against sore throatg. on account of the
circle Of electricity maintained, as well
as from the warmth of the amber.
JOIN CON Il,