The Osceola times., 1882-03-11
Amber, and Where 1t Comes From.

Young Folks Rural.
Amber is a hard, almost transparent
resin, found in but few places. In the
German Ocean is an island commonly
known as Basila. A long time ago,
after severe storms, there were large
quantities of amber washed up along
the shore, and by the inhabitants gath.
cred and used as fuel The substance
has existed for ages, but is disappearing
1t is fossilized vegetable gum, from
trees that stood in forests in epoohs of
the past, as the vegetation that formed
the coal now being mined in various
places The Greeks regarded it with
superstition, as did the Romans, who be.
leved it to be possessed of a soul. At
the present time there is bed of amber
being worked rs a mine near the coast
Of Prussia. This bed is about ifty feet
below the surface, while one hundred
feet beneath this bed is another vein OF
it. On the coast of the Baltic Sea, in
Prussia, near Memel, it is found, and
also at point northeast of Konigsberg.
Its demand comes principally from
Mohammedan countries, as the demand
for ginseng comes principally from
China, where it is used as tonic. In
the olden time, amber, was declared by
the Teutonic Court to belong exclusively
to royalty, and the sale of it for a long
time paid the court expenses. Kings
guarded it and its digging by strin-
gent laws, death being the penalty
for seeking or digging it except for the
use of royalty. Armed guards patroled
the coast for miles, and if guard, a
tn ant fnnnl 60,
stolen even the smallest piece, the PEN
atty WAS death on the gallows, kept up
for years on purpose to strike terror and
to punish those who would dare disre-
gard the fiat of the law. For the past
eighty years those who search for it pay
the Prussian government for the privil.
ege Of obtaining it. Taking piece Of il
without permission is punished with
imprisonment, while the penalty at
taching to trespass follows those who
dare to walk within certain limits of the
beach, along which it is found after
storms have washed it up from the
depths of the sea, where the action of
the waves loosens it from the earth that
had formed over it ages ago, and which
is distributed by the mighty mass of
water. Those who obtain it along the
coast wade into the sea after a storm
while the water is yet rough, and gather
it in nets, or as it comes with the
loose sea-weed. The cream OF the
waves is carried to places on the shore
where women and children hunt care.
fully for the pieces of amber delivering
each piece found to the superintendent
or agent Of the government The yield
varies from quarter of a million to
of million dollars
worth per year. That found deep un-
der ground is the best. 1t is used for
necklaces, jewlery, mouthpieces for
pipes, etc, and its price is governed by
is quality and size. A piece that weighs
, pound is considered quite a prize,
while piece fifteen pounds in weight
would bring $1,000 or $1,000. The larg-
,st piece yet found is in a museum
n Berlin, and weighs thirteen and a
lalf pounds. Amber throws out so much !
Electricity when being worked that men
,annot long work at one piece without
,eing thrown into spasms. II is found |
n clay beds in few places in the
United States. At times specimens are l