Los Angeles herald., 1890-09-30
AMBER AND CRYSTALS.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THESE
CURIOUS SUBSTANCES.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THESE
CURIOUS SUBSTANCES.
Working Amber Is a Very Ancient Busi-
ness-It Is Found Only in Europe.
Queer Old Roman Ideas About Crystal.
Nero's Valuable Cups.
"Amber is curious stuff" said collec-
tor of curios the other day. sit is only
comparatively recently that its nature has
been known, and even at this day very
few people seem to have any notion as to
what it is in reality. The ancients regard
ed it as altogether mysterious and even
magical. They found that it was rendered
electrical by friction so as to attract light
substances, and our word electricity
comes from the Greek name for amber,
which was 'electron.' A favorite puzzle with
them was how the insects so frequently
found in amber became to be SO situated.
II have myself seen chunk of very
transparent amber in which O small lizard
with five legs was incased, looking as if it
might have been alive yesterday, though,
doubtless, it had been dead for thousands
of years. The mystery regarding this sort
when it is understood that amber is act
ually the fossil gum of an extinct kind of
cone bearing tree. In the process of hard
ening it imprisoned the flies and other
creatures preserved in the chunks of it
that are found today 1t is discovered
plentifully by digging in certain parts of
the great plains of north Germany, where
the strange tree once fourished.
"It is also found in considerable quanti-
ties along the shores of the Baltic, in the
yellow sandstone. At Palmicken, in east
Prussia, it is dug in regular mines; else
where it is picked from cliffs, and a good
deal of it is gathered in the shape of nod
ules cast up by the waves. The finest
specimen of amber in Europe is a cup
made of that material now at the Brighton
museum, England. 1t was found at Hove
some years ago, together with weapons and
utensils of stone and bronze, so it is evil
IDENTIFY very ancient indeed.
"In the Fourteenth century, and before
amber was made into knives and forks
with one prong, which were used by princes
and church dignitaries, it was more
valuable than gold. Now it is worth
from 50 to $50 pound, according to its
quality. The most important use made of
it is for meerschaum and other pipes"
BEAUTIFUL CRYSTALS.
"What a very beautiful sphere of crystal
this isr' said the newspaper man, taking
in his land cool globe that looked like a
huge dewdrop, which the collector handed
| him for examination.
Eyes that is pretty specimen. sup
1 pose YOU are aware of the theory enter
/ tainod ~ the ancients regarding such rock
crystal. They thought it was actually ice
frozen to great density by duration of time,
! CONCEALED beyond liquidation. 'Krystallos'
in Greek means 'ice.' The famous writer
on natural philosophy, Pliny, who wrote
more facts that were not true than ever
any man collected together before or since,
says the crystal is undoubtedly water
frozen by cold so intense that nothing can
melt it again. Roman ladies of that time
were accustomed to carry such spheres as
this one in their hands during hot weather
for GOODNESS.
''It was the thing, also, to have the ma
terial worked into wine jugs and other
vessels. Nero had two drinking cups OF
crystal worth $1,000 each, and crystal
ladle also; but when he learned that he
had lost his kingdom he broke them, lest
they fall into the hands of any one else. A
crystal lens was employed in Rome to
kindle the sacred vestal fire. Great care
was taken not to put the crystal ware in q
warm place for fear that it would melt
The most remarkable discovery of crysta
on record was made in 1867 above the Tiefer
glacier by party of tourists, single cave
in the granite yielding 1000 crystals o.
from 80 to 100 pounds weight"
"And what is this?"
PEARLS AND PEARL DIVERS.
"That," replied the collector, sis a di
of pearl by real pearl oyster. On sucl
parts of the coast of the Flowery Kingdom
as produce pearl oysters a regular business
is often made of manufacturing pearls ar
tificially by introducing into the shells O
the live oysters foreign objects of variou
kinds. You doubtless know that the pear
is morbid symptom in the bivalve. !
grain of sand or some such substance get
ting into the oyster produces irritation
and the animal protects itself by covering
the Objectionable particle with coatin,
after coating of it's own pearly secretion
The interruption of light by the successiv
coats of which the pearl is formed in thi
way gives it it's beautiful luster. Takin,
advantage of this habit of the pearl oyste
the ingenious Chinaman prizes it gentl,
open and puts in whatever he likes mayb
q little figure of god like this The oyste
goes to work and covers it with pearl, unit
after few months the idol is pearl idol
1t is worth mentioning incidentally tina
sharks are by no means such a terror t,
pearl divers as is commonly supposed
is true that now and then a diver does ge
gobbled, but for every such human victim
hundreds of sharks are killed by the divers
pearl divers in the Torres straits are no
one-twentieth part SO much afraid of tn
tiger sharks which are swarming there a
of the giant mollusk at the bottom. six fee
or more across its shell, which lies will
extended jaws, as if waiting for the unfor
tunate fisherman to drop into them. TIL
victim, dropping out of his boat into tn
depths with heavy stone attached to hi
feet, brings his leg into contact with tn
mantle of the huge mollusk, which closes
upon the limb with one tremendous bite
Only one thing then remains for the dive
to do, namely-amputate the limb with hi
own knife, because the mighty bivalve'
jaws are clasped together with tenacit.
that would take several horse power t,
loosen, and it is anchored to the bottom
with a cable of its own three times as strong
as the best inch rope. Washington Star
She Can Make Pills.
Miss Bertha Higgins studied pharmac,
with her father, and for time was asso
ciated with him in the drug business at tn,
corner of Pitt and Delaney streets.