394 Professor Pictet on (he Insects found in Amber. 



named animee, which comes from the Valeria Indica and Tror 

 chylobium Gaertnerianum ; and as these two substances fre- 

 quently contain insects also, it is of consequence to be able 

 to distinguish them readily, for they belong to the existing 

 epoch. We shall find, in some authors who were unable to 

 make the distinction, catalogues of truly fossil species found 

 in amber, mingled with existing species occurring in these 

 modern resins. M. Berendt, in the first number of his work, 

 has given some details as to the characters which enable us 

 to distinguish true amber. "We may consider the presence 

 of succinic acid among the most certain, for it is wanting in 

 the modern resins. The colour, besides, is pretty constant 

 in the latter, while amber presents great varieties in this 

 point of view. 



Amber is found in many countries. It is particularly abun- 

 dant on the shores of the Baltic; but is also found in Sicily, the 

 Indian seas, China, Siberia, North America, Madagascar, &c. 

 M. Berendt's work is more particularly devoted to the study 

 of the amber occurring on the coasts of Prussia. We shall 

 not here enter upon the question, whether amber has been 

 formed in all these countries at the same epoch, and in the 

 same manner 1 Precise examinations of the composition of 

 this substance, taken from different" localities,. are necessary 

 for the solution of this question. Certain facts even appear 

 to indicate that amber is sometimes found in formations much 

 anterior to those in which it is usually inclosed. 



Prussian amber is gathered more particularly on the shores 

 of the Baltic Sea, when it is cast out by the waves ; but it 

 is likewise found by digging into the soil. It is probable that 

 the greater part of the fragments have suffered from attrition, 

 for they are usually rounded, and found in many different 

 stages. If, therefore, it is not collected now, we may afterwards 

 find it buried in the arenaceous deposits at present forming 

 on the shores of the Baltic ; and many beds of sand and gravel 

 inclose fragments of it, which have been conveyed thither by 

 similar causes. The presence of amber in these recently 

 formed beds, proves nothing, therefore, against the antiquity 

 of this substance ; and it is probably through error that some 



