THE PLANT WORLD. 27 



string of amber beads around their children's neck, will prevent sore 

 throats and sore eyes. This sul)stance was know n and esteemed lonu 

 aL>(): 1,800 pounds of it were brouii'ht back lo tlu^ emperor Xero, by an 

 explorinof party. Pliny said that it was a i^um or resin, like clieri-y 

 gum fossilized. Our word electricity, ((ircek elektron) embodies the 

 old romantic fable, that when Phaethon was hurled l)y the lightning of 

 Jove into the river Eridanus, his brothers were transformed into poplars 

 on the shores of the river, and that the tears they shed become diops 

 of amber. Elektron was one of the names of the uiifortiniatc Phaethon. 

 The substance develops electricity by friction, ase\(M-\- student of the 

 laboratory knows. If this beautiful gum had been of rare occurrence, 

 it might have ranked in value among the precious stones which it re- 

 sen)bles; for its color is soft, and in the cloudy and milky variety, 

 is suggestive of opal. 



Copal resembles amber in being hard, brittle and yellow, less 

 hard however than amber. It is the ])roduct of various trees, and 

 some of it is found where no trees Mt present grow. It is named from 

 the country exporting it, the most important l)eing Zanzibar copal, the 

 next best coming from Singapore, called Manila copal. This is of a 

 pale lemon color and almost transparent. The lower grades are darker, 

 and the lowest is nearly black. In the trade, the lumps of black copal 

 are called '-nigger heads,'' while copal of recent formation is compara- 

 tively soft, and the lumps stick together. The price of importing from 

 the other side of the world, is absurdly small, about ^1.25 for a large 

 box. It is sold to makers of varnish at prices varying from 75 cents 

 a pound to 7 or 8 cents a pound. In the darker and lower grades, the 

 gum does not mix well wdth other ingredients used in varnishes, but is 

 precipitated in black, thick lumps or dust to the bottom of the vessel, 

 whereas the clear colored grades mix perfectly. The raw copal, or 

 fluid, called piney varnish, the droppings from living trees, is not so 

 nuich prized as that which is fossilized. It makes what is termed 

 Jackass, and the natives mix it with true copal, only experts being 

 able to detect the fraud. In all such countries, the natives are very 

 sli[)pery to deal with. Copal is found about 4 feet below the surface, 

 seldom lower, in lumps which range from a very small size to those of 

 several ounces or even pounds in weight. After being exposed to the 

 air, it becmes pitted or covered with what is called goose-skin. It is 

 used almost exclusively in varnishes. 



Drngorrft hlood is the name o^iven to a substance ol)tained from 



