Trans. N. Y. Ac. Sci. 86 Feb. 5, 



doubt of its being a true amber, very closely resembling the Baltic 

 and other ambers, 



DISCUSSION. 



Dr. N. L. Brixton enquired whether any lignite had been found 

 with the amber. The Middle marl-bed was about a mile distant, 

 and contained lignite. Also, in the clays of the Raritan river, a 

 lignite-bed of coniferous wood occurred, containing many small 

 pieces of fossil gum, one inch or so in length. 



A MEMBER suggested that the identity of these fossil resins, 

 from this and other American locaUties, with true amber, had not 

 yet been established, no analyses ever having yet been made, to 

 his knowledge, to determine the presence or predominance of suc- 

 cinic acid. 



Prof. D. S. Martin remarked that it is a curious and inter- 

 esting fact that the hardness of fossil resius, as a rule, increases 

 with their age. Thus true Tertiary amber is much harder than the 

 later Copals, etc., yet still it is easily cut and carved ; while, in the 

 lower beds of the Cretaceous, the amber is brittle and difficult to 

 work. 



Mr. W. E. Hidden stated that amber had been found last sum- 

 mer in the marl-beds of North Carolina, and the specimens were 

 now deposited in the Geological Museum at Raleigh. 



Dr. B. N. Martin had heard the well-kno^^Tl worker in amber 

 in this city, Mr. Kaldenberg, remark that the largest specimen of 

 amber he had ever seen was one from New Jersey, " found on 

 the shore of Raritan Bay," and now deposited in the museum at 

 Berlin, Germany. 



Mr. KuNZ was not aware of any analyses of the New Jersey 

 specimens, but pointed out that they possessed the specific gravity, 

 hardness and general physical properties of true amber. In fact, 

 there was now great danger of making too many species in miner- 

 alogical determinations. 



The Chairman observed that it was remarkable that amber was 

 found in so few places in any large quantity, such as occurred on 

 the shores of the Baltic. The fossilgums introduced into com- 

 merce, e.g., kauri, copal, etc., were all resins of different and gen- 

 erally known trees, but that of the Baltic — yellow, hard and aroma- 

 tic — belonged to an an older formation. At present, there was a 



