1889. | NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 157 
Amber had become an object of interest and admiration at a 
very early period. Its great beauty, its easy working, and its 
curious electrical properties, have made it a favorite material for 
ornaments and charms among many peoples and in almost every 
age. The Baltic shore of Germany and Poland, and the low 
region adjacent to those coasts, have been the great source of 
supply from prehistoric time till now, although some had been 
obtained from other localities. But the Baltic amber is dis- 
tinguished by its golden color, while that of Sicily and the 
French coast near Marseilles is more red in hue. ‘The Baltic 
amber can be recognized in ancient tombs, etc., not only widely 
over Europe, but as far as the banks of the Indus. Beautiful 
necklaces, etc., composed of it are found in Etruscan graves of 
remote antiquity, although the lustre and transparency have 
long since been destroyed by oxidation or some similar chemical 
change due to centuries of burial. It evidently formed one of 
the most important articles of prehistoric trade and transporta- 
tion. 
The amber of the Baltic region is generally regarded as having 
exuded from the tree named, for that reason, Pinus succinifer. 
Coniferous wood is, indeed, found in association with the fossil 
resin, and there is little doubt that this was the tree that yielded 
it. But absolute evidence on this point is still lacking. In 
Japan, the case is different. An amber is there found so inter- 
mingled with the wood and leaves of a fossil species of Sequoia 
as to leave no room for uncertainty regarding its parent tree. In 
many other localities, also, small amounts of amber or closely- 
related resins occur included in lignite and brown coals. 
Many other points were touched upon as to different varieties 
of amber and the estimation in which they are held for ornamen- 
tal uses, other kindred resins, the inclusion of leaves, insects, 
etc., and the interest attaching to specimens so delicate and so 
perfectly preserved. 
Dr. N. L. Brirron remarked upon the occasional occurrence 
of amber in New Jersey, in connection with the lignites so 
abundant in the Cretaceous and Eocene beds. 
Pror. D. S. MartTIN said that the acquisition of so large and 
rich a collection of this interesting and beautiful material, with 
its included insects, etc., is a matter for congratulation to all 
lovers of science in the city, and its presence here in a fire-proof 
building, where it is both accessible and secure, is highly grati- 
fying. 
He made some observations on the peculiar surfaces presented 
