RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



11 



AMBER. 



Amrer, like coal, is a mineral of organic 

 origin, but, unlike the latter, it has under- 

 gone no serious change through its long 

 •entombment, and by its resurrection comes 

 forth in all its original brilliancy and purity. 

 Amber is the product of some early species 

 ■of coniferous tree long since extinct. As 

 the turpentine that exudes from the pine- 

 tree of the present leaves, upon evapora- 

 tion, a semi-transparent resin, so the sap 

 that trickled from the limbs of those ancient 

 pines left behind a resin, that has long sur- 

 vived the tree in which it was produced. 

 These two resins closelj' resemble each 

 •other, and the modern product is often sold 

 under the name of, and for the price of, the 

 ancient resin, although inferior to it. 



Most of the real amber used in the arts 

 comes from the Prussian coast of the Bal- 

 tic between Konigsberg and Memel. Con- 

 siderable quantities are found entangled in 

 the sea-weed that is washed ashore after a 

 storm, but much larger quantities are ob- 

 tained by dredging. In 1876 there were 

 eighteen steam dredges and two tug boats, 

 with about one thousand men, empWed 

 in this industry at Kurische Haff, which is 

 about twelve miles south' of Memel. Amber 

 is also found in Roumania, where it is ob- 

 tained b}' mining, and forms quite an im- 

 portant industry. More highly prized than 

 either of these is a variet}' of amber that 

 -comes from Sicily. 



Amber is sometimes found in other parts 

 ■of Europe, also in this country, especially 

 in New Jersey and Maryland, but it is in- 

 ferior tp the varieties above mentioned. 



Baltic amber is of a pale yellow color, not 

 unlike pale ale (amber ale) , but Roumanian 

 amber is frequently red or brownish, some- 

 times blue, green, and even black. 



It is a little heavier than water, the spe- 

 cific gravity varying from 1.065 to 1.080. 

 It does not, of course, dissolve in water, 

 and alcohol extracts but a small portion of 

 it, including the coloring matter. It dis- 

 solves completely in strong sulphuric acid, 

 and the solution has a reddish purple color. 

 It is also soluble in alkalies, as other resins 

 are. It seems to bear a peculiar relation 

 to camphor, for on extracting the portion 

 -soluble in ether the residue has the same 

 percentage composition as camphor (CjoHig 

 «0) ; and when it is distilled with potassic 



hydrate, a substance passes over having all 

 the properties of camphor. Nitric acid is 

 said to convert it into artificial musk. 



Baltic amber is rarely found in large 

 pieces, and hence its price, like tliat of the 

 diamond, increases verj' rapidly with the 

 size. A piece in the Berlin Mineralogical 

 Museum weighs eighteen pounds, and is 

 valued at $30,000. Amber that contains 

 insects is more valuable, other things being 

 equal, than the clear pieces. No less than 

 eight hundred species of these extinct in- 

 sects have been found imbedded in amber. 



Masses of amber of considerable size 

 have been found in New Jersey, in the green 

 sand and the ash marl just above it. Amer- 

 ican amber differs in several respects from 

 Baltic amber, being lighter than water and 

 fusing to a mobile liquid, while Baltic am- 

 ber fuses to a thick, sluggish liquid. It 

 burns easih' with a strong, smoky flame, is 

 soluble in chloroform, carbon disulphide, 

 and oil of turpentine, is but slightly acted 

 upon by nitric acid, and forms a red solu- 

 tion with sulphuric acid. 



Amber is often imitated bj' colophony 

 (rosin), the manufacturers even going so 

 far as to introduce insects into it, but the 

 naturalist would find no difHculty in distin- 

 guishing the modern from the extinct in- 

 sect. Other tests for artificial amber are as 

 follows : natural amber melts at 545° to 

 550° F., while the artificial melts at a much 

 lower temperature ; and the former is but 

 slightly and slowly acted on by alcohol, 

 while the latter is immediately attacked, the 

 surface becoming dull, and it gradually 

 softens. — Popular Science Neivs. 



Camels. — A number of years ago a com- 

 pany imported some camels for transporting 

 goods across the plains of Arizona. The en- 

 terprise proved unprofitable and the animals 

 were turned loose to care for themselves. 

 The barren countrj' seemed to suit them as 

 well as their native Asiatic home, and they 

 have increased so that now there is said to 

 be a herd of four hundred wild camels in 

 the territor}'. It is further reported that 

 an Australian has bought the herd for ten 

 thousand dollars from the company which 

 still claims the ownership, the purchaser to 

 capture them, when he proposes to ship 

 them to Australia, with the expectation that 

 he can emplo}- the animals at a profit. — 

 Newhuryport Herald. 



