1868. ] Amber ; tts Origin and History. 175 
it was now deposited in greater quantity, probably because they 
flowed through either uninjured forests, or soil rich in Amber, in - 
the higher parts of the country. What finally put an end to the 
deposition of the “Green Sand” it is difficult even to conjecture. 
Probably the land was so deeply depressed that the lowest beds of 
the Cretaceous formation,—the looser Greensand and sandstone,— 
were covered by the sea, and consequently protected from the action 
of rain. 
Immediately upon the “ Glauconitic Sand” lie the beds of the 
true Browncoal-formation. They very clearly form three deposits 
or stages (Fig. III., B1, B2, B%), of which the two lower are 
certainly the most closely connected. The lower stage (distin- 
guished by 1 in Fig. III.) is principally formed of “ Quartz-sand,” 
which generally contains no admixture. It is everywhere much 
more coarse-grained than the other varieties of sand belonging to 
the Browncoal-formation, but it 1s nevertheless found composed of 
particularly large grains in certain layers in the southern portion 
of Samland. At some places it alone (Fig. III., 1, B 1) constitutes 
the lower stage of the formation, which is everywhere of the same 
thickness, namely, from 24 to 25 feet; at other places the lower 
stage includes also a bed of clay (Fig. III., 2,3, B1). In order, 
however, to be able to explain the expansion of this clay, we must 
glance at the stratification of certain older beds which we have not 
yet discussed. 
The beds of which we have hitherto spoken,—both the “ Glau- 
conitic Sand” and the “Quartz-sand,’—do not lie horizontally ; 
but in proceeding from east to west along the north coast, they may 
easily be observed to sink gradually from the village of Sassau, then 
to proceed horizontally near Georgswalde, and to rise again from 
Warnicken towards Grosskuhren. They form therefore a trough- 
shaped synclinal, which is, however, very flat, as it possesses only a 
depth of from 40 to 50 feet in a length of nearly two miles. This 
trough is also seen again on tlie west coast ; and numerous observa- 
tions and measurements prove that it stretches from north-east to 
south-west through the western part of Samland, and in this 
direction becomes considerably widened and deepened. While its 
north-western margin is turned from the village of Grosskuhren on 
the north coast towards the west-south-west as far as the estate 
called Gross: Dirschkeim, the eastern border appears to be extended 
from the village of Sassau in a southerly direction; but the site of 
the latter is not known exactly, as it passes through the midst of the 
country. The deepest pot of the trough is near the village of 
Rothenen on the west coast, for while its base is 42 feet above the 
sea-level near Georgswalde, at the former locality it lies 10 feet 
below it. According to this the “ Amber-earth ” would occur near 
Rothenen at a depth of from 60 to 80 feet below the sea, but 
