AMBER 71 



ancient Tertiary strata, in small quantity in France, in 

 Sicily, in Burma, and in green sand (below the chalk) 

 in the United States. The Sicilian amber (called 

 " Simetite ") was not known to the ancients : it is remark- 

 able for being " fluorescent," as is also some recently 

 discovered in Southern Mexico. But it is possible that 

 chemically these substances are not quite the same as 

 'true amber. Amber is a fossil resin or gum, similar to 

 that exuded by many living trees, such as gum-copal. 

 It has been used as an ornament from prehistoric times 

 onwards, and was greatly valued by the Egyptians, 

 Greeks, and Romans, and by our Anglo-Saxon ancestors, 

 not only for decorative purposes, but as a " charm," it 

 being supposed to possess certain magical properties. 



Amber (it is generally believed) comes slowly drifting 

 along the sea bottom to the Suffolk shore from the 

 Baltic. Lumps as big as one's fist are sometimes picked 

 up here. The largest pieces on record found on the 

 Baltic shore, or dug out of the mines there, are from 

 I 2 to I 8 lb. in weight, and valued at ;^iooo. A party 

 sent by the Emperor Nero brought back 13,000 lb. of 

 amber from the Baltic shores to Rome. The bottom 

 currents of seas and oceans, such as those which possibly 

 bring amber to our shores, are strangely disposed. The 

 Seigneur of Sark some fifty years ago was shipwrecked 

 in his yacht near the island of Guernsey ; he lost, among 

 [' other things, a well-fastened, strongly-made chest, con- 

 taining silver plate. It was found a year later in deep 

 water off the coast of Norway and restored to him ! In 

 the really deep sea, over 1000 fathoms down, there 

 are well-marked broad currents which may be described 

 as rivers of very cold water (only four degrees or so 

 above freezing-point). They flow along the deep sea 

 bottom and are sharply marked off from the warmer 



