466 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



The beauty and hardness of amber have caused it to be 

 long esteemed by smokers for mouthpieces of pipes and 

 tubes for cigar-holders. In the fine and extensive collec- 

 tion of pipes, etc., belonging to W. Bragge, Esq., shown at 

 the London Exhibition, South Kensington, in 1872, there 

 were some very large amber mouth-pieces for hookahs, 

 both clouded and clear ; also in the case of Mr. F. Kapp, 

 of 62, Dean Street, Soho. In Turkey, as much as ,300 

 has been given for a very fine mouthpiece. I recently saw 

 at the shop of Messrs. Phillips, Cockspur Street, a magni- 

 ficent pair of amber tubes or mouth-pieces attached to 

 hookahs. 



The Turks esteem amber for mouthpieces, in the belief 

 that no infectious disease can be communicated through 

 it ; the Germans now prefer it for its rich colour and 

 its soft, waxy feeling in the mouth. Its value differs 

 greatly, according to its tint and opacity, and herein a 

 novice would be easily deceived. The bright yellow trans- 

 parent amber is least valuable, however it may catch the 

 eye. Dark, nearly opaque yellow has a much higher value, 

 and the best of all is the opaque lemon-coloured. Mr. J. J. 

 Jeans, the British vice-consul at Catania, showed at the 

 Dublin International Exhibition in 1865 an amber neck- 

 lace, consisting of 21 large flattened beads and 22 small 

 ones. The ornament was of considerable mineralogical 

 interest, the amber being found on the banks of the Simeto, 

 a little river watering the plain of Catania. The specimen 

 showed various colours of this rare substance bright red, 

 wine red, reddish yellow, and bluish. 



According to recent accounts, one of the Shah of 

 Persia's most esteemed talismans or amulets is a cube of 

 amber reported to have fallen from heaven in Mahomet's 

 time. It is worn round his neck, and is supposed to render 



