Royal Society. 331 
very fond of fuffumigations thereof, as to run into excefs j the 
common people imagine it of lervice in catarrhs 5 and the amber 
poUihers of Konigsberg gave out that it was owing to the alcxi- 
pharmic exhalations thereof that they elcaped the plague , how- 
ever there is no luffumigation which prelcrves from contagion 
more efKf(5lually than that made of amber, nor have grols or pe- 
Itilential vapours ever been oblerved to arile out of the pits on the 
Sambian coail ; white amber well poliflicd is good in catarrhs, the 
yellow Ibrt rubbed on the eyes does them great lervice • and little 
balls of it are alio ufed in iffues^ daily experience confirms that 
its powder is very lerviceable in provoking urine, expelling the 
ftone, and promoting the MsnfeSj and in thefe caies the white 
ibrt is the beft becaule there is moft fait therein. 
It would be tedious to relate the feveral pharmaceutical reme- 
dies prepared from amber, the refinous magiliery thereof in pills 
is uled with fuccefs, and not inferior to the ballam of Capivtt 
either in provoking urine, digefting phlegm or moderating a go- 
norrhcea, it is alfo proper m cephalic plaifters ; the colophony 
thereof is good in diaphoretic and ftomachic plaiftcrsj and ufed 
with great fuccels, and at a fmall expence when applied to 
Itrengthcn the parts in a palfey, apoplexy, epilepfy or gangrecn 5 
it cherilhes joints weaken'd by the gout 5 the oil of amber is a 
roble medicine both in Europe and ^^a^ tho' by the unlkilful- 
nels of quacks it has loft its reputation, being fatal to patients 
affii(5ted with the ftone, gonnorrhrea and a luppreflion of the 
MenfeSj a drop or two of it imparts a virtue to feveral drachms of 
lugar, a fingle drop rubbed on the vertex or futures of the head 
cures a cold phlegmatic brain 5 cotton dipped in it, and put into 
the ears cures their tingling 5 it reftores parts mortified with cold 5 
it is uleful in hard labours, and is well known even to the horle- 
doftors in 'Fru(]la^ tho' they ufe the powder moft 3 the beft oil is 
what is volatile, without any empyreumatic twang, and what is 
white, is very lubtile and fragrant j the volatile fait of amber is 
not only very much cried up in epilepfies, and other cephalic dif- 
orders arifing from phlegm, but is alio an excellent diuretic, the 
eflence of amber is the more fubtile part of the oil, which you 
may ufc with the lame fuccefs 5 but as it is diluted with a mixture 
of fpirit of wine a large quantity may be taken j it is alfo good 
in driving a gangreen outwards 3 fome reckon its phlegm medi- 
cinal 3 but whatever virtues it has is owing to the remainders of 
oil and fait therein, without which it is infipid, and frothy 3 the 
grols oil that diftills laft is ufed by. the common people in the 
cure of chilled joints: but when it has got a twan^ frona the fire, 
T t i it 
