Dr. Thomas on the Amber Beds of East Prussia. 371 



of which the former contains nest-like patches of lignite. This 

 peculiar disposition of the lignite seemed to preclude all hope of 

 profitable works, especially as the absence of every trace of it in 

 those parts of the district of Samland with which I was well ac- 

 quainted indicated a rapid descent of the strata towards the south. 

 The occurrence too of alum was remarked, and the active process 

 of the efflorescence of clay containing sulphuric acid and salts of 

 iron which nature carries on on the precipitous coast, where the 

 pyrites which occurs in the beds of clay is exposed to the action 

 of the weather. But the present depressed price of alum affords 

 no encouragement to any new works, especially as they must be 

 commenced, if at all, on a large scale. 



The scientific interest however arising from this newly-disco- 

 vered deposit of fossil vegetable remains is far greater than their 

 importance in an industrial point of view. The almost horizontal 

 position of the coal-bearing beds, and the high state of preserva-. 

 tion of many of the vegetable remains, confirm the supposition 

 that their original locality cannot be far distant. Amber was 

 long since recognized as the resin of a Conifer, and Coniferse, 

 judging from the remains now extant, must have formed the 

 principal part of the adjacent flora, and many pieces of fossil 

 wood occur, which when moderately heated give out a decided 

 smell of amber. Nor ought it to be matter of surprise that the 

 coal-bearing beds but seldom contain amber, if we reflect, that in 

 all probability these beds owe their formation to some alluvial 

 process, and if so, that the masses of amber from their different 

 specific gravity would find a different resting-place. It is well 

 known that the principal amber-beds, which under the name of 

 Amber-earth crop out to the right and left of the coal-bearing 

 strata above the level of the sea, sink so deep at the places under 

 which the coal-loam extends, that they cannot be worked pro- 

 fitably. As will be shown in the sequel, this amber-earth forms 

 an actual member of the tertiary amber-formation of which these 

 coal-bearing beds may be considered as the alluvium. These 

 cliffs, rising a hundred feet or more above the level of the sea, 

 seldom suffer much from the waves, since they are protected by 

 the natural trending of the coast-line, which runs far into land, 

 from the swell produced by continued north winds. The flat 

 shore at the Kranzer inlet is very much affected. The steep 

 coast on the contrary, commencing at Lapohn, suffers from the 

 rains which annually wash down what the frost of winter has 

 loosened. As the sea constantly plays on the fallen fragments, 

 the cliffs remain much in the same condition, with the exception 

 of their annual decrease. This waste, which is at about the rate 

 of three feet every year, and will in sixty years throw down the 

 Brusterort lighthouse unless artificially sustained, must act 



