474 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



Considering, moreover, the almost entire absence of mineral 

 products in this part of Prussia, and the importance of 

 opening additional channels of employment for the inhab- 

 itants, the Konigsberg Chamber of Commerce strongly 

 recommends the introduction of the system above alluded 

 to, by which the amber diggings might be extended, and 

 worked upon a regular mining principle. 



Amber is found in beds of lignite in various other coun- 

 tries, more particularly in the Adriatic, on the Sicilian shore. 



In oriental commerce it is carried into India from 

 Japan, the Philippines, and Madagascar. A considerable 

 quantity of false amber, or copal, is imported into Canton 

 annually, the imports averaging about 187 cwts. per quarter. 

 The greater portion comes from the eastern coast of Africa. 

 Its value in China was formerly very great for incense and 

 for making ornaments. Transparent yellow pieces are 

 considered the best by the Chinese ; but the colour ranges 

 from black and yellow through red and white. The price 

 in the East, as here, varies according to size and quality. 



In Prussia amber is divided into two classes, Fliesen 

 and the Erd Bernstein ; the former being found in water 

 and the latter in mines. The Erd Bernstein amber is 

 the most valuable, being hard and of a uniform colour. 



Amber is manufactured at Trinley, a village within two 

 miles of the English coast, and distant ten miles from 

 Ipswich. It is there made into crosses, bracelets, and other 

 personal ornaments, and one family has been engaged in 

 it for the last 30 years. The amber is procured by poor 

 persons, who pick it up after wintry storms on the coast 

 between Landguard Fort and Aldeburgh. Mr. J. Wiggin, 

 of Ipswich, has a piece four ounces in weight, procured 

 from this source, and has also purchased many pounds of 

 it at various times. 



