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quently mentions it, relates, that the lake Cephisis, near to the At- 

 lantic sea, and which the Moors call Electrum, yielded, when 

 heated by the sun, amber, which flowed from its mud. 



It is generally found either within the earth, floating on the 

 waters, or on the sea-shores. In Poland, Prussia, Silesia, Pomerania, 

 Bohemia, and many other places in that tract of Europe, it is fre- 

 quently found, when digging to the depth of a few yards. Hermann 

 relates, that he found amber in an island near the Cape of Good 

 Hope. It is also found in various parts of Germany, both under- 

 ground and on the shores, where it has been thrown by the waves 

 of the sea : but it is found in .the greatest plenty on those shores 

 which are washed by the waves of the Baltic. It is frequently 

 found on the sea-shores of several parts of England, most pro- 

 bably brought by the waves, which have already washed the shores 

 of those countries, in which this substance so plentifully abounds. 

 It has also been dug up in detached pieces in several parts of 

 England. The pits dug for tile-clay, between Tyburn and Ken- 

 sington, and that pit which was opened behind St. George's hospital, 

 at Hyde Park Corner, have been said, by Sir John Hill, to have 

 furnished some very fine specimens. 



In the cabinet of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, it is said there is 

 a column of amber of a beautiful colour and brilliant lustre, ten 

 feet in height. This, however, is strongly suspected to be only an 

 artificial imitation of this substance. In the museum of his Ma- 

 jesty the King of Prussia, is a burning lens made of clear amber, 

 a foot in diameter. From its yielding to the tools of the artist, 

 am her is often formed into trinkets of a very pleasing appearance. 



The extraneous or adventitious bodies, which are sometimes found 

 in amber, considerably enhance, by their curiosity, the value of the 

 specimens in which they are found. In some specimens drops of 

 water, and in others fragments of gold and silver, have been said to 

 have been enclosed ; but examination will generally demonstrate, that 



