638 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Nov. 



AMBER. 



A very large proportion of the amber ap- 

 pearing in the various markets of the world is 

 supplied by the province of Prussia, including 

 the neighboring district of Memel. The fol- 

 lowing particulars are gleaned from a report 

 by INlr. Ward, Her Majesty's Vice-Consul at 

 Memel. 



In the western portion of the province of 

 Prussia amber is found not only on the sea 

 shore, but also in the mountainous ranges of 

 the interior ; excepting, however, in rare cases, 

 of its appearai.ce in so-called "nests,'' amber 

 is only to be met with in isolated places in the 

 latter localities, so that the profit arising from 

 the amber diggings among the hills is but a 

 very moderate one, and may be estimated at 

 about double the amount paid by the proprie- 

 tors for the wages of the diggers. In East 

 Prussia, however, and especially in that part 

 called the Samland, amber is more abuntJant, 

 and during the prevalence of certain winds is 

 frequently thrown upon the shore by the sea 

 in large quantities ; it is collected there, as 

 well as tished for in the surf ; it is also dug out 

 of the sand-hillocks running along the sea 

 coast. In these sand-hillocks regular beds of 

 amber are found enclosed in a soil of blue 

 clav, which is to be met with at an average 

 depth of about 100 feet in a thickness of twen- 

 ty-five to thirty feet. It is stated that out of 

 some diggings established in those parts 4,500 

 pounds of amber were raised in the course of 

 four mqnths of the year 1869. Diggings of 

 this kind exist at present in various spots of 

 Samland. There are establishments at Brus- 

 terort, where amber is obtained Ijy divers from 

 the bottom of the sea, and at Schwarzort, 

 near Memel, where it is raised by dredging 

 for it at the bottom of the Curish HafF; the 

 importance and size of the dredging establish- 

 ment last mentioned has of late years increased 

 considerably, and at present about 80,000 

 pounds of amber are annually obtained by it. 



The total amount of amber obtained during 

 the year 1869 in all parts of the province of 

 Prussia by the various means of collection is 

 estimated at about 150,000 pounds, the value 

 of which may be taken at 650,000 Prussian 

 dollars. The quantity collected (by fishing 

 for it) in the sea and upon the shore is about 

 equal to that raised by the digging and dredg- 

 ing works. Accoidingly to the opinion of 

 competent persons, the produce of the diggings 

 could be increased considerably by working 

 them upon a regular mining system. 



Apart from the fact that no certain knowl- 

 edge has hitherto been arrived at as to the ac- 

 tual extent of the amber fields in the blue 

 clay, — and these fields exist most probably 

 not only in the vicinity of the sea-coast, but 

 also in "the interior of the Samland, and even 

 beyond that district and the frontiers of East- 

 ern Prussia, — it is most likely that below the 

 stratum of clay to which the diggings are at 



I present confined there are other strata in which 

 amber would be met with. This supposition 

 is based upon the circumstance that consider- 



I able quantities of amber have been found 

 among the soil washed away by the sea during 



I heavy gales from those portions of the coastal 



I sand-hills which lie below the layer of blue 

 clay first alluded to. 



The prices of the principal kinds of amber, 

 as stated by an official report, vary according 

 to the size, ranging from twenty-two Prussian 

 dollars per pound, where the pieces run about 

 nine to the pound, to four dollars, where the 

 pound requires 100 or more. The j^i'i^^es of 

 larger (so-called cabinet) pieces are subject te 

 great fluctuations, and are fixed by the in- 

 crease or decrease of demand from the East ; 

 the prices of the commoner kinds seldom vary 

 more than about ten per cent. »The chief seat 

 of the retail amber trade is Dantzic ; the whole- 

 sale trade is at present in the hands of only 

 two or three firms in the province of Prussia. 

 The working of the Prussian amber into 

 mouth-pieces, beads. &c., is likewise carried 

 on chietly at Dantzic, but also m all large 

 cities ; of late a manufactory of amber wares, 

 has been established at Polangen, a small Rus- 

 sian town near Memel, and it is intended to 

 open similar works at Konigsberg, Moscow 

 and at New York. 



Scouring in Stock. — Among the many 

 remedies given for scouring in stock, I find 

 none so good as strong coffee. We have 

 saved the lives of colts, cov/s, calves, and 

 pigs. Make the coffee strong, and if they 

 cannot be induced to drink, pour it through a 

 funnel or from a bottle ; but don't pull out 

 the animal's tongue, as is recommended by 

 some, because it is most sure to get into the 

 windpipe. We saved a valuable cow by 

 giving ground coffee in some bran, salted to 

 suit the taste. We once bought a pair of 

 Chester White pigs, and at six weeks old one 

 of them commenced scouring. All remedies 

 failed to check it. We gave it a few spoon- 

 fuls of strong coffee, which effected a cure. — 

 liural New Yorker. 



Pear Tree Blight. — At a late meeting 

 of the Western New York Farmei-s' Club at 

 Rochester, JNIr. Quinby said he had noticed 

 that the pear blight was more prevalent this 

 year than common. It generally commences 

 on the extremities of the limbs, and is easily 

 headed by cutting off the limb below the dis- 

 eased part. If neglected, the disease works 

 down the limb to the body and soon destroys 

 the tree. He had noticed that a small, dis- 

 eased limb lying across a healthy one would 

 inijiart the disease. Fruit growers who per- 

 mitted the blight to ravage their trees were 

 very much to blame, when it could so easily 

 be cured. Some varieties of pears were very 

 knotty this year. 



