Di-. Troosi on Jimher, &fc. 13 



in the former case I would ask, wlieiice the insects wliich are some- 

 times found in the Baltic amber ? Certainly, these insects did not 

 dwell in a living state one hundred and more feet under the surface of 

 the ground, a depth at which the ainljer mines are usually worked. 

 It is more reasonable to supposi', that they existed in tlie resin be- 

 fore it was deposited in the earih — besides, the form in which the 

 pieces occur, bears more resemblance to that of the copal, than to 

 u substance whicli was liquid, and in this state filled uji some in- 

 terstices found below it. There is a still more striking circum- 

 stance which induces me to believe, that amber is nothing but an 

 altered resin, which is, that the nests of insects found in the stra- 

 tum of earthy lignite have, when burnt, the smell of amber; are 

 like this substance, only sparingly soluble in alcohol, and have, as 

 iar as 1 have been able to ascertain, all its other properties. Now, 

 these nests v/ere not in a liquid state before they were deposited in 

 the ground, but were formed of a resinous substance, in the same 

 way as those of the coccus lacca,* and have acquired the nature of 

 amber during theirstay inthe earth, from the same agent as other res- 

 inous substances. These fossil remains can, perhaps, throw a 

 clear light on the formation of amber — at least, by their assistance 

 we shall be able to determine to what species of trees it owes its 

 origin. Amongst the varieties of wood of which the stratum of 

 lignite at Cape Sable is formed, of which I believe there have been 

 different kinds, there is only one which appears to have produced 

 the amber ; at least, I have found it only in one of these varieties : 

 and this wood, in its mineralized state, is of a very compact and 

 close grain, which according to the smallness of its concentric 

 layers, must have been of a slow growth; (nevertheless, these lay- 

 ers may have been altered by the pressure the wood has undergone, 

 having now all a fiat appearance.) But I have not been able to 

 ascertain the species to which it belongs. 



In elucidation of the foregoing, 1 would propose the following 

 questions : 



1st. What kind of insects are found in the Baltic ansber ?f 



* CofC»5 Zrtcca of Kerr, inlial)ils India, on flie fics of the Pai!;oda?, t!ie 

 ■pipibu and some varieties of llie croton ; it transfortns into a parlicnlar s]h> 

 cies of I'ed resin, the jr.ices produced by Uiese trees. 



t According tcTussieu, they are not natives of tlie continent of Europe. 

 The amber of Ca()e Sable does not contain any insects. I have seen large 

 collectionsof amber, but found only one variety of insects in the true. The 

 greatest pai't of specimens in the Cabinets, labelled auil)er, with insects, is not 

 amber but copal — I m3'.self have assisted, in Holland, one of my friends in se- 

 lecting from copal, found at dilferent Druggists, a large collection with in- 

 sects, which was cut and polished. This collection, Hflerthe fieath of the 

 owner, was sold as one of true ambei' '.vith insects, wliich tiie ffi.ist jjvaclis- 

 t'd eve was nrvt aljle to disfincruisiti 



