332 



SCIENCE- GOSSIP. 



initiated eye can trace the amalgamation. This pro- 

 cedure, as well as that of dyeing amber black and 

 green — colours which are very rarelyfound in nature — 

 are secrets of the firm, and the public is not allowed 

 to enter the premises where this kind of work is 

 done. 



The smallest bits of amber are used for making 

 varnish. They are first dried in the sun and then 

 before a fire. The varnish factory lies at a consider- 

 able distance from the other premises, and for good 

 reasons. Some years ago a fire caused by an explo- 

 sion broke out in one of the sheds, and the flames 

 spread rapidly. They soon attacked a tank filled 

 with an oily substance, the residue of amber varnish, 

 for which no use has yet been found. Unfor- 

 tunately the tank was brimful, and therefore, before 

 the flames could be extinguished, they had first to 

 consume part of the mineral oil. For some time the 

 country around was enveloped in a cloud of jet-black 

 smoke rolling slowdy above the ground. When the 

 fire-engines at last began to play, a never-to-be-for- 

 gotten sight ensued. The flames leaped up into the 

 air hundreds of feet high, and, roaring, they formed 

 a huge fiery tower which illuminated the country for 

 miles around. 



In returning from the mine we strolled through the 

 village, which, notwithstanding the ruined cottages, 

 has a thriving appearance. There are brick houses 

 with white curtains and flower-pots behind the bright 

 windows : there are paved straight streets with their 

 names in white letters on a blue background at the 

 corners. The principal street has rows of lime-trees 

 on either side, whose foliage, it is true, gives for the 

 present only a scanty shade. A small church, bran- 

 new like the houses, stands not far off. Not all the 

 more picturesque old cottages, however, have disap- 

 peared. Here are some with thatched roofs where 

 toy-boats with white sails and gay streamers are 

 merrily turning round and round in the fresh breeze ; 

 while others have on their gables two roughly carved 

 pieces of wood nailed crosswise, meant to represent 

 horses' heads. These emblems of Wotan's sacred 

 animal, the horse, show how firmly old customs and 

 traditions are rooted in the minds of country folk. 

 What would those good Christians say if they were 

 told that by finishing off their gable-ends with these 

 ornaments they called upon the chief god of their 

 heathenish forefathers for help and protection against 

 fire and strife ? 



We had now reached the house which was formerly 

 the principal mansion of Palmnicken. It has .been 

 turned into an hotel, the old premises being by far 

 too small for the increase of visitors. The grounds 

 are extensive ; there and in the adjoining woods one 

 can ramble for hours. Old elms, oaks, limes, and 

 chestnut-trees shelter against cold winds their less 

 sturdy comrades, brought hither from milder climates. 

 There are wide lawns with flower-beds, seats in shaded 

 nooks, some with a view of the sea, whose chief 

 charm seems to be its solitude. The sun throws a 

 wide track of glittering light across the waters, but 



only a seagull now and then or a fishing-boat crosses' 

 this golden bridge. 



In one of the busy streets of Konigsberg the amber 

 merchants owned a large house, where the ground 

 floor is occupied by offices, and the second story by 

 a museum, which is open to the public twice a week. 

 It contains the largest amber collection in the world. 

 The walls are painted, and represent views of the 

 works at Palmnicken, the colony at Schwarzart, the 

 settlement at Briisterart, and sketches from the Baltic- 

 shores. Along the walls the history can be followed 

 of how amber has been used from heathenish times 

 to the present day. Here are ornaments found in 

 the barrows of the ancient inhabitants of this part of 

 Prussia, such as links, clasps, beads, and amulets, 

 with roughly cut figures of men and animals. There 

 are also ornaments and rosaries from the early 

 Christian era. Often stone was used for inlaid work. 

 Boxes, brushes, powder-horns, and shrines were 

 inlaid with differently coloured amber. Handles of 

 knives, forks, and spoons were also cut out of it. 

 Later, amber became the indispensable material 

 for the mouthpieces of pipes. An enormous per- 

 centage of the amber yearly obtained is used for this 

 purpose in all parts of the world. Their shapes have 

 been adapted to the tastes of the nations for whom 

 they are destined, so that we can find in the collection 

 the red pipe' of the Koreans as well as the glass pipe 

 of the Chinese. 



Strings of amber beads for necklaces and bracelets 

 have always been favourites with the fair sex in 

 southern countries. There are beads of opaque amber 

 for Egypt ; others yellow and transparent, cut in facets, 

 for India and Algeria ; some flat and reddish for 

 Persia ; others olive-shaped for the countries on the 

 Danube. Small pearl-like beads of the most valu- 

 able or butter-coloured amber are principally worn 

 in the West of Europe. Unshapely necklaces are 

 exported to the negro tribes on the Sierra Leone 

 coast. Big irregular pieces of the transparent kind 

 are so polished that all their irregularities are re- 

 tained. Then they are pierced, and the largest lumps, 

 of the size of a baby's fist, strung in the middle with 

 the smaller ones on either side. There also are 

 rosaries for Mahometans; small scent-bottles, just 

 large enough to hold a few drops of attar of rose, -for 

 Turkey ; some in the shape of an acorn fastened by a 

 tiny chain to an amber finger-ring ; three-cornered 

 amulets for China ; ear-pegs for Africans ; and, above 

 all, a variety of ornaments and dainty nicknacks to 

 be bought and taken away by the yearly increasing 

 number of visitors to the Baltic shores. 



The glass cases in the middle of the room contain 

 most valuable material for scientific research. Speci- 

 mens of the fossil flora and fauna found in the blue 

 clay can be seen there, as well as the different shapes 

 and forms which amber takes. Here, too, are 

 polished pieces, illustrating its native colouring — 

 ivory, spotted, streaked, opaque, transparent ; in 

 short, from creamy-white to warm bright yellow, 

 that sparkles like crystallised sunbeams. There are 



