with successful results, and the principal 

 amount of the amber of commerce is 

 now so obtained. The strata as shown 

 in the mines of Samland, the rectangular 

 peninsula of East Prussia where most of 

 the mining is carried on, are: First, a 

 bed of sand; below this a layer of lig- 

 nite with sand and clay, and following 

 this a stratum of greensand, fifty or six- 

 ty feet in thickness. While all these 

 strata contain scattered pieces of amber, 

 it is at the bottom of the greensand layer 

 that the amber chiefly occurs, in a stra- 

 tum four or five feet thick and of very 

 dark color. It is called the ''blue earth." 

 This stratum is of Tertiary age and 

 there can be no doubt that its amber rep- 

 resents gum fallen from pines which 

 grew at this period and whose woody 

 remains are represented to some extent 

 in the layer of lignite. It is probably 

 true as Zaddach remarks that the amber 

 has been collected here from older de- 

 posits. One of the most interesting 

 proofs of the vegetable origin of amber 

 is the occurrence in it of insects, some- 

 times with a leg or wing separated a lit- 

 tle distance from the body, showing that 

 it had struggled to escape. These insects 

 include spiders, flies, ants and beetles, 

 while the feather of a bird has even 

 been found thus preserved. Indeed the 

 amber deposits have furnished impor- 

 tant contributions to our knowledge of 

 Tertiary life. Inasmuch as the pieces 

 bearing such remains are valued more 

 highly than ordinary amber, unscrupu- 

 lous persons have at times found proflt- 

 able employment in boring cavities into 

 pieces of amber, introducing flies or liz- 

 ards into them and then filling up the 

 hole with some modern gum of the same 

 color. It is said that all amphibious or 

 water animals seen in amber have been 

 introduced in this way. 



Besides the counterfeiting of the in- 

 clusions of amber there are several sub- 

 stitutes for the gum itself. These are 

 chiefly celluloid and glass, the substitu- 

 tion of the former being dangerous if 

 used for the embellishment of pipes, on 

 account of its inflammatory character. 

 Celluloid can be distinguished from am- 

 ber by the fact that when rubbed it does 

 not become electric and gives off an odor 

 of camphor instead of the somewhat aro- 

 matic one of amber. It is also quickly 



attacked by alcohol or ether, and when 

 scraped with a knife gives a shaving 

 rather than a powder as amber does. 

 Glass can be distinguished by its cold 

 feeling and greater specific gravity. 



Besides these substitutes it has been 

 found possible by heating and pressing 

 the scraps of amber not large enough for 

 carving to make them into a homogen- 

 eous mass which is sometimes sold as 

 amber and sometimes as amberoid. Am- 

 ber is worked to desired shapes by turn- 

 ing it on lathes or by cutting by hand. 

 By heating it in linseed oil it becomes 

 soft so that it can be bent and often all 

 opaque spots can be made to disappear 

 by such treatment. The amber which is 

 most highly prized of any in the world 

 comes from Sicily. Eight hundred dol- 

 lars have been paid for pieces of this no 

 larger than walnuts, making their value 

 nearly equal to that of diamonds. The 

 beauty of the Sicilian amber consists in 

 the variety of colors which it displays, 

 blood red and chrysolite green being not 

 uncommon, and the fact that these often 

 exhibit a brilliant fluorescence, glowing 

 within with a light of different color 

 from the exterior. Chemically the Sicil- 

 ian amber is not the same as the Prus- 

 sian as it contains less succinic acid and 

 is somewhat more soluble. In other re- 

 spects it is not essentially different. It 

 occurs chiefly on the eastern and south- 

 eastern coasts being washed up in a 

 manner very similar to the Prussian 

 amber. 



Amber has been found in several 

 places in the United States, but there is 

 little of commercial value. It is mostly 

 connected with the Cretaceous glaucon- 

 itic or green sand deposits of New Jer- 

 sey, fragments being frequently found 

 there. This amber is of yellow color but 

 not so compact or lustrous as foreign 

 amber. Amber has also been reported 

 from the marls of North Carolina, some 

 of the coal beds of Wyoming and in 

 connection with lignite in Alaska. In 

 the latter region the natives are said to 

 carve it into rude beads. 



Amber occurs in small quantities in 

 several countries of Europe, such as near 

 Basel in Switzerland, near Paris in 

 France, and near London in England. It 

 is also found in many parts of Asia, 

 these localities being a source of supply 



