Amber and the Amber Fisheries. 473 



I lb. of 9 pieces for pipe mouthpieces 



The prices of larger (so-called cabinet) pieces are sub- 

 ject to great fluctuations, and are fixed by the increase or 

 decrease of demand from the East ; and the prices of the 

 commoner kinds seldom vary more than about 10 per 

 cent. 



The chief seat of the retail amber trade is Dantzic ; the 

 wholesale 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 mouthpieces, beads, etc., is likewise 

 carried on at Dantzic, but also in other large cities. 



Amber is sent chiefly to Vienna, London, Paris, Moscow, 

 and New York, in all of which cities the Prussian merchants 

 keep agents, who are supplied with stocks of this article, 

 assorted according to the requirements of the place. Great 

 progress has lately been made with regard to the sorting 

 of the various kinds of amber. There are now no less than 

 50 distinct kinds, differing in size, colour, hardness, and 

 clearness. It is owing partly to this circumstance, and 

 partly to the growing extent of the demand, that an in- 

 crease in the sale of amber continues to take place. The 

 demand from South Germany, Russia, the Danubian princi- 

 palities, and the East in general, as compared with the 

 comparatively limited amount hitherto obtainable, will, it is 

 thought, prevent any increase of production from acting pre- 

 judicially on the gross profits of the trade in this article. 

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