618 THE UNIVERSE. 



have been found, if not in all their fresliness, at least re- 

 taining all the delicacy of their forms. Certain vegetable 

 secretions themselves have escaped the ravages of cata- 

 clysms. Thus we discover the resin of some antediluvian 

 Coniferae, and in the midst of its transparent lumps lie yet 

 the winged insects which it imprisoned as it flowed ; this 

 is the source of our yellow amber. ^ 



For those who know how to fathom the most mysterious 

 revelations of nature she unvails other and quite unex- 

 pected facts; traces of certain acts or certain phenomena 

 which have lasted only an instant ! 



The antiquary no longer finds on the sand any trace 



'The histoiy of yellow amber has been unfolded by M. Goppert, who has 

 remarked that this precious substance, the origin of which was so long a mystery, 

 is only the resin produced by a species of antediluvian Conifer, the Pinites suc- 

 cinifer. This amber-tree, which seems decidedly analogous to our red fir [Abies 

 rubra, Mich,), distilled its resin more abundantly than the trees of the same 

 family do in our forests now. Hence, as it flowed in large c^uantities over the 

 surface of the bark, its voluminous concretions imprisoned insects and flowers, 

 which its transparence allows us to see. 



According to K. Mliller, we sometimes find in the midst of morsels of amber 

 little fir-cones and remains of woody tissue, which may be recognized as having 

 proceeded from the trunk of some species closely resembling the red-pine. In 

 antediluvian times the succiniferous pines formed, beyond doubt, dense forests on 

 the borders of the Baltic, and the amber buried beneath its waves is now ejected 

 from its ancient tombs \>j violent temjiests. It is found mingled with floating 

 wood and marine plants, which are withdrawn from the waves by means of nets. 

 When the mass is rescued from tlie sea, the women and children seek for the 

 precious substance. In the interior of Europe the amber is dug out like fossil 

 products. Beds of it are found in Switzerland, in Poland, and in Italy. It is 

 also met with in Greenland. 



This valuable material flowed so abundantly from the pine-trees that it often 

 accumulated on the ground in masses of considerable size. Here the resin, com- 

 bining with the oxygen of the air, became transformed into succinic acid, The 

 largest piece of amber known is in the Museum of Natural History at Berlin ; 

 it weighs more than thirteen pounds. Its value is estimated at 10,0(10 thalers 

 (about £1500), although only the tenth ]5art of tliis price was paid for it, for, like 

 diamonds in Brazil, amber is considered in Prussia the propert}- of the crown. 

 The shores of the Baltic, which produce the most amber, yield annually about 

 1.50 tons. — Cosmos, b. i. s. 329. E. Mliller, Merveilles da Monde Vegetal, t. i. 

 p. 168, 



