172 The Soverane Herbe 



or horn. There is no occasion to narrate the history 

 of amber, which was eagerly sought for and prized by 

 the civilized nations centuries before the Christian era. 

 In these smoking days mouthpieces are regarded as 

 the sole end of amber ; but the Greeks, Romans and 

 Egyptians prized it as a gem, wearing amber jewel- 

 lery, while the wealthiest drank out of amber wine- 

 glasses. The old legend declares amber to be the 

 petrified tears shed by the sisters of Phaeton at his 

 sad death. 



Amber is merely the fossilized gum or resin of 

 pine-trees. Pope's wonder ' how the devil ' hairs, 

 straws, dirt, grubs and worms got into the amber is 

 easily removed by modern science. The fly got into 

 the amber when the gum was liquid, and became 

 enveloped and preserved in it by petrification. Over 

 800 species of insects and 100 plants have been dis- 

 covered enveloped in amber. 



Amber is found literally all over the globe — in 

 France, Holland, Greenland, Sweden, Italy, Sicily, 

 Spain, Siberia, China, India, occasionally near Cromer 

 in Norfolk, but principally on the shores of the Baltic. 

 It is always found in conjunction with brown coal or 

 lignite. In Eastern Prussia it is mined, as is coal, 

 but elsewhere it is simply dug from the soil or picked 

 up from the cliffs. It is very valuable, costing from 

 8s. to ;^I2 per pound. Fine large pieces are worth 

 more than their weight in gold. The largest known 

 piece, preserved in the museum in Berlin, weighs 

 18 pounds, and is valued at ;£^7,ooo. 



Amber is found in pieces varying from the size of a 

 pea to that of a large potato. When first dug up it 



