Amber and the Amber Fisheries. 467 



him invulnerable. The small and waste pieces of amber 

 form the base of an excellent varnish, and the source of 

 succinic acid. The trade in amber to this country would 

 appear to be largely on the increase. In the five years 

 ending 1853, our imports of rough amber averaged about 

 43 cwts. ; in 1867 they reached 60 cwts., and in 1870 

 had risen to 329 cwts. Besides this, we import a consider- 

 able quantity of manufactured amber in beads, mouthpieces, 

 etc. The average annual value of the amber, as declared 

 in the last six years, is about ^2,400, but this is far below 

 its real value. Amber beads, again, are mixed with the 

 general item " Beads " in the official imports. 



Amber often contains insects, flies, ants, spiders, etc., 

 embedded in the resin, some of which are so delicately 

 formed that they could not have been thus enclosed except 

 in a fluid mass, such as a volatile oil or natural balsam. 

 They occur also frequently in the courbaril resin of South 

 America, in Indian dammar and anime, and in copal from 

 Accra, West Africa. 



Amber is found in primary deposits on the coast of 

 East Prussia. The amber-bearing stratum, which lies partly 

 below the sea level, partly above, is a bluish-green colour, 

 and consists of a coarse-grained sand, whose particles have 

 a yellow coating. In this blue earth is found the amber to 

 the amount of one kilogramme per 20 cubic feet. The 

 pieces of amber found are generally weathered, but have 

 retained their original shape, showing that the sea has had 

 but little action on them. The colour is far from constant, 

 being of all shades of yellow and brown. 



The amber-dredging establishment at Schwarzort, on 

 the Curish HafT (near to Memel), produces about 80,000 to 

 90,000 lbs. of amber every year, and is still in the hands of 

 a Konigsberg firm, which keeps its transactions very secret. 



