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mentions it, relates, that the lake Cephisis, near to the Atlantic sea 
and which the Moors call Electrnm, yielded, when heated by the 
sun, amber, which flowed from its mud. 
It is generally found either within the earth, floating on the waters, 
or on the sea-shores. In Poland, Prussia, Silesia, Pomerania, Bohe- 
mia, and many other places in that tract of Europe, it is frequently 
found, when digging to the depth of a few yards. Hermann relates, 
that he found amber in an island near the Cape of Good Hope. It 
is also found in various parts of Germany, but underground, and on 
the shores, where it has been thrown by the waves of the sea : but it 
is found in the greatest plenty on those shores which are washed by 
the waves of the Baltic. It is frequently found on the sea-shores of 
several parts of England, most probably brought by the waves, 
which have already washed the shores of those countries, in which 
this substance so plentifully abounds. It has also been dug up in 
detached pieces in several parts of England. The pits dug for 
tile-clay, between Tyburn and Kensington, and that pit which was 
opened behind St. George’s Hospital, at Hyde Park Corner, have 
been said, by Sir John Hill, to have furnished some very fine 
specimens. 
In the cabinet of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, it is said there is a 
column of amber of a beautiful colour and brilliant lustre, ten feet 
in height. This, however, is strongly suspected to be only an arti- 
ficial imitation of this substance. In the museum of his Majesty the 
King of Prussia, is a burning lens made of clear amber, a foot m 
diameter. From its yielding to the tools of the artist, amber is often 
formed into trinkets of a very pleasing appearance. 
The extraneous or adventitious bodies, which are sometimes found 
in amber, considerably enhance, by their curiosity, the value of the 
specimens in which they are found. In some specimens drops of 
water, and in others fragments of gold and silver, have been said to 
have been enclosed ; but examination will generally demonstrate, that 
