1SG 
THE PHARMACEUTICAL JOURNAL AND TRANSACTIONS. [September 2,1871. 
been cleaned with hot vitriol and well washed with pure 
water. To one tube two drops were added of the putrid 
meat solution that had been heated to 100° F., to a second 
two drops of that heated to 212° F., to a third two drops 
of that heated to 300° F., to a fourth an equal bulk of fluid 
heated to 400° F., and to a fifth the same quantity 
heated at 500° F. In the sixth the albuminous solution, 
without anything added, was kept for comparison. 
The tubes were sealed and kept from the 1st of Fe¬ 
bruary to the 9th. 
Results of Examination. 
Albumen Solution. —In each drop two or three small 
black vibrios, moving to and fro. 
Albumen Solution, with Putrid Meat Liquor, heated to 
100° F. —Abundance of life. 
Albumen Solution, ivith Putrid Meat Liquor, heated to 
212° F. —Abundance of life. 
Albumen Solution, with Putrid Meat Liquor, heated to 
300° F. —Much less life than in the two fluids previously 
examined. 
Albumen Solution, with Putrid Meat Liquor, heated to 
'400° F. —In each drop two or three small black vibrios, 
moving to and fro. 
Albumen Solution, with Putrid Meat Liquor, heated to 
500° F. —In each drop two or three small black vibrios, 
moving to and fro. 
These results clearly show that, at the temperatures 
of 100°, 212°, and 300° F., life and its germs had not 
been destroyed, whilst at 400° F. they had; for the re¬ 
sults of the examination were in this case exactly iden¬ 
tical with those of the albumen solution itself; and the 
life found was doubtless introduced in the preparation of 
the solution, and was not due to any life having re¬ 
mained in the fluids that had been heated. 
Although perfectly aware of the interesting researches 
Of Professor Melsens, proving that the most intense cold 
does not destroy the active power of vaccine lymph, still 
I thought it desirable to ascertain the effect of a tempe¬ 
rature of 15° F. on well-developed germ-life, similar to 
that which had been subjected to the action of heat. 
Some putrid meat liquor, therefore, containing a large 
quantity of microzyma and vibrios, was subjected for 
twenty hours to the influence of a temperature ranging 
between the freezing-point of water and 17° below that 
point, when the ice was melted and the liquor examined. 
The animalcules retained their vitality, but appeared 
very languid, and their power of locomotion was greatly 
decreased. 
Two hours after melting the ice, the liquor was again 
examined, when the animalcules appeared to be as ener¬ 
getic as before. 
AMEER. 
A very large proportion of the amber appearing in the 
various markets of the world is supplied by the province 
ot Prussia, including the neighbouring district of Memel. 
The amber trade in this district is entirely in the hands 
of one. firm, and as their transactions are kept very 
secret, it is difficult to ascertain its exact extent. The 
following particulars, which are gleaned from a report 
by Mr. Ward, her Majesty’s \ice-Consul at Memel, are 
not without interest:— 
In the western portion of the province of Prussia, 
amber is found not only on the seashore, but also in the 
mountainous ranges of the interior; excepting, however, 
in rare cases of its appearance in so-called “nests” 
amber is only to be met with in isolated pieces in the 
latter localities, so that the profit arising from the amber 
diggings amongst the hills is but a very moderate one, 
and may be estimated at about double the amount paid 
by the proprietors for the wages of the diggers. In East 
Prussia, however, and especially in that part called the 
Samland, amber is more abundant, and during the pre¬ 
valence of certain winds, is frequently thrown upon the 
shore by the sea in large quantities; it is collected there, 
as well as fished for in the surf; it is also dug out of the 
sand-hillocks running along the seacoast. In these sand- 
hillocks regular beds of amber are found enclosed in a 
soil of blue clay, which is to be met with at an average 
depth of about a hundred feet, in a thickness of twenty- 
five to thirty feet. It is stated that out of some diggings 
established in those parts, 4,500 lb. of amber were raised 
in the course of four months of the year 1869. Diggings 
of this kind exist at present in various spots of the Main¬ 
land, more especially at Wangcn, Sassan, Groskuhren 
Ivleinkuhren, Kraxtepellen, Kreislacken and Hubnicken. 
Besides these works, there are other establishments at 
Brusterort, where amber is obtained by divers from the 
bottom of the sea, and at Schwarzort (near Memel) where 
it is raised by dredging for it at the bottom of the Curish 
Haff; the dredging establishment last-mentioned has 
been noticed at length in my Trade Report for the year 
1866 ; its importance and size has of late years increased 
considerably, and at present about 80,000 lb. of amber 
are annually obtained by it. 
The total amount of amber obtained during the year 
1869 in all parts of the province of Prussia by the various 
means of collection, is estimated at about 150,000 lb., the 
value of which maybe taken at 550,000 Prussian dollars. 
The quantity collected (by fishing for it) in the sea and 
upon the shore, is about equal to that raised by the 
digging and dredging works. 
According to the opinion of competent persons, the 
produce of the diggings could bo increased considerably 
by working them upon a regular mining system. Apart 
from the fact that no certain knowledge has hitherto 
been arrived at as to the actual extent of the amber fields 
in the blue clay, and these fields exist most probably not 
only in the vicinity of the seacoast, but also in the interior 
of the Samland, and even beyond that district and the 
frontiers of Eastern Prussia, it is most likely that below 
the stratum of clay to which the diggings are at present 
confined, there are other strata in which amber would 
be met with. This supposition is based upon the cir¬ 
cumstance that considerable quantities of amber have 
been found amongst the soil washed away by the sea 
during heavy gales, from those portions of the coastal 
sand hills which lie below the layer of blue clay first 
alluded to. 
The prices of the principal kinds of amber, as stated by 
an Official Report, vary according to the size, ranging 
from twenty-two Prussian dollars per lb. where the pieces 
run about nine to the pound to four dollars where the 
pound requires one hundred pieces or more. The prices 
of larger (so-called cabinet) pieces are subject to great 
fluctuations, and are fixed by the increase or decrease 
of demand from the East; the prices of the commoner 
kinds seldom vary more than about 10 per cent. 
The chief seat of the retail amber trade is Dantzig; 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 like¬ 
wise carried on chiefly at Dantzig, but also in all large 
cities; of late a manufactory of amber wares has been 
established at Polangen, a small Russian town near 
Memel, and it is intended to open similar works at 
Konigsberg, Moscow, and at New York. 
Sponges abound on the east coast of Crete, but the 
natives do not dive for them. This hazardous calling is 
pursued by Greeks from the islands of Symi, Calym.no., 
and Khalki, who come yearly in numerous small craft, 
and purchase licences to fish for sponges. These duties 
are farmed, and the actual farmer is a Frenchman, who 
also fishes on his own account, and makes use of a small 
steamer and diving-bell to facilitate his operations.— 
Consul's Reqoort. 
