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378  VARIETIES. 
ornaments  as  necklaces.  It  is  the  base  of  an  excellent  varnish,  and  the 
source  of  succinic  acid,  which  is  employed  in  chemical  investigations. 
The  beautiful  black  varnish  used  by  coach-makers,  is  a  very  carefully  pre- 
pared compound  of  amber,  asphaltum,  linseed  oil,  and  oil  of  turpentine. 
Amber  often  contains  insects,  flies,  ants,  spiders,  &c,  some  of  which  are 
so  delicately  formed  that  they  could  not  have  occurred  except  in  a  fluid 
mass,  such  as  a  volatile  oil  or  natural  balsam.  Mr.  Wallis,  of  Longacre, 
has  one  of  the  largest  and  most  interesting  collections  of  these  fossil  insects 
I  remember  to  have  seen,  and  they  occur  not  only  in  amber,  but  occasion- 
ally in  the  courbaril  resin  of  South  America,  in  copal  and  anime,  and  in 
copal  from  Accra.  In  its  appearance  and  physical  properties,  amber 
strongly  resembles  copal,  which  is  often  fraudulently  sold  for  it  in  the 
Indian  bazaars. 
"We  derive  our  chief  supplies  from  Prussia,  where  it  is  thrown  up  on  the 
coast  between  Konigsberg  and  Memel.  The  imports  in  the  last  few  years 
have  averaged  about  40  cwts.  yearly.  Largo  deposits  of  amber  were  found 
a  few  years  ago  in  some  lakes  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Courland,  not  far  from 
the  Gulf  of  Riga  ;  and  in  January,  1854,  a  bed  of  yellow  amber,  appa- 
rently of  great  extent,  was  found  on  sinking  a  well  at  Prague,  from  which 
pieces  weighing  two  and  three  pounds  were  extracted.  The  largest  block 
known  is  in  the  Royal  Cabinet  at  Berlin,  and  weighs  thirteen  pounds. 
This  fossil  is  also  found  in  Madagascar,  in  Japan,  on  the  shores  of  the 
Indian  Archipelago,  and  in  small  quantities  on  the  coast  of  China.  It 
forms  a  considerable  item  of  import  in  the  Chinese  ports,  the  greater  por- 
tion coming  from  the  eastern  coast  of  Africa ;  its  value  there  formerly  was 
very  great  as  an  incense  and  for  ornaments.  Transparent  yellow  pieces 
are  considered  the  best,  and  the  price  in  the  East,  as  here,  varies  ac- 
cording to  size  and  quality ;  for  its  color  ranges  from  black  and  yellow 
through  red  and  white.  A  resin  called  false  amber — no  doubt  a  copal — 
is  among  the  exports  from  Calcutta  to  Great  Britain  to  the  extent  of 
several  tons. 
Lac  — This  important  resinous  substance,  which  comes  into  our  ports 
from  the  East  Indies  in  various  forms,  to  the  extent  now  of  2500  tons  per 
annum,  is  obtained  from  the  incrustations  made  by  an  insect  (coccus  lacca), 
similar  to  the  cochineal  insect  on  the  branches  and  twigs  of  many  trees 
in  India,  as  Vatica  laccifera,  Butea  Frondosa  lnga  dulcis,  Feronia  elephan- 
tum,  Erythriaa  indica,  SchleicJiera  trijuga,  &c.  The  lac  is  formed  by  the 
insect  into  cells,  somewhat  resembling  a  honeycomb,  in  which  the  insect 
is  generally  found  entire,  and  owing  to  whose  presence  stick  lack  yields 
by  proper  treatment  a  red  dye,  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  bright  as  that  ob- 
tained from  cochineal,  and  more  permanent. 
Lac  is  found  encircling  the  branches  of  these  trees  in  the  form  of  a  tube, 
(half  an  inch  to  one  inch  in  diameter ,)  the  broken  branches,  with  incrus- 
tation at  various  distances,  is  called  in  commerce  stick  lac,  which  ought 
to  be  semi-transparent.    The  coloring  matter,  exhibited  by  grinding  stick 
