edge
of Tertiary life. Inasmuch as the pieces bearing such remains are
valued more highly than ordinary amber, unscrupulous persons have at
times found profitable employment in boring cavities into pieces of
amber, introducing flies or lizards into them, and then filling up the
hole with some modern gum of the same color. It is said that all
amphibious or water animals seen in amber have been introduced in this
way.
Besides
the counterfeiting of the inclusions of amber there are several
substitutes for the gum itself. These are chiefly celluloid and glass,
the substitution of the former being dangerous if used for the
embellishment of pipes, on account of its inflammatory character.
Celluloid can be distinguished from amber by the fact that when rubbed
it does not become electric, and gives off an odor of camphor instead
of the somewhat aromatic one of amber. It is also quickly attacked by
alcohol, or ether, and when scraped with a knife gives a shaving rather
than a powder, as amber does. Glass can be distinguished by its cold
feeling and greater hardness and specific gravity.
Besides these substitutes, it has been found possible by heating and pressing the scraps of amber not large enough for carving,
to make them into a homogeneous mass, which is sometimes sold as amber
and sometimes as amberoid. Amber is worked to desired shapes by turning
it on lathes, or by cutting by hand. By heating it in linseed oil it
becomes soft, so that it can be bent, and often all opaque spots can be
made to disappear by such treatment. The amber which is most highly
prized of any in the world comes from Sicily. Eight hundred dollars
have been paid for pieces of this no larger than walnuts, making their
value approach that of diamonds. The beauty of the Sicilian amber
consists in the variety of colors which it displays, blood-red and
chrysolite-green being not uncommon; and in the fact that these often
exhibit a fluorescence, glowing within with a light of different color
from the exterior. Chemically the Sicilian amber is not the same as the
Prussian, as it contains less succinic acid, and is somewhat more
soluble. In other respects it is not essentially different. It occurs
chiefly on the eastern and southeastern coasts of the island, being
washed up in a manner very similar to the Prussian amber.
Amber
has been found in several places in the United States, but there is
little of commercial value. It is mostly connected with the Cretaceous
glauconitic, or green sand deposits of New Jersey, fragments being
frequently found there. This amber is of yellow color, but not so
compact or lustrous as foreign amber. Amber has also been reported
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