352 A POPULAR TREATISE ON GEMS.
were
each of that peculiar color and degree of transparency which approaches
nearest to the Turkish ideal of beauty. The two longer mouth-pieces
were of a different form, and although not of so good a color, nor
enriched with as many diamonds, were still valued at two hundred pounds
sterling each.
A
large specimen obtained from the amber pits in Prussia, weighing six
pounds, and another marine amber and waterworn, weighing four and a
half pounds, owned by Mr. Wolff Manheimer, of Konigsberg, Prussia, were
likewise at the London Exhibition.
At the Royal Museum in Berlin, is a large mass of amber, weighing eighteen pounds.
In
the kingdom of Ava, a mass nearly as large as a child's head was found
some years ago, which was intersected in various directions by veins
of crystallized carbonate of lime.
Amber
is very fusible and liable to be broken. To join the broken pieces, and
to unite them in such a manner as to look and wear as well as new, the
author of this treatise recommends the use of soluble glass (either the
silicate of soda, or silicate of potash), which is applied to the
fissure or fractured part, after which the united parts are tied with
with a twine and kept so for some days; it will then remain firm. Thick
shellac varnish is also highly recommended : dissolve bleached shellac
in ninety-five per cent, alcohol, to the consistency of syrup, touch
the broken parts with the varnish, tie them with twine, and leave the
article in a warm place for some days before using.
Amber
powder made into a paste with thick shellac varnish and moulded, may
easily be made into a variety of forms, and represent genuine amber.
The most extraordinary collection of specimens of amber may be seen in the cabinet at Dantzic. A specimen of
