AM'BER ( Front Ar. 'aim bar, ambergris; called so from its resemblance to ambergris). A fossil resin of vegetable origin. It is usually of a pale yellow color, sometimes reddish or brownish; it is sometimes transparent, sometimes almost opaque. It occurs in round irregular lumps. grains, or drops; has a perfectly conchoidal fracture, is slightly brittle, emits an agreeable odor when rubbed, melts at 550° F., and burns with a bright flame and pleasant smell. Thales of iNliletus was the first to notice that when amber is rubbed it becomes capable of attracting light bodies; this was the first electric phenom enon produced by man. An acid called succinic acid (named from the Lat. surcinam, amber) is obtained front it by distillation. Amber had formerly a high reputation as a medicine, but the virtues ascribed to it. were almost entirely imaginary. It is employed in the arts for the manufacture of many ornamental articles, and for the preparation of a kind of varnish. Great quantities are consumed in Mohammedan wor ship at Meeca, and it is in great demand through out the East. It was obtained by the ancients from the coasts of the Baltic Sea, where it. is
still found, especially between KiMigsberg and Memel, in greater abundance than anywhere else in the world. It is there partly cast up by the sea, partly obtained by means of nets, and partly dug out of a bed of carbonized wood. Limited quantities of it are found in the United States. It sometimes occurs in diluvial deposits. as in the gravel near London; but it is very rare in Great Britain. It is obtained in small quantities from the coasts of Sicily and the Adriatic, and is found in different parts of Europe, in Siberia. Greenland, etc. It sometimes incloses insects of species which no longer exist. Leaves have als, been found inclosed in it. Specimens which con tain insects or leaves being much valued, artifi cial substitutes are often manufactured and im posed upon collectors. According to an ancient fable, amber is the tears of the sisters of Phae thon, who, after his death, were changed into poplars. The ancients set an immense value upon it. Pieces of amber have occasionally been found of twelve or thirteen pounds weight, but such pieces are extremely rare.