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406 RESIN FAMILY. Spain, near Alicant, and in the Asturias, in one of which it is said to occur imbedded in limestone ; in gypsum in the Segeberg, near Kiel in Holstein; at Wittenberg, in the kingdom of Saxony; and in Moravia, Austria, and the Bannat of Temeswar. Asia. It is found irpbedded in slate-coal at the mouth of the Jenisei, in Siberia, and in a similar situation in the Say of Pepschincha, in the same country. America.—-The beds of brown-coal which occur in Green land, occasionally contain imbedded grains and masses of amber. Africa,.—It is said to occur on the coast of Madagas car. Uses. On account of its beautiful colour, great transparency^ and the fjne polish it receives, it is considered as an or namental stone, and is cut into necklaces, bracelets, snuff boxes, and other articles of dress. Before the discovery of the diamond, and the other precious stones of India, it was considered to be the most precious of jewels, and was employed in all kinds of ornamental dress. Great quantities of it are annually exported from Dantzig to Constantinople, the Levant, Persia, and France. The most considerable purchasers of amber are the merchants of Armenia and Greece; but it is still uncertain how they dispose of it, It is conjectured by some, that it is pur chased from them by pilgr ms, previous to their journey to Mecca, and that on their arrival there, it is burnt in honour of the prophet Mahomet. It is also an important article of exchange in Africa. When dissolved in oil, it fgrms a species of varnish, named Amber varnish. QbsefvatioM'
