The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1870-10-28
ABOUT PIPES.
Foreign and Home Manufacturers
The Briarwood and Clay Pipes
How They are made.

Foreign and Home Manufactured
The Briarwood and Clay Pipes
How They are made.
The manufacture Of pipes, for those
who use the weed, says the Commercial
LAST gives employment to great mum
Der of men. 1t is said that not less than
100000 pipes are turned out annually
of which 100000 are pure briar wood
the balance being made of Mahogany
apple, and other common woods. This
great trade in wood pipes is of recent
date Nine years ago briarwood pipe
was a curiosity The first made were by
the English and French soldiers Of the
OF the Crimea They found the roots
of the briarwood, and in their leisure
hours cut out the pipes. The soldiers,
on reaching home, introduced the pipes
into fashion, and after that, for short
time, they were made of all kinds of
wood. 1t was little while before the
briarwood could be found, and at first
it was all imported. Now, however,
plenty of it can be found at home. 1t
comes chiefly from North Carolina and
Virginia. A little Off is found in New
York and New Jersey The roots Of
the tree which were formerly considered
worthless, are now a source of profit
Oue firm in this city alone purchased
annually about $4,000 worth OF tie
roots, and employs ninety hands in
making the pipes.
In the making Of these brier-wood
pipes there is a division of labor that
would hardly be believed unless seen
in the workshop. The making of this
pipe goes through fourteen hands or
branches of the business before it is
turned out. The first hand gets the
root and cuts out, and throws it over to
workman. No. =, whose duty tits to trim
it. The third hand does all the turn
ing on the pipe; q fourth does the fill
ing; a fifth the sand papering-this is
done 10y children; a sixth class ofwork-
men polish the pipes; seventh class
of workmen confine themselves entirely
to boring the stems; the eighth branch
make the screws; the ninth fit the
screws. and the tenth fit the stems
The remaining four hands are what
might be called utility men. They
scour, polish, and adjust the screws
and do all that is requisite to make
complete smoking pipe. The pay Of
the men varies, as they are paid by the
gross of pipes turned out; but, on care
full inquiry, we find that men who work
on brier. wood pipes make from $40 to
SD q week. The men who make S25
are the carvers and trimmers. Some
Of the workmen can turn out three gross
Of pipes daily, others less, few more;
and so they are paid.
After careful inquiry, we first formed
the impression that there were no clay
pipes manufactured in this country.
Had we not taken extra pains to get at
the facts, we should have so stated that
to be the case. But it is an indispen-
sable fact that foreign clay smoking
pipes have the preference over home
manufacture. They are made and
shipped and consigned to the wholesale
dealer, then sold to the retailer, and yet
after all these expenses, they can be
sent here and sold cheaper than any
home manufacturer can produce them.
The retail profit on clay smoking pipes
is about $50 per cent. A pipe is brit
tie thing. 1t is used up after three
davs' use, or is broken, and the traffic
in this article alone amounts to 100000
week in New York city.
Virginia produces clay that is
manufactured into pipes. 1t is Bonded
at the shank, and OF a dark color But
the great trauble with these home pipes
is that they will not absorb the oil from
the tobacco. The manufacture Of white
clay pipes in this country, so far, is a
complete failure The clay to make
these pipes must be on this continent,
and all that is wanted is the capital and
the skilled labor.
The imported pipes sell at fifty cents
gross, wholesale, and the same are
retailed at two cents a piece. One re-
tail dealer said that he got four gross,
another FIVE gross Of pipes for dollar
and a half; fifty cents gross, warranted
sound, is probably the truth. 1t gives
the retail profit of nearly a cent and
a half on each pipe sold. Cheap as the
manufacture of these pipes must seem,
il must be very profitable business.
4 gentleman in Glasgow, Scotland, who
monopolized the entire trade, gave up
the manufacture OF silver spoons and
silver tea sets, to keep the clay pipe
business. 1t may seem strange that
he should give up the manufacturing
of even silver tea set that would bring
him in $500, and hold on to the clay
pipe business. But he told us that all
the profit he had in getting up silver
tea set was only about ten dollars II
he got up $500 worth Of clay pipes, he
had a profit of $1,000.
There are two manufactures OF meer-
schaum pipes in this country, but as
the material is all imported, it is not
necessary 10 say anything on the sub
iect. So much has been written about
this pipe, that anything we might say
about it would be like travelling over
Travelled uroun1