Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-07-23

this discovery, and they we're quite credulous
enough"
MEERsCHAUM AND ITS MYSTERIES.
How to Color a Pipe-l timing. Dredging and
Diving for Amber.
"This meerschaum pipe is my greatest joy
and treasure" said the professor to STAR
writer. ut was presented to ME by scientific
society in Berlin. and judge that the elabo rate
carving with which it is adorned could not have
been executed in less than year. At prese mt 1
am devoting my attention to coloring it. To
color a meerschaum properly is an art. In tbs
first place one must smoke it very slowly and
only just fast enough to keep the tobacco burn
ing without overheating the bowl As soon as
have smoked one pipe full OF tobacco let the
pipe get cool again. In this way shall eventu-
ally give to the whole a delicately shaded tint
Only a careless smoker will permit the bowl Of
his pipe to get scorched around the edge. Fur
thermore. new pipe should never be smoked
on. Of doors in cold weather, nor laid on cold
marble or glass. as the chill is apt to crack the
meerschaum.
''Meerschaum would not color at all but for
the fact that it is boiled in wax. II used in its
natural state it would quickly become soiled.
the material being SO porous that it absorbs the
slightest moisture from the hand or ANYTHING
the pores and gives the meerschaum a sort Of
enamel A pipe that has been spoiled by over
heating. so that 1t will not color, can be re-
boiled in wax and restored to some extent. This
kind Of work is done in the trade by experts for
il requires great skill. Vienna Ia the greatest
center for meerschaum carving, which has at
tanned a very high artistic development The
raw material comes in such odd shapes that
much skill is exercised in obtaining from each
piece pipe that shall be as large and we'll
shaped as possible. The rough block is first
soaked in water TO make it soft when it can be
cut as readily cheese. After the carving is
completed the final polishing is done by women
with fine sandpaper and kind of grass.
'Meerschaum, as dare say you are aware. is
o kind of clay. 1t Is composed Of magnesia
and flint. with sometimes traces Of iron and
other minerals. All Of il comes from the prov
ince of Eskischia, in Asiatic Turkey. Il has
been dug out Of the ground thore for centuries,
and the manner OF procuring II Is to this day
extremely primitive. The material is found in
Jumps Of all sorts of shapes and sizes. The
mines extend underground to a depth Of thirty
feet, and are aired and kept dry by wind mills.
There are ten different qualities distinguished.
The discovery Of the usefulness Of the process
OF boiling in wax was made by accident. Imi-
tation meerschaum is manufactured from chips
left over from the carving. They are ground
into a pulp, treated chemically and finally
pressed into the shapes desired. Every one
knows that pipes made out Of the counterfeit
will not color
This exquisite amber mouthpiece Of nv
pipe Is composed of a substance which was long
regarded as of mysterious origin. 1t is now
known to be the fossil gum Of an extinct kind
of pine tree These pires formed forests thou
sands of years ago in the neighborhood Of the
Baltic sea, where the gum which exuded from
their bark accumulated in such quantities that
1t mas supplied the markets Of the world with
amber since the most ancient times The an
4 w from hara md
the merchants Of Venice during the mid
die ages made regular annual trips
TO the Baltic for cargoes of amber.
Until recently no other way Of obtaining amber
was known than to gather such pieces Of it as
we're thrown up on the shore in stormy weather
or to dive for it. But today there are great
amber mines in the region Of the Baltic, which
are worked day and night all the year around.
The deposits of the fossil gum extend from the
very shore of the sea to about quarter Of
mile inland. To keep the water out of the
mines, which are below the sea level. pumping
has to be kept up all the time
The stratum III which the amber il found is
Of blue earth, which is shoveled into cars and
drawn up to the mouth of the mine, where the
earth is driven down y sluice by a force of winter
that dissolves and separates it from the amber.
Nets With meshes of different sizes catch the
amber, which Is found in pieces from the size
of pea to the bigness of ones hand and some
times larger. Thirty dredging ships work dur
ing eight months in the year at fishing the
amber out Of the sea with winding chains of
buckets which drag along the bottom and bring
up sand. stones and amber, the last being
afterward washed out in nearly the same man
ner as on land. Many divers also labor in the
gathering Of amber, descending to the bottom
from rowboats in divers armor, with shovel
and bag. Sometimes they stay under water for
i've or six hours at a time, not coming up until
| their bags are filed. In addition TO their
regular pay they receive prize for every piece
that reaches q certain weight.
Amber has Q wonderful variety Of coIors
Some OF 1t Is as clear IS crystal, some yellow
as honey, some light blue and again u trans
parent green. Then 1t is found as white a.
snow, the color Of cream, and often many Of
these tints are blended in one piece. There is o
| popular notion to the effect that amber has
curative qualities for such ailments as Group and
| sore throat, and many thousand necklaces of it
are sold annually for that purpose. Because
| i have 70 be % careful in the smoking OF nv
meerschaum, l content myself for common and
comfortable use with this old briar-root pipe
1t Is made from the root Of kind Of shrub that
was formerly dug In great quantities in the
| south of France, but now il comes mostly from
Spain, Italy and Mgiers. In the mountain
forests the roots are sometimes found bigger
than mans body. Instead Of digging them
out after the old fashi on they are torn up nova
days with explosives"
Was Witness to His Own Death.
| From the Boston Record
The following story Is about DR.. wilsey, who
saw himself die out west and came back to life
again. The doctor told how he saw himself 70
out Of his body, saw his body lying ON the bed,
with bis wife and sister kneeling BY his side and
weeping. He thought it q great Joke on them
that they should not know he was as much alive
- ever. He laughed outright at the Joke and
was surprised that they did not hear him laugh
He went out Of the house down street and then
struck OF into the country. thinking to himself
This must be the road people take when they
/ die"
He hadn't gone far when voice warned him
thas II he got beyond Q certain point he couldn'
get back. But the sensation Of being free from
his body was so delightful and the landscape
was 50 inviting that he felt no desire to return.
All the while. however, he seemed to be attached
to his physical body by fne, almost invidble
i firoad rrhich liant ~. h..i -.