Washington State journal and Adams County news. [volume] (Ritzville, Wash.) 1906-1907, 1906-11-21
sroRv OF THE CORN COB.

STORY OF the CORN COB.
Industry Began in Missouri Thirty
Years Ago-Annual Output.
Practically all Of the corncob pipes
used in the world are made in Missou-
r. declares the Kansas City Star. Tho
annual production Of more than 1000.
900 pounds means approximately a..
100000 pipes. rhe material used In
their making Is specially grown on
thousands of acres Of Missouri land
Many smokers In England, Germany
and other European countries use the
Missouri meerschaum."
The corncob pipe is essentially a
Missouri product. In its present form,
improved from the crude object whit.
tied out by the casual farm hand since
corn cobs were discovered, was the In.
vention Of a Missourian. Here 1t first
attained the Importance Of an article
of commerce.
Thirty years ago there lived in
Washington. No.. village twenty
miles from St Louis. a German cob
bier, keysmith, clock repairer and all,
round tinker. Henry Tibbe by name.
This workman owned small lathe
operated by a treadle. on which he
made odd and ingenious objects. One
day, while watching the laborIous
manufacture Of cob pipe. shaped and
followed out with a jackknlfe, it oc.
Cured to Tlbbe that he could make
much better pipes on his lathe. He
tried the experiment and little li,cr
was turning out the now famous "Mis.
souri, meerschaums" by thousands.
The simple expedient Of turning
pipes on a lathe was not the end of
Tibbe's Improvements. He realized
that the very porous quality that made
cob pipes sweet to the smoker tended
to make them shortlived. Many cobs
were SO porous that air passed through
the sides, Fastening combustion Of the
pipes as well as Of the tobacco. Tibbe
tried closing the pores with glue. putty
and other substances until he CHANGED
upon plaster Of paris. which worked
admirably. Then he patented the per
fected "meerschaum."
AS there had never been any whole
sale demand for corn cobs, the newly
established pipe factory soon exhaust.
ed the available supply, and the manu-.
facture Of pipes came to a standstill.
Believing the industry would grow rap
idly II he could procure the right sort
of material the inventor determined to
search the country over for 1t. The
quality Of cobs In the vicinity Of the
pipe factory had not been satisfactory.
As agricultural experiments had been
toward increasing the size of the grain
and diminishing the size Of the cob.
Tibbe wanted large cobs. He had no
interest In the grain.
In his efforts to find the most salts
factory material the inventor made q
tour Of the Southern States. finally re.
turning home In triumph. He had dis.
covered a grade of corn. despised by
intelligent farmers, that iran" to cob
in Its development He procured a
quantity Of seed, made contracts with
farmers to plant 1t, and at the end Of
the following season had ample mate
rial from the Mississippi and Arkansas
swamps, also for use In the factory.
The stems for the pipes, made OF
reeds were easily procurable. They
grew rank over thousands of acres OF
waste land.
Protected by his patent, Tibbe and
one or two associates enjoyed for sew
enteen years monopoly In the manu-.
facture Of COB pipes. In that time the
industry grew rapidly and netted the
owners substantial fortunes. The orig.
inal design for the pipes was elabor.
ated upon, and there were added many
fancy shapes, Including cigar and CT.
garette holders.
With the expiration Of the patent
right, competition sprang up In the 1T
tie town of Washington. There are five
factories there now. all prospecting
through the ever growing demand for
the homely cob.
The merits OF the missouri meer.
schaum" are now universally appre.
ciated. and all sorts and conditions of
people enjoy Its soothing companion.
ship. Even the hard-headed BrIton.
welded to his stocky briar. has come ia
enjoy q smoke from the American corn.