The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-07-07
HOW MERSCHAUM IS MINED
Where It is Found-Process of Making
 It Into Pines.

It Into Pipes.
 Despite our familiarity with meer- chaum, as used in pipes, it is safe to say that few of us have more than a vague idea of the peculiar properties of this substance, or the condition in which 1t occurs in nature. The ancients believed the substance to be petr4fied seafoam, hence the German name Meerschaum, meaning seafoam; and very apt name it Is, for the min eral is very white and so light that 1t will float when dry. Pieces of neer- schaum have been found floating in the Black Sea which were evidently wash ed out of their batrix by the waves. This may also have had its influence on the seafoam theory of its forma- tion.
 Meerschaum is found in best quality and most abundant quantity in Asia Minor. through it also occurs in Greece Spain, Morayin and Morocco, and even in this country in South Carolina. The richest mines are on the plain of Eskishehr, 250 miles southeast of Con- stantinople One of these mines is said to be a thousand years old, and consists of about two thousand pits within an area of six miles, all but about 15O of which have been exhausted The min eral occurs in noduIes or Jumps of var ions and irregular sizes, buried in the alluyial deposit of the plain. Another mines comprises 5000 pits, only 100 of which are being worked
 The material is mined by the inhabi- tants of the surrounding villages and transported in the rough to Eskishehr. The neerschaum is soft when mined, but soonh ardens when exposed to the air. For this reason the Jumps are roughly scraped off at first and then laid aside to dry, When dry they are subjected to a thorough scraping and cleaning, and are finally %axed and polished. The Jumps are now sorted according to size in four classes and packed in boxes. Tn this condition the meerscaum is shipped to the pipe manufacturers.
 In a meerschaum pipe factory the larger pieces are cut with a band saw to a convenient size, after which the meerschaum is soaked in water until it becomes quite soft Meerschaum when wet becomes very soapy, and will pro- duoe quite a father if rubbed. In fact, the material serves as a very good sub stitute for soap, and is thus used in Morocco. Meerschaum dust makes an excellent cleaning powder for renfoving spots from fabrics, After being thor oughly soaked, the meerschaum can be fo rrt,1 shaped with knife to the form of a pipe. When dry the bowl and stem shanks are drilled, and then, if the pipe is plain pattern, it is turned on a lath to the desired form. If square stem shank is desired, it is shaped with a file. The shank is now shouldered and threaded to receive the amber stem piece. These stems are cut from plates of solid amber, most of which is im- ported from Germany,
 Amber occurs in many parts of Eu rope and America, but in largest quan- tity along the coast of Germany This fossil gum is found In Jumps or grains and is melted at $50 degrees F. and re- fined.
 There are two qualities of amber, the transparent and the apaque or cloudy the latter being much tougher and, therefore, more serviceable. The pipe tsens. after being fooled out, are bent to the required shape. They are first immersed in oil and heated until they lose much of their brlttleness. Then they are held over an alcohol flame and bent as desired. The threaded ends of the stem are protect ed while bending by an arbor screwed therein.
 The pipes are now carefully smoothed with pieces of American rush, or shave grass. The stem of the grass, owing to the natural deposit of silica, has fine roughness which perfectly adapts it for this service. After the pipes have been properly finished with the rush, they are immersed in wax for a short time, depending on the density of the meer- chaurn, and then they are given high polish with chalk precipitate.
 Meersohaum is an excellent material for artistic carving, and some carved tobacco pipes are perfect gems of art.
 In the selection of a meerschaum pipe, one should be careful not to pick a dead white specimen. That which is of a slight creamy color will soonest take on that beautiful rich yellow brown shade which so delights the smoker. Nor should the meerschaum be too light, as that is an indication that it is too porous to color properly, while on the other hand a very heavy neerschaum may be almost too dense to absorb the coloring nicotine
 A great many so-called meerschaum pipes are made from artificial meer-