The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-05-06
HOW MEERSCHAUM is MINED.
Where II Is Found-Process of Making
1t Int, Pipes.

From the Scientific American.
Despite our familiarity with meer-
schaum, as used in pipes, it is safe to
vague idea of the peculiar properties of
this substance, or the condition in which
It occurs in nature. The ancients believed
the substance to be petrihed seatoam,
hence the German name Meerschaum,
meaning seafoam; and a very apt name
1t Is, for the mineral is very white and
so light that it will float when dry Pieces
of meerschaum have been found floating
in the Black sea which were evidently
washed out of their matrix by the waves.
This may also have had it's influence on
the seafoam theory of its formation.
Meerschaum is found in best quality
and most abundant quantity in Asia
Minor, though it also occurs in Greece,
Spain, Moravia and Morocco, and even in
this country in South Carolina. The rich
est mines are on the plains of Eskishehr,
$50 miles southeast of Constantinople. One
of these mines is said to be thousand
years old, and consists of about two
thousand pits within an area of six miles,
all but about $50 of which have been eX
hausted The mineral occurs in nodules
or Jumps of various and irregular sizes,
buried In aluvial deposit of the plain.
Another mine 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 meerschaum Is soft when mined, but
soon hardens when exposed to the air
For this reason the Jumps are roughly
seraped off at first and then laid aside
to dry. When dry they are subjected to a
thorough scraping and cleaning, and are
finally waxed and polished. The Jumps
are now sorted according to size in four
classes and packed in boxes. In this con-
dition the meerschaum is shipped to the
pipe manufacturers
In meerschaum pipe factory the
larger pieces are cut with band saw to
a convenient size, after which the meer-
schaum is soaked in water until ii be-
comes quite soft. Meerschaum when wet
becomes very soapy, and will produce
quite lather IL rubbed. In fact. the ma
terial serves as very good substitute
for soap. and is thus used in Morocco.
Meerschaum dust makes an excellent
cleaning powder for removing spots from
fabrics. After being thoroughly soaked,
the meerschaum can be cut like cheese,
and it is then roughly shaped with a
knife to the for moi a pipe. When dry
the bowl and stem shanks are drilled, and
then, il the pipe is of a plain pattern. 1t
In turned on a lathe to the desired form.
II a square stem shank is desired. 1T 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 imported from Germany.
Amber occurs in many parts of Europe
and America, but in largest quantity
along the coast of Germany. This fossil
gum is found in Jumps or grains and is
melted at $50 degrees F. and refined.
There are two qualities of amber. the
transparent and the OPAQUE or cloudy
the latter being much tougher and. there
fore. more serviceable. The pipe stems
after being fooled out. are. bent to tho
required shape. They are first immersed
In oil and heated until they lose much
of their brittleness. Then they are bed
over an alcohol flame and bent as de-
sired. The threaded ends of the stem are
protected 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 a fine
roughness which perfectly adapts 1t for
this service. After the pipes have been