The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1907-09-12
HOW MEERsCHAuM Is MINED.
Where II Is Found--Proccss OF Max
ing II Into Pipes.

say that few of us have more than
vague idea of the peculiar properties
| of this substance, or the condition In
| which It occurs In nature, says the
Scientific American. The ancients be-
! lieved the substance to be petritied
| seafoam, hence the German name
! Meerschaum, meaning seafoam; and
! very apt name IL Is, for the mineral
| is very white and so light that 1t
will float when dry. Pieces OF meer-
schaum have been found floating In
the Black Sea which were evidently
washed out Of their matrix by the
waves. This may also have had Its
! influence on the seafoam theory of
It's formation.
Meerschaum is found in best quail
! ity and most abundant quantity In
Asia Minor, though 1t also occurs In
! Greece, Spain, Moravia and Moroc-
co, and even in this country in South
Carolina. The richest mines are on
the plains OF Esltishehr, $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 150 of which
! have been exhausted. The mineral
occurs in nodules or Jumps of va
rious and irregular sizes, buried in
the alluvial deposit Of the plain. An
other mine comprises 5000 pits.
only 100 of which are being worked.
The material is mined by the In
habitants of the surrounding vii
| lagos and transported in the rough
! to Eskishehr. The meerschaym Is
soft when mined, but soon hardens
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 q 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
condition the meerschaum is shipped
to the pipe manufacturers.
In meerschaum pipe factory tho
larger pieces are cut with a band
saw to n convenient size, after which
! the meerschaum Is soaked In water
until II becomes quite soft Meer-
schaum when wet becomes very
goapy. and will produce quite o
lather II rubbed. In fact, the mate
rial serves us n very good substitute
for soap, and is thus used in Moroc-
CO. Meerschaum dust makes an ex-
cellent cleaning powder for remov-
ing spots from fabrics. After being
thoroughly soaked, the meerschaum
can be cut like cheese, and It is then
roughly shaped with knife to tho
form OF pipe. When dry the bowl
and stem shanks are drilled. and
then, II the pipe is Of plain pattern,
1t is turned on a lathe to the desired
form. II a square stem shank Is de-
sired, 1t is shaped with a file. The
shank is now shouldered and thread
ed to receive the amber stem piece.
These stems are cut from plates Of
solid amber, most Of which is I'M
ported from Germany.
Amber occurs In many parts Of
Europe and America, but in largest
quantity along the coast of Ger
many. 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 tough
er and, therefore, more serviceable.
The pipe stems, after being fooled
out, are bent to the required shape.
They are first immersed in oil and
heated until they lose much of their
brittleness. Then they are held over
an alcohol flame and bent as desired.
The threaded ends OF the stems ara
protected while bending by an ar
Dor 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 de-
posit OF silica, has a fine roughness
which perfectly adapts 1t for this
service. After the pipes have been
properly finished with the rush, they
are immersed in melted wax for a
short time, depending on the density
OF the neerschaum, and then they
are Given a high polish with chalk
preaip!tate.
Ge1rschaum Is an excellent mate
rial for artistic carving, and some
carved tobacco pipes are perfect
gems Of art.
In the selection of meerschaum
pine, 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 de-
lights the smoker. Nor should the
mearscAaum be too light, as that Is
en- indication that IT is too porous to
color properly, while on the other
hand very heavy meerschaum may
be almost too dense to absorb the
color!ng nicotine.
A great many so-called mecr-
schaum pipes are made from artificial