Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1912-02-28
MEEsRcHAUm MINE.
One In New Maxico Only One on
This Continent.

This Continent.
There is only one meerschaum mine in
this country. Up to year or two ago
there might as well have been none at
all. About Ave years ago company
formed to take over the mine declared
confidently that 1t was going to make
meerschaum pipes out OF the product.
"For four years we were the laughing
stock of the trade" said member OF the
concern recently. "But we're doing the
laughing ourselves new"
He fiourishes before the visitors eyes
orders for more gross of pipes than any
body but mathematical prodigy could
count. And he shows picture of the
new plant which is to be occupied very
soon. At present the work has grown to
such point that the walls of the small
factory over in New York city are bullying
worse every day.
In this small building they can turn
only about thirty-five gross OF pipes
day. This comes, however, to more than
million and half pipes year, which
would seem enough to supply every pipe
smoker in the country. But the new
plant will turn out 100 gross day. One
of the orders fourished so proudly by the
manufacturer is for 800 gross, and came
from Boston dealer.
There is only one other meersehaum
mine in the world. At least nobody
knows of any others. That one is in Asia
Minor, and supplied the material for all
the meersehaum pipes made up to year
ago. The American mine is about thirty
miles from Silver City, n. NJ, and has
been known for some time, but nobody
had any faith in it. Samples of the product
were sent to the government for an opin-
| ion as to its value and were declared by
the analysis to be commercially worthless.
That's what they were, too, tor long
time. The trouble was that whereas the
Turkish meerschaum is. absolutely pure
! just as it is mined, the New Mexico va
riety is loose in texture and full of ealcites.
I 1t looks as if somebody had mixed up some
stiff plaster of Paris, blown q LOT of air
into it and let it set. 1t not only looks
/ spongy, but when first mined, it is very
moist, so wet in fact that it must be al
/ lowed to dry out before it can be crushed.
/ 1t was the perfecting of the process OF
handling the crude product that took the
time and the money - took those four
years Of time, and the company doesn't
like to remember how much money.
Turkish meerschaum occurs in what is
known as kidney formation; kidney
shaped pieces, some of them about the
size of fist. Pipe bowls are cut directly
from these Jumps without treating them
in any way.
New Mexico meershaum occurs in veins,
sometimes eighteen inches in diameter,
sometimes piuching out to much thin
ner streak. These veins are plainly visi-
bic in the lodges which crop out on the
hillside, showing so white that they are
conspicuous in the landscape.
The process Of mining is much the same
as that employed with other minerals, for
meerschaum is cIassed as q mineral A
tunnel is opened and shafts sunk from
this. The veins occur in congiomerate,
and are we'll defined. Their peculiar
moisture is present even when the sur
rounding rock is very dry.
The rough pieces of maerschaum after
stuff is screened to remove all foreign
matter, washed and concentrated. The
finished product is absolutely pure meer-
schaum,, pressed in blocks which are so
white and light that ''ioam of the sea-
(meer-sehaum) seems an appropriate
name for it. Its weight is almost negligi-
BILE, good sized pipe bowl weighing only
half an ounce
Three carloads of these blocks of
meerschaum are shipped to the New York
plant every month, the pipes being sawed,
turned, polished and fitted there. Dozens
OF different styles are made; calabash,
silver mounted, solid meerschaum bowls,
separate bowls, cigar and cigarette holders
and soon.
The makers enthusiastically assert that
it is not only as good as the foreign meer-
schaum, but better. They say it is even
together, that it is just as absorbent
they say little more so-and that it takes
just as good polish. Also that it can be
sold at price that almost halves that of
Turkish meerschaum.
From the depression of their four years
of repeated struggles and disappoint-
ments the manufacturers are now reacting
like rubber balls. They see unlimited
possibilities in the future. They say
there's no reason why American meer-
schaum shouldn't be used for lot of
things besides pipes; for poker chips, for
example, toilet articles, ornaments, but
tons.