PIPES. Among the many pipes made for smoking tooacco the common clay article is first, then follows those manufactured from wood, such as briar-root and cherry. The most valuable pipes are the meerschaums manufactured from a peculiar min eral found in alluvial deposits just below the soil in many parts of Europe and Asia. When first dug it is soft and is used as soap. by the Turks and others, making a fine lather. It hardens on exposure to the air, being sometimes found on the seashore washed: up by the waves. It has been poetically, but erroneously, called, the petrified foam of the sea.
An authority on pipes says : "By far the choicest and finest clay pipes come from France. They are generally soft and rather creamy in their appearance, and easily absorb nicotine. They are gotten up in all kinds of fanciful styles and designs, large bowls with heads of public characters upon them being in especial de mand. The clay pipes of T. D. type, which are in the most ex tensive use in this country, are imported from Glasgow, Scotland. They are sold at wholesale at from one-half to a cent apiece, and at retail from one to two cents. Retailers, however, make little or no profit on these pipes, as the loss from breakage, poorly baked pipes, etc., is necessarily quite heavy and has to be borne
by them. Dutch clays, with rather small bowls and long stems, are still somewhat in demand in this country. Clay pipes are made to some extent in this country, there being several fac tories in Philadelphia and Baltimore and one or two in Canada. The red clap pipes are mainly made in Providence, Rhode Island. The French pipes, however, as we have said before, are the finest in the world. The duties on French clays are quite heavy, and the demand for them is somewhat limited compared with the American and Scotch article. The Woodstock clay is a great favorite with many smokers, especially in the rural districts. The Germans and French manufacture a great many varieties and styles of pipes from red and other colored clays. Gambier made from French clay and handsomely decorated in colors, meet with a steady demand among a certiiu line of customers. The trade for porcelain bowls, so popular in Holland and Germany, is very limited in this country, and is confined almost solely to the children of "der Vaterland." Americans object to them on the ground that they are not porous and easily become heated in smoking."