MEERSCHAUM (Sepiolite), mErisham or -shum, a name given to one of the silicates of magnesium; it is a mineral of a whitish or creamy color, and received its name from its appearance and the position in which it is some times found suggesting that it was petrified foam of the sea. It is obtained from various places, but the best quality comes from Asia Minor, rich' deposits of it existing about 20 miles southeast of Eskichehir, at a place called Sepetdje. Here are some 20,000 pits in a space of six miles, of which only 150 are worked, all the others being exhausted. It is said that these mines were opened 1,000 years ago, which is not incredible, as it is well known that magnesia was formerly used for many purposes, other than the fabrication of pipes; moreover, fuller's earth was once worked on a vast scale by the ancients. The meerschaum mines are worked by some 500 miners, who live in the surround ing villages. At Gheikli, in the neighborhood of Sepetdje, there are 3,000 pits, of which only 100 are worked, giving employment to 400 miners. The mineral is mined in blocks, which are taken to ESkichehir, where the blocks are cleaned, the operation consisting of scraping and cutting the blocks with a sharp instrument or knife, the meerschaum being still soft and easily cut into any shape or form. Over LIM
persons are occupied in cleaning and shaping these blocks, which, after being thoroughly cleaned, are separated into four classes, accord ing to size and quality. These blocks being ready for sale, a bargain is struck between the pipe manufacturers and the commission agents and merchants at Eskichehir, of whom there are about a dozen. The latter then pack the blocks of these four classes with very great care into boxes of equal size, each block being wrapped in cotton to avoid any friction or shock between the pieces. The actual armnal output of these mines varies from 120 to 1=0 tons. It is soft when dug up, but becomes hard when dry. Most of it is sent to Vienna, where it is chiefly made into tobacco-pines, many of them artistic. Similar pipes are also made in Paris, London and elsewhere.