Some Facts About Pipes.

Auckland Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 126, 30 May 1887, Page 7

Some Facts About Pipes.

WJHU, a mountain village of Thuringia, is centre of the pipe manufacture of Germany. Like Sheffield, ifc was famous in he Middle Ages for its arms and armour, at a subsequent period for its knives. ' npn the use of tobacco became common P, Europe it turned its attention to the all v.tion of iron smoking pipes. Gradual however, beginning in the 17tli cenfyjtoeerscliaum and wood were adopted as °re suitable materials to work upon. The pipe was carved in the early f' of the Thirty Years' War, and 'auenstem is said to have bought it, Esk"<n c Clay is fco be Procured only ab ii! ' A~~r' 'n f"a Mi"01") where there are , Bj> deposits, and whence it is "sent direct manufactories at Ituhla, of which -Qj 6 c at present 40, employing almost BBah P 0?"1^5011 of tllo district. The Bnol °* r>es an(i otlier ilt' ticles dear to avera 618 LUF n' e(* 012t is enonnaus, the yearly being 540,000 real meerschaums, y,Spn. price from 3d to £12 apiece; tocilvcitation meerschaums at from Is. mL • Z6n ' 96 00> 000 porcelain pipe ,&«>,.either plain white or gaily painted/ Wnm pl'ice from 4d- fco lOs- the dozen ; ;ij 6 g -^wooden pipes of infinite variety conn, 1 °^ ornamentation, and price, tho aiid"it 1 '- Ild?- ljoillg extremely cheap, C(l tol Jnos. c artistically carved fetching a| natively high price ; 3,U00,U00 bbwla

of clay or lava, plain ab aboub 3d., -of-bebfcer kinds afc 3s. the dozen ; 15,000,000 pipes composed of separate parts (bowl, stick, cover, &c), from sd. bo £25 bhe dozen. Ihere are flve qualibies of meerschaum used in bhe making of pipes; bhe best is known by its facile absorption' of'the nicotine juice of tobacco, which gradually develops inbo a rich brown plush upon the surtace, and when this process is well advanced bhe pipe becomesalmostinvulnerable without being hard. A specimen of this kind sold ab Vienna for £50, although it was nob very highly carved.