from many points of view the mouthpiece is the 

 most important part of the pipe for the smoker, 

 because damage to the lips must be particularly 

 avoided, and a defective, rough, or badly made 

 mouthpiece is apt to cause damage. There are 

 three very important qualities which the ma- 

 terial must have: (1) It must be hard enough 

 to resist indentation from the teeth and yet 

 not feel gritty. (2) It must be capable of re- 

 ceiving a perfectly smooth surface and of re- 

 taining it under the action of saliva. (3) It 

 must not be a rapid heater so that it will not 

 burn the lips, or crack or splinter under action 

 of heat. Other very desirable qualities are 

 toughness, beauty of appearance and freedom 

 from taste or odor under all circumstances of 

 use. 



Amber has a unique place in fulfilling these 

 conditions. Amber is a fossil gum or resin, the 

 juice of pine trees, which in course of time has 

 become petrified like coal. 



Amber is found is various parts of the world, 

 but is more plentifully found along the sandy 

 shores of East Prussia bordering on the Baltic 

 Sea. This area was in time long past the site 

 of pine forests. The amber is found very often 

 to occur with lignite or brown coal. It is dug 

 out of the cliffs or mined like coal out of the 

 ground. Sometimes it is washed in from the 



162 



