PIPE MANUFACTURE. 



177 



dexterously draws the long tail of the lump over a fine 

 steel-rod which he holds in the left hand ; performing 

 in less than half a minute what seems a miracle of skill, 

 hy embedding the rod in the exact centre of the clay 

 through the whole length of the pipe. He then lays 

 the rod in the lower section of the mould, represented 

 at a in our cut ; the upper portion is precisely similar 



and is shut down upon it, and secured by a projecting 

 pin in one mould fitting into cavities in the other. It 

 is then placed in the press b fixed to a bench by a 

 strong beam a, with which is connected an iron plate b, 

 having a screw turned by a handle c, which presses 

 toward it another iron plate ; between the two the 

 mould is placed and squeezed tightly together, the 

 handle d is then brought down upon it, the projecting 

 rounded cone at e entering the mass of clay destined 

 to form the bowl of the pipe ; the clay is thus squeezed 

 upward, and all that is superfluous is cut away by a 

 knife, a passage for which is made in the mould at /; 



