178 TOBACCO-PIPES, CIGARS, ETC. 



and when the mould is opened, the pipe is turned out 

 complete as to form, In this state, the pipes are 

 passed to the trimmer, generally a young lad or a 

 female. The trimmer, with a sharp steel instrument, 

 first pares away the thin protuberances on the stem 

 formed by the junction of the two sections of the 

 mould ; then dresses the howl to a neat shape ; then 

 cuts the mouth piece smooth ; then draws out the 

 steel-rod and blows down the pipe, to be sure that it 

 has a free passage for- the smoke; and, lastly, lays it 

 on the frame to dry, previous to burning in the kiln. 

 A pipe-kiln is more or less capacious, in proportion to 

 the exigencies of the establishment ; but an enormous 

 number of pipes may be burned in a comparatively 

 small kiln, as the}* - are ingeniously packed on frames 

 so that little space is lost, and are sufficiently fired in 

 a short time. On inquiry, we are informed that the 

 number of pipes made in an establishment when 

 trade is prosperous and the demand brisk, is about 

 forty-five gross a day ; which gives an average of nearly 

 five hundred pipes j)cr diem for each of the hands 

 employed. With the exception of a fractional propor- 

 tion, the whole of them find their way into the tap- 

 rooms and parlours of the publicans and the shops of 

 the tobacconists. When sent to a distance, they are 

 packed as carefully as possible ; but the loss conse- 

 quent on breakage is borne by the consignee, not by 

 the maker. Countless numbers of them are sold in 

 London by pipe-hawkers, who carry them about by 

 hand, and each of whom cultivates a "pipe-walk," or a 



