324 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1899. 



The name is from the German words Meer, sea, and Schaum, foam, 

 in allusion to its appearance. 



Mode of occurrence and origin. According to J. Lawrence Smith, 1 

 the Asiatic material occurs in the form of nodular masses in alluvial 

 deposits on the plain of Eski-Shehr, and is regarded by him as derived 

 by a process of substitution from magnesium carbonate which is found 

 in the serpentine of the neighboring mountains. 



In an article by Dr. E. D. Clarke in the Cyclopedia of Arts and 

 Sciences it is stated that the meerschaum of the Crimeria forms a 

 stratum some 2 feet thick beneath a much thicker stratum of marl. 

 Cleveland in his elementary treatise on minerals (1822) states that at 

 Analotia, in Asia Minor, meerschaum occurs in the form of a vein 

 more than 6 feet wide, in compact limestone. At Vallecas, Spain, a 

 very impure form is stated to occur in the form of beds and in such 

 abundance as to be utilized for building material. Aside from the 

 localities above mentioned, sepiolite is known to occur in Greece, at 

 Hrubschitz in Moravia, and in Morocco, in all cases being associated 

 with serpentine, with which it is apparently genetically related. 



Uses. The mineral owes its chief value to its adaptability for 

 smokers' use, being utilized in the manufacture of what are known as 

 meerschaum pipes. At Vallecas, as above noted, the material is said to 

 occur in such abundance as to be utilized as a building stone. In 

 Algeria a soft variety is used in place of soap at the Moorish baths 

 and for washing linen. 



According to Kunz, 2 meerschaum has occasionally been met with in 

 compact masses of smooth, earthy texture in the serpentine quarries of 

 West Nottingham Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Only a 

 few pieces were found, but they were of good quality. It also occurs 

 in grayish and yellowish masses in the serpentine in Concord, Dela- 

 ware County, Pennsylvania. Masses of pure white material, weighing 

 a pound each, have been found in Middletown, in the same county, and 

 of equally good quality at the Cheever Iron Mine, Richmond, Mas- 

 sachusetts, in pieces over an inch across; also in serpentine at New 

 Rochelle, Westchester County, New York. A fibrous variety, in 

 masses of considerable size, has within a few years been found in 

 the Upper Gila River region, New Mexico (Specimen No. 67840, 

 U.S.N.M.). 



According to a writer in the Engineering and Mining Journal, 3 the 

 Eski-Shehr mineral is mined from pits and horizontal galleries in 

 much the same manner as coal. As first brought to the surface it is 

 white, with a yellowish tint, and is covered with red clayey soil. In 

 this condition it is sold to dealers on the spot. Before exporting the 



1 American Journal of Science 1849, VIII, p. 285. 



2 Gems and Precious Stones, p. 189. 



3 Volume LIX, 1895, p. 464. 



