tinople, on the plains of Eskishahr. Meer- 
schaum has been in use for sundry purposes in 
the Orient for many centuries and the mines of 
Asia Minor have been worked for at least 1,000 
years. The result is that they are now ap- 
proaching exhaustion. The area in which the 
mineral occurs principally is small, about six 
square miles, and in this area many thousands 
of pits are worked. The soil is alluvial and in 
these deposits the meerschaum is found in soft 
lumps and nodules having no definite or regular 
shape. It also occurs in veins among the Ser- 
‘pentine rocks and marls. Although it is soft 
when taken out of the ground it rapidly hardens 
when exposed to the air. It is roughly shaped 
and cleaned at the mines and from thence sent 
to the dealers who further prepare it by waxing 
and polishing and put it on the market in the 
conditions in which it reaches the pipe makers. 
The principal European depots for meerschaum 
are Constantinople and Vienna. It is usually 
packed in boxes containing about 50 lbs. each 
and sells for from 50c to $4.00 per lb. 
The lumps on reaching the manufacturers 
are first cut with a band saw into suitable sized 
blocks according to the size and shape of the 
pipes desired. These blocks are then thorough- 
ly soaked in water until they are thoroughly 
saturated. The soaking renders the material 
156 
