tured for the purpose of pipe making; but the 
area in which the best briar root grows is very 
limited. It takes considerable time and the re- 
sult is that the supply of the most suitable wood 
is far below the demand. The cultivation of the 
briar root is a simple matter. It consists mere- 
ly in pruning the growth as much as possible 
so as to encourage and strengthen the roots. 
The very best qualities of briar root come 
from Corsica and the neighborhood of Leg- 
horn. It is very finely grained, hard and tough, 
does not char and heats slowly. 
When full grown and ready for the market 
the wood is rough sawn into blocks, varying in 
size from 8 inches square up, according to the 
market sizes required, and allowed to season. 
When fully seasoned the blocks are packed in 
boxes each containing from 200 to 300 of these 
blocks. They are then sent to the dealers or 
direct to the pipe factories as the case may be. 
In the factory the blocks are sorted and then 
undergo a sweating process in steam vats for 
ten to twelve hours. This steaming gives the 
wood the familiar brown-yellow tint of the 
natural briar root uncolored. After sweating 
the blocks are sent to the drying room as all 
traces of moisture must be removed. This 
usually takes several months. For pipe making 
the workman selects his block and roughly trims 
159 
