from many points of view the mouthpiece is the 
most important part of the pipe for the smoker, 
because damage to the lips must be particularly 
avoided, and a defective, rough, or badly made 
mouthpiece is apt to cause damage. There are 
three very important qualities which the ma- 
terial must have: (1) It must be hard enough 
to resist indentation from the teeth and yet 
not feel gritty. (2) It must be capable of re- 
ceiving a perfectly smooth surface and of re- 
taining it under the action of saliva. (8) It 
must not be a rapid heater so that it will not 
burn the lips, or crack or splinter under action 
of heat. Other very desirable qualities are 
toughness, beauty of appearance and freedom 
from taste or odor under all circumstances of 
use. 
Amber has a unique place in fulfilling these 
conditions. Amber is a fossil gum or resin, the 
juice of pine trees, which in course of time has 
become petrified like coal. 
Amber is found is various parts of the world, 
but is more plentifully found along the sandy 
shores of East Prussia bordering on the Baltic 
Sea. This area was in time long past the site 
of pine forests. The amber is found very often 
to occur with lignite or brown coal. It is dug’ 
out of the cliffs or mined like coal out of the 
ground. Sometimes it is washed in from the 
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