water from the siphon through the pipe. It 
will clean it out effectively. 
If you are smoking a meerschaum and desire 
it to color well and evenly it is a good plan to 
use a false upper bowl to fit inside the bowl of 
your pipe. The rim of fire where the tobacco 
is burning makes the pipe bow] too hot and does 
not allow that part to color. The false bowl 
will prevent this. Some smokers think that 
covering a meerschaum bowl with chamois will 
cause it to color well. The chamois will not 
aid the coloring but it will protect the bowl 
from being touched by the hand during the 
process and thus avoiding a spotty effect, par- 
ticularly if the hand should be moist or greasy. 
During the progress of the coloring the pipe 
should never be allowed to get too hot. The 
time required to color a pipe depends on the 
tobacco used. If it is a rich oily tobacco, the 
time necessary is shorter than with a dry to- 
bacco. 
Imitation meerschaum of the cheaper kind 
are sometimes artificially colored by the makers. 
This is done by boiling the pipe in an oily solu- 
tion of nicotine, the formula for which as given 
in the American Druggist, V. 58, is: 
Crude nicotine (oil of tobacco)=3 i. 
Olive oil=3 ii. 
Yellow wax=3 viii. 
169 
