How Pipes are made 173 



is a very pale yellow, but the longer it is exposed to 

 the light the darker it becomes, in course of years 

 turning a rich ruby tint. Owing to its high price, 

 very little real amber is made into mouthpieces and 

 pipe-stems. The blocks are cut by hand, and the 

 necessary bend made by heating the amber over a 

 flame. Both operations are very delicate, and 

 demand much skill. 



The amber shavings are carefully preserved, the 

 larger chips being used in the preparation of a very 

 fine varnish for oil-paintings and the smaller frag- 

 ments ground up to make incense for Roman Catholic 

 churches. There is a belief prevalent among smokers 

 that the imitation amber mouthpieces consist of 

 90 per cent, real amber chips and shavings with a 

 10 per cent, composition to harden and combine it. 

 But the makers of the best imitation amber guarantee 

 that it contains no amber at all. The composition of 

 the imitation is a trade secret ; the ' amber ' is so 

 good that only experts can distinguish it from the 

 genuine product. But its looks are its only recom- 

 mendation ; the cheap kinds are, in fact, positively 

 dangerous, and frequently produce diseases of the 

 mouth and gums. So rare is amber nowadays that 

 it is practically impossible to get a pipe with a 

 genuine amber mouthpiece. 



Except for appearance vulcanite mouthpieces are 

 little inferior to amber. Cut vulcanite, indeed, is as 

 smooth and cool as amber, but the moulded vulcanite 

 tips are rough to the lips. Horn mouthbits are made 

 from the horns of Brazilian bullocks. As only the 

 solid tips of these can be used, the rest being hollow, 



