ON THE TOBACCO PIPE MANUFACTURE, ETC. 501 



be scraped with a knife, and in the scraping the knife is made to -vibrate 

 by being held near the thin end of the blade, and the wire drawn 

 sharply under it indents the wire uniformly, slightly narrowing it 

 near the end which first enters the clay. This being done, the wire is 

 cut off to the required length by being rolled backwards and forwards 

 under the edge of a blunt knife. This process of cutting forms a pro- 

 jection on the poiut of the wire ; should this projection or head be too 

 small, it is enlarged in a similar manner to the formation of the head 

 of a small nail. This head is called a button, and is somewhat larger 

 than the thickest part of the wire. The notching of the wire is to form 

 receptacles to carry the oil and the air up the stem ; the button is to 

 enlarge the bore, so as to allow the wire to pass freely up the stem, 

 sufficiently oiling it so as to allow its withdrawal after the clay has 

 received a heavy pressure. It requires more skill than is seen at first 

 sight, to make a wire which can be thus withdrawn from the pipe in its 

 soft state, after being pressed, so as to prevent the pipe being elongated 

 beyond the length given to it by the mould, for in case the pipe were 

 stretched, its tension would be destroyed, and if it did not break at the 

 time, would be so weakened that it would be almost valueless. The roll 

 with the wire in it is now laid in one-half of the mould, which has been 

 well oiled ; the second half is then placed upon it and fixed by means 

 of pins which correspond in both halves, and is put into an iron press, 

 the superfluous clay being pressed out between the joints. To form the 

 bowl, a piece of iron of the required shape is suspended to a lever over 

 an aperture in the head of the mould, the lever is then pulled down- 

 wards, and the piece of iron, called a stopper, is forced into the lump of 

 clay left by the roller for this purpose. In thus hollowing out the bowl, 

 the waste clay forms a ring around the stopper, and enters a space left 

 for its reception ; tins waste in England is" usually cut off by the 

 motdder, but in France by the trimmer. In the writer's improved 

 method, the machine cuts off its own waste. The mould is now opened, 

 the pipe lifted out, the wire withdrawn and placed on a board to dry. 



We are thus brought to notice the next process, which is trimming. 

 When the pipe is sufficiently dry, the finisher or trimmer passes up 

 another wire through the stem into the bowl, to remove any particles of 

 clay, and to ensure a free current. While the pipe is thus stayed or 

 strengthened, the trimmer removes the surplus clay or seam left by the 

 mould with a grooved knife (this groove fitting the stem, as also another 

 groove fitting the head of the pipe). The pipe is now laid on a smooth 

 block of any hard suitable wood, when a steel burnisher is passed up 

 and down the stem, the trimmer balancing the burnisher in order to 

 keep a uniform pressure, at the same time turning the pipe, by which 

 means it obtains an even polish. This method of polishing the pipe 

 adds materially to its solidity and durability ; hence, one reason why 

 our pipes are stronger than those of other makers, especially of the 

 Continental manufacturers, who give a polish to their pipes with a small 



