/ 
The JYcitiiralists’ Companion. Jf5 
a Jap, who made a rude effort to imi¬ 
tate its natural form of a ciystal, but 
got eiglit sides instead of six. The 
crystal is of clearest water, about four 
inches long and two in diameter. It 
seems to be perfectly clear and pure, 
but a very rigid examination discloses 
that instead of being perfectly pure, it 
is completely filled with asbestos need¬ 
les; there is not a quarter of an inch 
of pure quartz. The asbestos fibers 
are so transparent and fine that it is 
only in a certain direction they are 
visible. The^^ reflect light at almost 
the same angles as that of the quartz, 
and are thus rendered nearly invisible. 
In examining for the fibers, if one is 
a close observer, another quite wonder¬ 
ful thing will be discovered. There 
are in the crystal eleven perfect phan¬ 
tom terminations, and at the top seven 
more are close together. Taken as a 
whole, the crystal offers quite a study. 
I have recentl}’" received from North 
Carolina two quartz ciystals to dispose 
of for twenty-five dollars. They are 
of a veiy clear, smoky color, almost of 
a wine color. They weigh about 
eight pounds each, and contain hardly 
a flaw. Large crystals are generally 
cloud}^ at the base, but these are of a 
uniform clear tint throughout. 
There are many more varieties than 
those above described, in fact I have 
one rose-tiuted crysfal in mind that 
cannot be described so as to present 
its beautiful appearance in a manner 
that would be readil}^ understood by 
an^’one. I shall endeavor to describe 
a very beautiful Japanese mineral in 
mj^ next paper. 
By a Japanese process seaweeds are 
-made into paper so transparent that it 
may be substituted for window glass. 
Interesting Facfis About Mound 
Pipes. 
BY E. A. BARBEE, A. M., PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
From some of the oldest artificial 
mounds in the United States a consider¬ 
able number of tobacco-pipes, of a pe¬ 
culiar type, have been exhumed; con¬ 
sequently this form of pipe is believed 
to be the earliest made by the inhabi¬ 
tants of America. The general form 
is a broad, flat platform, slightly curv¬ 
ed downwards, with a bowl rising from 
the centre. This st3de of pipe is com¬ 
plete in itself and does not require an 
additional stem, one end of the base 
serving for a handle and the other for 
a mouthpiece. These pipes occur with 
plain, spool-shaped bowls or are elabor¬ 
ately^ carved in imitation of birds and 
animals. 
Nearly forty years ago the first dis- 
coveiy of such pipes was made near 
Chiilicothe, Ohio, by Messrs. Squier 
and Davis, during their exploration 
and surveys of ancient mounds in that 
State. From one earthwork they^ took 
nearly two hundred pipes, which are 
now deposited in the Blackmore 
Museum, at Salisbury, England. One 
of these, which is here figured (from 
Dr. Ban’s ‘^Arclueological Collection of 
the U. S. National Museum”), is prob¬ 
ably the finest example in existence. 
The bowel represents a Jiuman head 
and is most beautifully- carved. 
