Am'oc0t?,ri89i!arm'}      Opium  Smoking  by  the  Chinese.  499 
extent  in  the  United  States.  A  tax  of  $10  per  pound  is  levied 
under  our  internal  revenue  laws  upon  opium  for  smoking  manufac- 
tured in  this  country.  No  one  who  is  not  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  is  permitted  to  engage  in  its  manufacture,  and  bonds  must 
be  given  in  the  usual  manner. 
Opium  Refuse  Mass. — The  scrapings  from  the  opium  pipes,  which 
are  always  carefully  preserved,  are  reboiled  here  by  the  Chinese, 
however,  with  an  admixture  of  fresh  opium,  and  sold  under  the 
name  of  i  in,  or  number  two  opium. 
This  is  also  known  as  in  ski  ko,  or  "  opium  refuse  mass,"  and  is 
put  up  in  regular  cans,  which  are  sold  at  from  $2  to  $5  per  can. 
That  made  in  California,  which  is  called  "  California  opium,"  com- 
mands the  highest  price. .  It  is  much  weaker  than  No.  1  opium, 
and  more  of  it  has  to  be  smoked  to  produce  the  same  effect. 
According  to  Dr.  H.  H.  Kane,  it  produces  serious  physical  ills  that 
do  not  obtain  after  the  use  of  No.  1  opium. 
The  Pipes. — The  Chinese  shops  sell  everything  required  by 
smokers.  The  bamboo  pipe-stems  cost  from  $1  to  381.25  and 
upwards,  according  to  their  thickness  ;  the  pewter  socket  to  which 
the  bowl  and  stem  are  united,  25  cents,  and  the  bowls,  about  50 
cents  apiece.  Bowls  that  have  been  used  and  well  saturated  with 
opium  are  highly  prized  by  their  owners,  and,  with  the  bamboo 
stems  that  have  been  long  in  use,  command  very  high  prices.  Old 
pipes  are  frequently  seen  offered  for  sale  in  the  shops  at  $10  and 
upwards.  The  bowls  usually-display  great  beauty  of  workmanship. 
They  are  uniformly  of  graceful  proportions,  and  are  often  decorated 
with  incised  Chinese  characters.  One  of  their  most  ingenious  forms 
is  that  of  a  crab  of  iron  gray  material  resembling  slag,  that  has 
movable  projecting  eyes.  Plain  bowls  are  ordinarily  used.  Stands 
for  pipe  bowls,  of  which  it  is  customary  for  smokers  to  have  several, 
are  made  of  dark  colored  wood,  with  panels  of  artificially  colored 
marble  inserted.  They  cost  about  75  cents.  Opium  lamps  of 
glass,  said  to  be  made  in  Birmingham,  are  imported  from  China  and 
cost  75  cents  to  $1.  Brass  lamps  for  travellers  cost  $1.50.  Small 
cylindrical  boxes  of  buffalo  horn,  for  carrying  opium  in  the  pocket, 
cost  from  25  cents  to  $1,  and  are  often  beautifully  decorated  with 
inscriptions  in  gold  and  silver.  Needles,  on  which  the  opium  is 
cooked  in  the  lamp  flame,  scissors  for  the  lamp  wick,  and  cleaners 
and  scrapers  for  the  pipe  constitute,  with  the  above,  the  usual  outfit. 
