EDITORIAL. 
are little, if any, better than musk root. With the clearing of so much 
of our valuable timber country for agricultural purposes, many of our 
most valuable timbers have almost disappeared, and there is certainly 
a very great shortage of them. Tulip wood, apart from any other con- 
sideration, would appear to have been ruled out because it is not now 
available in any large quantities. 
ESSENTIAL QUALITIES OF PIPE WOOD. 
The principal essentials for the manufacture of tobacco pipes are 
woods of sufficiently long and firm fibre, and of even colour, that can 
be thoroughly seasoned, and that do not contain an extra amount of 
cellulose material, thus becoming liable to burn. There is a widespread 
and general misconception that the imported pipes known as briars are 
made from the root of the English sweet briar (Rosa rubiginosa). As 
a matter of fact, they are generally made from the sweet heath (Hrica 
arborea), and a native of Spain, Corsica, and parts of Africa. “ Briar” 
in this connexion is, therefore, an English corruption of the French 
word “ Bruyere.” The sweet heath is a dense, heavy, and non-cleavable 
wood, and combustible with difficulty on account of the light content of 
silica. The shortage has led to all kinds of expedients, and in America 
the beech and the elm are being largely used for pipe making. Great 
numbers of pipes from these woods have already been sent to Australia, 
but they are not considered to be very satisfactory owing tc the essential 
oils which they contain. Japan is also giving its attention to the manu- 
facture of pipes, and there seems to be a general opinion on the part 
of the manufacturer that almost any sort of timber is suitable. The 
smoker, however, has other ideas on the subject. In his work on Aus- 
tralian hardwoods, Mr. R. T. Baker refers to the combustibility of 
certain pipe woods, and very many timbers are described and illus- 
trated. The question of their seasoning and the colouring matter which 
they contain is already referred to; but, as Mr. Baker points out, very 
little is known of the chemical nature of the colouring matters. Mr. 
Baker’s work may serve as-a guide to those who are interesting them- 
selves in pipe making in Australia; but, owing to the small amount of 
information available, it can only be accepted as a guide. The table 
of combustibilities, however, should be of special interest. Several of 
the highly resistant woods may become available for pipe making, as, in 
addition to.combustibility, they work well and take a good polish. Such 
are ], Fletchert (box), Q. casuarina (oak), H. ovalifolia (red box), 
Cas. cambagei (belah), HW. dealbata, and EH. eugenioides (stringybark). 
~ 
FEEDING VALUE OF PRICKLY PEAR. 
From time to time the merits of prickly pear as a feeding stuff for 
live stock are energetically urged, but investigations carried out in 
Australia—actual experiments with cattle and analyses of the pear— 
have so far failed to demonstrate the possession of any substantial food 
value. As a last resource, the pear is sometimes fed to cattle; and if 
the stock have not been allowed to decline into too poor condition, useful 
results, more particularly when the pear is combined with other fodders, 
have been obtained. Lately, there has been a revival of these claims 
on behalf of am American company. At the request of the Institute, 
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