"Of all the various branches of the subject of tobacco, that of the history of pipes is one of the most interesting, and one that deserves every attention that can possibly be given. Whether considered ethnographically, historically, geographically, or archaeologically, pipes present food for speculation and research of at least equal importance to any other set of objects that can be brought forward. Some branches of the subject have already been treated in these columns, and others, in what is intended shall follow, will hereafter be discussed. The present article will be devoted to 'Fairy Pipes' and the history of the earliest pipes of this country. Smoking is an old and venerable institution in this kingdom of ours, and dates far back beyond the introduction of tobacco to our shores. Long before Sir Walter Raleigh was thought of, there is reason to believe herbs and leaves of one kind or other--coltsfoot, yarrow, mouse-lax, sword-grass, dandelion, and other plants, and even dried cow-dung--were smoked for one ailment or other, and in some instances for relaxation and pleasure, and thus, no doubt, became habitually used. These are still, in some of our rural districts, smoked by people as cures for various ailments, and are considered not only highly efficacious but very pleasant. I have known these or other herbs smoked through a stick from which the pith had been removed, the bowl being formed of a lump of clay moulded by the fingers at the time, and baked in the household fire. [Illustration: Clay and reed pipes.] "The small branches of the elder tree, or sometimes the stem of the briar and bramble, are what I have seen used, but even the stem of the hemlock and keckse are sometimes brought into requisition for the purpose.