The materials used for pipes differ in various countries. Pipes are made of clay, porcelain, wood, metal, glass, ivory, horn, cane, bamboo, stone, etc. There is no known material which in the opinion of smokers equals genuine meerschaum as a material for pipes. This is on account of its lightness, its coolness, its absorbing qualities and its capabilities of high polish and assumption of a beautiful color when used from soaking the essential oils of the tobacco. Its friability, however, renders it more suitable for use as a home pipe than for a work-a-day pipe. For the work-a-day and knock-about pipe the wooden pipe with short stem is without a rival. The qualities which are essential for a wooden pipe are many and it is difficult if not impossible to get any material that will answer all of them. The wood for such a pipe must be hard and practically incombustible, yet light. It must be sapless and inodorous so that when heated the fragrance of the tobacco would not be mingled with that of the wood and be lost. In addition it must be a good absorber, cool and have beauty of grain and be susceptible of a high polish and must not be brittle. The wood known as briar root possesses these qualities to a greater extent than any other wood known. It will be described in more detail later. Myall, a native Austrian wood of a very dark color, hard and of good grain has many excellent qualities for pipes, but is brittle. Maple, juniper and cherry and several other woods are used to a limited extent. MEERSCHAUM Meerschaum is a light, porous, clayey substance composed of magnesium, oxygen and silicon. It is chemically described as a hydrated silicate of magnesia and its chemical formula is MgSi{2}O{4} + 2H{2}O. The word _meerschaum_ is composed of two German words, i. e., Meer, the sea; and Schaum, foam, and literally means "the foam of the sea." A popular belief being that the substance was petrified sea foam.