Another form of imitation is made of a hardened plaster of Paris highly polished and tinted in a solution of gamboge and dragon's blood, being afterwards treated with paraffin or stearic acid. All cheaper grades of meerschaum pipes, holders, etc., are made of this or similar compounds and it is very hard for the average smoker to distinguish them as the ordinary tests will not suffice. The absorption and coloring qualities are about the same. Such imitations cost about half as much as the genuine article or even sometimes less. It should be added that the chips and dust resulting from the working of the genuine meerschaum are bonded together with a solution and moulded and this is also sold as meerschaum. The number of genuine meerschaum pipes annually manufactured is probably much less than one-half a million, while there are probably three or four times as many imitations. BRIAR ROOT As we have seen briar root is found to be the most suitable wood for pipe smoking. The word briar is not named from wild briar. The word is a corruption of the French name La Bruyère, meaning the heather shrub of that name which grows along the Mediterranean coast of France, Spain and neighboring countries. It is the root of this shrub which is the substance used. The shrub is especially cultured for the purpose of pipe making; but the area in which the best briar root grows is very limited. It takes considerable time and the result is that the supply of the most suitable wood is far below the demand. The cultivation of the briar root is a simple matter. It consists merely in pruning the growth as much as possible so as to encourage and strengthen the roots. The very best qualities of briar root come from Corsica and the neighborhood of Leghorn. It is very finely grained, hard and tough, does not char and heats slowly. When full grown and ready for the market the wood is rough sawn into blocks, varying in size from 3 inches square up, according to the market sizes required, and allowed to season. When fully seasoned the blocks are packed in boxes each containing from 200 to 300 of these blocks. They are then sent to the dealers or direct to the pipe factories as the case may be.