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Show CUrtlOUO HONDURAS PIPES. HpaaUb and Aatae Implemanla llatatn lllilorle Dr.ls" and L'alor. this country many ot the odd Implements Imple-ments and curloa ot those lands. The Spanish population baa a large admixture admix-ture ot Aztec or other aboriginal blood, and preaerves many of the Implements as well as customs which prevailed In tho time ot the Mqntezumas, One of tho queerest survivals In this regard Is the long pipe which Is still employed In tho rural district of both republics. It Is made from a shrub or a sapling which grows aomowhat like tho elder. Tho bush la cut down und tho pith extracted ex-tracted from the stem, which Is afterward after-ward peeled, polished, dried and painted paint-ed with primary colors In barbaric stylo. The simplest form Is a straight stem from three to six feet In length, A more expensive kind Is made from n stem with two terminal branches. This demands much more cara In ex-trictlng ex-trictlng the pith, and enables the owner own-er to offer a friend a mouthpiece on ono branch while ha Is enjoying another an-other upon a second. Three-stemmed slicks are also made, and, very rarely, four-stemmed ones. These are kept as curios rather than aa useful articles, and are supposed to have been employed em-ployed upon especial occasions In tho days of tho Incas. Tho bowl la ot red mouthpiece may bo of bone, or horn or decorated silver nnd amber. The length of tho stem causes the tobacco smoke to cool appreciably In Its passage pas-sage from the bowl to Iho lips, and gives a taste almost as mild as that produced by the oriental narglle. The tobacco used with it Is ot rich red brown color, about Intermediate In flavor and appearance between Virginia Vir-ginia and Havana leaf. These pipes make very pretty ornamenta tor a mantel or for a wall, being much more pleaalng to the eye than the "church warden" familiar to all smokers. They are strong and durable, but, unless oiled oil-ed and varnished now and then, they are apt to split In a dry climate. Collectors Col-lectors make It a rule to oil them on the Inside once a year. |