Pipeclay

Pipe-clay, a fairly pure white clay (q.v.), free from iron and alkalies, so that it does not fuse into a glass. It, however, contracts so in baking as to be useless for pottery. It occurs in the Middle Eocene or Bournemouth Beds of Alum Bay, Studland, Corfe, and Bovey Tracey (Devon), and often contains numerous well-preserved fossil leaves. It seems to have been formed from the decomposition of some felspathic rock, and to have been deposited in old lake-basins. Used in making tobacco pipes and in cleaning military accoutrements.