CORK. 



ncavy, it can be made into a g-oorl substi- 

 the pulleys and \\ eights of' the 

 Nbes of windows. 



C'OHK cutting, or the maufacturing of 

 corks. This business, though it is thought 

 one of the most dirty, is not one of the 

 least profitable ; it is likewise easy in the 

 acquirement. The cork, niter being" press- 

 ed into square pieces, is received by the 

 cork cutters, and if not sufficiently flat 

 for their purpose, they " lay" it again 

 over a fire in their " burning-yard," turn- 

 ing the convex part to the flame ; the heat, 

 by twisting the edges of the bark, coun- 

 teracts the natural bend, and compels it 

 to receive a flat form. During this ope- 

 ration, a considerable degree of attention 

 is paid to smoothing it, and particularly 

 again to cover its defects. It is next cut 

 into slips, nari-ow or wide, according to 

 the intended cork, bung, or tap, for such 

 are the names of tlie general divisons in 

 The use of the two former 

 1 known, (he latter is used for stop- 

 ping the tap-holes of barrels, as the name 

 implies. These slips are again cut into 

 squares, of a length proportioned to the 

 use tli- This opera- 



oerformed I) uiiom 



A further il.\ 



three diffen-nt sorts, accoi<' 

 lengths, and arc denominated "short," 

 " short long," and "full long." The cork- 

 maker places himself before the table or 

 plank, on which is fastened a boai. 

 three inches thick, four broad, and twelve 



'iiinediattly on a line with his left 

 hand is a piece of wood rising about four 



from the board, and fixed about the 

 middle of it, on wh;chthe cork is laid after 

 being cut as above. This wood not only 

 supports the cork, and is as a guide to the 

 workman, but by its elevation abovfc tbe 

 board gives room for the knife to cut apart 

 of the cork in a smooth and circular man- 



tliout striking on the table below. 

 The piece is then turned to where the last 

 rut ceased, and this is continued until the 

 knife has gone completely round ; tile top 

 and bottom are then pared level, and the 

 cork thrown into a box or basket with the 

 rest of the same length. As the hark is not 



^inequality th-oughout each praco^ 

 the corks we sorted by a boy into four 

 kinds, ." tine," " common," 



and " coarse," and are sold accordingly. 

 The only tool employed by the cork-cut- 

 ter is a knife about three inches broad in 

 the blade, and about six inches long, very 

 thin, and sharp, and equal in breadth from 



the handle nearly to the end, which is 

 finished by a gentle curve. This knit'e he 

 sharpens upon the board where the guard 

 is placed, by one whet or stroke on each 

 side, after every cut, and now and then 

 upon a common whetstone. 



From the foregoing review, it is evi- 

 dent that the art of a cork-cutter is prin- 

 cipally to obtain a regular, round, and 

 quick turn of the wrist, in guiding the 

 knife so as to complete a pretty correct 

 circle, and to make a smooth surface ; it 

 is on this account that the knife must be 

 particularly sharp, to enable the workman 

 to turn it with ease. Cork received into 



mach, in its crude state, is very de- 

 leterious : but after it has undergone ceT- 

 tain processes, it is used in medicine. It 

 contains a small quantity of very power- 

 ful acid, called suberic acid. This acid 

 may be obtained in a solid form, but is not 

 onstalii/ablc : it is either pulverulent 

 when it has been precipitated, or when 

 obtained by evaporation is in thin irregu- 

 lar pellicles. Its taste is slightly bittc r and 

 uc d : dissolved in a small quantity of 

 boiling water, it is irritating to the throat, 

 and excites coughing. It reddens the 

 \ijret.:Me colours, and it attracts a little 

 humidity from the air, especially when it 

 is not perfectly pure. Exposed to heat, it 

 is volatilized, and forms crystalline Makes 

 on the sidesof the vessel. Heated by the 

 p pe, it first liquifies, then becomes 



IK nt, and lastly is sublimed, exha- 

 . odour of sebacic acid. It becomes 

 brown from exposure to lifc-ht. At the tem- 

 perature of t, . an ounce of water dis- 

 soh es ten grains ofthe concrete acid, but 

 if it is very pure, not more than four 

 grains. Iio-!mg water dissohes half its 

 weight. It is not altered by oxyg- 

 The mineral, or the other v< ;; table acids, 

 have little action on it, and do not corn- 

 dissolve it, especially when it is 

 not quite pure. Alcohol devclopes in it 

 an aromatic odour. 



Suberic acid unhes easily with f he alka- 



I earths. Its salts are named sube- 



! he mineral acids in general preci- 

 pitate the suberic acid from the'.: 

 tions; and they are decomposed In solu- 

 tions of almost all the metallic salts. 

 Suberic acid has no action on platma, 

 il -hi, or nickle; but it forms salts with 



number of the other >' 

 : -,-d, these sa ; ;^ '.o not en stallue, 



and they ha\ea leiuk ncy to form with an 

 SBMB of acid. Its ac ion on some metal- 

 lic solutions give some appearances wh.ch 

 may serve to distinguish it. It decom- 



