456 



CORK. 



Uiat Rome could purcnase peace only by the surren- 

 der of the territory taken from the Volsci. A second 

 embassy was of no more avail ; and at length, the 

 priests and augurs having returned equally umiu < i ^ 

 ful, the terror of the inhabitants \\as extreme. Va- 

 leria, the sister of Valerius 1'ublicola, exhorted the 

 women to try the effect of their tears on the resolu- 

 tion of Coriolanus. She immediately went to the 

 house of Veturiii, his mother, wliom he highly ho- 

 noured, where slie also found Volumnia, his wife, and 

 besought both to go with the other women to make 

 a last experiment upon the heart of the conqueror. 

 The senate approved of this resolution, and the Ro- 

 man matrons, Veturia and Volumnia with her chil- 

 dren biking the lead, went towards the camp of Co- 

 riolanus, who, recognizing his mother, his wife, and 

 his children, ordered the lictors to lower their fasces, 

 and received them with tender embraces. He then 

 urged them to leave the treacherous city, and to 

 come to him. During this time, his mother never 

 ceased entreating him to grant his country an honour- 

 able peace, and assured him that he never should en- 

 ter the gates of Rome without passing over her dead 

 body. At length, yielding to her entreaties, he rais- 

 ed her from ttte ground, and confessed that she had 

 prevailed. He then withdrew his army from before 

 Rome, and as he was attempting to justify himself in 

 an assembly of the Volsci, was assassinated in a tu- 

 mult excited by Attius. The Roman senate caused 

 a temple to be built to female fortune upon the place 

 where Veturia had softened the anger of her son, 

 and made her the first priestess. 



CORK ; a county of Ireland, hi the province of 

 Munster, formerly a kingdom, bounded N. by the 

 coui.ty of Limerick, E. by the counties of Tipperary 

 and \\aterford, S.S.E. and S.W. by the sea, and W. 

 by the county of Kerry ; 99 English miles in length 

 and 71 in breadth. The land is generally good, and 

 no county in Ireland is better watered. The princi- 

 pal towns are Cork, Kinsale, Youghal, Mallow, Don- 

 neraile, and Bandon-briilge. Population stated, in 

 1811, at 523,936; by census, in 1821, 702,000; by 

 census, in 1831, 764,359. 



CORK ; a city of Ireland, capital of the county of 

 Cork, situated about 160 miles S.W. Dublin; Ion. 

 8 28' 15" W. ; lat. 5l 53' 54" N. It was originally 

 built on an island formed by the river Lee, but is 

 now greatly extended on the opposite banks of both 

 branches of the river. It is fifteen miles from the 

 sea, and its harbour or cove, eleven miles below the 

 town, is celebrated for its safety and capaciousness. 

 Its entrance, deep and narrow, is defended by a 

 strong fort on each side, and also strong fortifications 

 on two islands, called Spike and Howbowlin, whose 

 guns command the entrance. 



Cork is the second city hi Ireland, and exports 

 great quantities of salt provisions ; during the slaugh- 

 tering season, 100,000 head of cattle are prepared 

 In 1827, the gross receipt of importrduties amounted 

 to .229, 260. The contract for the annual supply of 

 naval stores for Great Britain is generally taken by 

 the merchants of this city ; butter also forms a great 

 object of export, the county of Kerry, which is al- 

 most wholly engaged in this species of agricultural 

 production, preferring this market and port. The 

 trade between Bristol and Cork is considerable, and 

 steam-packets ply regularly on this station ; whiskey 

 and porter are also exported in large quantities, 

 and the latter chiefly to the East and West In- 

 dies. Sail-cloth, coarse sheeting, coarse woollen, 

 paper, leather, and superior glass, are manufactur- 

 ed here. Perhaps the city fies too far from the 

 harbour ; but this inconvenience is partly remedied 

 by the river Lee, which is navigable up to the cus- 

 tom-house by vessels of 200 tons, and to Parliament 



bridge, by those of 150 tons. Beyond this, it a 

 crossed by several handsome bridges, the most ele- 

 gant of which is thrown across the river at the termi- 

 nation of the Mandyke walk ; it commands a magni- 

 ficent prospect up and down the channel of the Lee. 



The principal buildings are a stately cathedral, ex- 

 change, market house, custom-house, town-house, a 

 theatre, several hospitals and churches, large bar- 

 racks, &c. The Cork institution is an incorporated 

 scientific establishment, in which lectures are deliver- 

 ed on chemistry, agriculture, and botany. '1 he 

 houses of the city are generally old and not elegant. 

 It sends two members to parliament. Population, 

 106,000. 



CORK is the external bark of a species of oak 

 (quercus tuber) which grows in Spain, Portugal, and 

 other southern parts of Europe, and is distinguished 

 by the fungous texture of its bark, and the leaves 

 being evergreen, oblong, somewhat oval, downy un- 

 derneath, and waved. The principal supply of cork 

 is obtained from Catalonia in Spain. In the collect- 

 ing of cork, it is customary to slit it with a knife at 

 certain distances, in a perpendicular direction from 

 the top of the trees to the bottom ; and to make two 

 incisions across, one near the top, and the other near 

 the bottom, of the trunk. For the purpose of strip- 

 ping oft' the bark, a curved knife with a handle at 

 each end, is used. Sometimes it is stripped in pieces 

 the whole length, and sometimes in shorter pieces, 

 cross cuts being made at certain intervals. In some 

 instances, the perpendicular and transverse incisions 

 are made, and the cork is left upon the trees, until, 

 by the growth of the new bark beneath, it becomes 

 sufficiently loose to be removed by the hand. After 

 the pieces are detached, they are soaked in water, 

 and when nearly dry, are placed over a fire of coals, 

 which blackens their external surface. By the latter 

 operation, they are rendered smooth, and all the 

 smaller blemishes are thereby concealed ; the larger 

 holes and cracks are filled up by the introduction of 

 soot and dirt. They are next loaded with weights 

 to make them even, and subsequently are dried and 

 stacked, or packed in bales for exportation. 



The uses of cork were well known to the ancients, 

 and were nearly the same to which it is applied by 

 us. Its elasticity renders it peculiarly serviceable for 

 the stopping of vessels of different kinds, and thus 

 preventing either the liquids therein contained from 

 running out, or the external air from passing in. 

 The use of cork for stopping glass bottles is gene- 

 rally considered to have been introduced about the 

 fifteenth century. 



The practice of employing this substance for jack- 

 ets to assist in swimming is very ancient ; and it has 

 been applied in various ways towards the preserva- 

 tion of life when endangered by shipwreck. The 

 cork jacket, revived from an old German discovery 

 by Mr Dubourg, to preserve the lives of persons in 

 danger of drowning, is constructed as follows : 

 Pieces of cork about three inches long by two wide, 

 and the usual thickness of the bark, are enclosed be- 

 tween two pieces of strong cloth or canvass, and 

 formed like a jacket without sleeves ; the pieces of 

 cloth are sewed together round each piece of cork, 

 to keep them in their proper situations ; the lower 

 part of the jacket about the hips, is made like the 

 same part of women's stays, to give freedom to the 

 thighs in swimming ; it is made sufficiently large to 

 fit a stout man, and is secured to the body by two or 

 three strong straps sewed far back on each side, and 

 tied before ; the strings are thus placed to enable any 

 wearer to tighten it to his own convenience. 



The floats of nets used for fishing are frequently 

 made of cork. Pieces fastened together make buoys, 

 which, by floating on the surface of the water, afford 



