J. BEYRE ON THE MANUFACTURE OF SPARKLING WINES. 329 



corks. They must be perfectly sound, and their elasticity such 

 that they can be compressed to the third part of their diameter 

 without breaking ; for, should the elasticity of the fibres be not 

 uniform, the bottle would not be closed hermetically, as the slight- 

 est difference in the cylindrical shape of the cork would cause the 

 gas to escape. The best method to avoid great changes in the 

 elasticity of the cork by the influence of the carbonic acid of the 

 wine is to boil them several times in a solution of tartaric acid, 

 and afterward expose them to steam under a certain pressure. 

 Corks are generally prepared in this manner, and with good re- 

 sults. Corks that have been used once can be used a second time 

 — though the iron of the wires and the influence of the wine has 

 deprived them, to a certain extent, of their elasticity — by treating 

 them with oxalic acid. From two to five kilogrammes of this 

 acid are dissolved in 100 litres of water, and the corks soaked in 

 it for about a fortnight, after which the whole mass is boiled, and 

 finally the corks well cleaned in fresh water. The regular size 

 of a cork for Champagne bottles is from fifty to fifty-five millime- 

 ters in height, with a diameter of thirty millimeters. 



Machines used for Corking the Bottles. 



The oldest machine of this kind bears the name of its invent- 

 or, " Leroy," and is represented in Fig. 25. The horizontal bar 

 O O is furnished with a tube of a conical shape, the opening of 

 which, in which the cork is placed, and a trifle larger than this, 

 has a steel funnel inserted in it, of which the left half is fastened 

 to the side of the tube, while the left one is loose, and connects 

 with a spring marked T V, the strength of which can be increased 

 at will by placing the bar a V under the hammer «, which is mov- 

 able. By pressing down the treadle Q, the cylinder F F, and the 

 arm, L G, of a bent lever — the other arm of which connects with 

 the horizontal piece L D — are moved, and by force of the square 

 band L the piece L D is pulled to the left, drawing out the end, 

 T, of the spring T V, and the movable piece of the funnel, which 

 presses the cork down to the lower end of the tube, and so closes 

 it. To prevent the retrograde motion, an iron wedge (which in 

 the drawing will be seen right above D) falls by its own weight 

 into the tube, and forces itself between the movable piece and the 

 upper part of the same. By releasing the treadle Q, the shaft C 

 C is pulled down, which again lowers the rammer A, under which, 

 and on the cap-like shaped stand H, which moves round a hori- 

 zontal axis, and rests on a powerful spring wound round the roll- 

 er S, the bottle is placed. By beating the rammer with a mallet, 

 the cork is driven into the bottle about 20 to 22 millimeters deep. 

 By pressing down the key-board, C, which connects with the 

 wedge, this is lifted to its former position, and releases the mov- 

 able piece of the funnel, which instantly is drawn back by the 

 spring T Y, so that the bottle can be easily removed. This ma- 



