330 GRAPE CULTURE AND WINE-MAKING. 



chine works very quick, but, owing to tlie conical sliape of the 

 tube, the cork is not always placed quite straight into the bottles, 

 and so often is the cause of the escaping of a part of the gas. 



To avoid this, Mr. Maurice constructed another machine, which 

 is represented in Fig. 26, by which the cork is pressed through a 

 cylindrical tube composed of three or four iron plates. The first 

 plate is movable, and forms one of the sides of the machine, E E. 

 The second piece is governed by the eccentric wheel P P, which 

 is fastened to the axis F, and moves also the third plate by means 

 of a side piece in the shape of an inclining plane attached to the 

 wheel. By pressing the handle G down to E, the three plates ap- 

 proach each other and compress the cork, while by means of a 

 treadle like that of the machine Leroy {Fig. 25) the cylinder B B 

 is lifted up and the cork driven under the rammer. The balance 

 of the bottling process is the same as described in the foregoing 

 account of the machine of Leroy. As the sharp edges of the iron 

 plates are apt to cut the cork, it is best to have them rounded a 

 little. Lately Mr. Maurice has altered this machine considerably, 

 and the improvements are such that the cork can be driven into 

 the bottle by the same force which serves to fasten the wire over it. 



Fastening the Strings. 



The bottle is placed in a cylinder of leather, which is fastened 

 to a trivet attached to a stool on which the workman sits (see Fig. 

 27), who, holding the bottle between his knees, places the first 

 noose (represented in Fig. 28) over the cork, which is quickly 

 drawn together by pulling at both ends, marked a and i, the latter 

 of which connects with the ball of twine in the box of the trivet. 

 The second noose is like the first, the only difference being in the 

 turns of the loop between a and Z^, of which it contains one less. 

 A good workman in the Champagne district can fasten in this 

 manner from 1000 to 1200 bottles in one day. Before the cord 

 is used, it is necessary to dip the same into linseed oil, to protect 

 it against the dampness of the cellars, which causes the strings to 

 rot, otherwise, in a very short time. 



Fastening the Wire. 



The wire, which must be of the best quality, is brought into the 

 market in pieces already prepared for the purpose (see Fig. 29). 

 The workman who puts on the wire sits on a similar stool like 

 that one represented in Fig. 27, except that the cyhnder in which 

 the bottle is placed is a wooden one. The open ends, h, are placed 

 around the neck of the bottle, and by pulling the wire over the 

 cork, both ends, a and h, are united and twisted by means of a 

 pair of shears {Fig. 30), the points of which serve to cut off the 

 rest of the wire. 



As it takes from two to three years before the wine is fit for 

 the market, and as the strings are apt to rot, Mr. Maurice has pre- 



