Dec. 1, 1864.] THE TECHNOLOGIST. 



ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED- TO THE ARTS. 107 



all is now cut by hand. Considering the difficulty, with which we are all 

 acquainted, of cutting a clean surface to cork, it is surprising to see the 

 rapidity with which the workman turns out a perfect cork stopper from 

 the little square pieces furnished to him. The knife used for this pur- 

 pose has necessarily to he very sharp, as well as being very thin ; the 

 blade is broad, and when the edge has become dull, it is quickly sharpened 

 on a very fine-grained stone. The bench or tabe at which the workman 

 sits has a ledge round it, to prevent the corks falling off. On the Con- 

 tinent, a notch is made in the edge of the bench to place the back of the 

 knife in, to prevent it from slipping. Thus the edge is uppermost, and 

 the knife has to be guided slightly while the cork is pressed against the 

 edge, and so dexterously turned and rounded to the required form. All 

 the corks thus cut are thrown into a basket to be sorted, which is usually 

 done by women and boys. 



The great importance of cork as a commercial article has been the 

 cause of experiments being tried for its introduction into the Southern 

 States of North America. It is, however, some years since the American 

 Government tried this plan of naturalization, for which purpose large 

 quantities of the acorns were imported from the South of Europe. More 

 recently, we learn, from Sir W. J. Hooker's last Keport on the Royal 

 Gardens, Kew, that steps are now being taken by the Colonial Govern- 

 ment of South Australia to introduce the cork-tree, and a number of 

 young plants have been raised at Kew expressly for transmission to that 

 colony. 



We sincerely hope that these efforts to establish a tree furnishing so 

 useful a product as cork, in a colony where it would become a valuable 

 addition to its commerce — as well as adding to the supply, which, at the 

 present increasing rate of consumption, is much to be desired — may be 

 crowned with success. 



ON CHEMISTRY APPLIED TO THE ARTS. 



BY DR. F. CRACE CALVERT, F.R.S., F.C.S. 



A Course of Lectures delivered before the Members of the 

 Society of Arts. 



Lecture IV. 



Animal Fatty Matters: the Various Processes for liberating them from the 

 Tissues in which they are contained. Their Composition and Conversion into 

 Soap. Composite Candles. The Refining of Lard. Cod-liver, Sperm, and 

 other Oils. Spermaceti and Wax. 



It will be quite out of the question for me to enter upon a general 

 description of the properties and composition of fatty matters, as to do 



