The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1884-09-06
About Corkscrews.

| Inc CorkScreW IS q cOntrivanCo
to facilitate the removal of corks
from bottles. When cork protrudes
from the neck of the bottle far enough
to admit OF grasping it with the hand or
clinching it with the teeth, corkscrew
is unnecessary. But when cork is
flush with the bottles mouth, or,
through unskillful manipulation, has
become lodged down in the neck, a
corkscrew is not only a convenience.
but almost a necessity. The bottle may
be emptied of its liquid contents BY
crowding the cork down through the
neck with a penholder or any other
| suitable article that may be at hand,
but this method of opening bottle is
| generally rega 'ded as inelegant.
There are several kinds of corkscrews.
That which has been the longest in u.e
is the simplest. For several hundred
years it was the best, until genius
added an improvement which brought
it perfection. The primeval corkscrew
consisted of wire, pointed at one end,
twisted into spiral with about five turns
tempe ed so as TO give rigidity to it, and
provided with wooden handle like
that of gimlet. The spiral part of
the wire was about two inches long
after being twisted, the part left
straight was of about the same length,
and the wooden cross piece was
round, and about three inches in length
and half an finch in diameter, The
handle was made fast to the metal by
putting the wire through hole in the
wood and clinching 1t. The metal was
not FURNISHED, nor was the wood pol.
ished or painted, 1t is safe to say that
there never was q corkscrew jo1 which
could not have been &C omplished
with one of these primeval cvrkscrews.
The name of the inventor of tho
corkscrew has not been handed down
to these generations. He lived before
the days OF lette patent. 1t is held
by certain school of theorists that he
was no other than Archimedes. The
similarity of the corkscrew TO the spiral
of Archimedes is r=G theta. The or,x-
screw can not have constant equation,
for the pit h varies not only in different
screws, but in the different spirals of
the same screw. A cornscrew fash
Toned after the equation o. the spiral
of Archimedes, with important modifi-
cations, would be seryiceable; but there
seems to be no sufficient rea son for be-
lieving that Arehimedes invented the
corkscrew.
An important improvement in cork.
screws is mentioned in the foregoing.
In order to comprehend its value, the
practical use OF the ordinary corkscrew
must be understood. Ihs bottle is
grasred by the neck with the left hand,
the top of the cork is picked with the
point of the spiral, and about six or
or To kbn
screw. The body of the Lottle is then
gripped between the kne g, and q lift
ing force is applied to the c rkscrew
moyal of the cork is accompanied by a
sound which may be airly initiated by
putting the left forefinger in the mouth
with Its end against the inner surface
OF the right cheek, initiating the cheeks,
and then removing the finger by quick
push against the yielding right hand
corner of the mouth. His perfected
corkscrew has the blunt end of the wire
brought back through tho wooden
handle and twisted around the stem of
the corkscrew till IL comes down to the
top of the spiral, where it is wound into
a conc nitric coil. When the spiral has
sunk into the cork the blunt end of this
coil strikes against the cerk near its
periphery, and with the purchase thu,
obtained the cork is turned around in
the neck of thesbottle and withdrawn
far more gently than with the unim-
proved co.kscrew. A good article of
the perfected pattern may be Fought
for about fifteen cents in almost any
general store in the country. In cut
Iery establishment in the city the price
would not be over seventy-five cents.
There are other complications which
are intended to increase the usefulness,
+ the corkscrew or makest more con
veniently portable, A metallic contri-
vance shaped like the bow of Jews
harp, is substituted for the wooden
handle, and the stem of the spiral is
fastened between the ends of the bow
with pin in such manner that the i'm
plement may be shut up like pocket
knife. This pattern of portable cork
screw is adapted foe excursion or pic
MICS, where there may he bottles ofmilk
to be opened There is also q very elabor-
ae kind of corkserew sold in some OF
the drug stores and cutlery establish
ments. 1t is nickel plated and looks
as formidable as toy steam engine.
1t is so constructed that arter it has
been adjusted the engineer has only to
keep on twisting and The cork will be
hoisted high and dry. There are a few
rules regarding the use of the cork
screw which are generally observed by
the elite. The place for the corkse rev
is not by the side of the hostess's plate.
Champagne bottles are not opened
with a c0rkscrew. nor condensed milk
cans, nor cocoanuts. Any person who
has tried to take small cucumber pickles
from bottle with corkscrew will
ever afterward endeavorto have pickle
fork at hand, ii he does not 90 to the
extreme of having the pickles removed
from the original package before they
are brought to the table. 1t may be
set forth as general rule that any at
tempt to utilize the corkscrew for any
purpose other than the removal Of corks
Will result in embarrassment, and had
best not be tried except in privacy
~ Y Sun