Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-03-19
MANUFACTURING CORKS.
FACTS ABOUT A USEFUL BUT NEG
 LECTED LITTLE ARTICLE.

The Raw Material Comes from spain
 Dame Nature Kind to the Trees-Th<
 Machinery Used in Reducing the Barl
 to ''Stoppers' and How It Works
 Just at the present time a business
 which makes about as little as any busi
 ness can well make and keep itself from
 swamping is the making of corks.
 Chicago can boast of but two such es.
 adjustments, and at first glance there
 seems literally no reason at all why it
 should not be most lucrative business, | There IS ever steady demand fo1
 corks; the employees are kept busy almost
 continually and receive tolerably fai1
 wages; each of the Chicago houses has a good trade, both wholesale and retail. yet they make no money.
 Some time ago the cork manufacturers formed league under which they bound themselves to certain things. For a time all went well, but soon it was dis covered that several were not fulfilling 1 their agreement and the entire thing
 was, to put it mildly, ''busted.' | At present, therefore, they are pro- ceeding on the 'go as you please" plan, and each one is heartily sick of it. Ob- | stinacy and the hope of better things in the future are all that prevent many of them from selling out
 What would champagne be without the cork, and yet when it leaves its sanc- tum in the mouth of the bottle, with its soul inspiring ''pop," so much anxiety is felt to get at what is beyond it that no thought whatever is given to the insig- niicant cork; yet had it the gift of speech of what wonderful thirs-s it could tell.
 THE BARK AND ITS COST. Every piece of cork which enters this city has been brought all the way from sunny Spain. In the climate of no other country will the cork tree, whence it all comes, thrive as under the blue skies of Span. Large quantities are shipped every year from Madrid, Lisbon, and one or two other cities, one of the Chi cago houses alone using nearly 6,OOO bales last year.
 The entire bark is stripped from the tree trunk, leaving it naked and bare but Dame Nature is kind, and soon a new covering begins to appear, of which it is again deprived by man, rapacious of gain, Seldom Is the bark of much more than an inch in thickness, for the good reason that 1t Is usually taken off ere it has time to grow thicker. However, the tree can- not live and be robbed of it's bark oftener than once in six years.
 The bark is broken or cut into pieces averaging a foot or more in length and various widths, pressed out flat. and packed in bales. These are transported to some seaport town, slowed away in vessels, and carried to New York. The average cost of bale upon landing runs from SIS to $50 or S60, depending, of course, upon the quality of the material
 Some of the bark is exceedingly porous. with streaks and holes running through it, which does not bring the price, natur ally, which is paid for that which is en- trely free from blemish. The last men, toned Is called "velvet cork" and used only in bottles filled with the finest wines. Such self willed substance as cham pagne otherwise might make it's way through the cork.
 Upon reaching the factory the bales are unpacked, and piece by piece soaked for short time-not more than ten or twenty mlnutes-in a vat filled with boiling water, after which the cork is softer and much easier to handle.
 A cutter takes the pieces, places them within reach of rapidly revolving wheel, with an edge so sharp that it is best to keep ones fingers at safe dis tance. The bark is cut by this wheel into strips, the width of the diameter of the required cork. The strips are then placed i'll front of a cylindrical 1nstru- ment, which moves back and forth at the will Of the m; nipulator, and punches out the corks, much after the same fashion that our grandmothers punched out those good old fashioned cookies, which were the delight of our childhood.
 The next machine with which the cork comes into close contact is a most con- plex one. A cup like receptacle is ex- tended, the operative, in the case spoken of, young girl, quickly places therein the cork; it is withdrawn, held against a horizontal, sharp and rapidly revolv- ing wheel ill such a manner that the out side Is pared off with that peculiar soft crunching sound that cork makes, leav- ing one end reduced in size and the whole cut in a uniform shape.
 The waste material and finished cork l are then dropped by the machine into receptacles placed to receive them and 1 the cup extended for yet another cork.
 The whole thing is done in the twink ling of an eye; almost before you see tho cork in place it is trimmed, dropped, and the machine is ready for another.
 The operator sits in low seat beside l the machine, and as she feeds it per forms with head and body a peculiar l weaving motion back and forth, al- though she herself is evidently uncon- scious of it.
 Everything in this country is done by but the reporter was shown some beautiful carving from cork done by hand by foreign workmen. A small | cottage was complete even to the shingles on the roof and the palings of the fence. A linked chain, which had been over yard long and all made of one piece of bark, was also quite curi- osity, as were the neatest of wine glasses and several other small articles l