The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-22

(Ork was not USED Tor stopping DobtleS
until The end of the seventeenth century,
though Horace speaks of the ancient
Romans using it as stopper for their
wine vessels.
All the corzwood imported into
America comes from spain and Portugal.
There are cork groves in South America,
but they have not been under culture as
long as the European Ones and the wood
is consequently coarse and Inferior in
quality. Algiers has ine corkwood, but
the cost of transporting is such tre-
mendous distance renders it practically
unavailable for the American market.
The climate of the United States is per-
fectly adapted to the growth of corkwood,
and large plantations have been started
in Florida and California, but a tree at
tains the age of twenty years before the
first cutting takes place, and then the
yield is rough, uneven, and course in text
ure and called virgin cork" IL can be
used only for rustic work, or as q tanning
substance. AT the second stripping of the
trees the bark is still so coarse as to be
only fit for making floats for making nets,
etc. AS the operation of stripping the
trees occurs only once in every ten years
il will probably be at least forty years
before the American cork groves are Of
any practical use. t..k
HOW CoRKwooD rs GROWN,
In the meantime the United States will
have TO depend on the cork groves OF
Spain and Portugal Cork is brought from
Spain by vessels which return laden with
grain, and thus diminish the price of
transportation. The corkwood is put up
in bales weighing from $50 pounds to 100
pounds. The pieces are cut varying from
half inch to two and half inches in
thickness. The stripping of the trees
takes place in July and August. Two
cuts are made around the stem. onea little
above the ground, and lae other immedi-
ately under the spring OF the main
branches. Then four longitudinal in
cisions are made, the utmost care being
taken not to inJure the inner bark
The cork is afterward moved in the
sections into which it is cut by inserting
under it the wedge shaped handles of the
instrument used in making the missions.
After the outer surface has been scraped
and cleaned the pieces are hattened by
heating them over a fire, and submitting
them to pressure on nat surface. In
the heating operation the surface is
charred and this closes up the pores, and
what is called nerve" is given to the
wood.
The quality of the corkwood improves
with each successive stripping, and they
live and thrive under the operation for
about $50 years. The tree reaches an
average hight of about thirty feet
Mr. j. A Eagle of the Excelsior Cork
Cutting Company, owns carving in cork
wood representing Hawarden castle,
Gladstone's residence. 1t is beautifully
done and is work that required infinite
labor and patience.
In a cork factory the first work that is
done is asserting the wood according TO
the diameter; the wood is then taken to
the boring machine, where the instru-
ment which bores the corkS revolves 100
times within second. The cutting OF
corks by machinery has been found to be
a matter of much difficulty, owing to the
cutting edges becoming blunt and the ne
cessity of keeping them sharp. A great
deal Of the work is still done by hand la
Dor. but a Scotch firm introduced a ma
chine which cuts corks and bunys of any
diameter up to 81 inches, either parallel
or tapered and by the aid Of which
man can turn of six gross OF corks per
hour.
THE WAY coRKs ARE TAPERED.
The tapering machine is often run by
little girls, as it is very easily managed
A small spring forces the corks up under
a circular knife, which runs on a level,
then drops them into basket below.
The girls are employed TO feed the ma,
D L
five gross of corks IAN be tapered.
They are then carried TO the sorting
ben hes'' and graded as TO quality. The
best quality are used for prescription
torks.D A great deal Of judgment is re-
uuired for sorting" and girls are not
generally put at this work until they have
had five years training at the taperihg
machines The corks are next put up in
five gross packages for the trade, and
IN a
The bags that the corks are put up in are
generally made in the factory by the
girls. muslin and burlap being bought by
the case and bale tor that purpose The
bags vary in size from four inches to four
feet square.
.Fhei largest cork factory in the United
States is in Pittsburg the next largest
in size is in Lancaster, Pa. The Excel
sior Cork Cutting Company, and the Nc
large concerns; the former ships 10 Cleve-
land. Seattle, Winnipeg and other dis
tant cites.
MIR. kedlich of the Redlich company
has a fine Italian landscape carved in
cork by his son. These cork carvings
are very costly, and represent much time
and skill The Armstrong company Of
Pittsburg paid Gj0O for cork-carving
which they exhibited at the worlds
far.
A form fthe cork industry more preva-
lent in England than in America is the
making or cork ma for bathroom toors.
A scotch firm carries on a large business
in this manufacture.
In the McCready factory on Illinois
street, from 4. 900 TO 500 gross a day are
turned out. In the sorting and in feeding
the II achines they employ girls almost
entirely. Forty men are at work in this
factory, fifteen boys and fifty-tive girls.
no CORK soLEs MANUFACTURED AT CHI
CAGo.
Chicago has no factories for the manu-.
ia ture Of cork soles, life preservers, or
cork lie belts. These articles are all
manufactured in the eastern states and
shipped to Chicago. Admiral Ryder's
life saving hammock consists OF q cork
mattress rolled In a hammock which
forms life buoy capable Of supporting
three men In an upright position Corr
are said 10 be cheaper and
more comfortable than those stuLed with
hair.
Cork clippings are chiefly used 10 assist
IN the manufacture Of linoelm, 80 imita-
ton Of oil cloth. All rorks. except pickle,
mustard and sauce ,orks, are cut acr0ss
the grain OF the wood 30 as % avoid the
pores being exposed 10 the afr. Large
af0.H UHrlrIaa fuuafurrN afs