CORK.

347

COPPERAS. ( Couperose verte, Fr.; Eisenvitnol, Germ.) Sulphate of iron.

LORAL ( Corail, Fr.; Karaite , Germ.) is a calcareous substance, formed by aspecies of sea polypus, which constructs in concert immense ramified habitations, consist-teg of an assemblage of small cells, each the abode of an animal. The coral is thereforea real polypary, which resembles a tree stripped of its leaves. It has no roots, but a lootn °t Unlike a hemispherical scull-cap, which applies closely to every point of the surfaceupon which it stands, and is therefore difficult to detach. It merely serves as a basis orsupport to the coral, but contributes in no manner to its growth, like the root of an ordi-nai 7 tree; for detached pieces have been often found at the bottom of the sea in a stateW increase and reproduction. From the above base a stem usually single proceeds, whichseldom surpasses an inch in diameter, and from it a small number of branches ramify invory irregular directions, which are studded over with cells, each containing an insect,he polypi, when they extend their arms, feelers, or tenlacula, resemble flowers, whence,well as from the form of the coral, they were classed among vegetable productions,hey are now styled zoophites by the writers upon Natural History.

I he finest coral is found in the Mediterranean. It is fished for upon the coasts ofrovence, and constitutes a considerable branch of trade at Marseilles. The coral is at-ached to the submarine rocks, as a tree is by its roots, but the branches, instead ofstowing upwards, shoot downwards towards the bottom of the sea; a conformationav orable to breaking them oft' and bringing them up. For this kind of fishing, eightI en , who are excellent divers, equip a felucca or small boat, called commonly a coral-ne. They carry with them a large wooden cross, with strong, equal, and long arms,*®h hearing a stout bag-net. They attach a strong rope to the middle of the cross,j^.kt jt down horizontally into the sea, having loaded its centre with a weight sufficientlow' n k 'i'h 0 diver follows the cross, pushes one arm of it.after another into the hol-

Dul] S roc ^ s > so as to entangle the coral in the nets. Then his comrades in the boat

M up the cross and its accompaniments.

w v .°J a ‘ fishing is nearly as dangerous as pearl fishing, on account of the number of sharksno\v ^ re< I uent the seas where it is carried on. One would Ihink the diving-bell in itsvery practicable state might be employed with great advantage for both purposes.The | mos,1 . v °f a fiue red color, but occasionally it is flesh-colored, yellow, or white.Work*" t * S P re ^ errc fi f° r making necklaces, crosses, and other female ornaments. It isOORo-'P *‘' Ie Preekius stones. See Lapidary.oaij., (Liege , Fr.; Kork , Germ.) is the bark of the quercus liber, Linn., a species of

The which S r °ws abundantly in the southern provinces of France , Italy , and Spain ,

reipov h * 3 ta ^ en fiy making coronal incisions above and below the portions to bethe bat ’ vert * ca * incisions are then made from one of these circles to another, wherebyten e( j i* rna 5 r he easily detached. It is steeped in water to soften it, in order to be flat-Theeak P ressure under heavy stones, and next dried at afire which blackens its surface.

■pL es are bound up in bales and sent into the market,the la,. 6 a r e two sorts of cork, the white and the black ; the former grows in France andlighter f r In ®P a * n> The cakes of the white are usually more beautiful, more smooth,sid^ and 6617 ^" om h nots and cracks, of a finer grain, of a yellowish gray color on bothit form, fi cut . mo re smoothly than the black. When this cork is burned in close vesselsThis s h P'“ ment called Spanish black.

and geoe UbSt ^ nue * s em Pl°y e( i to fabricate not only bottle corks, but small architecturalThe co p St ' C mo fi e ' s > which are very convenient from their lightness and solidity.

Wards suh,r • ltters divide the boards of cork first into narrow fillets, which tlief afteror C ylindti«- V i 1< ^f * nt0 short parallelopipeds, and then round these into the proper conical

Workmen 1Ca * ^“P 6, The bench before which they work is a square table, where 4the corks p fe seat ed, one at every side, the table being furnished with a ledge to preventedged, r ° m idling over. The cork-cutter’s knife is abroad blade, very thin, and finethan ought n .""^ted from time to time upon a fine-grained dry whetstone. The work-■hjght cut h' t( i t* ra w his knife edge over the cork, for he would thus make misses, andwith his left "h 8 a * >ut rat h er the cork over the knife edge. He should seize the kniferoade to preve*? ' rest l h e hack of it upon the edge of the table, into one of the notchesttOes to one s d *' r ° m dipping, and merely turns its edge sometimes upright and some-hhger and his'th’ ^* len holding the squared piece of cork by its two ends, between hishhw smoothly c t'™' ) ’ Presents it in the direction of its length to the edge ; the cork is

cuts

_proper baskeV along-

-- off the two ends, when the cork is finudie Patnlonia,

8ld ^to he afterwards sorted by women or k°Y s * . . t)een imported from t- VrenC hOf late years a much thicker kind of cork bo 0 f c ork-cutting t

from Which longer and better corks may be made. Ia th ®. a " arin g the corks ofsurpass the English , as aay one may convince himself by floati

champagne bottles with those made in this country. ein „i 0 y e d for m a!u =>

Cork , on account of its buoyancy in water, is extens 1

a rounded form by being dexterously turned in the hand. He next