handles them deftly, holding them against the edge of another circular knife. Seemingly motionless, the only outward indication of the speed with which the keen blade is revolving is the delicate shaving which curls upward for an instant, only to be drawn away through pipes by powerful air-suction to the mill building a hundred yards distant, where all such waste is ground up, to be disposed of in the form of various by-products. Both “straights” and “tapers” next journey to the washing rooms. There dumped in great vats, thousands at a time, they are carefully washed and then dried by being whirled about dizzily in great revolving cylinders of wire net located in heated chambers. [Illustration: Blocking Department at Pittsburgh] [Illustration: Cork Insoles] [Illustration: Making Tapered Corks at Pittsburgh] [Illustration: Washers and Gaskets] [Illustration: A Glimpse of Another Department, Pittsburgh Factory] [Illustration: Cork Balls] Not all of the bark, however, that is destined to be turned into corks follows the course that has just been described; for certain varieties a different process of manufacture, approximating in many respects the original Spanish method, is found more practicable. The crude bark, after being sorted, is cut into strips on the slicing machines, the width as before depending on the length of the stopper to be made. To remove the rest of the hard back, or outer crust, much of which still remains despite the scraping before shipment to America, the pieces are then passed beneath a revolving knife which shaves off the rough, uneven portion. Free now from objectionable matter, the strips are cut into small rectangular blocks of the dimensions of the cork desired. In this process, just as in blocking, care must be taken to avoid defects in the bark, and at the same time to prevent waste. Passing to another department the rectangular pieces are rounded into proper shape. [Illustration: Sorting Tapered Corks at Pittsburgh Factory] [Illustration: Cork Polishing Wheels] In Spain, before the days of large cork factories employing labor saving machinery, and even to a great extent at the present time, all of these operations are carried out by hand. Whole families participate, slicing the bark into strips, then into squares, and finally cutting the corks from the square blocks slowly and laboriously. This hand method of manufacture is gradually disappearing as more and more machinery comes into general use. What are known as hand cut corks are stoppers which are not exactly round, but of a shape which might be appropriately described as a “square circle.” In the judgment of some, they are better suited for certain purposes than straights or tapers. [Illustration: Packing Department at Pittsburgh] [Illustration: Cork Paper] [Illustration: Putting Final Touches on Life-Preservers] [Illustration: Seine and Gill Corks]