If he could but make his corks the sizes most in demand, ship them and thereby do a business that would clearly figure up the year’s work, and perhaps keep a surplus on hand for unexpected orders. But this he cannot do, for almost every cork he cuts there is enough waste material to make three or four smaller sizes, and this he fain would discard if it were not for the possible profit there is in it; and consequently in almost every cork factory will be found a large surplus stock of all sizes, and the owner anxiously hoping that some one will take them off his hands. [35] The metric quintal is used officially in Spain, which is equal to 220.36 pounds, the Catalon quintal equaling 91.71 pounds. The stoppers which come from these machines are round with parallel sides. If tapered corks are desired, larger at the upper end than at the lower, the cylindrical or straight pieces must be passed through another machine which 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 being a delicate shaving which curls upward for an instant, and then is drawn away by air suction to the waste bin, where this material is all collected and used in various, useful ways as will be shown later. In cutting the corks, although care is exercised, many will be imperfect and defective, and in order to utilize them they are cut into smaller sizes by men who sit at low tables and deftly handle the sharp-edged knife, which with one stroke reduces the cork to the size that it can fill, using a scale which is apparently standard with all cork dealers. The general standard of corks or stoppers, known as the United States standard, is as follows: SCALE OF DIAMETER OF STOPPERS _United States Standard, showing Diameter at Large End_ No. 0 3/8 inch No. 1 7/8 inch. “ 2 1/2 “ “ 3 9/16 “ “ 4 5/8 “ “ 5 11/16 “ “ 6 3/4 “ “ 7 13/16 “ “ 8 7/8 “ “ 9 15/16 “ “ 10 1 “ “ 11 1-1/16 “ “ 12 1-1/8 “ “ 13 1-3/16 “ “ 14 1-1/4 “ “ 15 1-5/16 “ “ 16 1-3/8 “ “ 17 1-7/16 “ “ 18 1-1/2 “ “ 19 1-9/16 “ “ 20 1-5/8 “ “ 24 1-7/8 “ “ 22 1-3/4 “ “ 26 2 “ Length is generally designated as short, regular, extra long, and the shape as tapered, or straight. This classification of necessity applies to the trade and gives a size for almost any character of work there is, though another general classification that is used principally abroad, is as follows:— Thick corks having more than 31 millimeters[36] in diameter. Ordinary or commercial, from 25 to 31 millimeters. Bastard corks, from 23 to 25 millimeters. Thin corks, having less than 23 millimeters.