CORKING.—Little can be said with regard to the corking of bottles, beyond stating the fact that cheap bad corks are always dear; the best corks are soft, velvety, and free from large pores; if squeezed they become more elastic and fit more closely. If good corks are used of sufficiently large size to be extracted without the corkscrew, they may be employed many times in succession, especially if they are soaked in boiling water after, which restores them to their original shape, and renews their elasticity. [Illustration: _Fig. 1._] TYING DOWN.—The operation of tying down corks merits a longer notice, as without it many effervescent wines and liquids could not be preserved. The most common mode of fastening down corks, is with the ginger beer knot, which is thus made:—First the loop is formed as in Fig. 1, then that part of the string which passes across the loop is placed on the top of the cork, and the loop itself passed down around the neck of the bottle, and by pulling the ends of the cord is made tight beneath the rim; the ends of the string are finally brought up, and tied either in a double knot, or in a bow on the top of the cork. When ginger beer is made at home it will be found most advantageous to use the best corks, and to tie them down with a bow, when both corks and strings may be made use of repeatedly. [Illustration: _Fig. 2._] [Illustration: _Fig. 3._] For effervescent wines, such as champagne, gooseberry, &c., which require to be kept a longer time, and are more valuable, a securer knot is desirable, which may be made thus:—A loop as in _Fig. 2_ is first formed, and the lower end is then turned upwards and carried behind the loop, as shown at _Fig. 3_; it is then pulled through the loop as in _Fig. 4_, and in this state is put over the neck of the bottle; the part a being on one side, and the two parts of the loop on the other; on pulling the two ends the whole becomes tight round the neck, and the ends, which should be quite opposite, are to be brought up over the cork, twice twisted, as in _Fig. 5_, and then tied in a single knot. [Illustration: _Fig. 4._] [Illustration: _Fig. 5._] STOPPERING.—The stoppering of bottles is an operation usually performed by the makers; it may, however, be useful to know that badly fitting stoppers may be readily fitted by re-grinding; this is done by dipping the stopper in a mixture of fine sand, or still better, emery and water, replacing it, and turning it backwards and forwards with a slight pressure; fresh sand must be applied from time to time. When the fitting is exact, so that the stopper turns freely without shaking, the whole may be finished off by using a little fine emery and oil.