THE 18TH, 1835. PRICE ONE PENNY. UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION. APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. CORK, AND THE CORK TREE. THAT most useful substance called Cork, is the thick, spongy, external bark, of a species of oak, the Quercus suber. The tree, of which there are two varieties, namely, the broad-leaved, and the narrow-leaved, grows to the height of upwards of thirty feet, and is a native of some of the southern parts of France, of Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Barbary; it bears a strong resemblance to the evergreen oak, (Quercus ilex,) and attains to a great age. When arrived at a certain state of maturity, it sheds its bark naturally, but the quality of the bark so separated is inferior to that which is obtained by removing it at a proper period. The true cork is the produce of the broadVOL. VII. leaved tree, and the chief supply of it is obtained from Catalonia in Spain. The bark of the Cork-tree, which is an evergreen, is rough and spongy on the trunk and main branches, smooth and gray on the smaller branches, and white and downy on the young shoots. The leaves are of a bright colour, oval-shaped, with indented edges; they are smooth on the upper, and downy on the under side. They grow alternately on the branches, on very rough, though strong footstalks; and, indeed, they differ very little from many forms of the ilex. The acorns of the Cork-tree are longish, smooth, and brown when ripe, and of the size and shape of some of our common acorns, to which they are so much alike, as when mixed together, not to be distinguishable. The Narrow-leaved Cork-tree is only a variety of the common sort. The best cork of commerce is taken from the oldest trees, the bark of the young trees being too porous for use. They are, nevertheless, barked before they are twenty years old; and this first barking is necessary, to make way for the succession of a better, it being observable, that, after every stripping, the bark increases in value. The first crop is thin, hard, full of fissures, and consequently of little value. The cork is the bark which the tree pushes outwards, as is common to all trees; but in the Cork-tree, the outer bark is thicker and larger, and in greater quantity, and more easily removed. When removed, the liber, or inner bark, appears below it, and from this the cork is reproduced in the course of a few years. The trees are generally peeled over once in ten years. direction for vessels in harbours, rivers, and other places. In some parts of Spain, it is customary to line the walls of houses with cork, which renders them warm, and prevents the admission of moisture. The ancient Egyptians frequently made coffins of it. On account of its lightness, cork is used for false legs; and from its being impervious to water, it is sometimes placed between the soles of shoes, to keep out moisture. When burnt, it constitutes that light black substance known by the name of Spanish Black. In the cutting of corks for use, the only tool employed is a very broad, thin, and sharp knife; and, as the cork tends very much to blunt this, it is sharpened on a board, by one whet or stroke on each side, after every cut, and now and then upon a common whetstone. The corks for bottles are cut lengthwise of the bark, and consequently the pores lie across. Bungs, and corks of large size, are cut in a contrary direction: the pores in these are therefore downward, defective than the others, in stopping out the air. The parings of cork are carefully kept, and sold to the makers of Spanish black. The importation of cork in a manufactured state, into this country is virtually prohibited by a very high duty; and the import duty upon it in a rough state is also considerable, being eight shillings per hundred weight. The price of cork, including the duty, varies according to its quality, from 207. to 701. per cwt. In the collecting of cork, it is customary to slit it with a knife, at certain distances, in a perpendicular a circumstance which renders them much more direction from the top of the tree to the bottom; and to make two incisions across, one near the top, and the other near the bottom, of the trunk. For the purpose of stripping off the bark, a curved knife, with a handle at each end, is used. Sometimes it is stripped in pieces the whole length, and sometimes in shorter pieces, cross cuts being made at certain intervals. In some instances, the perpendicular and transverse incisions are made, and the cork is left upon the trees, until, by the growth of the new bark beneath, it becomes sufficiently loose to be removed by the hand. After the pieces are detached, they are soaked in water, and when nearly dry are placed over a fire of coals, which blackens their external surface. By the latter operation, they are rendered smooth, and all the smaller blemishes are thereby concealed; the larger holes and cracks are filled up by the introduction of soot and dirt. They are next loaded with weights to make them even, and subsequently are dried and stacked, or packed in bales for exportation. The uses of cork were well known to the ancients, and were nearly the same to which it is applied by us. Its elasticity renders it peculiarly serviceable for the stopping of vessels of different kinds, and thus preventing either the liquids therein contained from running out, or the external air from passing in. The use of cork for stopping glass bottles is generally considered to have been introduced about the fifteenth century. The practice of employing this substance for jackets to assist in swimming, is very ancient; and it has been applied in various ways towards the preservation of life when endangered by shipwreck. The cork-jacket, revived from an old German discovery, to preserve the lives of persons in danger of drowning, is constructed as follows: Pieces of cork, about three inches long by two wide, and the usual thickness of the bark, are enclosed between two pieces of strong cloth or canvass, and formed like a jacket without sleeves; the pieces of cloth are sewed together round each piece of cork, to keep them in their proper situations; the lower part of the jacket, about the hips, is made like the same part of women's stays, to give freedom to the legs in swimming; it is made sufficiently large to fit a stout man, and is secured to the body by two or three strong straps sewed far back on each side, and tied before; the strings are thus placed, to enable any wearer to tighten it to his own convenience. The floats of nets used for fishing are frequently made of cork. Pieces fastened together make buoys, which, by floating on the surface of the water, afford The Cork-tree is rare in this country; that from which our engraving is taken, is in the garden of the Bishop of London's palace at Fulham. Ir is singular how beautifully the state and capabilities of inanimate nature, and the nature of man, are adapted to each other. How the devices and desires of our hearts are provided with a something whereupon to fix; how much is given that we could not create, but that we can assist, and mould, and form, and fashion, after our will, into those useful or exquisite shapes which our necessities tiul. Enough is done for us to give us power, enough is demand, or our cultivated tastes teach us to consider beauleft undone to give us employment; nor is it possible almost to arrive at that degree of improvement, that will forbid further hope. Nature herself crowns our best efforts with new and unlooked-for beauty, and we still trust, and justly so, that if our industry fail not, neither will her reward. THE VISIBLE CREATION. His goodness through the earth we trace, By him in wisdom plann'd ; Thither His path pursue; O'erwhelms the wandering view Hark! on the evening breeze, His blessings fall in plenteous showers That teems with foliage, fruit, and flowers, If God hath made this world so fair, How beautiful, beyond compare, Will Paradise be found!-JAMES MONTGOMERY LUDOVICO CORNARO. LUDOVICO CORNARO was a Venetian of noble family, whose history affords one of the most memorable instances on record of the effects of temperance and sobriety in prolonging life. He was born in 1467; and in his early youth, it appears, he was guilty of excesses, which brought on him many and grievous disorders, and rendered his existence precarious and miserable, from his thirty-fifth to his fortieth year. At that time, his physicians told him there was but one way left for the restoration of his health; and this was a regular and moderate way of living. Cornaro immediately entered on his new regimen; but, at first, he found it disagreeable, and wanted resolution to pursue it with steadiness. The return of his maladies, however, warned him that he could not trespass on his constitution with impunity; and, at length, he grew confirmed in a settled course of temperance, by which he was enabled to cast off all his maladies, and to attain the extraordinary age of ninety-eight years, in health of body, and serenity and cheerfulness of mind. To give an idea of the small quantity of food on which Cornaro subsisted, we may mention what he records of himself, that, when he was seventy-eight ▾ears old, he was urged by the advice of his physicians, and the daily importunity of his friends, to add something to his usual stint and measure of food. He long resisted, urging the Italian proverb, He that will cat much, let him eat little;-because, by eating little, he will prolong his life. However, he says, "To avoid obstinacy, and to gratify my friends, at length I yielded, and permitted the quantity of my meat to be increased, yet two ounces only. For, whereas, before, the measure of my whole day's meat, namely, my bread, and eggs, and flesh, and broth, was twelve ounces exactly weighed, I increased the quantity two ounces more; and the measure of my drink, which was before fourteen ounces, I made sixteen. This addition," he goes on to say, "wrought so much upon me, that from a cheerful and merry man, I became melancholy and choleric, so that all things were troublesome to me; neither did I know what I did or said. On the twelfth day, a pain in the side took me, which held me two and twenty hours. On the back of it came a terrible fever, which continued thirty-five days and nights; although, after the fifteenth day it became less and less; besides all this, I could not sleep, no not for a quarter of an hour; whereat all gave me for dead. Nevertheless, I, by the grace of God, cured myself only by returning to my former course of diet; although I was now seventy-eight years old, and my body spent with extreme leanness, and the season of the year was winter and most cold air: and I am confident that, under God, nothing holp me but that exact rule, which I had so long continued." To show what a security a life of temperence is against the ill effects of hurts and disasters, Cornaro relates an accident which befell him when he was very old. One day, being overturned in his chariot, he was dragged by the horses a considerable way upon the ground. His head, his arms, his whole body, were very much bruised, and one of his ancles was put out of joint. He was carried home; and the physicians, seeing how much he was injured, considered it impossible that he should live three days; but, by bleeding and evacuating medicines, he presently recovered his health and strength. 19 have enjoyed the innocent pleasures of life. He says of himself, "I am ever cheerful, merry, and wellcontented, free from all troubles and troublesome thoughts, in whose place joy and peace have taken up their standing in my heart. I am not weary of life, which I pass in great delight. I confer with worthy men, excellent in wit, learning, behaviour, and other virtues. When I cannot have their company, I give myself to the reading of some learned book, and afterwards to writing, making my aim in all things how I may help others to the farthest of my powers." He prided himself on having such a portion of life and spirit left within him, that at the age of eighty-three he wrote a comedy "full of innocent mirth and pleasantry." He mentions his excursions for the sake of seeing his friends, and of conversing with the adepts in all arts and sciences,architects, painters, statuaries, musicians, and even husbandmen. He speaks with great complacency of his visits to his various residences, and of his taste and skill in improving them. Of one of these residences, in particular, he says, "At other times, I repair to a villa of mine, scated in the valley: which is, therefore, very pleasant, because many roads thither are so ordered, that they all meet and end in one fair spot of ground, in the midst whereof is a church suitable to the condition of the place. This place is washed by the river Brenta, on both sides whereof are great and fruitful fields, well manured, and adorned with many habitations. In former times it was not so, because the place was moorish and unhealthy, fitter for beasts than men; but I drained the ground, and made the air good: whereupon men flocked thither, and built houses with happy success. By this means the place is come to the perfection that we now see it is;-so that I can truly say that I have both given God a temple, and men to worship him in it; the memory whereof is exceeding delightful to me.' And in another place, he says of himself, "That no pleasure may be wanting to my old age, 1 please myself daily with contemplating that immortality, which I think I see in the succession of my posterity. For every time I return home, I meet eleven grandchildren, all the offspring of one father and mother; all in fine health; all, as far as I can discern, apt to learn, and of good behaviour. I am often amused with their singing; nay, I often sing with them, because my voice is louder and clearer now than ever it was in my life before. These are the delights and comforts of my old age; from which, I presume, it appears that the life I spend is not a dead, morose, and melancholy life; but a living, active, pleasant life, which I would not exchange with the robustest of those youths who indulge and riot in all the luxury of the senses, because I know them to be exposed to a thousand diseases, and a thousand kinds of death." These extracts are taken from several discourses by Cornaro on the advantages of a temperate life; the last of which,-containing a lively description of the health, vigour, and perfect use of his senses, which he had the happiness of enjoying at so advanced a period of life, he wrote at the age of ninety-one. This virtuous and happy old man at length expired without pain, by a gradual decay of nature, April 26th, 1566, aged ninety-eight. One of his discourses has been rendered into English by our excellent George Herbert; and there is a short, but pleasing account of him in the 195th number of the Spectator. C. It is well worthy of observation that the extreme abstemiousness of Cornaro had not, in the least degree, the effect of rendering him morose or melan-As daylight can be seen through small holes, so do little choly. On the contrary, no man seems more to things show a person's character.-Drew. THE DIAMOND. THE diamond is the hardest and most valuable of the precious stones, and for many years was considered indestructible by fire, or any other means: modern chemistry, however, has proved that at a heat rather below that required to melt silver it is gradually dissipated, or burnt. When the product of this combustion was examined, it was found to be precisely similar to that produced by the destruction of a piece of charcoal, of equal size, by the same means. The same principle, therefore, namely, a small quantity of the gas called carbon, which when in an aëriform state destroys life, produces, when acted upon in different ways in the great laboratory of nature, two substances so perfectly unlike each other as charcoal and the diamond,-the one consumed as fuel, and the other prized at so high a rate as to be purchased for sums of money equal to princely fortunes. In former times, all the diamonds that were known were brought from different parts of India, particularly from the famous mines of Golconda, near Hyderabad, the present capital of the Deccan, in Hindostan; the Islands of Molucca and Borneo have also produced many valuable stones: they are always found in an alluvial soil, generally gravel, resting on granite, and not imbedded in any other substance, but appearing like small pebbles with the surface flattened in many parts. The diamond mines of Golconda are now so far exhausted, as to be considered not worth the expense of working. The diamonds which are now brought to Europe are chiefly from the Brazils. When Brazilian diamonds were first imported, the circumstance excited the jealousy of the dealers in East Indian gems, and a prejudice was unjustly raised against the produce of these newly-discovered mines; and although subsequent trials have proved the diamonds of Brazil to be fully equal to those of the East, so difficult is it to remove a prejudice when once it is raised, that to the present day the diamonds of Brazil are considered by some people to be of an inferior kind. In the first instance, the feeling was so strong, that in order to obtain a fair price for their stones, the merchants of Brazil were in the habit of sending their cargo in the first instance to Goa, that it might be re-imported from that place into Europe, as the production of the eastern world. Formerly, nearly the whole of the trade in diamonds was monopolized by the Dutch, and at present the cutting and polishing of these gems is in general performed in Holland, on account of the lower price of labour; but the English workman is nevertheless considered much superior. The manner of the discovery of diamonds in Brazil may be considered a very remarkable event, "About a century ago, that part of Brazil called Serro de Frio was explored for gold, and in searching for this precious metal, some singular substances, resembling pebbles, were occasionally met with, in regular geometric forms. The peculiar hue and lustre of some particular specimens attracted the notice of the negroes, who showed them to their masters, as pretty shining pebbles. When met with they were preserved, and gradually came into fashion, as counters, in playing at cards. "In this state the gems remained for some time, until an officer arrived, who had been in India, and was reputed to be a great mathematician. At the social parties which he visited these pretty counters attracted his notice. Having obtained some, he examined them more minutely when alone, and was particularly struck with their geometrical symmetry of form. He compared them with common pebbles of the same bulk, to which he found they bore no resemblance. "The officer already mentioned conceived the idea of weighing one of these counters against a pebble of equal size, and having done so, he found that the weight of the one considerably exceeded that of the other. He then tried to make an impression on one by rubbing it on a stone with water, but it resisted all his efforts, while a flat surface was produced on the pebble by the labour of a few minutes. He sent a handful of these counters by a friend, to Lisbon, for the purpose of having them examined; these were given to the lapidaries (who never work diamonds, and, perhaps, had never seen one in its native state); they could only say the stones were too hard for their tools. At length, by mere accident, the Dutch consul saw them, and gave his opinion that they were diamonds. Some were immediately forwarded to Holland, where they were manufactured into brilliants, and pronounced to be diamonds equal in quality to those from Golconda or any other part of India. The returning fleet carried this favourable news to Rio de Janeiro, whence it was rapidly communicated to the interior, and fortunate was the man who could procure a large share of these hitherto pretty pebbles, but now diamonds. They were quickly bought up, and the counters which had for a year or two been carelessly handed about, became the property of three or four individuals in as many days." The art of cutting, splitting, sawing, or polishing diamonds requires great skill, practice, and patience. "It is seldom," says Mr. Mawe, "that the same workman is a proficient in all these branches, but he generally confines himself to one. In cutting and polishing a diamond, the workman has two objects in view; first, to remove any flaws or imperfections that may exist in the stone, and secondly, to divide its surface into a number of regularly-shaped polygons. The removal of flaws seems to be the most material object, since the smallest speck in some particular parts of the stone is infinitely multiplied by reflection from the numerous polished surfaces of the gem. "When the shape of the rough stone is particularly unfavourable, the workman has to resort to the hazardous operation of splitting. The rule by which the proper place is discovered at which to apply the requisite force is made a great mystery of: but, perhaps, like many other mechanical arts, it depends as much on the dexterity acquired by constant practice, as on scientific knowledge; and in that case the workman himself, although a perfect adept in his business, would find himself unable to impart the knowledge he was in possession of. "When the direction in which it is to be split is decided on, it is marked by a line cut with a sharp*: the stone is afterwards fixed by strong cement in the proper position in a stick, and then by the application of a splitting-knife, the section is effected by the application of a smart blow." Sometimes, when the section must cross the crystallized structure of the gem, recourse must be had to sawing; this is performed as follows. The diamond is cemented to a small block of wood which is fixed firmly to a table, and a line is made with a sharp where the division is intended to take place, which is afterwards filled with diamondpowder and olive-oil: the sawing is then commenced, and if the stone is large, the labour of eight or ten months is sometimes required to complete the operation. The saw is made of fine brass or ironwire, attached to the two ends of a piece of cane or whalebone, the teeth being formed by the particles of diamond-powder, which become imbedded in the wire as soon as it is applied to the line. When a small diamond is broken into four parts, the edge of each quarter is called a sharp. The cutting the facets on the surface of the rough stone is a work of labour and skill; the polishing is performed in a mill, which is an extremely simple machine. Diamonds are cut (generally on account of the shape of the rough stone) in various ways, and assume different names in consequence; as a brilliant, a rose, a table, and a lasque diamond: of these the brilliant is the most splendid, from the brilliancy and number of its reflections and refractions. We shall close this article with an account of some of the largest known diamonds. The Pitt, or Regent Diamond, is said to have been found in Malacca; it was purchased by Thomas Pitt, Esq.t, when governor of St. George, in the East Indies, in the reign of Queen Anne, for 20,4007., and weighed, when raw, 410 carats, and when cut 136 carats. It was brought to London, cut as THE PITT, OR REGENT DIAMOND. a brilliant, and sold to the Duke of Orleans for the King of France, in 1717, for 135,000l.; 50007. were spent in the negotiation, &c., the cutting occupied two years, and is said to have cost 3000l.; the fragments were worth several thousands, and the diamond has since been valued at 400,000. Buonaparte placed it in the hilt of his sword. It is still preserved among the jewels of France. The Pigott Diamond weighs 49 carats, and is valued at 40,000l. About twenty years ago it was disposed of by lottery, and became the property of a young man, who sold it at a low price. It is said to have been lately sold to the Pacha of Egypt for 30,000l. The Austrian Diamond weighs above 139 carats. It belongs to the Emperor of Austria, and was formerly in the possession of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. THE AUSTRIAN DIAMOND. THE PIGOTT DIAMOND. THE NASSUC DIAMOND. The Nassuc Diamond weighs 79 carats 2 grains. It was among the spoils taken during the Mahratta war, and is valued at 30,000l. It is a diamond of great purity, but of bad form. The Grand Russian Diamond is said to have been the eye of an Indian idol, and to have been stolen from thence by a French, some say an Irish, soldier, who sold it to the captain of a ship for 20007., and the captain again disposed of it in Europe for 20,000l. At length it fell into the hands of a merchant, who sold it to Prince Orloff, for the late Empress of Russia, Catherine, for 90,000l. in cash, an annuity of 40007., and a patent of nobility. Its weight is 193 carats. GRAND RUSSIAN DIAMOND. [We are indebted for great part of the information contained in this account, to Mr. MAWE's curious Treatise on Diamonds and Precious Stones.] + Grandfather of the first and immortal Earl of Chatham. |