The recrimping of patent corks has been de scribed; the old-fashioned long corks are shaped by a compressor and driven into the bottles by a plunger, operated either by hand or foot, or a self-feeder which can do 2,000 an hour. The corks are previously thrown into a hollow revolving drum for several hours, to rub against and batter each other, which knocks off the loose chips and shakes out the dust; then soaked and rinsed. There are wiring machines for either the small wires over the long corks, or the hinged wires with the rubber stoppers. The bottles when filled and corked are labeled by a machine, usually the bottles being laid in a crib with expansible sides and a plunger forcing them down against the label, which at the same time is picked up and moved under the bottle across a paste roll; sometimes the label is pressed against the bottle. The speed of this process is practically limited only by the ability of the workman to feed bottles to the machine. A special label is sometimes fitted over the cork, for security against refilling the bottles of a reputed firm with inferior liquors. Sometimes the corks have a stamp or brand burnt into them with a hot die pressed down by a machine.
Finally, the corks are often covered with tin foil or caps of some kind; the former is done by hand.
Much capital is invested in this business, and there is a national association composed of manufacturers. Returns are made by nearly all these firms and companies to the association, from which it appears that this industry em ploys nearly 30,000 persons; it serves 4,489,038 customers, owns 22,940 horses, employs a capi tal of nearly$51,000,000 and owns bottles to the value of $12,747,633. Its loss of bottles' annually is $3,522,804. In this line are con sumed annually, besides bottles, corks in great number, wire, patented arrangements for clos ing bottles, paper boxes for holding bottles, sealing wax and labels. The cost of these ma terials is given at $7,937,001. The capacity of corking-machines reaches 2,000 bottles per hour ; that of labeling-machines 12,000 bottles daily. Consult Dreesbach, 'Beer Bottler's Handy Book' (Chicago 1906) ; Goosmann, The Car bonic Acid Industry' (ib. 1906) • Sulz, (Trea tise on Beverages) (New York 1888).