11 



The quantity of corks that are manufactured and used each year by 

 the world is enormous; 500,000 hundredweight of cork bark, allowing 

 for loss, will give about 175,000 hundredweight of manufactured corks 

 (there being about 1,000 corks to 3 kilograms of weight, which equals 

 5,833,333,000 cut corks). There are about 150 models, by which the 

 various sizes and forms are regulated. 



BOTANICAL. 



The Swiss botanist J. Jay first presented the specific characteristics 

 which distinguish the*veritable cork oak (Quereiis suber L.) from the 

 cork of Gascony, which was named by Jay Q. occidentalis. The separa- 

 tion of these species made by him is of scientific interest rather than 

 of practical benefit. 



The two species of cork oak belong to the evergreen oaks; leaves 

 oval-oblong, entire or more frequently toothed, and the teeth jagged; 

 1^ to 2 inches long, width about 1 inch; branches rather scant, shade 

 slight; the root system is strong and extensive, and roots are frequently 

 seen on the surface; the growth varies as to locality, but is in general 

 slow. The most suitable exposure is on southern slopes, as offering 

 more free circulation of air and admission of light, rather than on 

 plains. Care must be taken in the selection of soil. It is said that the 

 tree in its wild state is found only on the older geological formations, 

 such as granite, clay, and slate. The experience of cultivators is that 

 the best cork and the most rapid growth is produced on granitic, sili- 

 ceous, and slate (Silurian) soils. It succeeds but poorly, if at all, in 

 calcareous soils. Moreover, it requires abundant moisture combined 

 with good drainage. 



The true cork oak appears spontaneously in the southern regions of 

 Europe and on the northern shores of Africa. It grows alone or mixed 

 with other trees, principally the maritime pine (Pinus maritima) and 

 holm oak (Quereus ilex). The principal stations are Portugal (in the 

 basin of the Tagus), Spain (Andalusia, Catalonia, Estramadura), France 

 (Southern Pyrenees, Var, Maritime Alps, Corsica), Italy (Sardinia, 

 Sicily, Tuscany), Istria, and Greece. It constitutes vast forests in 

 Morocco, Algiers, and Tunis. It is not established in European Turkey, 

 and is unknown in Syria and Asia Minor. With this range it is seen 

 that the species is almost exclusively found in the basin of the Mediter- 

 ranean. Its habitat is from about the thirty-fourth to the forty-fourth 

 degree of north latitude, the region having an average temperature of 

 about 59° F. It grows on the plains, but prefers slightly undulating 

 ground, such as that of hills or mountains of slight elevation. In France 

 it does not grow in a higher altitude than the grape vine, namely, an 

 elevation of from 1,900 to 2,200 feet, but in Algeria it is found at an 

 altitude of 4,000 feet. 



