94 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[August i, 1834. 



CORKS AND CORKWOOD. 



There exists hi the art of bottling no more prominent 

 factor than the cork. 



And yet it is extremely doubtful if one person in ten- 

 aye, one in a hundred— of all those who are called upon to 

 handle this useful article, either in connection with bottlin" 

 or otherwise, has any definite idea of its history, the mode 

 of its culture and preparation, or the multitudinous uses 

 which it is called upon to serve. 



To such as are enlightened upon the subject it must 

 always be a matter of wonder what the world did before 

 corks were invented. 



Did the ancients have bottles? If so, with what did they 

 seal them ? for it is difficult to imagine any article that could 

 fully supply the place of cork. 



A glance, therefore, at this subject, viewed from a histor- 

 ical and agricultural standpoint, may not prove uninteresting 

 reading to those whose interest our paper is endeavoring to 

 serve. 



First, let us glance at the history of cork. 



It is certain that its culture and use was familiar to the 

 ancient Greeks and Romans, though it was not largely em- 

 ployed by them as a stopper. This was owing to the peculiar 

 nature of the bottles employed, which were made of leather, 

 or often of the undressed skin of the goat or kid. 



The method of making these bottles was to strip the skin 

 of a goat from over the neck of the animal, leaving it other- 

 wise nearly without holes, such as there were, being formed 

 by the legs, ard were easily closed. These primitive bottles 

 are used by the Arabs to this day. 



In the form of stoppers for general use, cork were intro- 

 duced toward the end of the sixteenth century, since which 

 time the industry has not ceased to grow in importance. 



The bark of all trees consists inwardly of a parenchym- 

 atous, or soft cellular tissue, and outwardly of a harder, 

 woody, tubular tissue, the latter generally being more abund- 

 ant. If the growth of the pareuchma be prolonged and 

 rapid, it will assume a more or less corklike character, as is 

 true in the case of some of the elms, the common oak, 

 and many other trees. 



This peculiarity is developed to an exceptional degree in 

 one species of oak, which has been named, from this circ- 

 umstance, Quereus suber; it is the bark of this tree which 

 constitutes the cork of commerce. 



The cork oak is an evergreen, growing to the height of 

 about thirty feet ; its acorns are edible, and resemble chest- 

 nuts in taste. It does not require a rich soil, but, on the 

 contrary, seems to thrive the best on poor and uncultivated 

 ground. 



It is principally found in France,Portugal, Spain, Tuscany. 

 the island of Sardinia, and on the African coast bordering 

 on the Mediterranean. 



The cork used in this country comes entirely from Spain 

 and Portugal — the provinces of Catalonia and Estremadura 

 in the former, and Alentejo in the latter country, furnish- 

 ing the most abundant supply. 



The Portuguese cork is inferior to the French in quality, 

 but superior to the Italian, being lighter and whiter. Sard- 

 inia produces a kind easily distinguished by its color and 

 weight, being pinkish hued, and heavier than many other 

 varieties. It is considered by the English the best variety 

 which can be obtained, but little if any of it comes to the 

 United States. In 1861 it was reported that cork forests 

 of Sardinia and Corsica had been in a great measure destroy- 

 ed by improper working; but this report, like the annual 

 rumored failure of the peach crop in Delaware, seems to 

 have made little difference in the supply. 



France produces the finest- grades of cork, especially in 

 Lauguedoc province and the environs of Bordeaux. The 

 peculiar velvet cork, so esteemed in the bottling of 

 champagne, is the production of these places, and is be- 

 coming very scarce, it being feared it will, in time, become 

 unobtainable. 



Africa produces large quantities of cork, but of an in- 

 ferior grade, although the soil and climate of its northern 

 countries seem peculiarly favorable to its propagation. This 

 is especially true ot Morocco and Algiers. The causes of 

 this are to be found in the uniformly high temperature 

 and profuse nightly dews, while the dry, warm, open hill- 

 sides are covered with a sufficiency of light soil, pecu- 

 liarly adapted to the growth of the trees, which attain 

 to a larger size here than elsewhere. 



There are said to be 2,500.000 acres of cork forests in 

 Algiers alone, of which about 300,000 are utilized. It is said 

 to be capable of producing as much cork as all the rest 

 of the globe, if the inhabitants could but be persunded 

 to remain peaceable, and give their attention to agricult- 

 ural pursuits. 



In 1859 an attempt was made to introduce the cork 

 oak into the United States, Portuguese acorns being planted, 

 with this end in view, in Wayne County, Mi6S. All grew, 

 the largest trees, eleven years later, measuring thirteen feet 

 in height, while the trunks had attained a diameter of 

 eleven inches in thickness, the cork bark being more than 

 an inch in thickness. In 18T2 the planting of cork trees was 

 attempted in southern California, but with what success 

 does not appear. 



Among the conditions necessary for successful cork 

 culture, climate and soil are of the foremost importance. 



In the Mediterranean basin, where it is indigenous, the 

 tree favors altitudes varying from 1,600 to 3,200 feet. It 

 does not flourish beyond 45° north latitude, and the 

 minimum temperature must not be less than 55 ° Fahrenheit. 



It grows best on southerly slopes, which afford a freer 

 circulation of light and air than do flat lands. It requires 

 abundant sandy soil. Planting is usually performed from 

 seed; as a rule the large, sweet acorns developing into 

 the best trees, which yield the finest cork, the small, bitter 

 acorns producing trees of a coarse and inferior nature. 



The most approved method of planting, and that which 

 is employed in France, Spain and Portugal, appears to be 

 the furrow or " hill " system, which consists in sowing the 

 acorns twenty to forty inches apart, in a furrow between 

 two or more grapevines, placed at from five to seven feet 

 apart. The sowing and planting are conducted simultaneous- 

 ly, the vines affording the shelter which is so necessary 

 to the cork tree during its early growth. The young trees 

 are thinned out as required, so as to afford abundance 

 of air and light to each. About fifty trees to the acre 

 are recommended by the French cork producers, and the 

 production is about eighteen pounds to each barking of 

 she tree. 



The distinguishing feature of the cork oak is that the 

 parenchyma forms the mass of the bark, while the contrary 

 is true with nearly all other trees. In the earlier state 

 of its growth it is much more elastic than it ultimately 

 becomes, owing to its containing, in the first instance, a 

 large proportion of woody matter. The outer casing of 

 the bark is formed during the first year's growth, and 

 does not subsequently increase; but the pareuchyma, or 

 inner bark, continues to grow as long as the tree is alive. 



In consequence of this phenomenon, the pressure of the 

 growing inner bark beneath forces the outer shell to split 

 and peel off in flakes. The substance thus shed under 

 natural conditions is known as "Virgin cork." It is very 

 coarse and of woody texture, greatly resembling the bark 

 of the California live oak in appearance. Its uses, from 

 its coarse nature, are very limited. 



The removal of this outer bark from the tree is, fortunately, 

 when performed in a judicious manner, unattended with any 

 evil consequences to the tree; on the contrary, the operation 

 seems to hasten and assist the growth of the bark, 

 improving its quality, and at the same time the tree grows 

 more vigorous, and attains greater longevity, trees which 

 are reguhirly barked being known to live to the age of 

 one hundred and fifty years and upward. 



The age at which the first stripping may be attempted 

 varies with the locality, from fifteen to thirty years, the 

 former being the most general. 



The yield much resembles the naturally shed virgin cork, 

 and is commonly included under the same term. Sub- 

 sequently the barking is repeated at intervals of eight and 

 ten years, the quality improving on each occasion. The 

 second crop is also still too coarse for any but inferior 

 uses. — Independent Journal. 



OHABDUAR RUBBER PLANTATIONS IN ASSAM. 

 [ By Gdstav Mann, Esq., Conservator of Forests, Assam.] 

 I have the honour to submit a report on the Charduar rub- 

 ber plantations in the district of Darrang, including its past 

 history, the results gained, and a sketch of my views as to 

 the future treatment and extension of that plantation. 

 2. The past history of rubber plantations in Assam, and* 





