378 Journal of Agriculture . [1° June, 1910. 



-annum ; and these figures are exclusi^•e of the value of the acorns (for pig 

 feed), an important item, as will be seen later. Xaturally, the best situated 

 and best cared for forests yield considerably more than the above sum, 

 ■which is nevertheless a xexy fair return for a form of forestry requiring 

 the use of practically no labour beyond that of removal. 



It is .south of the Tagus that the great majoritv of the cork forests are 

 situated. They are distributed as follows : — 



Ac-res. 

 District of Faro ... ... ... ... ... ... 47,r)0O 



District of Beja ... ... ... ... ... ... 147,. 100 



District of Evora ... ... ... ... 190,000 



District of Portalegre ... ... .. ... ... :^6,000 



Remainiler of Portugal, cliieHy Li>>l)oii, Saiitareiii, ami C'a.stello Braneo 50,000 



o-2r),ooo 



Of the 50,000 tons produced annually, it is estimated that 11,000 tons are 

 •consumed in the country and 39,000 tons exported, under the following 

 headings : — 



Kilouianmies. 



Cork wood .. ... ... ... ... •27,6b2,844 



Waste cork... ... ... ... ... 7,019,004 



Cut corks ... ... ... ... ... 2,817,666 



Virgiu cork ... ... ... ... ... 426,016 



Cut squares ... .. ... ... ... 278,230 



Raw cork, as remove. I from tree ... ... 124,610 



Coik dust ... ... ... ... ... 114,11!) 



Sundries ... ... ... .. ... 1,611 



39,844, 100 



The metric ton of 1,000 kilogrammes being only 345 lbs. lighter than our ton, 

 the above figures divided by 1,000 give very nearly the quantities in English tons. 



Endeavours are made to retain the working of this raw material for 

 Portuguese artisans, by restriction on the export of unworked cork, on 

 which export duties are imposed. These are as follows : — 



Cork wood, 100 leis (Is. 4d.) per ].") kilos (:^8 ll)s>. 



Undressed cork, as removed from tree, .'iO reis I'l^''-) pt^'' l-J kilos (33 lbs). 



Cut corks, (free). 



These fiscal restrictions do not appear, howexer. to have been \-ery 

 •successful in establishing the cork-cutting industry in the country. The 

 •question is one which has given rise to much discussion, the cork cutters 

 asking for even higher protection, which is opposed by growers, as w^ell as 

 by the officers of the Agricultural Department, as an unfair tax on one of 

 the leading industries of the country, and one which defeats its object by 

 •causing foreign buyers to look to other sources for their supplies. 



The Cork Oak. 



Botanically known as Quercus Stiber, it is a handsome evergreen tree, 

 very long lived and gro\ving to considerable size. In a general way, it 

 may, as regards size, be compared to our Goulburn Valley grey box 

 {Eucalyptus liemipJdoia), which it somewhat resembles also in habit of 

 growth, our photograph showing a group of cork oaks at Rio Frio near 

 Pinhal Novo, will give some idea of their general appearance. Two very 

 large trees are mentioned bv Don Luiz de Castro,* one at Torre, near 

 Azeitao, 54 feet high, with a tr^unk 30 feet in circumference, its branches 

 covering an area 65 feet in diameter ; the other, at Pereira, near Extremoz, 



* Lc Porhiijal fi II I'niii/ i1<i rue Af/ricole. 



