CHAPTER XXII 

 CORK 



GENERAL 



CORK is the outer layer of the bark of an evergreen oak (Quercus suber), 

 Although the tree grows over a wide territory, the commercial production 

 of cork is restricted to a comparatively small area bordering the western 

 Mediterranean Sea, between the 34th and 45th degrees of latitude, North. 



The Iberian peninsula is the great center of cork production and pro- 

 duces nearly two-thirds the world's supply of cork. It also grows widely 

 in southern France, Italy, Corsica, Sardinia, Morocco, Algiers and Tunis, 

 and, to a limited extent, in Greece, the Dalmatian Coast, Tripoli, and 

 Asia Minor. Portugal probably produces more cork than any other 

 country, but Spain is regarded as the center of the cork industry because 

 it imports large quantities from Portugal and re-exports it together with 

 the Spanish product in the various manufactured forms. The Tagus 

 River Valley in Portugal and the provinces of Catalonia, Andalusia and 

 Estremadura in Spain are the great sources of the world's cork supply. 



There are 400,000 acres of cork forest in France, 818,000 acres in 

 Portugal, about 850,000 acres in Spain, 1.000,000 acres in Algeria, and 

 200,000 to 250,000 acres in Tunis. The total area of cork oak forests is 

 estimated to be betweeen 4,000,000 and 5,000,000 acres. The richest 

 and most productive forests are in Portugal and Spain. 



Cork has played an important part in civilization since the days of 

 the ancient Greeks of the 4th century B.C. and the Roman Empire, for 

 it is mentioned by Horace and Pliny as well as by Plutarch and an early 

 Greek writer. Even in those early days cork was used both for bottle 

 stoppers and for buoys for fishermen's nets. The introduction of glass 

 bottles in the i5th century gave a great impetus to the industry and the 

 importance of cork gradually increased until modern times. 



In 1914 this country imported over $6.400,000 worth of cork in its 

 various forms, and even in 1918 the value was over $5,000,000 in spite of 

 the lack of ocean tonnage. In 1916 Spain exported cork and cork prod- 



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