AMERICAN LUMBER IN FOREIGN MARKETS. 247 



The oak (el robla) grows in every province of Spain, and is a favorite 

 for naval work, machinery, furniture, carts, casks, and barrels. 



The cork tree (el alcornoque) is a great source of wealth to Spain, 

 and forms large forests in Geroua, and is abundant in Cordova, Alge- 

 ciras, Tarifa, Malaga, and Estremadura. As the forests of Gerona are 

 near the coast, immense quantities are easily exported from there. 

 During the year 1895 the exportations to the United States alone 

 amounted to $305,884.90 from Gerona and to $208,015 from the other 

 cork districts of Spain. Some of the forests are natural and some are 

 cultivated ; all thrive equally, and are probably the finest in the world 

 of their kind. 



The evergreen oak (encina) is also a very common tree in nearly all 

 the provinces of Spain. Its wood is hard, compact, and strong, and is 

 used in small piece work. 



The birch tree (abadul). although ordinarily found in cold climates, 

 grows well in the Pyrenees and is seen as far south as Madrid. The 

 wood is used for domestic utensils, arid its branches make good hoops 

 for casks and barrels, as does also the wood of the hazelnut tree 

 (avellano), which nourishes on the eastern coast of Spain. 



Wood that can be easily polished is also found in the various prov- 

 inces of Spain, such, for instance, as the walnut (nogal), juniper (ene- 

 bro), white mulberry (la niorera), wild olive (acebuche), the pear tree 

 (peral),the apple tree (manzana), the orange tree (naranjo), the almond 

 tree (almendro), and the lemon tree (limouero). 



As yet no great efforts have been made to test the eucalyptus tree in 

 Spain, but there are some fine specimens of the globulus species in 

 Catalonia, and also, I hear, in Malaga. 



France is the only continental nation that seems to attach sufficient 

 importance to the advantages to be derived from the cultivation of 

 trees, and her experiments with the eucalyptus have already attracted 

 some attention here, and seem destined to encourage the Spanish peo- 

 ple to take a livelier interest in enriching and beautifying the vast 

 tracts of their territory that are as bare of foliage as are "the lone and 

 level sands." 



HERBERT W. BOWEN, 



Consul- General. 



BARCELONA, November 15, 1896. 



WOOD INDUSTRIES OF SPAIN. 



There is so little wood in Spain that the small boy knows nothing of 

 the joys of whittling, and develops no ambition to become a carpenter. 

 The result is that the carpenters are few, and their shops are not well 

 provided with modern tools and machinery. From molds and lathes, 

 scarcely $600,000 worth of goods are turned out a year in all Spain. 

 The best shops are in Barcelona and Seville. 



