182 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER 



tugal for beehives, for covering stables, and for 

 many domestic purposes. Near Cintra he saw a 

 convent buiU between two perpendicular rocks 

 which actually formed the outer walls ; and the 

 monks, by neatly lining them with large flat 

 pieces of cork, had effectually excluded all damp- 

 ness. The timber is employed for the same 

 purposes as oak ; the acorns fatten immense 

 droves of hogs ; and the acorn-cups of this useful 

 tree is one of the principal ingredients in tanning 

 the Portuguese goat-skins. 



Cork trees are found in great perfection in the 

 South of France. From Bayonne, where the low 

 sandy heaths called lea Landes commence, and 

 extend as far as Bordeaux, the woods consist 

 almost entirely of that tree, and of the pinus 

 maritima, which is scarcely less useful. The 

 wood is excellent, and yields an extraordinary 

 proportion of turpentine resin, and tar ; the fruit 

 contains a kernel which has a pleasant flavour of 

 the almond, and is often used in cookery ; and 

 from the root is obtained a brown dye which the 

 fishermen use to preserve their nets. They are, 

 however, in many parts of that tract of country 

 prohibited from touching the roots, because their 

 long matted fibres, by running along the surface, 

 fix the loose sand and prevent its blowing away. 



Mr. Lumley spoke with admiration of the 

 woods of Old Castile, particularly of the fine 

 evergreen oaks and the bushy laurel-leaved 



