THE CORK OAK. 



15 



laminsD upon the wood, without which precaution the 

 tree would certainly die. The bark being- thus removed, 

 it is divided into convenient lengths ; and it is then 

 flattened, and slig-htly charred, to contract the pores. 

 This substance is the rough cork cf commerce; and 

 it is thus tit to be cut into floats, stoppers, shoe- 

 soles, and other articles of domestic use, by the 

 manufacturer. Tlie cork of the best quality is firm, 

 elastic, and of a slightly red colour. Two thousand 

 five hundred tons of cork were imported into the 

 United Kingdom in 1827. Cork burned in vessels 



Cork Tree in the Botanic Garden, Chelsea; 1829. 



c2 



