434 



FOREST PRODUCTS 



ucts to the value of about $6,900,000. The annual production of cork 

 from all sources is estimated to be between 50,000 and 60,000 tons. 



THE CORK OAK 



The cork oak is generally a small, irregular tree from 25 to 50 ft. in 

 height and from 8 to 18 in. in diameter, at breast height. The clear 

 trunk is seldom over 12 to 15 ft. in height and the crown is usually some- 

 what dense and spreading. The cork oak forests resemble to some 

 degree the live oak groves of the southeast and California, with the 

 exception that individual cork oaks do not generally reach such a large 

 size as the live oaks of this country. 



FIG. 114. A good stand of cork oaks in Andalusia, the province of southern Spain which is 

 the center of production of that country. The trunk of the tree on the left including 

 the lower branches is being stripped. Note the hatchet used to girdle and pry off the 

 bark. The trees are usually stripped of bark every eight or nine years. 



The forests are very open and there are ordinarily only from 30 to 60 

 trees per acre. All the trees are of native origin and grow wild and there 

 are no extended attempts at artificial regeneration in its native habitat. 



The trees are very slow growing and generally do not attain a size 

 suitable for stripping until about twenty to thirty years of age or more. 

 In Spain practically the only important government regulation govern- 

 ing the conduct of this industry, is the stipulation that no trees under 

 40 cm. in circumference (about 5 in.) at a point if meters above the 



