J\EW EM€JLrAJ\D FARMER. 



VOL,. X. 



PUBLISHED BY J. D^RUSSELL, NO. ^J^.^^'H MARKET STOg^^7^7xHK^^ oTi^^ NPEN, EDITOR. 



BOSTON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 11, 1832. 



NO. 26. 



Cork Tree in the Botanic Garden, Chelsea, England. 



THE CORK TREE. 



Mr Fessenden — It has always appeared to meto 

 lie very (k\siruble, and jiracticable, to introduce in- 

 to this country troiii Europe tlie Cork tree and 

 the Spanish Chcsniit. Of the latter I will speak 

 on some future occjtsion. 



It may not be known to all that the Cork tree 

 is a variety of the oak (Qitemis suber.) This tree 

 is indigenous or at lea.st abundant in Spain, Por- 

 tugal, Italy, and the States of Barbary. It woidd 

 he a most important acquisition to the United 

 States. In the opinion of Michaux, it will thrive 

 wheresoever the Live Oak subsists ; the soil of the 

 pine barrens would be in general too meagre to 

 sustain its vegetation. The' inhabitants of the 

 Southern States and neighboring islands woidd 

 probably find it advantageous to rear it in such 

 parts of their j)lantations as are unfit for the culti- 

 vation of cotton. The bark of the Cork Oak 

 could be transported to the Northern States or 

 made into corks on the .spot, and thus become a 

 great article of commerce. It is computed that 

 120 millions of corks are annually used m France ; 

 2500 tons of cork were imported into Great Bri- 

 tain in 1827. I have no means of ascertaining 

 the anioimt of cork imported into this country. 



The tree grows to the height of 30 to 40 feet, 

 and 2 to 3 feet in diameter, with evergreen lea\ es, 

 I though the greater part of them fall and are re- 

 newed in the spring ; the wood is hard, compact 

 and heavy, though rather less durable than many 

 other kinds of oak, its great value being in its 

 hark. Cork is the bark which the tree pushes 

 outwards, as is common to all trees, but in this 

 case the bai-k is of larger quantity and is more 

 speedily renewed, when removed ; there is a libtr, 

 or muer bark, below it, and from this the cork is 

 renewed in the course of a few years, while the 

 tree is said to live longer, and grow more vigor- 

 ously than if the cork were not removed. The 

 cork is first talsen oft" when the tree is about 15 



years old ; the bark is then thin, hard, fidl of fis- 

 sures, and consequently of little value, and is used 

 by fishermen to buoy up their nets, &c.* The 

 .second crop is also inferior. After thi.s the oper- 

 ation is repeated once in 8 or 10 years, the pro- 

 duce being greater in quantity, and superior in 

 quality each successive time. Duhainel says a 

 cork tree thus barked will live 150 years. 



The bark is removed in July and August, beino- 

 slit with a knife in a perpendicular direction froin 

 the top to the bottom, with two incisions across, 

 ono near the top and one near the bottom of the 

 trunk. For the jiurpose of stripping ofl'the bark, 

 a knife with a wedge-shaped handle at each end 

 is used. After the incision is made, the bark is 

 beaten to detach it from the liber ; it is then lifted 

 up by introducing the wedged handle, taking care 

 to leave sufficient of the inner lamuia? upon the 

 wood, without which precaution the tree would 

 die. The bark being thus removed, is divided in- 

 to convenient lengths, then flattened, and slightly 

 chan-ed to contract the pores. This substance is 

 the rough cork of commerce ; and is then fit to be 

 cut into floats, stoppers, shoe soles, and other ar- 

 ticles for domestic use. The cork of the best 

 quaiity is .firm, elastic, and of a slightly red color. 



Branch of the Cork Oak — Quercus suher. 

 Fresh acorns of the cork tree for planting in 

 the United States, coidd no doubt be easily ob- 

 tained by some of our Horticultui-al Societies, or 

 public spirited individuals, through the agency of 

 U. S. Consuls in Europe, who would take an ui- 

 terest in procuring the true sort, and in having 

 them packed in sand to ensure their vegetation. 



QUERCLS 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



ON MAKING GOOD BUTTER. 



Mr Fesse.xden — Sir — In cooperation with your 

 correspondent, H. C, whose remarks on agricid- 

 tural premiums (New England Farmer, vol. 10, 

 page 177,) are both sound and sensible ; and more 



•See the article on Timber Trees in the Library of 

 Entertaining Knowledge ; a popular and instructive 

 work republished by Lilly & Wait, of this city. 



particularly in reference to the late award of pre- 

 miums for the best butter, I have looked over the 

 numbers of the Massachusetts Agricultural Reposi- 

 tory and Journal for the past years, and send you 

 the names of all those persons who have received 

 the premiums on butter, from the time of the first 

 exhibition, in 1821, to the present time. It is cer-* 

 tainly a just claim of the public when money ha? 

 been paid by it, as a reward, to know the ])rocess 

 by which the article rec(!iving the reward was 

 made, ' not only the results, hut the means and 

 process by which such resuks are obtained,' 

 more especially if as heretofore, (though not 

 in the last offer,) one of the conditions was that 

 such communications should be made. I donb- 

 not the very respectable individuals, who have ex- 

 hibited the result of their skill and had tlieir re- 

 ward, will commmiicate through you to the pub- 

 he, in addition to what they may have communi- 

 cated to the committee, their whole dairy process. 

 The first award was made in 1821, and the first 

 premium of .$10 paid to Col. Stephen Hastings, of 

 Sterling. The second prenuum of $5 to Luke 

 Beniis, Watertown. 

 1833, 1st prem. $10, to Mary Clark, Watertown ; 



2d, .f5, Col. Hastings, Sterling. 

 1823, 1st prem. $15, Jonathan Upham, Newton ; 

 2d, ,$10, S. Ha.stiiigs, Sterling ; ;W, ,$7, Jepthah 

 Parker, Chehnsford ; 4tli, $5, Rev. L. Capeii, 

 Boston. 

 1894, 1st prem. $15, Michael Crosby, Bedford ; 

 2d, $10, Luke ifeniis, Watertown ; 3d, $7, S. 

 Hastings, Sf fling.. ■ 



1825, 1st preni. .$15, Luther Chamberlain, West- 

 boro' ; 2d, $10, Charles Cutter, Weston ; .3d, 

 $7, G. Crosby, Bedford ; 4th, $5, S. Hastings] 

 Sterling. 

 1H2(;, 1st prem. $15, Rev. Mr Capen, Boston; 2d, 

 $10, M. Crosby, Bedford ; 3d, $7, L. Chamber- 

 lain ; 4th, $5, Jacob Deane, Mansfield. 



1827, 1st prem. $15, Charles Cutter, Weston ; 2d 

 $10, M. Crosby, Bedford ; 3d, $7, L. Chamber- 

 lain ; 4th, .f 5, Adam Hemnienwav, Framingham. 



1828, Istpreni. .$1.5, M.Crosby, Bedford; 2d, $10, 

 L. Chamberlain ; 3d, $7, Jonathan Wait," 

 Whately. 



1829, first year of an offer of $100, none was en- 

 tered considered worthy of the premium — none 

 even worthy of the 1st Agricultural premium ; 

 2d, $10, Geo. Crosby, Bedibrd ; 3d, $7, .Marga- 

 ret T. Crosby. 



1830, 1st prem. $1.5, M.Crosby, Bedford; 2d, $10, 

 Nahuin Hardy, Waltham ; 3d, $7, L. Chamber- 

 lain ; 4th, .$5, Adam Fay, Wcsthoro'. 



18.30, December,* 1st prem. .$100, Henry Spragiip, 

 Charlton ; 2d, $50, Moses Ne«hall, West New- 

 bury. 



1831, Decend)er, 1st prem. $100, Luther Cham- 

 berlain, Westboro' ; 2d, $50, Henry Sprsgue, 

 Princeton, formerly of Charlton ; 3d, $.30, Seth 

 Davenport, Mendon ; 4th, $20, Samuel Sawyer 

 Sterling; .5th, $15 Gabriel Parker, Southboro : 

 Gth, $10, Lydia Page, Hardwic'k. 



While the premiums were small and given ex- 



• In vol. 9, page 26G of New England Farmer, an ex- 

 tract is iimile from every rommunloation received from 

 the competi(ors, which co-jld be useful to the public in 

 relation to the manufacture of butler. 



