MISCELLANEOUS PRODUCTS. 193 



unnoticed, which could not conveniently be classified 

 in any of the divisions adopted, and for the same 

 reasons they can hardly be classed among themselves. 



CORK, which is practically entirely the produce of 

 Quercus Suber, L., the CORK OAK, a native of Southern 

 Europe, is imported to the extent of several thousand 

 tons annually, in spite of its extreme lightness. It 

 comes mainly from Spain, and is employed not 

 merely for corks for bottles and bungs for casks, 

 but for boot-soles, hat-linings, life-buoys, and various 

 other purposes. Of late years the VIRGIN CORK, or 

 first crop taken off trees ten to fifteen years old, 

 which is furrowed longitudinally, has been imported 

 to ornament ferneries, and for similar purposes. The 

 subsequent removal of the cork every few years, care 

 being taken not to cut the cork-cambium, or growing- 

 layer, does not affect the vitality of the tree, though 

 probably rendering its timber less dense. 



AMADOU or, GERMAN TINDER, consists of slices of 

 the fungi Polyporus fomentarius, Fries, and P. ignia- 

 rius, Fries, beaten out with mallets, and used as a 

 styptic in surgery, for warm underclothing, or, when 

 mixed with saltpetre, as tinder. 



DUTCH RUSHES, though imported to a small 

 extent from Holland, are the stems of a British 

 plant Equisetmn hyeniale, L., one of the HORSETAILS, 

 a group allied to the Ferns. Its furrowed stem is so 

 full of silica as to serve to polish wood or metal. It 

 is now mainly superseded by sand, glass, and emery- 

 papers. 



The manufacture of bougies and knife-handles 

 from the stalks of the seaweed Laminaria, the use of 



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