252 DESCRIPTIVE BOTANY. 



splits easily, and is valuable for barrel staves ; it makes an excellent fuel. 

 The bark is prized by tanners. 



13. Q. virens, Ait. (Live Oak.) Trunk 40 to 60 feet in height, much 

 branched above, forming a broad, picturesque head. Bark thick, very dark. 

 Leaves subsessile, blade thick, elliptical, oblong, varying in form, — entire, 

 lobed, or irregularly toothed, — downy in star-like spots underneath. Fruit 

 peduncled ; acoru long, ovate, about one third inclosed in the cup. 



Geography. — Its home is North America ; its geographical range is narrow. 

 It abounds in the regions of the southern Atlantic and the Gulf States. 



Etymology. — Virens, the specific name, is from the Latin adjective virens, 

 green, and is due to the evergreen leaves. 



Use. — On account of its great strength, it is highly prized for use in naval 

 architecture ; it is also excellent fuel. The geographical range is so small, 

 and the mode of lumbering is so wasteful, that a speedy exhaustion of the 

 supply is to be apprehended, and legislation is suggested to protect the live 

 oak forests of Florida and Georgia. 



14. Q. suber, L. (Cork Tree.) Trunk 20 to 35 feet in height. Bark 

 spongy and cracked. Leaves on short petioles, ovate-oblong, leathery, re- 

 motely dentate, occasionally entire, downy underneath, and evergreen. 

 Flowers greenish- white, appearing in May. Acoru long and subcylindrical : 

 cup hemispherical, clothed with overlapping scales. 



The products of the cork tree are so valuable that the tree has not only been 

 protected, but large plantations have been made ; and as the trees are raised 

 from seed, a number of varieties have arisen, the most important of which are 

 the following : — 



Var. latifolia, Bauh. Leaves broader than those of the species. 



Var. angustifolium, Bauh. Leaves narrow. 



Var. dentatum. Leaves large and toothed. 



Geography. — The Quercus suber is indigenous in southern Europe and 

 northern Africa ; it does not flourish north of the middle of France. 



Etymologij. — Suher is the old Latin name for the cork tree. Linnaeus 

 placed it under Quercus, and made suher the specific name. Cork, the common 

 name, is derived from the Latin cortex, cork, and signifies the outer thick bark 

 between the epidermis and the cuticle. 



History. — When cork was first applied to its present uses is not known. 

 The Romans were acquainted with its use during the first century. 



Preparation. — Harvesting the bark is begun when the tree is from twenty- 

 five to thirty years old. Removing the cotk does not injure the tree ; on the 

 contrary this is said to be conducive to its growth. The first crop is of poor 

 quality. The second stripping occurs ten years after the first, but the third 

 stripping yields the best bark. It is taken from the tree by making an incision 

 with a sharp instrument around the tree near the base, just deep enough to 

 avoid wounding the liber. Three feet above, a parallel incision is made, and 

 so on up to the branches, making in all three or at most four incisions. It is 

 then slit vertically in widths convenient to handle. The pieces are then forced 

 off Avith a flat piece of wood, which is introduced between the liber and the 

 cortex. It is held over live coals till the surface is slightly charred, to close 

 the pores. It is then subjected to pressure to take the curve out of it, after 

 which it is piled under cover to dry, and Avhen dry it is fit for market. 



Use. — Cork is applied to many uses, the most important of which is in the 

 manufacture of corks for bottles, for which purpose it is especially adapted. 



