436 FOREST PRODUCTS 



dred years of age. The most valuable cork is generally about an inch 

 in thickness and this is produced from rather young, vigorous trees, 

 about forty to fifty years of age, and from the lower branches of the 

 older trees. The bark is stripped according to the vigor displayed. This 

 is gauged by men long experienced in the business. All stripping is done 

 by skilled workmen who decide for each tree how high the bark should 

 be removed. A young, vigorous tree with thick bark can be stripped 

 higher than one with thin bark, or one which presents a rather unprom- 



FiG. 115. — Weighing pieces of cork in the cork oak forests of southern Spain, just after 

 stripping and drying. Raw cork is usually purchased on the basis of weight before it is 

 sent to the factory for manufacture. 



ising or unhealthy appearance. On old trees the best cork is found 

 on the lower portions of the larger branches. 



In stripping the bark, a ring is customarily cut completely around the 

 top and the bottom of the trunk ; then a vertical cut is made up the trunk 

 and as many other horizontal rings around the tree as seem necessary in 

 order to facilitate the removal of the bark. The wedge-shaped handle 

 of the hatchet is then inserted and the bark pried off. Each tree presents 

 a different problem. On small trees one may often take off the whole 

 bark in one section. On larger trees 2 to 4 vertical cuts up the tree may 

 be necessary. There is no uniformity either in the length or width of 



