10 
Lorenzo de la Muga, a little village in the Pyrenees in the Province of 
the Girone—as having undertaken, with an associate, the farming 
of cork forests. Atter gathering the cork they burned the refuse and 
Shipped the product to their own country. From this time cork forests 
commenced to be rented. In 1796 the proprietors were paid 6 reals 
(75 cents) per hundredweight. At the same time the culture of the 
cork oak was extended; workshops were established for the cutting of 
corks in this region; the product was sent to the principal cities in 
Europe, and the reputation of the quality, which was merited, is still 
retained. 
Catalonia has aright to be considered as the cradle of the cork indus- 
try. In Portugal cork culture made the most rapid strides. Although 
of recent introduction, it becaine so extended that the production of 
Portuguese cork not only equaled but surpassed in quantity all the 
produce of other countries. The cultivation of the cork oak extended 
from Catalonia to other slopes of the Pyrenees and into the Province 
of Gascony, where its cultivation was seriously commenced in 1820. 
- The first efforts in this direction for governmental forests date back to 
1827. 
There exists at the present time the following amount of cork-forest 
lands: 
Hectares. 
BOnbU Ga JS. cis oes be ste ce ee es eee eee 300, 000 
SURE EN S28 Det aS cst eee wee Nl eS es ee ee tS ge 255, 000 
AE Geni eyese es 208 Sea eve Sie Se Cen esac a ey 80, 000 
GANGES 2.5 5h or SEB Se Nels wc ee eee a 148, 500 
NIG ie ee ee cane eel at Meee Ps Ser Ae emoaSeene vase 459, 000 
aP UNIS 2 33 oak Soe Se eet om es See ee ee ee ee 116, 000 
1, 358, 500 
(3,488,250 acres.) 
It appears that France, Algiers, and Tunis possess more than one- 
half of the total cork forests known. The Morocco forests are not men- 
tioned, being still unexplored. 
The cork oak industry, then, is of modern origin, but has increased 
in a most extraordinary manner. Already in a half century the pro- 
duction has more than doubled without a notable reduction in price, 
and with an extensively increasing market. The amount of prepared 
ecrk sold during 1892 equaled 587,000 hundredweight, which represents 
a value of $7,630,000. 
Portugal occupies the first place as a producer, while the United 
States, with an annual importation ef $400,000 to $500,000 worth, and 
England and Germany are the principal consumers. Spain exports 
to all countries, the principal exportation being manufactured corks 
for bottles. In this industry, and in the quality of the product, she 
surpasses all other countries. Italy exports her product principally to 
Spain, France, and Germany. In France almost the entire production 
is consumed by the home manufacturers. 
