152 THE CORK-TREE. 



oak. There are several sorts, some of which 

 shed their leaves ; but, I think, it is a broad- 

 leaved evergreen sort, from which cork for use 

 is chiefly obtained. This use of the bark was 

 known to the ancient Greeks and Romans ; 

 they employed it for floats to their nets, for 

 buoys to their anchors, and for stopping of 

 bottles. And one, who was sent to swim 

 through the Tiber, during the siege of Rome 

 by the Gauls, had a life-preserver, or cork- 

 jacket, under his clothes ; so that even that 

 invention, you see, is by no means modern. 



This useful tree grows most abundantly in 

 Spain, Portugal, and other southern parts of 

 Europe. The cork is a sort of over-all, or 

 great-coat, which the tree, in warm weather, 

 can afford to part with ; but as it does not get 

 another before eight or ten years, the ope- 

 ration cannot be repeated till that time has 



