Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1886-02-19

MlCHAUX'S 1.-THE NORTH AMERl
CAN SYLVIA"
THE CORK OAK.


The Cork Oak grows naturally in the
southern parts of France in Spain. Port
ugal, Italy and the States of Barbarv.
which are comprised between the nth
and 3jth degrees of latitude 1t rarely
exceeds 10 feet in height and three feet
in diameter. Its leaves are evergreen.
but the greater part of them fall and are
renewed in the spring. They are ovate.
thick, slightly toothed. of Il light green
on the upper surface and glaucous be-
meath. The acornS are rather large, oval.
and half enclosed in Il conical cup. and.
being of Il sweetiSh taste. are eagerly de
vourcd by swine.
The wood is hard, compact and heavy.
but less durable than that of the Com
mon European Oak, particularly when
exposed to humidity The worth of the
tree resides in its bark. which begins to
be taken off at the age of - years. The
first growth is of little value: in ten
Years it is renewed: but the second pro-
duct. though less cracked than the first.
j. not thick enough for COrkS. and j. used
only by fishermen to buoy up their nets.
1t j. not till the tree is - or 30 wears old
that the bark possesses all the qualities re-
qui>itc for good cOrlS. and from that peri
cd it is collected oncein eight or ten years.
Its thickness il owing to the cXtraordi-
nary swelling of the cellular tissue. 1t
is better fitted than any other substance
for the use to which it i appropriated. a,
it, elasticity exactly adapt> it to the neck
of the bottle and it, mnpcnetrablc >truc-
turc refuses exit to the fluid.
July and August are the seasons for
gathering it. For this purpose two OPP
po>te longitudinal inci>ions are made
through the whole length of the trunk
and two Others. transverse to the first. at
the cNtremitie>: the bark is then de
tachcd by inserting Il hatchet~hamdlc
shaped like wedge. Great care must
be taken not to wound the alburnlm. a.
the bark is never renewed upon the in
iurcd parts. After being scrapcd. the
bark j. heated on it, convex side and la
den with stones. to tlattcn it and render
it easier of transportation. In Catalonia
it is cut into pieces and boiled to improve
it, quality. IT. excellence consists in
being compact. supple and elastic. and it
should be from fifteen to twenty lines
thick.
The cork produced in France may he
rrckOned at 1000 or $1,000 quintalS. and
when the sheets are smooth and even
each quintal affords 1000 to 900 corkS
eighteen lines long. The common price
j. a dollar and seventy cents thousand
OF which fifty cents must be allowed a.
the price of making. 1t is computed
that 10 or 10 millions of cork> are an
nually consumed in France.
This tree would be an important ac-
QUESTION to the United States and would
grow wherever the Live Oak subSiSts
The soil of the pine-barrens is in general
too meagre to sustain its vegetation: the
the bed of vegetable mould is in many
places too thin. and the sand beneath 50
homogeneous that the roots of the Pines.
instead of shooting downwards. fold
themselves back, As if repealed by solid
rock.
Both public and private interest re-
quire the inhabitants of the Southern
coast. and especially the neighboring
islands. to rear the Cork Oak about their
plantations and in places that are unfit
for the cultivation of cotton. 1t should
also be Introduced into West Tennessee.
and the more reason aS the Vine may be
cultivated there with success.
As the young stocks are injured by
tranSplanting, they should be perma-
ncntly fixed the second or third year.
70 favor their growth, the earth should
be looScd about the roots two or three
times year; and, to render them tall
and well shaped. the lower branches
should be cut even with the trunk. Their
vegetation i, in this manner strengthened
and the bark improved; without further
attention they will continue to afford Il
valuable product during two or three
centuries.
This tree has great advantages over
flourish in the same parts of the l'nitcd
States, such "a the Olive and the White
| Mulberry. To fit their products for con-
sumption, particularly that of the Null
berry, requires complicated processes,
which can be performed with advantage
only in populous countries. Hence the
attempts made seventy or eighty years
ago in Georgia To introduce the rearing
of silk-wOrms proved abortive; and the
old White Mulberry-treeS that still re-
main are monuments of that ill-calcu-
lated speculation. The bark of the Cork
Oak, on the contrary, might be trans
ported to the Northern States. or made
into corks on the spot by simple oper-
alton performed by a single person with