Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1945-06-22
Cork Can Be Grown on Waste Lands
Of Southwest u. s, Survey Reveals
This Vital Material
Is Now Imported From
Spain and Portugal


FORK OAK, attractive ever
" green or Give oak" that will
serve about the same ornament
al and shade purposes as other
live native oaks, yields a prod
uct that, despite the many sub
Stitutes developed, still remains
a highly critical material in war
time.
The cork oak is being grown in
many different sections of the coun-
try. The map given below shows
some of the sections where cork oak
trees are now in production. The
cork oak is adaptable in a consider
able portion of this country. The
limiting factors to its growth, are
drouth, that is rainfall below 20
inches per year, poor drainage and
severe winter temperatures. Cork
oak has withstood minimum tenn
perature of five degrees below zero
at several places along the Atlantic
seaboard. 1t is believed to have sur
vived even lower temperatures in
the mountains of Spain.
If the future use of cork expands,
even in peacetime, a shortage of
this versatile material may develop.
The development of nodded cork in
Sulation, the expanding use of cork
for floor and wall coverings, and the
increasing need for engine gaskets,
as well as such well-known products
as bottle shoppers, crown caps, ham
dies for fishing rods and other i'm
plements, shoe insoles, linoleum,
friction pads, etc., indicate that the
total demand for cork products is
likely to increase rather than de-
crease in the future.
One substitute for cork has been
developed at the USDA Northern Re-
gional Research laboratory at Peo-
ria, Ill. It is made from the pith
and fibers of farm wastes, together
with animal or vegetable Clues and
sugars, apple syrup or glycerine.
By cutting pith into fine particles
and incorporating these in liquid
composition that when set, hardens
to an elastic body, a product has
been produced that closely dupli-
Gates the physical structure of cork.
Farm crops with pith particles suit
able for this purpose are sugarcane,
cornstalks, peanut hulls, and SIM
liar material.
During normal peacetimes about
160, 900 tons of cork is imported an
nually.
Domestic Cork Prospects.
The total potential cork area, in
the Southwest alone, covers more
than half million square miles.
Out of this area, more than 100000
square miles or more than 10000, 900
acres are available for cork oak
paintings. This represents land that
has no economic crop at present,
but is suitable to become the center
of great cork industry.
The number of cork oak paintings
that can be made each year is linn
tied to the domestic acorn crop.
Acorns must be kept in cold storage
until planted in order to preserve
their viability. So far temperature
of So to 38 degrees have proven sat-
isfactory.
The largest grove of trees in the
United States is in Bidwell Park,
Chico, Calf. Here more than 600
cork trees are thriving from plant
ing made in 1904.
A large nursery at Superior, Ariz.,
where $4,000 cork seedlings are
grown annually, has been put into
operation recently.
It will still take many years be-
fore domestic cork trees can supply
even the cork needed in making en-
CINE gaskets. The crankcase and oil
compartments of most engines are
sealed with cork gaskets. With en-
gines playing the part they are to-
day in our combat as well as defense
activities, cork gaskets become vi