The study of its origin leads us to that romantic part of the world bordering the Mediterranean Sea from which we have already received so much in all branches. The cork-producing country practically covering the whole of Portugal sweeping toward the East through the southern districts known as Andalusia and Estremadura, thence northeast, embracing thousands of acres of forests in Catalonia. Spain and Portugal dividing honors among the nations in the annual yield of raw material, with perhaps the advantage leaning slightly to the latter.[4] This being partly due to increased area, no doubt, as the geographical situation is the same but with the irrigation feature slightly in favor of Spain, as through the corkwood country flows the Guadalquivir River in addition to the three which also pass through Portugal, consisting of the Douro, Tagus and Guadiana in the west, and the Ebro in the Gerona district.
Tunis and Algeria[5] rank next in importance with Southern France, including Corsica following closely. Italy (Tuscany) too with the help of Sardinia and Sicily continuing to be quite a factor in meeting the demand for the crude material, while across the Strait of Gibraltar the sun-scorched forests of Morocco at El-araish are as yet undeveloped, although rapidly being pressed into service.
The geographical formation of Portugal is extremely favorable for the rearing of cork trees, every evidence of this characteristic being well marked by the densely thick groups of cork trees to be seen in certain regions, especially in the Valley of the Tagus and the Sierra de Portalegre provinces of Alemtejo and Algarve, which are the chief bearing centers of this country,[6] the area devoted to their cultivation being approximately 366,000 hectares.
In Spain it is found in the Provinces of Gerona, Caceres, Andalusia, Huelvas, Seville, Cadiz, Ciudad Real, Malaga, Cordoba and Toledo in the order named.
According to a calculation made by the administration of forests the extent of cork forests in Spain is about 255,000 hectares,[7] viz. 80,000 in the Province of Gerona, 54,000 in Huelvas, 32,500 in Caceres, 28,000 in Seville, 20,000 in Cadiz, 11,500 in Ciudad Real and 9500 in Cordoba. The remainder is distributed between ten other provinces. [8]
In the Province of Gerona is included a large territory stretching northward towards the Pyrenees to the Valley of the Muge and Ter. In France, according to Consul Goldschmidt of Nantes, the cork-producing territory is divided as follows: Var, 280 acres; Lot-et-Garonne, 27 acres; Landes, 32 acres; Corsica, 40 acres; making about 379 acres in all.
This résumé of the cork-producing countries of Europe will convey some idea of the extent of the forests, and will also show the climate sort by the tree; for it is proven that it flourishes best in an altitude of 1600 to 3000 feet, in an average mean temperature of 55° Fahrenheit; and at points beyond 45° north latitude its successful propagation is doubtful.
[The Mediterranean Basin] is particularly suitable for the rearing of corkwood, and although many attempts have been made to transplant the seed, the results have proven fatal.
Notable among these attempts being the American ambition to introduce the tree in the United States. Portuguese acorns were brought to Wayne County, Mississippi, and planted in 1859; the result, as far as the growth was concerned, was splendid; but after a wait of eleven years, the final crop was not a commercial success. Another attempt was made in 1872, in southern California, but with no better outcome than the first, in which some of the trees attained to a height of thirteen feet (3.965 meters) and the stem, to a diameter of eleven inches (2.794 decimeters), including the cork, which attained a thickness of one inch (2.540 centimeters). This evidently rapid growth would infer that the American zone was all that could be desired for the favorable rearing of cork trees; but strange to say this was not the case. Although the growth of the tree had been exceptionally strong, the quality of its salient product turned out to be of an inferior character. The cork generally improves with the age of the tree; in this instance, however, even after years of maturity the cork harvest did not improve to any great extent, and indeed is still of a second-rate quality.[9] And Consul S. C. Reat, writing from Tamsui, recently reports the efforts of the Japanese Government to plant cork trees in Formosa and the Ogasawara Isles, in the endeavor to supply small corks to the Japanese merchants, the result of which, is yet to be learned.