The railway now in course of construction passes through these woods,
which may ere long offer quite picturesque scenery for travelers,
especially when the cork trees are bearing acorns, which form the
principal food for the fattening of large herds of swine during
certain seasons of the year, in this way, also, contributing to the
value of this tree, which, like the other kinds of oak trees, is of
long and tardy growth. The tree from which the cork is obtained is
somewhat abundant in the mountainous districts of Andalusia. It grows
to a height of about 30 feet, and resembles the _Quercus ilex_, or
evergreen oak, and attains to a great age. After arriving at a certain
state of maturity it periodically sheds its bark, but this bark is
found to be of better quality when artificially removed from the tree,
which may be effected without injury to the tree itself. After the
tree has attained twenty-five years it may be barked, and the
operation is afterward repeated once in every seven years. The quality
of the cork seems to improve with the increasing age of the tree,
which is said to live over one hundred and fifty years. The bark is
taken off during July and August.
Cork dust is also obtained from this cork wood, and is much used in
the packing of grapes, which fruit is largely shipped from the eastern
coast of Spain, especially from Almeria, during the vintage seasons,
for the American and British markets.
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