Cork: Its Origin and Industrial Uses Part 1

Cork: Its Origin and Industrial Uses.

by Gilbert E. Stecher.

PREFACE

This monograph is not an attempt to put before the reading public a scientific exposition of the merits and qualities of the Quercus Suber or Quercus Liber (Linnaeus), and carry it up into the heights of learning where none but the learned may go; but to set forth in as concise a manner as possible, the plain story of the corkwood stopper so well known to all. The corkwood as seen in the stopper and in many other articles of trade, has long been of service to man, and remained unnoticed in journals of science, but for a word here and there-and in trying to acquaint myself with its generalities, found it most difficult to get even these. This rather impressed me as being singular, a material so largely used and so little to its credit, in literature, that I pressed my investigations only to find that the farther I searched the less I found.

The few facts gleaned were of interest, and it occurred to me to put them together in some readable form, for future reference. But as I reflected upon the unsuccessful attempt to get information, which was made in behalf of my studies, I promptly decided to go into the subject deep enough to cover all the facts and the result is this monograph-Quercus Suber-

It is presented with the hope that it will help others who seek a knowledge of corkwood and is only intended as a resume of a very interesting subject. I have endeavored to give credit to those to whom it is due and offer my results as a tribute to a material that stands in a cla.s.s worthy of the scientists' as well as the commercialists' esteem.

G. E. STECHER.

June 15, 1914.

QUERCUS SUBER-

"CORK"

The material of which this monograph treats has become of double interest because of its shrouded mystery, which has never been pierced to the extent of giving the world a complete and comprehensive story.

The mysticism does not encompa.s.s its utility and general uses nor its native land, as these are well known, but is more a.s.sociated with its character, composition and chemical makeup.

Its uses may be traced far back into the misty past that is dim to us, but from the faint scroll of history looms up in the mind's eye as an epoch that we may have been glad to know, and although the references are few, by carefully a.n.a.lyzing them we may glean somewhat of its lineage.

The arcana attending it have been revealed to a few, who no doubt, through curiosity, have endeavored to penetrate its obscurity, but unfortunately have not written extensively upon the subject, instead leaving a meager memorandum of their findings. The years of its use have given very little knowledge of it to us, the reason perhaps being the lack of compet.i.tion and therefore no necessity for a close scrutiny to find additional qualities to recommend it above others. And an additional mystery is that it has been in use for so many years and so little said about it. Its latent qualities have mystified those who have handled it for years, and from them we can learn very little; so it will be of interest to peruse practically all that has been written, incorporated in this treatise, with the addition of the latest investigations upon the subject. To present this in a form which will give credit to the small but authoritative references and place them in their proper order, together with other recent data, was no small task, and in presenting the total matter in concise style meant the weeding out of all extraneous language or superfluous description.

In considering this material, it may be well to start with a few precursory remarks as to the etymology of the words by which it has been designated in the past and is now known, as by so doing it will convey a better understanding of the material to follow.

QUERCUS LIBER (Linnaeus)

The above name is the true one of the material under discussion and is derived from the Latin. Quercus; Italian or esculent oak sacred to Jupiter. Liber; binding or surrounding; hence surrounding of the oak or bark of the oak, sacred to Jupiter.

"QUERCUS SUBER"

This, its definite name, undoubtedly conveyed some particular meaning to the ancients, but research fails to reveal any definition of the word "Suber."[1] "The word is so far a puzzle to philologists. Forcellini in his great dictionary of Latin says that it is perhaps connected with the Greek word (s?fa? = suphar), which means 'an old wrinkled skin, as, for instance, the cast-off skin of a snake.' If this derivation be sound, the Romans, in using the word, thought at the outset primarily of the rough bark of the tree and then of the tree as a whole. Forcellini quotes also an opinion of Isidorus Hispalensis upon the longer form of 'Suber,' i.e., Suberies, to the effect that this form is derived from 'sus' (swine) and 'edo' (eat) because swine eat the acorns. But this is a purely popular etymology. I find too that Scaliger derived it from the verb 'Subio' 'to come up from below' because cork will not stay down in water. Vanicek, in his Etymologisches Worterbuch, cla.s.ses 'Suber' among the dunkel words, and in the new and most elaborate Historische Grammatic of Stolz the word is not mentioned at all in the treatment of roots. Even Otto Keller in his work on Etymologies has nothing to say about it."

[1] Letter from Prof. Nelson G. McCrea of Columbia University, June 12, 1910, to writer.

"CORK"

This name is as much of a mystery as the word "Suber" and its origin can only be guesswork. In the opinion of the writer it is the broadening of the first syllable of the word "Quercus" and has no bearing upon its usage, composition or lineage. Some dictionaries give other derivations, such as the mutilation of the Spanish "Corcho" or the French "Calk," and others that it is taken from the Latin Cortex,[2] meaning the outer sh.e.l.l or husk, the external part, but they do not present any convincing argument.

[2] According to "Spanish Dictionary" of Lopes et Bensley; Cortex: "La Parte exterior del Arbol." Arbol in botany meaning "a tree."

The meaning of the word "cork" as applied to-day is derived from the Arabic "Kalafa," to stop the seams of ships; the Latin "Stipo," to suppress; the French, "Calfeutrer," to stop. But these do not bear upon the origin of the word "cork," as in all probability the word was coined independent of these sources, but as we apply the word to a definite act, that of "stopping," the definition as given above is applicable, although the proper name would be "stopper," regardless of what material it is made. It is therefore plain that the word "cork" is a Latin phonetic abbreviation, for it appears to be the only logical root for the word.

The cork tree is called "Alcornoque" in Castilian language; Surn in Castalan; Sobreiro, Gallician; Suvi y Sioure in provincialism; Chene Liege in French; Keonge fernam or only fernam, in Argeline; Kork-baum or Korkeiche in German; and, as before stated, cork in English.[3]

[3] Consul Schenck's Report.

ORIGIN

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 pa.s.s through Portugal, consisting of the Douro, Tagus and Guadiana in the west, and the Ebro in the Gerona district.

[4] Armstrong Cork Co.'s pamphlet.

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.

[5] There are large forests of cork on the French Colony of Algeria, particularly on an estate granted by the Emperor Napoleon III to M. le duc de Montebello.-H. G. GLa.s.sPOOLE.

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.

[6] Chambers Journal.

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]

[7] One hectare = 2.471 acres.

[8] Consul Schenck's Report.

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 resume 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 alt.i.tude of 1600 to 3000 feet, in an average mean temperature of 55 Fahrenheit; and at points beyond 45 north lat.i.tude 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 j.a.panese Government to plant cork trees in Formosa and the Ogasawara Isles, in the endeavor to supply small corks to the j.a.panese merchants, the result of which, is yet to be learned.

[9] _Chambers Journal._