Cork: Its Origin and Industrial Uses Part 5

These two uses are generally confined to the best sc.r.a.p, but there still remains a large quant.i.ty which has a great value. A portion of this is made into Spanish black by carbonizing same in a closed iron kettle, or retort, and then grinding same in a regulation ball mill, until the desired fineness is obtained; this process producing a very fine black.

The above uses in no degree exhaust the amount of sc.r.a.p corkwood that leaves the various factories here and abroad, nor is its usefulness expended, for there is one use to which cork sc.r.a.p is being put that bids fair to rival the stopper industry in importance, and that is in the form of cork-board for insulating purposes.

The processes for the making of cork-board differ in many ways, widely divergent in principle. The corkwood waste and virgin cork are broken up and chipped in an ordinary iron mill as a preliminary to all processes; in one, claimed to be the best, this chipped material is poured into iron molds the desired shape of the slab, subjected to heavy pressure and run into an oven kept at about 800 to 900 degrees Fahrenheit. This oven, being a low brick type, resembling a lear and heated by coal fires, the slab molds being drawn through on an endless chain, which runs at a speed to keep the cork in just long enough, for the resin in same to exude and bind the little particles together; the cork is also charred in this process, thereby converting it into a carbonized cellulose which makes it an excellent material for insulation.

Steam-heated hydraulic presses are also used for making small tile, etc., being the same principle as above, without the charring.

The other process involves the use of tar, pitch or asphaltum, as a binder for the cork particles, and in one, the cork is mixed with a clay before being mixed with the asphaltum. The binder being heated in steam jacketed kettles, and in one it is mixed in the proportion of one to four, while in the other it is forced into the ma.s.s under pressure and then drawn out again by vacuum, both mixtures being poured into molds of the desired shape of the slab or in large molds, to be cut up after, and subjected to heavy pressure, the sawing being done by an ordinary rip-saw, cutting the block into any desired thickness of slab.

The above described processes do not include all of the various manipulations of corkwood, for there are innumerable things as stated under the "Uses" for which there is a necessity of mechanical operation, in their making; but the general processes are as stated and will cover most all.

EXTENT OF THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

The cork stopper industry had its permanent origin in Spain, in the Province of Gerona, town of Llacostera, towards the latter part of 1750 and was contemporaneous with the inception of the gla.s.s bottle, although corkwood was used many years before as a stopper for amphora, etc., as noted in a previous chapter.

The trade flourished there until wars and schisms rent the country and drove the industry to the mountains. There it slumbered and struggled for many years until the peace was restored and the people a.s.sured that the dangers were pa.s.sed. Its revival was not very sudden, but slowly and surely it grew, and won itself a place in the trade life of Spain and finally became a necessity, so much so, that it began to attract attention and other countries sought to secure the secret. About 1828 the French agents at Catalonia found enough information to warrant them returning to France and there set up for themselves, the rivalry between the two becoming very keen, causing much excitement among the Spanish manufacturers; for up to that time they monopolized the trade and had a nice time of it. This lasted until 1849, when the trade a.s.sumed such proportions that both had all they could attend to and more. This insured a steady increase of the trade, and before long it a.s.sumed proportions that has surpa.s.sed the dreams of its founders. The industry spread until the raw material began to show a shortage due to the heavy demands made upon it. More frequent cuttings were compulsory to supply the market, and in consequence the grade became poorer.

The realization of this caused the Spanish Government to step in and protect the forests as a national necessity, and the result was the pa.s.sing of laws to govern the cutting of corkwood from the trees. But the trade kept on growing in other countries and the raw stock was in great demand.

The result of the heavy exportation of corkwood again caused some notable alarm among the manufacturers and trades-workers in Spain and Portugal, but princ.i.p.ally in the former, as most of the largest factories are located in its cities; so that the princ.i.p.al representatives of the cork industry convened at Madrid in December of 1911, at which convention resolutions were pa.s.sed to urge upon the Government the necessity of imposing an export tax or duty on corkwood ranging from five to fifty gold pesetas ($.0965 to $9.65) per 100 kilos (220 pounds).

By so doing it was thought to remedy the shortage in the home market.

The compet.i.tion between the foreign and Spanish buyers for the raw corkwood output was largely in favor of the foreigner in 1911, owing to the unprotective export duties, and the result has been that the once flourishing national industry is now very badly handicapped for want of working material.

So simultaneously with the tariff revision, which went into effect on January 1, 1912, an endeavor was made to put in force the increase on export corkwood, but owing to the efforts of the American cork manufacturers, who have a great influence over the Spanish cork industry, the proposed increase did not meet with the desired success.

In the attempt to restrict the importation of raw material the Spaniards have failed, for its usefulness makes the demand too great and the foreigners have invaded the Iberian Peninsula and are now buying up even the raw stock on the trees. The corkwood markets are no longer confined to two or three, but extend round the world, the princ.i.p.al ones being: London, Paris, Rheims, Epernay, Maguncia, Dresden, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Buenos Ayres, Calcutta, Sydney, Melbourne and Yeddo. So it will be seen that a great demand is being made upon the forests, which must be cultivated for increased growth and production or an early investigation made for the growing of the trees in other countries.

Of course the industry remains very strong throughout Spain and Portugal, and particularly in the Andalusia District of Spain, where the manufacturing establishments play an important part in converting the corkwood into useful articles of commerce. The Spanish yield of raw material has remained slightly behind Portugal, but this does not affect the former's influence in the trade. (See Appendix.)

It is inevitable that the greatest bulk of the trade should center around the countries in which the raw material is grown, for the greatest advantage is thus gained by those, so fortunate in their location.

But the spread of the corkwood's fame has aroused others to action, and it appears as though the monopoly will suffer because of that fame. The demand grows daily, and the rapid growth of the American trade bids fair to being a very close rival to the long-established European manufactures at least.

The waste is rapidly a.s.suming great importance and to this the newer entrant in the business is turning all his energy. The doctrine of conservation and utilization has been heeded by the corkwood industry and the waste is no longer such, rather standing as a cork product second only to the stopper, when the fact is considered that the grower or farmer receives about $58 per ton for raw corkwood and the waste sells from $22 to $32 per ton; its value is apparent.

A notable feature of the shipments from Spain is the waste and shavings, which doubled from 1906 to 1910, viz.:

1906 - 14,624 tons 1907 - 17,557 "

1908 - 12,201 "

1909 - 20,198 "

1910 - 29,257 "

The uses to which corkwood may be put are unlimited, and as has been seen the uses already known are sufficient, in themselves, to make it a very important commodity. And yet when we speak of uses it is only those that have developed by reason of the corkwood's own peculiarity that makes it the subject of discussion, and not the great number that it has been adapted to, for perhaps its utility will have no end, and in my estimation its particular qualities are but little appreciated. Of course its application as a stopper is ideal for that purpose, but it appears most certain that this wonderful growth is designed to be of greater service to man than the mere function of filling the neck of a bottle. Chemically, I think it has possibilities; the ancients found it useful in Materia Medica, and there may still be a use in this line. At any rate, it is the most wonderful bark of its kind, its service has been a long one, and its benefits, even as a stopper, have been many. A wonderful material truly, and of interest, so full that it seems I have failed to do it justice in these few words presented in my endeavor to describe the Quercus Suber of Linnaeus.