After being roughly sorted as to quality and thickness the bark is then ready for its first long journey, and, as the forests are generally located in hilly or even mountainous country, the faithful burro must again be called into service. Truly the Spaniard’s best friend, though the worst treated of all, these patient little animals present a most grotesque appearance when loaded from head to hind quarters with a huge mass of the light bark. Down from the hills they go in trains of thirty, forty, or even a hundred, threading the rocky bridle paths in single file and wending their way through the narrow streets of quaint villages, where traces of Moorish occupancy may still be seen, to the nearest railway station, or even to Seville itself. Of course, if conditions permit, wagons are used, but since Spain is not a country famous for its good roads, it is probable that for many years to come the burro will play his part in supplying the cork markets of the world. [Illustration: Baling Corkwood at Seville] [Illustration] [Illustration: One of the Corkwood Warehouses, Seville Plant] [Illustration: The Giralda, Seville] Although large supplies of raw material are drawn from Portugal, the principal foreign warehouse and Spanish factory of the Armstrong Cork Company are situated in Seville; hence it is to that historic city on the banks of the Guadalquivir that the bark from many hills and valleys finds its way during the summer months. There the bales as they come from the country are opened, the bark boiled and scraped, if this has not already been done, and then, after the edges have been trimmed, is sorted into a dozen or more grades of different quality and thickness. The importance of this last mentioned operation cannot be overemphasized, as the whole problem of the successful and economical manufacture of cork centers about it. The expert Spanish sorters having finished their work, the bark is ready to be rebaled for shipment to America. Broad sheets are placed in a baling box to form the bottom of the bale, and above them are laid smaller pieces, which are covered in turn with larger sections; then the whole mass is subjected to pressure to render it compact, afterward being bound up securely with steel hoops or wire. Each bale is carefully stenciled with marks indicating grade or quality. Loaded directly into ocean-going steamers alongside the Seville docks, not infrequently a whole ship’s cargo of cork at a time is transported to Philadelphia, New York, or Baltimore, and thence freighted to the Pittsburgh factory. [Illustration: The Wharf at Seville. Loading Bales of Corkwood for America] [Illustration: Bale of Corkwood] [Illustration: Spaniards cutting Bark into Strips and Squares] [Illustration: Cutting Corks by Hand] [Illustration: The Factory at Pittsburgh]