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 Linnæus. APPENDIX For those who may be interested in a few statistics of the trade is appended the following figures relating to the Spanish and American industry: SPANISH INDUSTRY, 1912 There were 892 factories throughout Spain in 1912, in 107 towns and cities, divided as follows: Seville District 305 in 48 towns Barcelona District 507 in 31 “ Other Districts 80 in 28 “ These factories employ approximately 40,000 people in the various branches of the industry at an average daily wage of 67 cents. The raw material yield for 1912 is reported as: 7800 short tons, valued at $57.90 per ton to the grower, or $4,516,200. It will also be of interest to show a few comparisons of values, for various years, in shipments to foreign parts, viz.: 1909 ═════════════════════════════╤══════════════╤════════════ Description │ Pounds │ Value ─────────────────────────────┼──────────────┼──────────── Cork in sheets ............. │ 11,009,939 │ $405,366 Cork squares ............... │ 1,180,489 │ 265,610 Corks ...................... │ 11,960,760 │ 4,870,948 Cork shavings .............. │ 66,435,426 │ 363,563 Other manufactured cork .... │ 864,820 │ 40,656 │ ────────── │ ────────── Total .................... │ 91,451,434 │ $5,946,143 │ │ ═════════════════════════════╧══════════════╧════════════