In the French departments of the Landes and Gironde the Quercus Occidentalis forms extensive woods, as also in Spain, Algeria and in some parts of Italy, while the Quercus Suber is a native of the Atlantic side of France and Portugal, where this tree grows to the greatest perfection, and to which countries we are indebted for the major part of our supply. The cork tree bears a general resemblance to the broad-leaved kind of (Quercus Ilex, Holm) or evergreen oak, of which species some authors consider it only a variety; but when full grown it forms a much handsomer tree. “In the localities to the north the cork is better than those exposed to the south. It grows and develops in ground of very little depth, and sometimes in ground, in appearance very stony. It is seldom found in calcareous soil, preferring always a soil of feldspar, and like the chestnut flourishes best in a sandy one.”[11] [11] Consul Schenck’s Report. The cork-oak attains a height of from six to eighteen meters, at times reaching fifty meters[12] and measures as much as 1.22 meters in diameter.[13] Its branches are covered with small evergreen leaves, which are rather spongy and velvety to the touch, have a glossy appearance and a saw-tooth edge, measuring about three to five centimeters[14] long and one and one-half to two wide. The roots are strong and spread considerably, and frequently are to be seen on the surface of the ground. The flowers or blossoms make their appearance in May; the fruit ripens in the fall or winter, from September to January, and falling from the tree as soon as ripe. Three qualities of acorns are to be observed according to their time of ripening and are called, “brevas primerizas de San Miguel,” which ripen in September; the second or middling “Martinencas,” which ripen in October and November; and finally the “tardias Ó palo-Meras,” which ripen in December and January. These acorns form one of the forest’s chief sources of revenue, since fed to swine, they give a peculiarly piquant flavor to the meat, Spanish mountain hams being noted for their excellence.[15] [12] Meter = 3.28 feet. [13] In a cork-wood of Montenegro (municipal district of Quart, Province of Gerona) the property of D. Romulo Bosch, and near the place called La Mina, we measured in August, 1877, a tree that was 4.95 meters in circumference, breast high, and the trunk of the tree five meters high, calculating its age between one hundred and fifty and two hundred years old. Consul Schenck’s Report, 1890. [14] Centimeter = .3937 inch. [15] Consul Schenck’s Report, 1890. Authority M. Fee.