58 Trees, Stars, and Birds 



the flowers fragrant, and why have they a different color 

 from the leaves? 



Uses of the wood. The sections which bee keepers 

 put in the hives for the bees to fill with comb and honey 

 are made of basswood. Many other kinds of wood, if 

 used in this way, would give a disagreeable odor or 

 taste to the honey, but basswood is free from these 

 objectionable qualities. You can get a sample of bass- 

 wood by taking a piece of such a section after the honey 

 has been removed, or perhaps from a piece of a crayon 

 box, for many crayon boxes are made of this wood. 

 On the crayon box is the printing on the wood ? Would 

 it be as easy to print on any kind of wood as on bass- 

 wood? Another name for the basswood is whitewood. 

 Why? Can you name some kinds of wood that are 

 lighter colored? Is basswood as heavy as a piece of 

 oak of the same size? Name some kinds of wood that 

 are heavier and some kinds that are lighter than bass- 

 wood. 



Properties of the wood. The thin boards used in 

 making crayon boxes are not sawed in a mill, as most 

 boards are, but are sliced with a long knife. After a 

 short basswood log has been steamed, its side is pressed 

 against a fixed knife as long as the log itself, and the 

 log is made to revolve. In this way a thin layer of wood 

 is peeled round and round from the log, giving a large 

 sheet which can be cut into any desired size. Would 

 it be as easy to do this with all other kinds of wood? 

 With your knife try whether basswood is easy to cut. 

 Is it easy to drive a nail into it, or to dent it with your 

 finger nail? Is a thin piece of basswood as tough as a 



