THE LUMBER INDUSTRY 197 
is probably, considering all things, the cheapest and 
most useful power for all common purposes. In the 
case of very large logs, splitting with explosives is 
often necessary. Mammoth sawmills have naturally 
developed to fit such mammoth timber. 
Besides the lumber already mentioned, think of 
the telegraph and telephone poles and railroad ties 
whieh extend from ocean to ocean a dozen times! 
A map of the railroads of this country resembles a 
huge cobweb. Under the rails there are billions of 
ties.. Think of the piles used in wharf and bridge 
construction, of the fences around almost every 
field, of the fuel-wood which is used in cooking our 
food and warming our houses, and in operating our 
industrial establishments! Think of the wood used 
in house, boat, and car construction; of the wood 
in furniture and agricultural implements; of the wood 
in barrels, tubs, buckets, baskets, and boxes! The 
uses of wood are, in fact, manifold. The desk on 
which I write is of walnut, the trimmings of the room 
are of chestnut, the floor is of oak, some of the fur- 
niture is cherry, mahogany, willow, and what not, 
the doors are of white pine, the waste-basket is of 
willow, the wood of my pencil is cedar, the cigar-box 
on my table is West Indian cedar, my eraser is of 
rubber, the mucilage on my desk, if pure, is the gum 
of a tree, the cork in the bottle is the bark of a tree, 
14 
