CHAPTER VIII 

 A Friend Unrecognized 



Chemical uses of wood; the tanning of leather; 

 charcoal ; alcohol and other products of wood distilla- 

 tion ; dyes made from wood. 



Wood comes to us through the chemical indus- 

 tries in many other strange forms. Let us take tan- 

 ning materials for example. Tannin is what may be 

 called an astringent — a soluble agent acting upon 

 animal skins in such a way as to preserve them and 

 render them pliable, strong and, to a degree, water- 

 proof. It is found in nearly all varieties of wood 

 but only in a few to a sufficient extent to be com- 

 mercially valuable. The art of tanning was under- 

 stood long before America was discovered, having 

 probably been practised even by the ancient 

 Egyptians. The American Indians knew how to 

 preserve deer skins by the use of hemlock bark, and 

 as the country grew, this bark became the chief 

 commercial source of tanning materials. 



From these small beginnings has grown up an 

 American industry whose product is valued at over 

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