86 



WOOD. 



applied! To say nothing of their beauty and the 

 charming freshness of their shade, how multiplied 

 are the conveniences which they afford by supplying 

 us with that most useful article, Wood ! 



Without trees for building purposes, and for the 

 manufacture of those many utensils, which seem al- 

 most coupled with our very existence, how changed 

 would life be ! Half the comfort of our houses is 

 due to the wood which forms so large a part of the 

 materials of which they are constructed ; and many of 

 the charms of country firesides are owing to the uncon- 

 scious and unsightly logs that lie blazing upon the 

 hearthstone. 



But however dependent upon trees for the supply 

 of our daily wants, and however they may excite our 

 admiration when we look upon their noble forms, yet 

 how few there are who sufficiently reflect upon the 

 manifold blessings which are conferred upon us by 

 their existence ! 



The forest trees of 

 the temperate zone 

 may be considered as 

 forming the type of 

 the second great na- 

 tural order of plants, 

 called "Exogenous," 

 from the fact that the 

 new growth takes 

 place on the exterior 

 surface of the stem, a 

 new layer of wood be- 



Exogonous Wood, showing th 

 growth of nine years. 



