456 PLANTS AND THEIR RELATION TO MAN 



tough, and durable, and is invaluable where great strength and 

 durability are desired, as in the making of farm implements, 

 wagons, and bridges. Walnut, cherry, and mahogany are less 

 common and are used chiefly for ornamental purposes, as in the 

 making of fine furniture and in the finishing of the interior of 

 buildings. 



The uses of wood are almost innumerable. The flexible 

 woody shoots and stems of willow trees are woven into strong 



baskets and hampers 

 (Fig. 324). Small pieces 

 of wood from spruce, 

 poplar, aspen, and other 

 trees are ground into a 

 pulp and made into the 

 paper on which our daily 

 news is printed and our 



FIG. 324 .- Baskets. business communica- 



tions written. Wood 



can be chemically treated in such a way that it yields wood 

 alcohol, wood or artificial vinegar, and other important com- 

 mercial products. 



Stem fibers. Strong flexible threads or fibers from plants 

 have for years been woven into such useful articles as twine, 

 rope, fish nets, bags, and into clothing. The most important 

 plant fibers used for clothing are from the cotton and flax plants ; 

 the most important plant fibers used for such things as burlap s 

 rope, carpets, and twine are from the hemp and jute plants. 

 Flax is an herbaceous plant which grows about two and a 

 half feet high and has a strong flexible stem. The stalks 

 are cut from the plant and are soaked in water until their 

 weaker portions have rotted and are easily separated from the 

 tough bast threads. The coarser and longer threads are manu- 

 factured into twine, and the better fibers are woven into canvas, 



