Canadian Forestry Journal, September, ipij. 



201 



YOUNG PEOPLE'S ARBOR 



CONDUCTED BY JAMES LAWLER. 



In other issues of the Canadian 

 Forestry Journal we have talked 

 about the different kinds of trees. 

 In this one we will think about the 

 wood that comes from those trees. 



No Canadian boy or girl should 

 €ver get into the habit of thinking 

 that all woods are alike, or that 

 something is "just wood." Wood is 

 a most wonderful structure, and 

 €ach kind of wood is fitted for some 

 special use. There is no "best" 

 wood, because the best wood from 

 which to make the back of a violin 

 is not the best wood to use for the 

 Iceel of a ship and so for other uses. 



The Weed Trees. 

 Canada has many kinds of trees. 

 Some of these in the past we have 

 called "weed" trees, but we are now 

 remembering that a famous man has 

 said that a weed is only a plant for 

 which we have not yet found the 

 proper use. In the last few years 

 we have discovered many new uses 

 for wood so that trees that were 

 once "weeds" are now valuable. As 

 there are many trees for which we 

 still have not found the best use, 

 ■every Canadian should endeavor to 

 learn all he or she can about our 

 woods, so that we may all assist in 

 finding that use and so that Canada 

 may become a pleasanter, a richer 

 and a more powerful country. 



Telling Them Apart. 



While boys and girls born in 

 countries that have no forests may 

 be, perhaps, excused from knowing 

 much about trees, would it not be a 

 fine thing if every Canadian bov and 

 girl could say "that is a pine tree," 

 "that is a spruce tree," or upon be- 

 ing shown a piece of wood could 



examine it and tell whether it is 

 pine, or cedar or maple? If you 

 have not seen the little booklet, 

 "Twenty Canadian Trees," send to 

 the Secretary of the Canadian For- 

 estry Association for one which will 

 help you in gaining one part of this 

 knowledge. 



The other part, at present, you 

 must gain from examining different 

 pieces of wood, in and about your 

 home, the furniture, floors, doors, 

 fences, etc., and asking people to tell 

 you. Any carpenter will tell you 

 the names of the different kinds of 

 wood he uses and in many schools 

 there are collections. 



How Woods Are Used. 



The plan of using different woods 

 for different purposes, while it has 

 been carried further in recent years 

 is not new. 



The Bible speaks frequently of 

 wood being selected for some par- 

 ticular purpose as the cedars of Le- 

 banon used in building Solomon's 

 temple and so on. In history we 

 read of the English oak used in the 

 old wooden battle ships, and many 

 battles were won by England's fani- 

 ous archers with their cloth yard 

 bows of yew. 



In America the Indians knew the 

 uses of different kinds of wood. In 

 Longfellow's poem, "Hiawatha," 

 the hero thus goes about asking the 

 different trees to give him wood to 

 build his birch canoe : 



Htazvatha's Canoe. 



"Give me of your bark, O Birch Tree! 

 Lay aside your cloak, O Birch Tree! 

 Lay aside your white skin wrapper, 

 For the summer time is coming 

 And the sun is warm in Heaven, 

 And you need no white skin wrapper." 



