TIMBERS AND THEIR USES 



CHAPTER I 



THE USES OF WOOB 



A moment's consideration will show how deeply 

 indebted we are to the vegetable kingdom for 

 many essentials and a considerable number of 

 luxuries. We draw largely upon plants for our 

 food ; necessary food, which we obtain from 

 cereals, potatoes, root crops and the like ; non- 

 essential food in the shape of luscious fruits. 

 Fibres, of which cotton is the most important, 

 are largely of vegetable origin. Many oils, olive, 

 palm and the like are derived from plants. 

 Rubber ; many gums and resins ; beverages, 

 cocoa, tea and coffee ; medicines, quinine, bella- 

 donna and a host of others ; condiments, spices 

 and dyes, all contribute to the grand total. By 

 no means the least important of the vegetable 

 products are the timbers of the world. 



The use of wood by mankind is no modern 

 innovation, it has been pressed into human 

 service from the earliest times. " Our civihza- 



