146 THE BOOK OF FORESTRY 
value on account of their cross grain and the difficulty 
experienced in seasoning them. Investigation proved, 
however, that after steaming, these logs could be sliced 
into thin sheets which would serve very well in the 
manufacture of berry crates, baskets, trunks, ete. 
The use of veneer for crates, barrels and baskets is 
comparatively recent and has made certain species rise 
in value. An idea of the extent of the veneer industry 
may be obtained when it is realized that all together 
500,000,000 board feet of lumber are annually used 
for this purpose in the United States. 
Additional uses of forest products might be men- 
tioned, such as the manufacture of excelsior from pop- 
lar and basswood trees, or the use of oak or tamarack 
for ship knees and timbers. Certain trees and shrubs 
furnish flavoring extracts and medicinal oils but the 
distillation of birch oil and witch hazel extract are in- 
dustries of decidedly local importance. The fruit of the 
wild cherry and chokecherry is used to make wines and 
cordials, slippery elm bark is obtained from the tree of 
the same name and from a Western tree called the buck- 
thorn the drug known as cascara is obtained. 
While doubtless the increasing use of substitutes like 
steel and concrete will cause some reduction in the drain 
upon the national timber supply, nevertheless, there 
are certain demands which can be supplied only by the 
products of the forest. From the very beginning the 
forest has played an important part in the develop- 
ment of this country and from present appearances it is 
likely to do so until the end of time. 
