180 
FINDING NATURE’S TREASURES 
“Rayon,” continued Uncle Jack, “is not made from the 
silk of caterpillars, but from the wood of trees. Men 
grind up very fine some certain kinds of wood into what 
is called pulp. Then they mix other things with the pulp, 
and cook them all together until it is sticky like glue. 
This sticky stuff is squeezed through tiny holes, so that 
it makes long threads that look like silk. The thread is 
then colored and made into cloth, like that in your pretty 
dress, Marylee.” 
“Then, I am really wearing a dress made of wood,” 
said Marylee. 
“You may be, but that is not certain,” replied Uncle 
Jack. “Cheap cotton is also used to make rayon. I can¬ 
not tell by looking at the rayon whether it was made of 
cotton or of wood.” 
“I am going to play that my dress is made of wood,” 
said Marylee. “I think that is more fun.” 
“Do they make cloth out of anything else besides cot¬ 
ton and silk and wood, Uncle Jack?” asked Buddy. 
“Oh, yes, they use several other things in making dif¬ 
ferent kinds of cloth,” replied Uncle Jack. “You will 
learn about them later.” 
