ACQUIRINGFIRST-HANDKNOWLEDGE 491
our table. It is hauled out of the water to the log-deck and
rolled about by men with peavies. We hear the hungry whine
of the great circular saws as they revolve so fast that they
appear as mer e blurs befor e our eyes. Our log is placed u pon
a carriage which is propelled toward one of them, and in a
moment those teeth of steel are tearing their way through its
body and dividing it into boards and planks. Some of the
wood is selected to for m part of a building, but the best of it
is taken to a furniture factory and put into a kiln, where it is
dried by steam so that it will not shrink after it has been
made into furniture. Then it is taken out and put through a
great planing machine with many sharp knives, which makes
it smooth. Next it is sawn off into different lengths and
glued together to form table-tops. The legs are turned from
thicker pieces and set into the frame which supports the top;
then the whole article is smoothed again with sandpaper,
varnished and polished, thus completing the table in every
respect. It is next sent out, with other furniture, to the store
wher e we bou ght it, and we follow it as it is carted from t hat
place to our home and left in our dining room.
Thus, by meditation, we have become conversant with
the various branches of industry necessary to convert a
forest tree into a piece of furniture. We have seen all the
machines and the men, and noted the peculiarities of the
various places. We have even followed the life process
whereby that tree has grown from a tiny seed, and have
learned that back of seemingly very commonplace things
there is a great and absorbingly interesting history. A pin;
the match with which we light the gas; the gas itself; and the
room in which that gas is burned—all have interesting
histories, well worth learning.