One ought never to work long in any material without making a real study of its characteristics and its sources. Lumber has grain; it warps and shrinks and is subject to many defects. It comes in many standard sizes and shapes. You should start at once to observe and jot down every fact concerning these matters that you can discover. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Go to your lumber dealer or some good carpenter and inquire of him what the standard defects are in lumber, e. g., sap wood, pitch pockets, wanes, heart shakes, cup shakes and wind shakes. Ask him to show you examples of each and if possible make a collection of them and other defects such as: dry rot, worm holes, and knots. Ask him to explain what he means by "A stock" in yellow pine or white oak; B, C, and D stock; No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 common. Ask him to show you the difference between plain and quarter-sawed oak.

2. Try a few experiments.

1. Get a few short logs 10" or 12" in diameter.

2. Saw each log in half.

3. Saw boards out of each log to illustrate plain and quarter-sawing.

4. Keep a record to show the percentage of weight that is lost in the saw dust, and the amount that turns out to be bark or edgings rather than useful boards.

5. Keep a record to show how much weight is lost in drying the boards.

6. Set the boards on edge so that the air has free access to both sides of each piece and note (1) which way the boards warp; (2) how much they shrink edgewise and endwise; (3) how they check.

7. Try to learn how lumber should be piled in order to dry thoroly and yet not warp.

8. Try to learn what methods are used to dry lumber rapidly.

9. Try to learn what uses are being made of the saw dust, the edgings, bark, and other pieces that were once wasted at the saw mills.

The druggist, or a book on industrial chemistry will help in this inquiry. Start in with a study of wood alcohol, tannic acid, and turpentine.

10. Make a sketch of a tree trunk, showing: (1) the pith, (2) the medullary rays, (3) the annual rings, (4) heart wood, (5) sapwood, (6) cambium, (7) bast, (8) outer bark.

You might be told just what books to read, just to what department of the United States Government to write for information, but if you were, you would be robbed of part of the fun of the search. Make a game of this investigation, see who can bring in the most specimens, pictures, and information. Sort out and classify your finds and finally make a case for them and a file for your written notes.