"The bark of the oak, larch, chestnut, willow, and birch, when ground small and steeped in water, gives a liquid called ooze, which is used in tanning leather.
"The outer bark of certain trees is used for dyeing; and the valuable medicine, quinine, is made from the bark of the cinchona tree.
"The inner bark is an entirely different substance. Teacher showed us some strips of the inner bark of the bass-wood tree, and father has lent me this to show you now.""Why, Fred," said Norah, "this is the common bass, that father uses for tying up his plants in the garden.""Yes, Norah, and this common bass-or bast-is really the inner bark of the bass-wood, as I said just now.
"Now I want to give you one thing to think about," he added. "Long, long ago, before people had paper, they used to write on thin sheets of this bass to make their books. The Latin name for book is liber. This is why bass is sometimes called liber."SUMMARY
The bark is the outside coat of the plant. The bark of trees is thick. Cork is the bark of a tree. The bark of the oak and other trees is used in tanning. The bark of some trees is used for dyeing; that of others for medicine.
Lesson 58
Kinds of Bass
