THE STORY OF ARTIFICIAL SILK
see what they are buying. It can be made
thick enough for soap and confectionery
boxes. It has a thousand uses.
We have, within the last few years,
awakened to the immense possibilities of this
wood-pulp industry. More and more uses
will be found for it, now that Artificial Silk
has led the way.
Wood has never been studied until recently.
The fact is that it is a textile, woven into
marvellous strength by Nature. The micro-
scope shows that it is made of fibres. Nature
has made the strength of an oak tree and the
fineness of mahogany.
First, we made paper. Then we made
synthetic leather. Now we are making Arti-
ficial Silk. What shall we not be making in
the next 10 years ?
If we can make a filament, why not a
BoARD ? May there not be a revolution in
the lumber trade ? May we not eventually
abolish our crude saw-mills, which waste so
much of the wood ? May we not be able to
use crooked trees to make straight boards?
May we not be able to use the branches as
well as the trunk of a tree? Shall we not
Ixy