Excerpt from Commercial Raw Materials: Their Origin, Preparation and Uses

The consideration of the nature and uses of the materials which are of economic importance, and on which the business of the world and the life of its people are dependent, is a necessary part of the study of geography.

This book, which is briefly descriptive of the origin, processes of prep aration and uses of the most important commercial materials, will, it is hoped, aid teachers of geography in all grades.

Undoubtedly most schools will take up the study of products only in connection with the countries where they are produced. It seems best, therefore, to describe in one place all of the various products of a plant or a substance in order that they may be referred to at one time when the country producing this plant or substance is studied, rather than to divide up and classify the products as foods, fibers, oils, etc. Treating them under these separate heads. The grouping of materials is first, into those of vegetable, animal and mineral origin. The plants first described yield foods or food accessories; following these are plants such as the cocoanut, which yield both food and fiber; and then those like the cotton plant, which supply fiber, oil, and cattle-food. For instance, bamboo is placed after the fibers and before the woods because it is often split and woven like a coarse fiber and is frequently used as wood for construction.

Some schools presenting systematic courses in the study of products will, of course, need to te-arrange the materials into groups according to their nature and uses, and will find classifications of materials on these lines throughout the book.

It is very desirable to use specimens of the various articles in the class room, in order to make the study of the world's products clear and profit able. The Philadelphia Museums have prepared and distributed many collections of such materials to schools in the State of Pennsylvania. As an example of what will be found useful may be taken a series of specimens illustrating the cotton plant and its products, shown on the frontispiece. This includes a dried cotton plant, unginned and ginned cottons in several grades, yarns, also various fabrics, rope, seeds, linters, oil, oil-cake and soap. This series is illustrated by photographs of cotton-picking, ginning, baling and weaving, with full descriptions, printed on the backs of the photo graphs. Most of the things can be easily removed from the bottles and passed around the class for close examination. These specimens will be found particularly useful in the study of our southern states, where cotton is grown and manufactured. They will also apply equally well to other coun tries where cotton is cultivated and to the New England states and England where cotton is spun and woven.

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