Wood Books

In the museum at Hesse-Cas sel, Germany, ia a library made froui fivo huiidred Éuropean trees. The back of eaoh volume is lormedof the bark of a tree, the sides of perfect wood, the top of young wood, and the bottom of old. When opened, the book is fonud to be a box containing the flower. seed, fruit, and leaves of the tree, either dried or imitated ia wax. At the Melbourne Internat ioual Exhibition of 1866, Coloüel Olamp exhibited specimens of Victoria I wood converted into small boxea of book forra, aecording to a design adoptpd by that gentleman at the Victoria Exhi bition of 1851, and then suggested by Baron Ferd Mueller. Nothing could be more interesting than a library (to speak allegorictilly) of such imitation booka, representing the different timbera of varioua countries which could be systematically, or alphabetically, or geographically arranged. Australia alone could furnish of sneu a colleetion over a thousand volumes. At the Paris Exhibition of 1867, Russia showed a Bimilar coilection of wooden books cleverly designed, showing the bark as the back binding, and lettered with the popular scientiñe ñames of the wood. Each book contained samples of the leaves and fruit of the trees, and a section and shaving, or veneer