Products from Kentucky's Forests

Forestry in the Classroom Series Products From Kentucky’s Forests An Educational Series for Grades 4, 5 and 6 We All Need Trees! Trees supply thousands of products for our shade to help keep us cool. When daily lives. We eat fruits and nuts from trees, harvested, leaves of the carnau- use decorative woods for jewelry and art ba tree are used to produce fur- projects, and make practical items like books niture polish, car wax, and fences from wood. crayons, lipstick and Wood is used as a fuel for cooking and heat- the coating on many medicine tab- ing in stoves, fireplaces and barbecue grills. lets. Whole leaves from some Houses, paper and boxes are made from trees, such as bay, are used in trees, and the fibers and chemicals from cooking, while the oils of other wood are used to make products such as ray- leaves, such as the eucalyptus, are extracted on fabric and rubber balls. for fragrances and flavorings. Other products How can so many different products come made from foliage: garden mulch. from trees? It's because of the tree's struc- ture. Trees are made up of cellulose that are Branches held together with lignin. This makes the tree strong enough to use for building houses The branches of large trees and furniture. and the trunks of smaller When wood is cooked, the cellulose is sepa- trees are used to make rated from the lignin to make wood pulp. thousands of paper prod- This pulp is made into paper. The lignin can ucts, including writing paper, tissues and be used to make different chemicals that go boxes. Chemical by-products of the paper- into products like cosmetics, medicines and making process are used in pro- some foods. ducing cleaning compounds, skin Since so many products are made from wood lotions, artificial vanilla flavor- and wood fiber, the average American uses ing, photographic film and many the equivalent of a 100-foot tree every year! molded plastic products such as Where does it all come from? eyeglass frames, football hel- mets, toothbrushes and buttons. Fruits & Nuts Other products made from branches: carpet- ing and upholstery backing, rayon, plastic The fruits, nuts, berries and seeds of many trees are an twines, computer casings, luggage, cello- important source of food for phane, newspapers, baby food, imitation ba- wildlife and people. Some of the con bits, cereal, colognes. most common of these are apples, peaches, pecans, walnuts, coffee Bark and spices such as mace and nut- meg. Other fruits and nuts: Bark is used for a variety oranges, pears, chestnuts. of purposes ranging from medicine to garden mulch Foliage to seasoning for foods. While growing on a tree, leaves produce oxy- The willow tree, for ex- gen, help filter pollutants from the air, pro- ample, provides the essential elements of vide shelter for many wildlife species and aspirin, while the laurel tree provides Products, Products Everywhere cinnamon used to flavor many are used to make adhesives such as glue and foods. Cork for wine bottles and hair spray, and act as drying agents in paint fishing tackle comes from the cork and printing ink. Other gums have antiseptic oak tree. Bark also is burned to properties and are used in making soaps and produce energy and used as a dye cough syrups. Other products made from for fabrics, shoe polishes and other gums: cough drops, shampoo, dish washing products. Other products made liquid, adhesive bandages. from bark: cosmetics, poultry bedding, oil spill control agents, the Stumps cancer-fighting drug Tax- Pine stumps provide the wood ol. rosin and liquid terpenes used in Trunk making many products, including orange-flavored soft drinks, pine The trunks of trees are cleaners and laundry deter- primarily used to make gents. Hardwood stumps readi- solid wood products such ly produce sprouts that grow as furniture, musical instruments, lumber into new trees, assuring that and handles for tools and sporting we have plentiful hardwood equipment. Trunks are also peeled forests for our future. Other into thin sheets and used as veneer products made from stumps: for plywood and furniture. Other sports drinks. products made from trunks: base- ball bats, charcoal, canoe paddles, Roots guitars, swing sets, birdhouses, In addition to providing food for crutches, fences, sleds. the tree, roots play an important Gums role in keeping our waters free of pollutants. They stabilize the soil Gums, which are found in to prevent erosion and sedimenta- the sap of trees, are used tion, and by absorbing nutrients to in the manufacture of a feed the tree, they variety of products in- prevent these nutrients from cluding food, adhesives, entering our rivers and streams. paints and medicines. In Other products made from foods, gums serve as thickening agents, pro- roots: sassafras tea, root beer. vide a creamy texture, act as The next time you go to the binders to keep ingredients grocery store, see how many from separating and help re- tree products you can find. tain moisture. In ice cream and other frozen desserts, gums prevent the formation of crys- tals. The gums of some trees History of Papermaking How Paper is Made The word paper is derived from the name of 1.The process begins when trees, grown the reedy plant papyrus, which grows especial1y for papermaking, are harvested abundantly along the Nile River in Egypt. and transported to a paper mill. However, true paper is made of pulped 2. At the mill, large machines strip away cellulose fibers like wood, cotton or flax. the bark and shred the logs into millions of First There Was Papyrus chips the size of breakfast cereal. Papyrus is made from the sliced sections of the 3. The wood chips travel on conveyors to flower stem of the papyrus plant, pressed gigantic "pulp cookers", where chemicals together and dried, and then used for writing and steam are or drawing. Papyrus appeared in Egypt around added. The 2400 B.C. mixture is heated and pressurized, Then There Was Paper breaking the A courtier named Ts'ai-Lun, from Lei-yang in chips into smaller China, was the first recorded inventor of paper and smaller circa 105 A.D. Ts'ai-Lun presented paper and a pieces and finally papermaking process to the Chinese Emperor forming a dilute and that was noted in the imperial court water suspension records. There may have been papermaking in of wood fibers China earlier than the above date, but called pulp. inventor Ts'ai-Lun did much for the spread of 4. The pulp then papermaking technology in China. passes through Newsprint cleaners and screens and sometimes goes through a bleaching process that will give it Charles Fenerty of Halifax made the first paper the whiteness needed for the grade of from wood pulp (newsprint) in 1838. Charles paper being manufactured. Other chemicals Fenerty was helping a local paper mill such as dyes, pigments, sizings, or resins maintain an adequate supply of rags to make are sometimes added to provide the paper paper, when he succeeded in making paper or paperboard (thick paper for boxes) with from wood pulp. He neglected to patent his the appropriate finish. invention and others did patent papermaking processes based on wood fiber. 5. The pulp is then pumped through pipes to a paper machine where it is sprayed onto Corrugated Papermaking - Cardboard a wide, moving wire screen. After the In 1856, Englishmen, Healey and Allen, water in the pulp drains through the holes, received a patent for the first corrugated or a damp mat of wood fibers remains; this is pleated paper. The paper was used to line the paper. It is picked up from the end of men's tall hats. the moving belt and dried over steam- heated rollers. Finally, it is cut and Many people invented machines to do the work packaged into different sizes for different but the process has virtually stayed the same. uses. Recycle Old Paper into New Paper Materials Needed: for texture. Scrap paper torn into 1" X 1" pieces (paper Pour the mixture into the towels, construction paper, and paper in large basin and then fill the your recycle bin work well; avoid glossy basin with warm water, finishes or paper with a lot of ink, like mixing thoroughly until the newsprint); ingredients are evenly a large bowl or tub; strainer dispersed. Adding a few ounces of liquid starch will help make the paper firm. a wooden frame around 5" x 7” or 8" x 10"; nylon or wire screen; Slide the deckle into the basin. Put some pulp onto the screen and, still holding the staples; a plastic basin at least 2.5 gallons deckle underwater, gently move it back and in capacity, that is larger than the, frame; forth to get an even layer of fibers on the cloth dishtowels (felt, blotting paper, screen. interfacing, or newspaper may be substituted; Lift the deckle out of the mixture, keeping it flat. Allow it to drip until most of the water blender; sponge; household iron; starch has drained off. You should have a uniform colored paper, pieces of colored thread, or layer of pulp mixture on the deckle. Press dried flowers or herbs. the pulp gently with your hand to squeeze out excess moisture (rubber gloves will help). Getting Started: Soak up any excess water from the bottom of Soak the scrap paper pieces in hot water in the screen with a sponge. the large bowl or tub for Place newspaper on a flat surface and turn at least 30 minutes. the screen paper-side-down on a cloth. Lift Buy or build a wooden the screen gently, leaving the paper.

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