CURIOUS BOOKS | AdventAI

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 12, 1896

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 22, No. 11.

CURIOUS BOOKS.

AT Warsenstein, in Germany, there is perhaps one of the most curiously original collections of books extant. This consists of a botanical collection. Outwardly the volumes present the common appearance of a block of wood, and that is the first impression; but a minute examination reveals the fact that each is a complete history of the particular tree which it represents. At the back of the book the bark has been removed from a space which allows the scientific and the common name of the tree to be placed as a title for the book. One side is formed from the split wood of the tree, showing its grain and natural fracture; the other shows the wood when worked smooth and varnished. One end shows the grain as left by the saw, and the other the finely polished wood. On opening the book, it is found to contain the fruit, seeds, leaves, and other products of the tree, the moss which usually grows upon its trunk, and the insects which feed upon the different parts of the tree. These are supplemented by a well-printed description of the habits, usual location, and manner of growth of the tree. In fact, everything which has a bearing upon that certain tree secures a place in this wonderful, useful, and valuable collection.—Selected.