This book and its companion volume for the metal-working trades, first cover the general principles of science common to all industry, this material being identical in the two books. Additional material follows this, that relating specifically to the wood-working trades appearing in this volume, and that relating particularly to the metal-working trades appearing in “Applied Science for Metal-Workers” The books are constructed in this way to meet the needs of particular industrial, trade, continuation, or apprentice classes where the instruction is intensive.

Every craftsman should not only be trained in the handicraft of his trade, but, if he is to be a really skilled worker, should also master the scientific principles involved; that is, he should become familiar with the reasons underlying the various operations which he performs. Such knowledge is obtained through the study of industrial science. The teaching of related trade knowledge is not, so far as the author knows, adequately covered in any system of industrial education.

Experience proves that, though the average pupil who completes the regular high school course may know the principles of the sciences in an abstract way, he is unable to recognize these principles in operation in the every-day work of the world. This fact is not surprising. Observation shows that many minds are able to grasp a principle in the abstract but are not able readily to apply that principle in practice. Therefore, the study of the application of the scientific principles underlying modern industry is worthy to be treated as a special subject.

The author believes that there is a place for the traditional course in chemistry, physics, and biology in the regular high school, in addition to the first-year science course. He also believes that there is a type of mind in our intermediate and secondary schools that can profit by the study of the principles of science underlying the fundamental trades. A course of this kind should develop in a boy's mind that attitude of alertness toward theory on which all sound practice is based a mental attitude which will be valuable to all manual workers, and particularly to those who are to enter the distributive or productive spheres of industry. Hence the title of this book, “Applied Science for Wood-Workers” the purpose of which is to provide an elementary course in applied science for the wood-working trades.


Acknowledgment is also made of indebtedness to those teachers who have kindly read the manuscript arid offered valuable suggestions.

The author will be pleased to receive any constructive criticism of the book.

The arrangement of this book is such that it may be used equally well by science teachers in the regular secondary and technical schools and by science teachers in vocational schools. When used in connection with a year's course in industrial science in the technical, industrial, or manual training courses of regular secondary schools, it will aid in correlating the principles of science with shop observation and experience.

The method of presenting the subject of industrial science in a vocational school should be different from the method used in the regular high school, since there is a wide difference both in the aims of the courses and in the types of pupils. In the vocational school it is well to consider first the practices of the trades and industries as based on practical shop experience and laboratory work, and from them to draw out the principles of science involved.

To illustrate: In considering the properties of matter in oak wood, present first the uses of oak wood; it is used, for instance, in the manufacture of furniture and refrigerator cases. To be used for these purposes, it must be capable of taking a high polish and of undergoing long usage it must be a hard wood. As Walter Dill Scott says in “Influencing Men in Business”: “Water is not adequately described by stating that it is composed of two parts of hydrogen to one of oxygen. The important thing about water is the uses which may be made of it.”

This method will be found to be far more effective in teaching vocational school pupils than that of presenting the principle first arid the illustrative practice afterwards