Product Description

This unique book explores the past and present uses of products
(wood, bark, fruit, sap etc) of the 35 species of British native trees.

With sections:

A genus by genus break down of past and present uses of native tree products
A guide to Coppicing
The history and practice of Charcoal Production
Firewood - including an exploration of the environmental issues involved in burning wood in the home, sources of firewood, which wood to burn, seasoning and storing firewood, kindling and a foolproof guide to building the one-match-fire!
For example - find answers to the following questions:

Which tree saps can be used to make wine?
Which was the best wood for making longbows?
Oil from the bark of which tree is an effective insect repellent?
Which tree's bark contains chemical compounds that can selectively kill human cancer cells with no side effects?
What is a faggot?
What do bodgers do?
Which berry was used as a coffee substitute?
What wood is the panelling in the House of Commons made of?
Which tree's wood has the right acoustic qualities for making electric guitars?
Which tree's wood made charcoal taken to cure flatulence?
...and many more fascinating facts!

This book is for smallholders, wood owners, tree surgeons, gardeners and anyone who loves trees!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12185 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 84 pages

Stovesonline
A really good book exploring past and present uses of the 35 species of British native trees

About the Author
Piers Warren has led such a diverse life it's no wonder he writes in such a wide variety of genres. His careers have included school teacher, Royal Air Force Officer, sound engineer, musician, tree surgeon, multimedia producer, and wildlife film-making tutor.

Piers has run a smallholding in Norfolk, UK and is keen to promote organic principles, sustainabilty and green-thinking. He has had a passionate interest in self-sufficiency since childhood and is still based in Norfolk where he grows his own food.

Ever-keen for adventure Piers leads wildlife tours and training expeditions around the world. Amongst other things he has walked the African plains with Maasai Warriors, tracked tigers in India on elephant-back, explored the Amazon rainforest, swum with sharks and filmed cheetahs hunting in Kenya.

He has written several books and many articles for magazines such as Camcorder User, Country Smallholding, Organic Gardening and Wildlife & Countryside. More books - both fiction and non-fiction - are in the pipeline.

Customer Reviews

A fairly useful reference work for the casual reader, but...
This book is short (83 pages long in all) and is mostly taken up with an alphabetical listing of wood types with a short description and a list of what they have been and are used for. This list is exactly the same as the one on the website www.british-trees.com so check this out first to see if you think the book is worth buying.

There are also 6 (large text) pages on the author's woodland thoughts and 10 pages on making fires. I would have liked these two sections to have been longer as the author is obviously very knowledgable and has a lots of "wood experience" but only shares a small fraction of his knowledge.

There are a few small black and white pictures scattered throughout the book.

Fascinating
I've always been interested in trees and history so this book has been a real treat. I thought I knew quite a bit about the uses of wood but many of the possibilities described in this book have been fascinating and mind-boggling. The current uses which could be expanded in the future have been food for thought too and show just how important our natural resources are. The section on burning wood in the home was great - I've always been pretty good at building fires but I'm even better now - the one-match-fire really works - and not a firelighter in sight!

Tree mendous
What a pleasing little book. I was given mine as a present and I shall be buying many more for the same purpose. The author knows his subject but he also knows where to stop, which is a rare skill. You learn plenty within these pages, and some of it is quirky and surprising: but it's not a lecture! It's a human, friendly, practical sort of book, and the stuff about how to set and light a fire is worth the price alone. There's also a good 'resources' section at the end with lots of websites and addresses of interest to smallholding / conservation / tree-loving types. Excellent value for money.