CATALOGUE OF THE TIMBERS OF THE WORLD 301 



The combination of characters which confer on walnut its reputation 

 of being by far the best wood for gun stocks may here be summarised. 



1. Relative strength, toughness, and elasticity, which provide the 



power of resisting shock. 



2. Appropriate weight, which gives proper balance. 



3. Relative freedom of the seasoned polished wood from any shrinkage, 



swelling, or sphtting when exposed to wet, damp, or heat. 



4. Uniform texture and appropriate hardness, so that the wood is 



readily cut into delicate shapes, yielding a smooth surface which 

 is easily plugged by polish. 



5. The hardness necessary to prevent the wood from being dented. 



6. Lack of brittleness, or tendency to split, which decreases the 



danger of fragments of the wood being knocked off. 



Recently also, walnut has been found to be very suitable for the 

 propeller blades of aeroplanes, as, apart from its resistance to damp and 

 drought, it shows a certain degree of toughness, or the lack of that brittle- 

 ness to which I have pre\iously referred, which excludes many timbers 

 from such a use. 



From a very early date walnut has been used for furniture and 

 decorative work throughout Europe. The much-admired Queen Anne 

 furniture is particularly associated with this wood, which at that period 

 was almost exclusively used in the manufacture of the best work. Much 

 of the rare and valuable Italian furniture and decorative architectural 

 work of stiU earlier date was made in this wood. The superb choir-stalls 

 in the Frari Church at Venice were executed in ItaUan walnut in 1468 

 by Marco di Vicenza, who also worked in 1465 on the choir-stalls of the 

 church of S. Stefano. The S. Zaccaria choir-stalls (Coro delle Monache) 

 were also made in Itahan walnut by Francesco and Marco di Vicenza 

 between 1455 and 1464.^ 



The colour, general appearance, and carving qualities of the wood 

 appeal particularly to the decorative artist, yet it seems undesirable that 

 works of art, whose great beauty makes them worthy of permanence, 

 should be executed in walnut, for this wood is almost invariabl3^ attacked 

 by " worm " (boring beetles), which ultimately destroy the whole fabric. 

 Reference has already been made in the section on oak {q.v.) to the 

 crumbling walnut woodwork in Italian churches, in contrast with the 

 intact condition of equally old woodwork of oak. The beautiful inlaid 

 stalls and paneUing and magnificent carved soUd work in many of the 

 churches in Venice are perforated with holes, and are falling to pieces, 

 reduced to dust. The attack is by no means limited to old walnut, 

 for fresh panelHng and new furniture may become seriously "worm "-eaten 



^ According to a private letter of Mr. Gerald Campbell, H.B.:\I. Vice-Consul at 

 Venice (1914). 



