11 



the past year or two the demand for walnut for American 

 uses has greatly increased. Black-walnut furniture and fin- 

 ishing is now becoming very popular in the United States; 

 The present prices of walnut logs vary, according to the size 

 and quality, from $25 to $100 per thousand board feet on the 

 stump. 



Range and Habit of Growth. The black walnut grows natur- 

 ally throughout the hardwood region, of the United States in 

 mixture with other hardwood species. It is never found grow- 

 ing in pure stand, nor has it made an altogether successful 

 growth when planted in pure stand. The black walnut is a 

 tree which requires full sunlight, and should be planted only 

 in mixture with trees of smaller size. The foliage of the wal- 

 nut is rather sparse. This allows sufficient light to reach the 

 ground to support a very satisfactory growth of the more 

 tolerant 6 or shade-enduring species, such as the red cedar, the 

 green or white ash, and the mulberry. The black walnut re- 

 quires a deep, rich soil in which to make its best growth. 

 Frequent flooding is not seriously objectionable, but the trees 

 will not stand swampy conditions. Being highly intolerant as 

 seedlings, they must begin their growth in the open. Under 

 these conditions they make a rapid height growth, clearing 

 themselves of limbs readily. By the time they have reached 

 middle age they have attained their full height growth, and 

 they must then have sufficient room to develop a broad, spread- 

 ing top, in order to make a rapid diameter growth. The black 

 walnut will reach its financial maturity 7 in from 75 to 100 

 years, at which age the tree should measure from 2% to 3 feet 

 in diameter at the stump. 



The Yield. While no data is available to show what yield 

 a full stand of black-walnut trees will cut, it is reasonable to 

 expect that a stand of fifty trees per acre will at maturity 

 yield not less than 15,000 feet board measure 8 of merchantable 

 logs, 9 which at present value would be worth, at the very least, 

 $3250. This is equivalent to a rental value of $32.50 per acre 

 per year gross income on a 100-year rotation. 10 



6. Tolerance of trees refers to their ability to grow in the shade of other trees. A 

 tolerant tree is a tree that will grow thriftily in the shade of some larger tree. An 

 intolerant tree is one that demands full sunlight and will not live in the shade of other 



7. Trees attain their financial maturity when the value of' their annual growth falls 

 below the cost of maintenance. 



8. One foot board measure is the unit of measure of lumber, and it is a board 12 

 inches long, 12 inches wide, and 1 inch thick. 



9. Merchantable log is a log that is salable on the market. 



10. Rotation is the length of time required to grow trees to merchantable size. 



