This latter requirement may be secured by starting the plantation in 

 the lee of a natural wind-break or by planting a shelter belt of hardy, 

 rapid-growing species on the exposed sides. The most favorable 

 range for economic planting is in the fertile valleys of the Ohio and 

 Mississippi rivers and their tributaries and on the bottom lands of 

 the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, eastern Ne- 

 braska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. On upland soils, especially in the 

 West, where there is a stiff subsoil, the species makes slow growth. 

 In the southwestern plains the dry, hot weather of summer is often 

 injurious, while in Minnesota and the Dakotas the cold of winter 

 often kills back the season's shoots. 



The black walnut is intolerant of shade. The foliage of a walnut 

 plantation is thin, seldom shading the ground to such an extent as 

 to prevent the growth of grass and weeds. 



In good soil the rate of growth is fairly rapid and is continued up 

 to mature age. In the best situations planted trees occasionally make 

 a diameter growth of nearly an inch each year, but under average 

 conditions an increase of one-fourth to one-third inch is all that may 

 be expected. A tree 12 to 15 years old will begin to bear fruit, and 

 lumber w r ill be produced in forty to sixty years. Along the northern 

 limit of its range it is somewhat susceptible to sun scald, and should 

 be protected from the \vind and sun by hardier species. 



Many tree defoliators and borers attack the walnut, but seldom do 

 serious damage, since they are mostly of local distribution, and the 

 damage done by them is limited in extent. In case insects cause 

 serious damage, specimens, accompanied by a full description of their 

 work, should be sent to the Bureau of Entomology of the United 

 States Department of Agriculture for identification and suggestion 

 as to methods of control. 



ECONOMIC USES. 



The wood of walnut is heavy, hard, strong, and of coarse texture. 

 The sapwood is narrow and whitish in color and the heartwood is a 

 chocolate brown, which deepens with age and exposure. The wood 

 shrinks moderately in drying, and if care is taken dries without 

 checking. It works and stands well, takes a good polish, .and is 

 valuable as a cabinet wood. It is very durable in contact with the 

 soil, as only the sapwood decays. 



Walnut was formerly much used for furniture and interior finish, 

 especially in churches ; in cabinetwork, for gunstocks, tool handles, and 

 carriage hubs, and to some extent in the construction of ships. For- 

 merly more abundant, it was used for fence posts and made into 

 shingles. At present the market is much better in Europe than at 

 home, and large amounts are exported in the form of logs 10 to 20 



[Cir. 88] 



