20 



bottomlands. Its growth in diameter is nearly equal to that of 

 catalpa, and under favorable conditions it will reach post size in from 

 ten to twelve years. Young timber, however, because of its large 

 percentage of sapwood, does not make a first-class fence post, and the 

 rotation should in consequence be not less than twenty-five years. 



Walnut makes good fuel, but its timber is too valuable to be used 

 for this purpose. The greatest returns will be realized from this 

 species when it is planted for lumber. The time required for the 

 production of saw logs, however, is from seventy to eighty years, 

 which is a longer rotation than the average planter could afford to 

 adopt. 



Black walnut can not be depended upon to form a complete crown 

 cover. It is very intolerant under Nebraska conditions, and shades 

 itself out before it has formed a canopy anything like dense enough 

 to shut out weeds and grass. The species therefore should be planted 

 in mixture with some more heavily foliaged tree. For bottom soils a 

 mixture of walnut and hardy catalpa, in the proportion of 1 to 3, 

 according to the following diagram, is suggested: 



(4 feet by 4 feet.) 



w c w c 



c c c c 



w c w c 



c c c c 



W=black walnut; C= hardy catalpa. 



Number of trees required per acre. 



Black walnut 680 



Hardy catalpa 2, 040 



Total 2,720 



The walnut should be planted two years in advance of the catalpa, 

 since, if the two are planted at the same time, there is danger that the 

 walnut will be overtopt. A field crop, such as potatoes, could be 

 grown with the walnut for the first two years. The catalpa should be 

 planted in the spring of the third year. After eight or ten years it may 

 gradually be thinned out, and by the time the plantation is 25 years old 

 three-fourths of the catalpa and all defective walnut trees should have 

 been removed. This will leave most of the walnut trees, but only the 

 best specimens of the catalpa, and at this time the stand will probably 

 not exceed TOO to 800 trees per acre of both species. By the fortieth 

 year the remaining catalpa should have been harvested, as well as all 

 defective specimens of the walnut, leaving a probable stand of 400 

 trees, which by this time will have attained sufficient size to take care 



[Cir. 45] 



