700 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



Of all the forest trees found in the original forests of 

 America, the Black Walnut probably suffered most at 

 the hands of the early settlers. This was due to the well- 

 known fact that it stood upon the best land in the fertile 

 valleys and bordering foothills. These areas were select- 

 ed by the pioneer farmers for their clearings and farms. 

 A large number of the choicest Black Walnut trees were 

 felled and burned simply to get rid of them. Many 

 more were split into fence rails and other similar ordi- 

 nary uses before the real merits of the wood became 

 known. 



Now the wood of Black Walnut brings a high price. 

 It is no longer destroyed and wasted, but every available 

 piece is collected and manufactured into some useful 

 article. It is not used any more for rough lumber as 

 it was in the early days, but all of it goes to factories, 

 where it is converted into finished articles. 



The wood of Black Walnut is used for so many differ- 

 ent purposes that an attempt to list all of them would 

 become monotonous. Some of its principal uses, how- 

 ever, are furniture, sewing machines, musical instru- 

 ments and coffins. Lare quantities are also consumed 

 at home and abroad in the manufacture of gun stocks. 

 It was in great demand for g^n stocks during the Civil 

 War and fabulous prices were offered for almost any 

 grade during the recent World War. Special scouting 

 expeditions were organized in every part of the country 



HULLED AND UNHULLED BUTTERNUTS 



Nuts readily recognized by their rough and sculptured shells 

 or their familiar husta. 



BARK OF THE BUTTERNUT 



This tree is often called the White Walnut because of the light 

 grayish color of the bark on the main trunk and larger branches. 



where the Black Walnut grows in order to locate all 

 available supplies, but in spite of this thorough scouting 

 a large number of trees still remain standing. The tree, 

 however, is no longer abundant in any locality, and the 

 total. supply of Black Walnut wood in the country is 

 waniiig rapidly. 



The Butternut is one of the best-known nut-bearing 

 trees native to the eastern part of the United States. It 

 occurs along the coast from New Brunswick to Dela- 

 ware, and extends southward along the mountains to 

 Georgia and Alabama. It reaches westward to the Da- 

 kotas, Nebraska and Missouri, and is also found in Ar- 

 kansas. The Butternut bears a general resemblance to 

 the Black Walnut, but can readily be distinguished from 

 it by the characteristics given in the table that appears 

 in the fore part of this article. 



The Butternut is also known as the White Walnut 

 because of the light grayish color of the bark on the main 

 trunk and larger branches. The bark on old trunks is 

 often light brown and that on the smaller branches gray- 

 ish green. Probably one of the best distinguishing char- 

 acteristics of the Butternut is its leaflets, which usually 

 number 11 to 17 to each leaf, and are quite sticky and 

 hairy. This sticky and hairy feature is not only charac- 

 teristic of the leaves but also is found on the fruit. The 



