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THE WALNUT OUR NATIONAL TREE ? 



HALL the American walnut be adopted as our American. There is apparently enough walnut in the 

 national tree? Several such inquiries have been country to give us a sustained cut of some 50 mil- 

 received by American Forestry recently. Certain- lion feet a year, and this will cover our needs in this 



ly it has many claims to 

 such recognition. But so 

 have others, their admirers 

 will say. What do the lovers 

 of walnut claim for it? 



One writer says : 



"There is probably no 

 tree better known in the 

 United States than the 

 walnut tree and certainly 

 the record of the wood is 

 one of which we are all 

 proud. The suggestion I 

 would like to make is that 

 the American walnut be 

 adopted as our national 

 tree. England has her oak, 

 Canada her maple, Italy her 

 olives, Germany her linden, 

 Japan her cryptomeria, why 

 not America her walnut ? 

 Walnut as a tree awakes 

 fond memories in the heart 

 of nearly every native born 

 American. The tree grows 

 naturally in the region oc- 

 cupied by four-fifths of the 

 people of the United States 

 and has been planted and 

 grown successfully in every 

 State in the Union. 



"The wood itself is in- 

 ferior to none of the 

 world's best cabinet woods 

 and in fact is superior in 

 most respects. Its beauty 

 of color and figure to- 

 gether with its well-nigh 

 perfect physical character- 

 istics qualify it as the lead- 

 ing candidate as our na- 

 tional representative among 

 the forest products of the 

 world. 



"It is quite true that 

 walnut is not as plentiful 

 as some of the other woods, 

 but this is a point in its 

 favor. There were not many 

 Theodore Roosevelts but 

 we are glad to think of him 

 as a representative Ameri- 

 can. Walnut is good enough 

 to be a representative 



l/kimiCA* FotUTKY makes grateful acknowledgment to the American Walnut Manufacturers Association for much of the material and many of the 



cuts used in this article. Editor.) 



THIS GIANT WALNUT STANDS IN THE CITY PARK AT PIQUA, 

 OH TO. AND IS 12 FEET IN CIRCUMFERENCE, MEASURED 

 THREE FEET FROM THE GROUND 



cabinet wood. If the tree 

 is planted and young 

 growth protected there is 

 no reason why we should 

 not always have plenty of 

 walnut. In times of peace 

 it gives us a wood for the 

 best and most artistic fur- 

 niture, in war it gives us 

 the one reliable wood for 

 gunstocks and airplane 

 propellers. The tree itself 

 gives shade but does not 

 kill the grass beneath, thus 

 leaving a lawn or pasture. 

 The wood is superior for 

 farm use, is a good fuel 

 and is durable as posts. The 

 nuts are marketable at 

 good prices when produced 

 in excess of local consump- 

 tion. When the trees are 

 mature they are marketable 

 at better prices than can 

 be obtained for any stump- 

 age anywhere in the world. 

 Mahogany stumpage sells 

 at from 50 cents to $5.00 

 per 1,000 board feet. 



"I wonder how many 

 memorial trees planted in 

 honor of soldiers were 

 walnuts. If you can think 

 of a better tree than walnut 

 as our national tree, please 

 tell me what it is and 

 I promise never to mention 

 it to anyone." 



All of this is a first-class 

 argument in favor of the 

 walnut. Evidently forestry 

 departments of several 

 States believe in it too, for 

 recently in Ohio, the Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Sta- 

 tion published a pamphlet 

 by Edmund Secrest, of the 

 Forestry Section, on the 

 cultivation of these trees, 

 attention being called to the 

 great value of the lumber in 

 many industries and its use 

 in the Great War for air- 



Mi 



