BLACK WALNUT FOR BEAUTY AND UTILITY 



f?I*N connection with the most commendable campaign 

 I of memorial tree planting being so effectively con- 

 ducted by your Association," says C. A. Reed, 

 nut culturist of the Bureau of Plant Industry of the 

 United States Department of Agriculture, in a recent 

 letter, "may I call attention to the special fitness of the 

 black walnut for such planting, for two reasons; its use- 

 fulness and value as a tree and because of the important 

 part it played 

 in winning the 

 war? 



"The black 

 walnut is one 

 of America's 

 most useful 

 trees. It is also 

 one of the 

 most widely 

 distributed spe- 

 cies, being 

 found either 

 native or plant- 

 ed from Mid- 

 dle New Eng- 

 land to North- 

 ern Florida and 

 from Montana 

 to Texas. West 

 of the Rockies 

 and in the 

 S o u th we st, 

 wherever con- 

 ditions of soil 

 and moisture 

 are favorable, 

 relatives of the 

 Eastern black 

 walnut are 

 among the 

 more common 

 indigenous spe- 

 cies. The East- 

 ern black wal- 

 nut has been 

 very success- 

 fully trans- 

 planted to the 

 same sections, where it freely hybridizes with the ones 

 already there, resulting in a very interesting type of 

 crosses. In the interior valleys of California not infre- 

 quently brief stretches of macadam or concrete highways 

 are shaded by rows of handsome trees either of the 

 pendulous California black walnut species or of the 

 typical Eastern black walnut or of the more vigorous 

 and luxuriant type which is the offspring of these two 

 when crossed together. The native black walnut is the 



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only member of the Juglans group which has thus far 

 proven its adaptability to any considerable portion of the 

 United States. 



The Persian or so-called English walnut annually 

 produces a crop on the Pacific Coast valued at from 

 ten to fifteen million dollars, but east of the Rocky 

 Mountains it is of little importance, succeeding only under 

 the most favorable conditions in certain restricted locali- 

 ties. The Japa- 

 nese walnut is 

 dwarfish in 

 habit of 

 growth, and 

 while it has a 

 wide range of 

 a d a p t a bility 

 and certain oth- 

 er commend- 

 able character- 

 istics it rarely 

 grows large 

 enough to make 

 a des i r able 

 shade tree. 



"In time of 

 war the black 

 walnut, espe- 

 cially the East- 

 ern species, is 

 one of the first 

 to be called 

 into active par- 

 ticipation. In- 

 deed, we are 

 informed that 

 for many years 

 before the re- 

 c e n t conflict 

 the German 

 G o v e r nment 

 stealthily drew 

 upon the 

 American black 

 walnut for gun 

 stock material. 

 During the pe- 

 riod of Ameri- 

 can participa- 

 tion this species not only took part in the making of 

 gun stocks but also in the manufacture of airplane pro- 

 pellers, which proved to be a far more important use. 

 Walnut shells were used in the manufacture of carbon 

 for gas masks, and to an unknown extent the kernels of 

 the nuts were among the delicacies sent from home to 

 the boys at the front. 



"Both on the land and in the sky the black walnut 

 played a most important role. It was probably employed 



A MAGNIFICENT SPECIMEN OF THE EASTERN BLACK WALNUT 



This tree stands in Montgomery County, Maryland, and is believed to be over a hundred years old, and the 

 largest of its kind in all the surrounding country. Fortunately,' it was not called upon for "war" service. 



