UTILIZATION" OF BLACK WALNUT. 19 



from Ohio and Indiana. It is claimed that this timber is sometimes 

 shaky or badly worm-eaten, and these are very objectionable defects. 

 There is a large proportion of field-growth walnut in this section. 

 Trees of this kind of walnut often yield figured wood and are there- 

 fore in demand for veneer if they are not too defective. However, 

 it is said that in much of this walnut the heartwood is not sufficiently 

 dark in color to give an attractive appearance if it is used for veneei 

 panels. Some of the peculiar brown tones are found in walnut from 

 this section and occasionally those with a bluish cast which are well 

 liked by the veneer manufacturer. 



In the mountainous sections of the southern Appalachians, includ- 

 ing adjacent parts of West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, 

 North Carolina, and Georgia, the quality of the wood varies greatly, 

 depending for the most part on whether it is grown on poor soils or 

 in the fertile coves and valleys. The timber of the former localities 

 is quite uniformly small and defective. In the latter sections, how- 

 ever, it grows to large size, and the timber is generally sound. In 

 the rich valleys of this region on favorable sites there is excellent 

 walnut timber, although isolated trees with spreading branches are 

 now the rule. Even though but one log can be obtained from one of 

 these trees, this log is generally a valuable one, because of its good 

 form and the soundness of the wood. 



In West Virginia, outside the mountain region, trees are, on the 

 average, smaller in size than are the representative trees of Ohio and 

 Indiana. West Virginia walnut trees generally branch nearer the 

 ground, and the trunks are often badly shaped and defective. One- 

 log .trees are the general rule. As there is a good supply of walnut, 

 however, much desirable timber is obtainable. The heartwood is 

 dark in color. 



In central Maryland the quality of walnut is fairly good, but the 

 timber is generally in the form of field walnut, and is very limby. 

 In eastern Maryland, Delaware, and Xew Jersey the trees have many 

 limbs, and generally only one log is obtained from a tree, often a 

 short log at that. Even if a log length free from limbs is obtained, 

 it is often knotty, and the wood underneath is cross-grained and 

 defective. Large trees are often found here, but their trunks are 

 usually short and ill-shapen, and the wood inside is frequently cross- 

 grained or decayed. Xear the Pennsylvania State line the walnut 

 is somewhat better in quality. 



In Pennsylvania, where good walnut timber was found in the time 

 of the early settlers, there are now generally only open-growth trees, 

 the wood of which is defective. Good trees may still occasionally 

 be found in the rich valleys, and there are some scattered stands of 

 good quality in the agricultural lands near the central western border. 



