32 BULLETIN" 909, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



in order of importance for 1918. This table shows a marked and 

 almost universal reduction in the number of mills sawing walnut in 

 the different States, particularly since the year 1912. This reduction 

 in the number of mills cutting walnut was, of course, to be expected 

 for 1918, for during that year the manufacture of walnut logs was 

 permitted only for war products. However, Missouri shows a reduc- 

 tion from 322 mills in 1912 to 61 in 1917, and Indiana a reduction 

 from 413 mills in 1912 to 189 in 1917. Practically every State that 

 had a number of mills sawing walnut several years ago has shown a 

 great reduction. This is largely because walnut manufacture has be- 

 come in recent years a highly specialized industry, and walnut logs are 

 now generally worked up at a mill specially adapted for handling 

 this kind of timber. 



MANUFACTURE. 



The manufacture of walnut lumber is one of the most exacting 

 processes in sawmilling. The percentage of failures among walnut 

 operators is notoriously high. The problem, naturally, is for the 

 operator to get the most walnut lumber of the greatest value out of 

 the saw logs, or so to regulate his sawing that as much of the log as 

 possible will be utilized for products for which there is a demand 

 and at a price that will yield the necessary profit. Walnut sawmill 

 operators, therefore, do not strive for maximum lumber output. 

 Care must be used in sawing each log, for improper manufacture 

 produces a greater proportion of less valuable stock, and the opera- 

 tion might easily result in a loss rather than a profit. 



Large walnut sawmills are equipped with modern band saws, 

 which make a narrower kerf than the circular saws of small mills. 

 This gives to the large mill the advantages of faster production and 

 less waste in sawdust. 



As walnut saw logs are nearly always defective, the sawyer must 

 be able to judge, so far as possible from the outside appearance, the 

 position and character of interior defects. Walnut logs are apt to 

 be knotty toward the center, and the sawyer aims to get as much 

 wide, fairly clear lumber as possible without running into the knots 

 near the center. The position of the log on the carriage, the number 

 and thickness of the boards sawed from the log, and the turning of 

 the log at the proper time to saw from another side have much to do 

 with getting a profit from the walnut-lumber business. 



The cost of manufacture at large mills can not be easily deter- 

 mined, because the veneer operations are so closely tied up with 

 lumber manufacture. At small mills the cost of sawing is generally 

 placed at $7.50 to $10 a thousand feet. 



It is a general practice among walnut-lumber manufacturers to 

 subject their sawed stock to a steaming process as it comes from 



