UTILIZATION OF BLACK WALNUT. 59 



to turn this kind of stock into ties. There is, however, a larger per- 

 centage of overrun in sawing into ties, and for this reason the manu- 

 facture of ties is often profitable, especially if the mill is in a region 

 where the best prices are paid. Defective ties are sometimes cut 

 into mine caps about 6 inches thick if there is a demand for such 

 material. Wedges to be used with the caps are also sawed out of 

 waste walnut. 



POSTS. 



Close utilization may be effected by sawing small and defective 

 walnut into fence posts. Although it is not so durable as locust and 

 some other woods, walnut is suitable for posts and is in demand for 

 this purpose. A common size for posts is 5 by 5 inches at the bottom 

 and 2 by 5 inches at the top. This manner of sawing is advantageous, 

 because the yield is greater than it would be if the posts were of the 

 same size throughout. 



SECONDARY INDUSTRIES. 



Walnut is manufactured by factories mainly into three classes of 

 products — cabinetwork in general, interior finish, and firearms. 

 Under cabinetwork are included furniture, fixtures, chairs, cabinets 

 and cases for musical instruments and sewing machines, and caskets. 

 Inside finish includes products of the planing mill, doors, and panels 

 for stores, offices, and railway cars. Gun and rifle stocks and pistol 

 grips are the parts made for firearms. Of minor importance are 

 such small articles as handles of various kinds and fancy boxes. 



Table 22 gives the annual consumption of walnut, as reported by 

 factories and grouped according to classes of products. These figures 

 apply to the years 1909 to 1913 and represent the pre-war consump- 

 tion. There has probably been an increase over these figures in the 

 use of walnut for general cabinetwork, on account of the great recent 

 demand for walnut furniture. This increase in the use of walnut for 

 furniture has been largely offset by the greatly lessened demand 

 for certain kinds of cabinetwork, such as sewing-machine cabinets, 

 which were made almost entirely for supplying the foreign trade. 

 In other classes of products lessened foreign demand is also gen- 

 erally more than balanced by an increased use of similar products 

 at home. It is believed, therefore, that the figures shown in the 

 table are somewhat representative of the importance at the present 

 time of the different industries in walnut utilization. The figures 

 on the cost of material are of value only for the purpose of 

 comparison. 



