UTILIZATION OF BLACK WALNUT. 73 



BOXES. 



The use of black walnut in the box industry is confined to making; 

 small fancy boxes for holding jewelry, silverware, and other expen- 

 sive merchandise, and the box is usually sold with the article it con- 

 tains. Walnut is also made into small boxes for office use. A com- 

 paratively low grade of walnut is used for making boxes ; the average 

 value of the walnut is high, however, when compared with that of all 

 wood used in the box industry. 



PICTURE FRAMES AND MOLDING. 



Black walnut is an excellent wood for picture frames and molding 

 on account of its fine appearance and its good finishing qualities, 

 and because it holds it shape when seasoned. A very high grade of 

 wood is required for these uses. 



OTHER FACTORY USES. 



Sixteen other industries reported an aggregate annual use of less 

 than 100,000 board feet of black walnut. Some of the most im- 

 portant of these uses are for parts of professional and scientific 

 instruments ; for the outside finishing pieces of clocks ; for bungs and 

 faucets on account of the uniform texture of the wood, which makes 

 them fit well ; for the decorative parts of sporting and athletic goods, 

 especially of billiard cues; for woodenware and novelties, particu- 

 larly carved articles of various kinds; for fancy handles; and for 

 brush backs. It is sometimes made into tobacco pipes to take the 

 place of the French briar because it does not burn readily and has a 

 very attractive grain. 



There is a large range in prices reported for the smallest amounts, 

 as shown in Table 22. The unusually high prices reported for some 

 of these items indicate that some special stock was purchased. For 

 instance, the 500 board feet purchased for carpet sweepers, for which 

 a very high price for that time was paid, was doubtless figured stock. 

 Very little walnut is now used for carpet sweepers. The 8,000 board 

 feet used for agricultural implements at a low cost may have been 

 purchased locally where there was little market for walnut and was 

 probably low-grade material. That employed in ship and boat build- 

 ing at an unusually high cost was doubtless selected figured wood for 

 inside-finish work. 



AIRPLANES. 



Black walnut is valued highly for airplane propellers chiefly be- 

 cause of its excellent seasoning and working properties and also 

 because it possesses strength without excessive weight. Some author- 

 ities claim that black walnut is by far the best wood for this pur- 



