76 BULLETIN 909, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



There has always been a big foreign demand for such walnut- 

 finished articles as sewing machines and music cabinets. Many firms 

 depended upon the export trade almost entirely to take their walnut- 

 finished products. Formerly the dark-finished walnut of uniform 

 shade was in demand, but now the foreign trade prefers the more 

 natural color of the wood. The plain heartwood finished in a brown 

 natural color is now well liked. 



WAR-TIME UTILIZATION. 



Two products made from walnut are used in warfare — airplane 

 propellers and gunstocks. To obtain maximum production, both 

 propeller and gunstock material should be cut, so far as possible, 

 from the same log. High-grade stock, 1 inch in thickness, is required 

 for propellers; and it should be 8 inches wide and over and 8 feet 

 long and over, although a specified maximum proportion of the 

 lesser widths and lengths is allowed. The propeller grade is about 

 equivalent to firsts and seconds, but will include some of the large- 

 sized pieces of No. 1 common. Gunstock material is sawed from the 

 log in the form of flitches — that is, without the bark being edged 

 off — and low-grade flitches may be used. Any piece is of value that 

 will yield a gunstock blank free from all defects, including both 

 cross grain and pith, the latter being called " heart." The flitches 

 are 2^ inches in thickness. 



Small and defective logs do not usually yield propeller stock, but 

 are sawed entirely into flitches. Large and mostly clear logs usually 

 yield a high percentage of propeller lumber. Because walnut logs 

 are apt to be defective near the center, the propeller lumber is usually 

 sawed from near the outside of smooth logs ; if serious defects are 

 encountered, gunstock flitches are cut. 



Straight-grained material is particularly in demand for propeller 

 laminations, and is more often obtained by sawing tapered logs with 

 the grain — that is, in a line approximately parallel to the bark 

 rather than to the central axis of the log. This generally leaves a 

 wedge-shaped piece in the center, but does not increase the amount 

 of waste, as logs from which propeller stock is cut are more liable 

 to be defective toward the center. 



Some gunstock material is obtained even from practically clear logs 

 in sawing on two parallel sides. By sawing from four sides of the log 

 a larger yield of propeller lumber may be obtained from high-grade 

 logs than from sawing from two parallel sides. This method, how- 

 ever, reduces the yield of gunstock material, increases the proportion 

 of waste, and makes narrower propeller stock. During the late war, 

 manufacturers were required by regulations of the War Department 

 to saw the logs Avith all cuts parallel, in order that the propeller 



