WALNUT. 



(Juglans.) 



The English or Royal Walnut {Juglans regia), a native of 

 Persia, was the only available species of this genus until the 

 introduction of the nearly similar Black Walnut of North 

 America.* As oak gave way first to soft woods for construc- 

 tion, so it gave way first to walnut for cabinet purposes. The 

 wood soon became very fashionable, and exorbitant prices 

 were paid for it. Walnut was extremely popular in the United 

 States until about 1880, when oak began to resume its place as 

 the popular cabinet wood. The nuts of the English or Persian 

 walnut are better than those of the American species, but the 

 wood of the latter is superior. 



The use of walnut wood for gun-stocks began in Europe, 

 the demands early becoming so great that, until the general 

 peace, following the battle of Waterloo, the greater part of the 

 French product was diverted for that purpose, while prices rose 

 in England so that six hundred pounds sterling is reported to 

 have been paid for a single tree. In spite of the innumerable 

 woods that have since been introduced, this one is yet regarded 

 as best for gun-stocks. t Walnut is a firm, hard, chocolate- 

 colored wood, with pores not arranged in rings but scattered 

 somewhat irregularly. The sombre, although rich, color has 

 been objected to for some positions. Large excrescences or 

 " burrs " are common on foreign trees, particularly those near 

 the Black Sea and in Italy. The grain in such growths is 

 beautifully irregular, and the wood, known as " burl," is prized 

 for veneers. Trees are very scarce, and walnut is now seldom 

 seen save in cabinet work or gun-stocks. The related White 

 Walnut or Butternut {Juglans cinerea) affords a less-prized and 



^ About the middle of the seventeenth century. 



|- France used twelve thousand trees in 1806. (Stevenson's "Trees of Com- 

 merce," p. 77.) 



47 



