20 BULLETIN 909, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
As a rule, however, the quality of the walnut available in the State 
is comparatively poor. 
In general, the walnut of extreme eastern United States has many 
defects, including knots, decay, wormholes, and black streaks. Be- 
cause of its open growth, however, the heartwood gives a figured 
effect when it is cut into veneer, and the different colors often pro- 
duced by the eastern timber make it desirable for this use. 
West of the Mississippi River the walnut timber does not on the 
average grow so large in size as the timber of the East, and the trees 
are apt to be more defective. Western timber often has a large 
proportion of hollow and rotten butts, and this defect may run the 
entire length of the butt log. Knots on the outside of the logs often 
indicate decay that extends to the interior. Logs cut from the upper 
portion of the tree are generally small and knotty. Notwithstanding 
the defectiveness of much western walnut, the general run of the 
timber is better than that of the eastern, especially in the more 
remote sections of the country. This is because the western timber 
has not been cut over so much as the eastern. Western walnut 
as a rule has more figure than eastern, and this makes it desirable 
for the manufacture of veneer. It is also said to be harder in general 
than eastern walnut. 
The Missouri timber, except that from the southeastern part, is 
somewhat above the average in quality. That from low, wet loca- 
tions is very defective. 
The walnut of Iowa does not vary greatly in quality from that 
of Missouri. In the best locations for its growth in the State, along 
stream courses, it averages somewhat better than the Missouri wal- 
nut. The walnut of Kansas is similar in quality to that of Missouri ; 
where the land has not been so greatly cut over the trees run larger 
and are less defective. The walnut of southeastern Nebraska is of 
very good size and quality, because the land has not been cut over 
to the extent to which it has in a large part of Missouri and Kansas. 
The walnut of northwestern Arkansas is also said to be of a better 
quality than that from Missouri, the former being largely forest 
growth, and the latter, in a large measure, open growth. The hitherto 
greater inaccessibility of the Arkansas timber has contributed to 
produce this superiority. South of the Arkansas River the quality is 
more like that of the walnut of Oklahoma and Texas. Walnut from 
these two States is very inferior, especially that grown on the up- 
lands. The main defects are crooked grain, windshake, sap pockets, 
wormholes, and large, loose knots. Logs from this region are, as a 
whole, not suitable for the manufacture of lumber. On account of 
these irregularities of growth, such logs produce a considerable 
amount of figure in veneer and are valued largely for this purpose. 
Different shades of color are often produced by the Texas walnut, 
