UTILIZATION OF BLACK WALNUT. 67 
mill. In this way a very close utilization is effected, and much small- 
sized and low-grade lumber may be made use of. Mahogany and 
walnut are sometimes used interchangeably in the manufacture of 
these cabinets, a light stain being used to give a walnut finish and a 
dark stain to give a mahogany finish. By this method one wood may 
be used for the solid parts and the other for the panels, walnut being 
generally used for the former and mahogany veneer for the latter. A 
cabinet made in that way does not give so good an appearance as if 
all walnut or all mahogany had been used. Moreover, each wood 
should be given a finish particularly suited to it. 
Piano cases are sometimes finished in walnut. There was formerly 
a good demand in Europe for walnut-finished pianos, but this busi- 
ness was interrupted by the late war. There has recently been a 
large demand from Australia, Mexico, and South America for pianos 
finished in walnut. Exports to these countries were, in fact, in- 
creased by the war, because the supply of German-made pianos was 
cut off. The United States is the largest manufacturer of pianos; 
before the war Germany was second, and England third. Figured 
walnut is now largely used for walnut piano cases. The figured 
" butt " or stump wood is quite generally used to form a panel for 
the front. The figured ends are matched together in the middle, and 
the figured wood generally runs out into plain wood on either side. 
Walnut cases are sometimes given a very light finish, resembling 
maple. The different streaks and shadings in the figured walnut 
are regarded as giving more character to the wood than the figured 
maple does. Walnut is sometimes used for the core wood on which 
the veneer is placed, because under varying moisture conditions it 
shrinks, swells, and warps very little. 
Piano benches are made of walnut to match the finish of the 
piano. The seat is usually a panel of figured veneer which is 
veneered with walnut on the edges also, in order to give the appear- 
ance of solid walnut. 
Walnut was formerly much used in the manufacture of reed or- 
gans, but very few of these instruments are now made. The proper 
finish of a pipe organ depends entirely upon the finish of the wood- 
work of the room in which it is to be placed, and the two should 
be in harmony, 
PLANING-MILL PRODUCTS, SASH, DOORS, BLINDS, AND GENERAL MILLWORK. 
Black walnut is manufactured into many products that go to make 
up the finish of houses, offices, and stores. A large proportion con- 
sists of planing-mill products, such as flooring, ceiling, molding, 
baseboards, and those other dressed and matched materials that are 
considered finished when they leave the planer. Walnut was formerly 
much used for borders and designs in floors laid mainly in other 
