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- 
