UTILIZATION OF BLACK WALNUT. 81 
manufacturers prefer to buy their walnut logs through dealers only, 
rather than to purchase in small lots from owners. This is par- 
ticularly true of firms that make a specialty of figured walnut veneer. 
Other manufacturers prefer to buy from the owners of the standing 
timber through their salaried log buyers. A few firms buy walnut 
logs subject to inspection at the mill. 
Walnut trees are usually converted into logs for the manufacture 
of either lumber or veneer, because of the comparatively high value 
of walnut in these forms. (PI. XII, fig. 1.) Conversion into ties, 
fence posts, and fuel avoocI, except in regions far removed from the 
railroad, is confined to that part of the tree which -is too small or 
defective for lumber or veneer. Large and figured logs may be 
hauled and shipped long distances at a profit. (PI. XII, fig. 2.) 
Formerly choice walnut timber for export was purchased from 
remote mountainous sections of the eastern United States, where a 
good supply was found, and hauled 25 or 30 miles over rough moun- 
tain roads to the railroad for shipment to the coast. During the war 
walnut timber was hauled as far as 20 miles to the railroad in sec- 
tions west of the Mississippi, where there were comparatively large 
stands. 
Walnut butts or stumps are very valuable if they are highly 
figured. (PL XIII, fig. 1.) If they are plain they do not have 
special value, The figured portion should be at least 28 or 30 inches 
in length. Burls are very rare and bring high prices at veneer plants. 
These burls have the appearance of a knot, and typical specimens are 
covered with little conical spines. They are more often found near 
the outer western limits of the area of distribution, where the trees 
are apt to be stunted and not thrifty. As a general thing, only those 
burls at the stump or root of the tree, called root burls, and mostly 
beneath the surface of the ground, are of value; those higher up on 
the trunk or on large limbs are generally full of cavities. A good 
burl should have sound, solid wood like the normal growth. The 
best burls are usually turnip shaped. 
It is impossible to give current prices for walnut logs, both because 
there has been a great fluctuation in price on account of the war's 
demand, and because walnut mills do not generally put out a price 
list, the amount paid being determined by the quality of the indi- 
vidual logs, particularly in regard to their suitability for veneer. 
During the war, prices ranging from $20 to $120 a thousand board 
feet, log scale, were paid for standing timber, depending on size and 
location. This averaged about $50 a thousand. The prices for logs 
on board cars at the railroad ranged from $45 to $150 a thousand for 
diameters 12 inches and over, making in most cases a cost for all sizes 
of $100 to $110 a thousand at the mill. The average-sized log 
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