The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-12-02
BLACK WALNUT FARMING.
Virginia Producing a Limited Guam
tity of This Valuable Timber.

From the washington Star.
Twelve carloads of black walnut logs
passed through Washington yesterday
over the Richmond and Danville road en-
route to Philadelphia. These logs were
consigned by Mir. James Nichols, of Wood
Grove, London county, Virginia, who is
in the business of picking up black wal
nut trees here and there in the mountains
of Virginia near his home and getting
them to market. Mr.. Nichols accompa-
MED his logs to Philadelphia, and while
in Washington gave Star reporter some
idea of his interesting occupation.
BLACK walnut is worth twice as much
nowadays" said Mr.. Nichols, "as it was
ten years ago. The supply is practically
exhausted. Ten years ago there was
big quantity in sight in Southern Indiana
great trees, so feet high TO the first
limb, and from to 5 feet in diameter.
But all that is gone and Missouri has the
only supply of any considerable amount.
and that is melting away fast. These logs
of mine came from the woodlands on top
of the Katoctin range. They are none of
them what would be called tirst-Class. A
few years ago nobody would think of buy
ing them. That, indeed, is why they are
in my hands to-day Thousands Of just
such logs have been cut and used for fire
wood by Virginia farmers, and every
llbItG NIlit l near IONN ANlttNo VI oOllA' OIhA
backwoods mossback who has burned u p
a so log in his 81 cook stove. That is %
thing to make You swear, but those old
fellows can't read or write, and see few
outsiders, so they do just as they did fifty
years ago
Il found, the other day black walnut
plank four feet wide nailed up in a Yir-
ginia barn, where it had been for twenty
years waiting until its owner could get
a n tn ma for eraf IA y
it made up into good kitchen table
The plank, just as 1t stood, was worth
money enough to buy the old man four
good cherry tables / tell you, it is hard
to find 4-foot black walnut logs in my
neighborhood now. Six years ago / was
travelling in the southwestern part OF
West Virginia, where | saw some yer
fine timber land. | asked the people
met what land was worth around there.
"'Oh,' they said, fYOu go back away
it can be had for 80 cents an acre.
81 was through that way last summer
and that same land, which unluckily did
not buy, was stripped of its heavy tim
Der, and they We're grubbing out tn
numerous black walnut stumps, whic..
they told me were worth anywhere from
$50 to 500 for the splendid sound bur.
Vencering to be cut from them.
These little logs that we ship from the
Katoctins will seldom square over four
teen inches, but they are sound and make
a good quality Of lumber. l pay about / ,
cents a square foot in the log the owner
grubbing the tree out by the roots ac-
cording to my directions If a tree will
cut into a log fourteen feet long it does
well. The farmers are glad TO get rid o {
them, for the black walnut is not much
of shade tree. Nothing will grow under
it, on account of the peculiar acid-like
quality of the tree and there is hardly Il
tree that grows that sends its lin bs and
roots further literally, 80 that it despoils
a good deal of land. II a farmer can, by
expanding SIS worth Of labor, take out a
tree that will bring him $40 to $l5, ana
leave him soil enough TO bring in So or 81
hereafter in crops, why, he is making a
good thing of it. l get on an average 500
per 900 feet for the black walnut take
to market. There is a good margin be
tween buying and selling but the guam
tity to be had is so limited that it is not a
safe or very profitable business to be en-
gagged in. II would not pay me- or any
one, to put my whole time into it.
And let me tell you this: Ifyou want
to leave your children and grandchildren
a fortune, buy some worthless mountain
land and plant black walnuts You can
get thousands of acres for dollar an
acre in some parts of Virginia and West
Virginia, and the walnuts are to be had
in almost endless quantity ever fall
within forty or fifty miles of Washington
The tree really grows rapidly, nOtwth-
standing its strong acid character and ne
culiarly dark, firm grain. If you choose
TO cut tree fifteen years old. you could
make money planting them for that length
Of time. 1t is good crop TO try"