The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-02-20
L..H!I. 33 !!!l.|..I' | !. !. |

cedence in this particular was Indian ter
ritory, Arkansas Tennessee and kentucky
came in for a good share of the trade,
and a little of the wood was scattered
through Iowa and the North. These vast
forests have disappeared, and all that re-
main are small groves of shade ;rees.
once considered of no commercial value.
While the quantity of walnut has greatly
lessened, singularly, the prices are about
the same as they were years ago. At
that time walnut was quoted at from SIS
to $50 for the best grades, $50 to $40 for
common and SO to $40 for Gull. To-day
the figures are about the same: $40 to $50
for best grades $35 to $37 for common,
and SIS to SIS for Gull. These compare
lively stationary prices are explained by
the fact that no business is done by deal
ers in walnut except in a small way, end
owners are glad to sell what they have
at reasonable prices. Most of that which
remains is Gull quality, and is useless for
anything but small articles. For larger
and more costly work, oak, ash and cherry
and for the finest articles mahogany are
now used in place of walnut. Small arti-
cles, such as telephone boxes and light
panels, are still made of walnut, secured
form the burls or knots of small trees.
The burls are frequently of various colors,
and when found in this condition they
are veneered over other woods used for
finishing giving a very handsome COM
bination. Woods finished in this manner
are often called French walnut. Many
people mistake the combination for dis
tlnct class of timber, and think it Is I'M
ported, but of course this is not true.
Nothing is being done except on a small
scale to renew the supply of walnut by
raising new forests. II is estimated that
toll to al, nj
tree that could be used for commercial
purposes. The wood is close grained and
grows very slowly. It's sap portion is
usually about an inch and a half thick,
so that trees must be large to furnish
any considerable supply. A few waste
lands valuable for nothing else, are util-
lied through Missouri and Kentucky for
raising walnut but the practice is not ex-
pected to amount to much.
The best of the walnut still in existence
is carefully sorted out and shipped to
Europe where 1t commands good prices.
A wood resembling walnut, and called
Circassian walnut, is received here from
Europe. 1t comes chiefly from the Lon
don, Paris and Marseilles markets, and is
used as a figured wood. 1t is cut on a
veneer machine about one-thirtieth of an
inch thick, and is veneered like the Varl-
ously colored burl walnut on other dark
wood panels Mr. Hibbard of the fIib-
bard-Steele company was the first to cut
this imported wood and use it for veneer
ing in st. Louis. The wood work of the
Peoples store on Broadway furnishes a
good example of this class of work.
People have often been imposed upon
with a wood known in early days as satin
walnut. This is dark in color and was
regarded as a rare wood by our early
fathers. 1t was used in making costly ar
ticles of furniture, much in the same man
ner as the regular walnut later on. It is
now known that this was nothing other
than the native red gum, a very common
wood now, of which millions of feet are
raised in this state and all the southern
states. 1t is commonly used now for the
cheapest purposes, such as making cigar
boxes and sewing machine boxes end
platforms. 1t is still exported under the
name of satin walnut, and many cred
ulous buyers have been cheated into pay
ing good prices for it, thinking they were
rare class of timber
Many interesting walnut stories are told
by some of the older lumbermen who
once dealt in it extensively. In 1882 one
of our lumber inspectors was taking
load of 100000 feet OF walnut to New Or
leans, from a point on the St. Francis
river The barge became so heavy, being
soaked with water llldL IL SANK IN DOr-
ton of the river called Dead lake, in
Arkansas. This body OF water receives it's
name from the amount of good timber
that has been sunk in it in a similar man
ner. If this raft of picked walnut logs
could be resurrected, and were not ruined
by its long bath, 1t would be worth, 1t is
said easily $4,000 to-day The same
dealer claims that he once owned wal
nut log that measured 2s1s feet in length,
and contained $500 feet of lumber. From
it were derived planks S5 inches in width.
He sold some of them to St. Louis build
ers, and can point out the identical logs
in some of the older buildings down town.
1t is claimed that In the western portion
of Indian territory there are still large
areas Of fine walnut which have never
been drawn upon, and which would bring
a rich harvest to some enterprising lum-
herman, if he could get access to them.
Several have tried but the government
has refused to let them be sold. "a mem
Der of the lumbermen's exchange in this
city claims that he saw a walnut tree
there that measured q feet in circumfer-
ence and whose lowest branch was 60
feet from the ground. II is estimated to
be worth $500 where 1T stands, and there
are many others of similar immensely.
It Is believed that in time all the fire
cabinet woodstock, ash cherry. etc
in this country Will go the way of walnut
and disappear from the earth. They are
fast being cut down, and nothing is done
to renew the supply. To be sure, there
are vest forests in Siberia, South Amer
lea and Africa, which can be drawn upon.
II Is reported that in the Congo country
there are immense forests which have
never been touched for commercial bur-
poses. Not much of the timber of South
America and Siberia has been removed.
as there Is little manufacturing in those
regions. Yet even this apparently limit
less supply must some day be exhausted.
1.-THE present rate of consumption Is con-
tinued. There are many mills In the north
ern and southern states that use ND 80
acres of timber apiece in one day. II Is
estimated that in the next decade the
supply of oak, ash, cherry and mahogany.
and. In fact, all hard woods will be as
completely exhausted as Is that Of walnut
at the present time. Then the forests Of
the countries yet unsettled win be Drawn