Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-07-28
A Tree BECOMING Rnre.

In speaking to the writer about the inces-
SAINT demand for black walnut lumber and
the cause of its growing scarcity leading
New York timber merchant recently said /:
1T Is surprising that there is so little at
tention paid to the cultivation of the tim
Der, especially when" the labor to be ex-
pended is so small ana the return so mu-
nificent u
There are very few farmers in the coun-
try who cannot spare a few acres Of land
TO be devoted to-the cultivation of this val
liable wood. which is always in active de-
mand, and there is no crop to which they
can turn their attention that is so prolific
and so certain of big returns the in
vestment of labor that is about all that
Is requisite to be expended and there are
few localities in the country where the soil
and climate may not be found adapted to
the cultivation of this valuable timber.
1T is an undisputed fact that there are
hundreds of farms In the United States and
Canada in which in the land-clearing pro-
cess black walnut timber has been con-
verted into rails for fencing and Gre
mated in log heaps to get rid of it. which,
II it had been permitted to stand, would to-
day be sufficiently valuable to purchase
several farms with all the Improvements
and stock; and scattered trees, which We're
fortunately spared from the wreck and de-
Struction, have been sold from 500 to $500
each on the stump.
with these facts before the farmers of
the country it seems almost incredible that
so few of them avail themselves of so ap-
parant all advantage. True, 1t is a crop that
requires several years waiting for returns
but any farmer who when starting in as
an agriculturist wilLpant acre of ground
to black walnut and continue to plant one
acre yearly in the ordinary course of ma
ture will live to reap yearly returns far in
excess of all the roots and cereals he can
raise by laborious and toilsome application
a tiler of the soil.
And providing he should fail to reap the
reward himself he has made provision for
his family that Is as safe as government
bonds and more profitable than life insur-
ance as the planting of black walnut means
the harvesting of tree in twenty years
the minimum value of which will be $40
and an increase in value thereafter of at
least 81 per year if permitted to stand and
a final value of from 800 to $500 per tree
when they reach full maturity.
An experimental black walnut grove
now nearing fruition in Michigan Is rapidly
developing and from which the owner In
a very few years will reap the harvest of
the most profitable crop ever planted In
the state, and the owners greatest regret
is that he did not enter more extensively
into the business. He says II he had planted
half his farm with black wanuts the stand
ing timber in twenty-five years would have
been worth three times the balance, with all
his stock, buildings and other improve
merts.
1.-The certainty of returns Is the great
feature of the business. Black walnut is in
demand from end of the country to the
other, and its scarcity Is becoming more ap-
parent from year to year, dealers finding
it more difficult to obtain. 1t Is one of the
most valuable timbers capable of produc-
ton, besides being hardy and thrifty: hence
his time and opportunity to meet the un-
failing demand makes an investment for
the future which Will certainly meet his
most sanguine expectations"