The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1915-12-02
BLACK WALNUT IN
GREAT DEMAND
Good Judgment in Marketing
Will Prove A Gold Mine
to Owners
DEMAND IS NOW WORLD WIDE
Black Walnut Now Commands the
Highest Market Prices Ever Held
In Demand for Gun-Stock Material
One Tree Brings $50 on Stump.

(By w. R. Mattoon, Division of Exten-
sion, University of Tennessee.)
Because of an unprecedented and
almost worldwide demand for gun
stock material, black walnut now com
mands undoubtedly the highest mar
ket prices ever held. No change,
moreover, seems likely to occur in the
next six month or more. Owners of
black walnut trees have small gold
mine at their hands, provided they ex-
ercise good judgment and care in mar
keting.
Although the farmer may not have
planted the trees, he is the virtual
producer and as such is rightly enti-
tied to profit most in the present situ
alton. Unfortunately however, the
average farmer willingly parts with
his valuable walnut to the first buyer
who makes him an offer. He is taken
off his guard by the high sounding Of
fers and thereby is giving outright to
the middlemen large profits which
should be diverted into his own pock-
cts. A concrete case will illustrate
what Is happening daily over the coun-
try.
A farmer living in Lawrence county,
Tennessee, sold walnut tree for $50
on the stump. The buyer cut it low
in the ground to get the stump, max
ing in all 12-foot body logs, neasur-
ing IS and 81 inches respectively. and
3 short top logs. The expense of cut
ting and hauling the tree to the rail
road, distance of As miles over an
easy road, did not exceed $15, includ-
ing the full time spent in the transac-
tion. In day or two these logs,
which had cost the owner not over
$65, were sold to local buyer at the
rate of $500 per thousand feet for the
two large logs and about $50 for the
small logs. The amounts paid by log
scale were $72.10 and $54.70 for the
body logs, and $11.46 for the others,
or total $138.26. This was net
profit of not less than $73.26. Very
shortly afterward the logs were in
turn sold to a large middleman living
in the same town at a. price of $135
per thousand feet for the large logs,
which brought 1874 and $73.S4, re-
spectively, and lump sum of about
SIS for the small logs. The amount
thus paid by the third buyer was
$164.84, who then sold the small logs
for gun stock material and the large
logs for furniture veneer stock to the
Singer Sewing Machine Co. BY cut
ting and marketing his product direct
ly to the last buyer, whose name is
very well known in the region, the
farmer would without doubt have re-
ce!ved very nearly the same price as
the last middleman, and consequently
have netted above all costs somewhere
between $40 and $780, His loss, there
fore, amounted to between $50 and
$780,
The following points, il carefully
noted and followed, may prove of
value to the farmer:
/. 1t is Improbable and mistake
to cut small sized walnut trees, be-
cause of the low scale and small prices |
paid for such material; unless un.
sound or for special reason The mini
mum tree marketed should cut at least |
a 12-inch log; one buyer stated that |
be had bought $500 feet of small logs
In one bunch from which he sawed out |
$500 feet of gun-stock 6itches (un- |
edeged plank 21b inches thick)