The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1916-01-27
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 c.. o.sck Material
One Tree Brings $50 on Stump.

(By W. R. Nation, Division of Exten-
sion, University Of Tennessee.)
Because of an unprecedented and
almost worldwide demand for gum
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 a 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 stu
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 theNhigh sounding Of
fers and thereby is giving outright to
the middlemen large profits which
should be diverted into his own peck
cts. A concrete case will illustrate
what is happening daily over the coun-
try.
A farmer living in Lawrence county,
Tennessee sold a walnut tree for $50
on the stump. The buyer cut 1t low
in the ground to get the stump, max
ing in all 12-foot body logs, measur-
ing 35 and 81 inches respectively. and
8 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 SIS, includ-
ing the full time spent in the transac-
ton. In a day or two these logs,
which had cost the owner not over
$65, were sold to a local buyer at the
rate of 500 per thousand feet for the
two large logs and about $40 for the
small logs. The amounts paid by log
scale were $7210 and $54.70 for the
body logs, and $11.46 for the others,
or a total o $13S26. This was a 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 $l35
per thousand feet for the large logs,
which brought $9734 and $73.S4, re-
spectiyely, and a lump sum of about
SIS for the small logs. The amount
b,r 30 !, ful moo
-$l6484, 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-
CeiVed very nearly the same price as
the last middleman, and consequently
have'netted above all costs somewhere
between $40 and $3.50. His loss, there.
fore, amounted to between $50 and
$500.
The following points, If carefully
noted and followed, may prove of
value to the farmer:
1. 1t is Improbable and a mistake
to cut small sized walnut trees, be-
cause of the low scale and small prices
paid for such material; unless I'M
sound or for special reason. The mini
mum tree marketed should cut at least
a 12-inch log; one buyer stated that
he had bought $500 feet Of small logs
oh rrybf he
$500 feet Of gun-stock flitches Gum
edged plank 21a inches thick.
2. Logs down to feet in length are,
standard, and nothing under IL inches
is wanted, although some smaller Is
accepted.
3. Buyers Of gun stock material pay
more money for the smaller sizes and
also No. grade of logs, while furni-
ture dealers give relatively more for
the large sound clear logs, say from
Is inches and up, measured at the
small end.
4. Wide sap and crooks do not count
as defects for gun stock; also, mod.
crate number Of knots are allowed.
6. In selling walnut on the stump be
sure first to obtain a good estimate
of the contents and stumpage value;
to ascertain the latter, deduct the cost
Of cutting and hauling from the full
value f. 0. b. cars at the nearest rail-
road.
6. It is usually more profitable to
be your own lumberman and sell your
walnut in the log delivered at the rail-
road
7. While location has much to do
with prices, the present value of wal
nut logs, f. o. b. cars at loading points
in Tennessee, averages in round fig
ures from $40 for 12-inch logs to 500
for 24-inch logs, rising at the rate of
S. per each additional inch in diam
eter; clear, sound logs 80 to SO inches
are worth as much as $3.50 to $40 per
thousand board feet; logs Of all sizes,
with notable defect, such as many
knots, decay, or bad check, are lower
in vo1l1a a1thOnUb 1acc en- than NTH