Dealing With Black Walnuts

It's nearly autumn and the black walnuts are starting to fall.  I spent an hour today gleaning fallen nuts and broken bits of husks.  Black walnuts are used in many ways during the 1800s, so I try to keep an eye open for them.  Because squirrels are very fond of the nuts, it's often a race, although I am looking for the green outer husk.  I don't begrudge the squirrels the nuts, but little bits of husk strewn across the ground are so much harder to harvest.  I do want to be sure to get them before they have rotted away, so timing is important. I brought my harvest home and put them in a large pot to soak over night so I can use them for my next project.  I'll have to be sure to cover the pot tightly or move it into the shed overnight so the local squirrels don't raid them.

The Black Walnut tree is a native North American tree.  This beautiful botanical print comes from the work The North American Sylva, or a Description of the Forest Trees of the United States, Canada, and Nova Scotia, Vol 1, by F. Andrew Michaux.  Published in 1817, this useful volume gives us the uses as well as the descriptions of the trees.  Our modern society has lost much knowledge of plants and natural materials; we know longer remember what woods are best suited to various uses and why.

Michaux tells us that the Black Walnut is fairly widespread across North America, preferring rich soil.  On the East coast, it grows no more northerly than Goshen  in New Jersey and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, but will grow further north in the Midwest.  In the Carolinas and Georgia, it could be found in deep fertile valleys, and grew out by the Mississippi River.  It was a well known tree and Michaux evaluates it as one of the tallest of North American trees.

Michaux believes the designation of "Black" comes from the color of the heartwood, which is violet when freshly cut and then darkens to a black.  The wood is strong and durable, even when exposed to heat and moisture.  When seasoned the wood will not warp or split, and the fine grain is capable of a beautiful polish.  It also has the valuable property of being resistant to worms.  In parts of Kentucky and Ohio, roof shingles were made of black walnut, in Virginia black walnut was made into posts, and in Philadelphia is was the favorite wood for coffins.  Although more brittle than white oak, wood from the black walnut was durable enough to be used in building ships, where its resistance to sea worms was a benefit.  Its strength and toughness made it a favorite material for the stocks of military muskets, and its combined beauty and strength made it very popular in cabinet making.

The nuts were sold in markets in New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore.  Black walnuts are served at dining tables, although Michaux considers their taste to be inferior to that of the English walnut.  He notes that the husks are used in the country for dying wool.