This tree is found in the Atlantic States and the Mississippi Valley, in most places where the soil is deep and rich. It is also found in Illinois, but where it once ranked in that state with the ash and hickory, and was very abundant, it has now become scarce.

Bryant, in his work on trees, speaks of one that he met near " Koslyn, on Long Island, about twenty miles from the city of New York. It stands on the grounds of "William C. Bryant, and sprang from the seed in the year 1713, in the garden of a Quaker named Mudge. At three feet from the ground it is twenty-five feet in circumference. At the height of twelve or fifteen feet the trunk divides itself into several branches, each of which by itself would constitute a large tree; the whole forming an immense canopy, overshadowing an area one hundred and fifty feet in diameter."

The wood of the black walnut is extensively used in the manufacture of furniture, all species of cabinet-ware, gun-stocks, etc. Its excessive use is rendering the supply rather scanty. Fruit-trees, from some unknown cause, will not thrive near it; but silver maples, birches, and other varieties of trees may be planted between the walnut-trees with rather a beneficial effect, as they prevent the low branches from spreading, as they otherwise would, a distance of about ten or twelve feet. These small branches should be pruned out from time to time. The black walnut is apt to throw out very heavy branches while young; these should be pruned off close to the tree, otherwise it will have a tendency to form a low, heavy, spreading top.